📓 Journals Scandinavian Road Trip

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You're going to love driving the Norwegian coastline. Last year, we did a two week bike tour from Tromso to the tip of the Lofoten Islands, and this was in early September. Traffic is very light, and the cars didn't bother us one bit. We had buttons to push on the approach to the tunnels to let the drivers know there are cyclists in the tunnel. The road infrastructure is top notch! It's so beautiful, the hardest part is keeping your eyes on the road.
I thought about going up to Tromso but decided just to make it to Narvik due to time constraints. We start on the coastline bits tomorrow - can't wait. Agree about forcing yourself to watch the road when the landscape is so amazing.
 
Hey Geoff thanks for your pics and posts, it's great to follow along. Did you have any concern when planning your trip about the Emira being so low and having to deal with sharp angles (like hop on - off the ferry) or uneven tarmac? I mean it's a long way!
Thanks for the kind words. I always do a journal when I travel just to look back on in later years, so might as well post it here, I've enjoyed others accounts of their trips - the journal is also to bore the kids with. Although it is really nice to have my eldest along with me this time.
I did have a concern about scraping the nose yes - I hit it 3 times coming down the Stelvio pass in the summer. It makes a horrible noise but when inspected it's really not that bad. It's going to happen so I don't worry too much - the bumper is only plastic. I did add some SlipLo pads on for this trip though.
 
A busy day today, we tried to find a coffee shop in Aalborg for breakfast but found out that the town is mostly closed on Mondays so we drove on to Hirtshals for the ferry. In Hirtshals we find a fantastic pastry shop and have breakfast there - good coffee too. I resist the urge to order what looks like a 2 foot long chocolate eclair.

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We visit the lighthouse in Hirtshals, 142 steps to the top, and admire the view over the Danish Straight.

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After that we visit the Bunker Museum also in Hirtshals, remains of German fortifications from the Second World War.

Then it is on to the ferry across to Norway and Kristiansand on the Super Speed 1 (that’s the name of the ship not my driving style).

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Finally the drive up to Oslo. Again it’s mostly motorway but there’s some amazing views before it gets dark as we near Oslo.

Driving in Oslo is a one-way street nightmare and not car-friendly at all - by design. But tomorrow we finally get off the motorways and onto the good driving roads.

The Emira still gets a lot of attention and it’s always positive. I’ve chatted to several Danish and Norwegians now about the trip - they always check what tyres I have and nod approvingly when they see I have “proper” tyres. I had long chat with one of the ferry loadmasters today who said he was from Narvik, he thinks I will be fine - he thinks even if it snows we’ll be OK unless it gets too deep but that’s very unlikely this time of year.
 
Today was the first of two days with a lot of driving, going across the country and north from Oslo to Trondheim. Now in Trondheim we are about as far north as Iceland.

There is a motorway from Oslo to Trondheim but we went the scenic route, I think it is less distance but takes longer. This also takes us through the old town of Røros now a World Heritage Site.

The weather setting off was awful; rainy and foggy, this cleared up later in the day though it was still raining on and off for the entire day. The forecast for the next several days whilst we are up North is for more rain and cloud - unless something improves there’s little chance we’ll get to see the Northern Lights. But that just gives us an excuse to do this again some day.

We get off the motorway fairly soon outside of Oslo and head out on the scenic route - and the roads are fantastic. The weather is the only negative but there’s no standing water so it’s not too bad, Norwegian roads seem to be well made. On some of the higher roads we see a little snow beside the road from overnight but the roads are salted so there’s no issue - the only problem is keeping my eyes on the road rather than the beautiful scenery.

The roads are empty for the most part, we were often driving 30 minutes without seeing another car on our side of the road. I could post hours of great driving roads from the dash cam but don’t want to bore you, so here’s a small sample - also I expect the next few days will be even better (apologies the sound is muted as we had the music on loud).



About 4 hours later



7 hours driving in total, we arrived in Trondheim tired but it was a great day.

A traditional church we found on the way, we saw many like this.

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We’re now seeing snow on the high ground but roads are still clear and fine.

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Some of Røros.

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Arrived in Trondheim and the Emira has never been so filthy.

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Thank you for sharing. You've inspired me to plan and do a road trip.
 

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