Our Scandinavian Journey

We spent the night at a camping site at Kvaal, on the outskirts of Trondheim. As we had spent most part of afternoon exploring Trondheim, we were dead tired by the time we hit the camping site. It had started raining, but we were able to hire a small, comfortable and snug cabin, which felt extra snug, as the rain soon turned in to a downpour.

However the rain abated during the early morning hours, and the weather was fine by the time we had packed the car and were ready to leave in good spirits. Most other guests at the camping site appeared to be sports fishers, angling for salmon in the nearby river. Their spirits were definitely more dampened by the rainfall. Not that they could not stand a little rain, but it had turned the river muddy with chances of salmon seeing the bait remote. Anyway, it wasn’t our concern, we pressed on.

Still driving the E-6 and making good speed, we had neglected to look at the petrol gauge – and suddenly found the pointer pointing firmly to red. We were in what could be termed as “sparsely populated area”, and for many kilometers we listened anxiously for signs of the engine dying. Salvation came in the form of a blue and orange Statoil-sign. We stopped, tanked, and moved on.

Passing through the cultivated countryside of Southern Trondelag, the road started the climb up Drivdalen towards the plateau of Dovrefjell. This plateau is traditionally regarded as the divide between the Southern and Northern Norway. Dovrefjell boasts of a heard of musk oxen, and we hoped to see at least one. We didn’t, but taking in the majestic highland landscape was no bad consolation.

Having passed the plateau it was downhill to the junction at Dombås. Now we were in the upper reaches of eastern Norway.

We followed the E-6 as far as Otta and turned west – to the land of fjords and glaciers. Vaagaavatnet is one of those long, narrow, but deep lakes to be found in Norway – part of the glacial landscape.

We stopped at Lom to take a look at the stave church at Lom. These churches were built with special building technique using vertical poles as supports. They were entirely made of wood including the roof which was made of wooden shingles. Some of them were probably built as “missionary churches” during the (rather violent) christening in the 11th and 12th century. Decoration certainly hints at more demons than saints.


As we left Lom the weather thickened, with more rain to feed the already swollen rivers.

Weather forecasts for western Norway were not too bright either. We were headed for Geiranger Fjord and could only hope for the best. It was overcast, but we could take in the splendor of snow clad mountains and ice covered lakes.

Even the overcast weather couldn’t dull the icy palette of blue and green, displayed on Djupvatnet, meaning a “Deep lake”.

It certainly merited a photo-stop. We took in the same scenery as Burton Holmes did a hundred years ago. He had found the scenery spectacular enough to include in one of his travelogue lectures. In fact he was the one who first coined the word “travelogue” even if the picture he captured was monochrome.

We now started the descent to Geiranger, more than a vertical km down. We could only see tall peaks awash in a sea of clouds, with no sea in sight.

Hoping for the clouds to lift and visibility to improve, we continued our descent, stopping at a couple of places to photograph, what motives presented themselves. Soon the clouds engulfed us completely.

With visibility down to a dozen meters or so, we made a slow descent. Down and down we went, for what seemed like ages with no sea in sight. We were still debating how much farther down it could be, when we spotted the lights of a BIG cruise ship. We were suddenly level with the upper decks of the ship. So much for the visibility at sea-level!

Taking the ferry was certainly no option. We stopped for rest and to take some pictures of what little we could see – and started the climb back. Weather was, even thicker now. When we reached Stryn, lakes and rivers were running white, fed by the heavy rains. Numerous fields were flooded. Lucky for us the road was not blocked as yet, but it was “a close run” with rain swollen rivers eagerly licking the road edges. We could only hope things would look brighter when we reach our next planned destination – Joelstervatnet. This long and narrow lake is renowned for its scenic beauty. Norwegian painter and graphic artist Nicolai Astrup (1880 – 1928) lived here for most of his life, and found the bulk of his motives here.

