The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves...

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Scandinavia - Day 5

Before leaving Lillehammer and some crazy flooding in spots, we found another Circle K and entered into the Coffee Contract. Basically, for about $50 CDN you get a decent-sized thermal travel mug.....and free hot beverages for a whole year! With coffee costing about $5 a cup in Norway, we quickly did the math and figured it made total sense over two weeks.....plus a nice souvenir!

We stocked the van with groceries at a Kiwi and continued north on the E-6 towards Trondheim. At Dombas, we grabbed another coffee and forked east to check out the Dovrefjell National Park, before swinging back to the northwest. Checking the weather in Lofoten, we saw a week straight of heavy rain in the forecast, and sadly decided it was not worth driving six days out of our way for heavy rain and waste the pleasant weather in the south.

Jane also got the e-Sim working for Norwegian wifi, after a series of troubleshooting sessions with Airalo. Given the trouble we already had in Denmark, where it never did work, we had already added a portable router from Benzini just in case - after all, wifi would be key for navigating the road trip.

With a new plan to thoroughly enjoy southern Norway, we headed through some stunning fjords and lengthy mountain tunnels to the coast to drive the iconic Atlantic Ocean Road, a scenic 8.3 km stretch of highway connecting a series of islands off the coast.

After ham sandwiches for dinner, we enjoyed a nice sunset over the ocean as we set up for another free night of camping in a visitor centre parking lot.

We also met some new neighbours road-tripping from Germany, who had purchased the wrong gas cannister for their cooker. Since our gas was built-in, the only solution was to let them cook in our van - but we were rewarded with a portion of their delicious meal - chicken with diced tomatoes, olives, eggplant and couscous. The husband and I also also exchanged beers for good measure.

County Road 64, aka The Atlantic Ocean Road

A very scenic 8.3 km stretch over several islands

Fun to drive!

A ramp off the face of the earth???

The Atlantic Ocean Road

Another free park-up for the night....with an ocean view!

Chillaxing in the van

Traded a new German friend for this one!

Scandinavia - Day 4

Leaving the Viking Barken just after 5am, I carried both suitcases and Jane grabbed the backpacks as we made a quick and stealthy passage around the Nordstan mall (sketchy at night) to the Goteborg train station. Arriving well before our 610am departure, luckily the 7-11 kiosk was open for some much-needed coffee and croissants.

Boarding our high-speed train, we enjoyed more of rural western Sweden and some Canadian Shield-esque landscapes as we neared the Norway border - lots of trees, lakes and rocks. I also learned a valuable lesson - remember to hit the red button when using the washroom on the train, lest someone open the door at an inopportune time! Even more awkwardly, when someone hits the button the open the door, it stays open for a good 20-30 seconds or so. Luckily my back was to the door at least.

After a three and half hour ride to the northwest, we arrived in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. With a quick turnaround for Jane to find a restroom while I bought tickets for the next train, we were soon aboard a local VY RE11 commuter train heading around the Oslo fjord and bound for Skien, including our stop in Sandefjord, a smaller town about an hour and a half to the south.

Arriving well before our scheduled meeting, we walked across the street for a nice lunch at Laroza. Burgers again, for those following along. Just before 2pm, the fine folks from Benzini Campers (Lenka and Vlado) delivered Winston to the train station - a 2002 VW California van with a 5-speed 2.5 L turbo diesel, that would be our home on wheels for the next two weeks in Norway.

They did try to discourage our plans to visit Lofoten in the North, given that it was about six days of driving just to get there and back to southern Norway. We noted that we liked road trips and were used to long driving days, but also that we would keep an eye on the weather if it stopped making sense.

After getting the run-down on all the important aspects, I tried a few test maneuvers around the narrow parking lot at the train station. Another valuable lesson learned last year in Iceland. We set out and quickly found the E-18, with the goal of getting as far north as possible with the hours remaining in the day. Unfortunately, that also put us into Oslo rush hour and some traffic jams. Let's just say stop-and-go traffic almost immediately was not how I planned to get comfortable with the clutch!

Trying to avoid the downtown core, we ended up crawling along through a two-lane tunnel on the E-16 - and learned another new lesson. When you hear sirens, everybody finds a way to squeeze over to leave a lane up the middle for emergency vehicles. It was our first introduction to the very patient and courteous drivers of Norway.

After about six hours of driving, to not really get very far (thanks to the traffic), the very early start and long train ride took their toll. After a late dinner of gas station hot dogs at a Circle K, we found a nice quiet rest stop outside Lillehammer to call it a night on the shores of a peaceful lake. Our first experience setting up the bed went well, and we were soon down for the count.

Leaving Goteborg in the wee hours

Entering Norway at Halden - the first of many dams!

Impressive bridge at Sarpsborg

Oslo Sentral Stasjon - awaiting our next train!

Arriving in Sandefjord

Meet Winston!

Getting acquainted with Winston

Many MANY tunnels to follow

Tunnel traffic jam

Free lodging at a rest stop outside Lillehammer

The kitchen - fridge, stove and sink under the flip-up counter top

The bedroom for the next two weeks

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Scandinavia - Day 3

We headed out in early morning, walking the very short distance to the train station. I had gone back the night before to buy tickets for the morning train to Goteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden. We grabbed coffee and sat, waiting to find out from which platform our train would be departing....then scrambled to get down there in time. This would be a theme, of arriving early only to wait to find out where to go.

We left Copenhagen on the 0827 train, and soon crossed the Oresund bridge/tunnel, a marvel of modern engineering that links Denmark and Sweden. The train comes out of an underwater tunnel in Denmark that runs partway across the water, then emerges onto a bridge that spans to rest of the way to Malmo, Sweden.

The train ride up Sweden's west coast was very scenic and agricultural. We made a number of stops at various cities, on our way to Goteborg. Upon arrival, we walked a bit of the city - Sweden's second largest - and found it quite lovely. As Jane got hangry, we stopped for lunch at Bastard Burgers in the Nordstan Mall.

Our hotel for the night was the Viking Barken - a 1907 windjammer sailing vessel, permanently moored in Goteborg harbour. Apparently they built a new bridge at some point, meaning the high-masted ship was too tall and could no longer leave the harbour....so they made it a permanent hotel!

Unfortunately, the ship's restaurant was closed during our visit, quashing our hopes for a nice evening dinner on deck overlooking the harbour. Still, we had a pleasant meal at a nearby eatery on the water, before retiring to our our ship for the night and a very early scheduled departure the next morning.