As weather did not abate, and it was getting late, with no suitable accommodation in sight, we decided to skip Joelster and turned left to follow road 13, hoping the number was not a bad omen. It was dark, rainy and foggy and the road narrow and winding. We were tired, and the spirit wasn’t exactly cheerful. Suddenly, driving uphill, we spotted a camping-sign. Turning into an even narrower, downhill lane, we found the camping site with a few cabins, but completely deserted (it was closer to 1 AM – after all). Braving the squalls, we looked at the notices on the reception building and it turned out to be only “self service” camping ground we encountered during our entire travel. A poster decorated with a smiley said: “The key is in the lock, unless cabin is occupied. When you leave, kindly put the money in this box “ – an arrow indicated the box in question, followed by a list of cabins and price per night. Cabin #2 turned out to be the cheapest. The price was definitely reasonable, perhaps not unsurprising, given that the floor sagged and one of the plates in the ceiling seemed to be still in place only by defying gravity. To us this didn’t matter, as the cabin was reasonably clean and roomy, cooking facilities clean and functional (if not exactly brand new) and bunks looked very inviting to tired travelers. We had a good night’s sleep in that cabin.

Waking up we discovered that the camping ground overlooked a dramatic, cascading waterfall. We took a few pictures, had a shower, breakfast, cleaned the cabin, put the money in the box – and left.

We were now headed for the ferry site at Balestrand. The weather was not exactly bright when we left, but the scenery was captivating. Passing through a beautiful valley of western Norway with a swollen river was enough to lift our spirits.

We paused for a few photographs and reached the ferry site .We were to cross Sognefjorden, Norway’s longest and the deepest fjord.


A short ferry ride brought us to Vangsnes.

Vangsnes has historic significance, as it is believed that the Viking hero, Fridtjof was buried here. This prompted the Viking-aficionado Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to commission a statue near the supposed burial-site in 1913. Whether this huge statue is a work art is quite another matter… But one can easily contemplate the ideas that occupied the mind of Europe’s most powerful man at that time.

We were, perhaps, not very reverent as we scaled the statue’s foundation to get a picture that showed the scale.

The little park surrounding the statue was designed with more taste than the statue itself. Besides we saw some fine raspberry plantations nearby, reminding us that we were in Norway’s “fruit and berry district.”


We pressed on, having decided that we wanted to see Flaam with its renowned railway and get to Bergen on the same day. We followed Road 13, stopping by an ice covered lake, before reaching Vinje and taking the E-16 to Flaam. Quite a few of the 50 km between Vinje and Flaam is tunneled, but Flaam certainly is majestic. The cruise-lines have certainly found that out.

Flam Railway is Norway’s most spectacular tourist attraction. The train journey provides some of Norway’s wildest and most magnificent scenery. On the 20 km long train ride, we could see rivers that cut through deep ravines, waterfalls cascading down the steep snow capped mountains and mountain farms clinging dizzily to sheer slopes. The train journey was certainly scenic, but would have been more so with a brighter sky. The Kjosfossen waterfall was a sheer beauty.

Returning to Flaam, it was rather late in the day, and we wanted to reach Bergen as soon as possible. The drive to Bergen was rather uneventful though driving in to Bergen was quite another matter. To make a long and tangled story short we ended up at a camping ground round midnight. The camping ground was closed, but a piece of paper with a telephone number was pasted at the entrance. We called the number and were told that the camping was closed. We pleaded our case and finally got a grudging permission to pitch tent “if we behaved and did not disturb the other guests”. We were happy to get a few hours sleep, but it was certainly not a very warm reception.
Bergen has a distinctive culture of its own, It has a cosmopolitan tradition, and a dialect that betrays the place of birth of every Norwegian. The rest of Norway cannot make up its mind whether Bergen is to be admired or loathed for its self-assuredness. The centre of town is fairly compact and centered round “Vaagen” (the Bay).
Bergen was part of the Hanseatic League and had a strong German presence during the late middle ages. It was the main trade centre for the export of stock fish from Norway – and the imports bought for the proceeds. The store houses for this trade (“Bryggen”) are on the UNESCO World heritage list, and are a must see along with the famous fish-market.

Bergen, like other towns commemorates their great sons with statues. Chr. Michelsenl, Norwegian prime minister, in that fateful year 1905 when Norway cancelled the union with Sweden and gained sovereignty by peaceful means. Ludvig Holberg, the grand old man of theatre admired both in Denmark and Norway. Strolling along Bergen’s sea-front we had a good look at the old fortress.


Being a town with a strong tradition of shipping, it was not surprising to see a lot of vessels in the harbor. From small ferries to huge supply ships – and a modern yacht of brilliant, spotless shoeshine appearance – complete with a helicopter, in sheer contrast to the good old “local steamers” close by which were the workhorses of the coast – taking passengers and an assorted range of goods.



Though reluctantly, we left Bergen in the afternoon of july1. It was tempting to spend more time here, but we were booked on a ferry between Kristiansand and Hirtshals (in Denmark).
We drove out of Bergen, and ended up at Flesland – Bergens airport, definitely not where we intended to go. We turned and eventually got back on track.

Rest of the journey to Kristensand was generally uneventful.
We took a ferry at, Hardangerfjord, passed Odda, a centre of metallurgical industry in Western Norway and drove past Roldal, and as dusk approached, started the climb into the mountains.

Night came, and we drove on, stopping by Byglandsfjordin in the small hours for a nap, before the last leg to Kristiansand.

The rain started again as we entered the city, but we had the accommodation in Krisitiansand. So we rested, and in the evening as the rain abated, we took a walk in Baneheia, a popular recreation area. It is an area of footpaths and idyllic ponds surrounded by a forest. From the hill we had a good view of the town.

We reached back in Tromso in the afternoon of 23 June, after a long, tiring but eventful and enjoyable journey. We didn’t want to linger in Tromso, long, as we were eager to catch a ferry to the island of Senja that same evening and get some well deserved rest. We had an OK view of Tromso from the entrance to the cable car and took some pictures. The most prominent feature during our 60 km drive from Tromso to the ferry site at Brensholmen was, perhaps, the sight of numerous small bonfires (and a few larger ones) where people had gathered to celebrate St John’s day – and barbeque sausages. Arriving a bit early on Brensholmen we had time to take in the scenery, the mountains of Senja and the characteristic profile of the island Haaja . While waiting for the ferry, we also tried our hand at fishing , but without success.

A 40 min ferry ride and 40 km of driving later we stopped at Skaland.After a good meal, we rested till late next day.

Friday the 24th we went boating. Bergsoyan is a group of small islands and rocks with white coral beaches and surprisingly much greenery covering the cliffs – guano is a good fertilizer. Seagulls aplenty, we saw some cormorants, black guillemots and oystercatchers as well . In the old days an important trading station was situated here but now these islands are ruled by birds. Between huge swashes of shallow sea and light colors of coral sand on the sea floor, one could clearly see the fish against the bottom. Less than hundred years ago these shallow waters offered excellent conditions for a unique summer fishing in which hundreds of boats participated every year. Huge square nets were placed flat at bottom of the sea with ends connected by ropes to the boats. When a shoal of coal fish swam over the nets, the boats pulled the nets, lifting the net’s rim clear of the sea and trapping the fish.
Seals are rather common in this area and we saw quite a few of them, a colony of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). They quickly wriggled themselves off the rocks where they had been napping, into the sea, adults and cubs. The cubs had learned to swim, but did not venture far from their mothers. Seals are quite wary of humans, as they have been hunted along the Norwegian coast for thousands of years. In the days before iron tools to fashion wooden planks into ship-boards and iron rivets to join the planks of the hull, sealskins were probably the best and most available material for boat building in this part of the world.
Weather had been overcast most of the morning, but by about the afternoon, the Sun broke through, lifting up our spirits. We decided to go ashore on one of the bigger islands.

The sun had by now brightened up the greens of early summer.
Deep blue sea, white coral beaches and partly, snow clad mountains in the background offered a breath taking view.
We clambered up the hills to find cloudberries, an arctic delicacy, still unripe, but well grown for the time of the year.

Early next morning, we were off to Andoya, en route to the Lofoten Islands, taking the car ferry from Gryllefjord in Senja. The ferry trip provided excellent opportunity to watch spectacular mountain scenery, but for the weather, which brought down visibility. We could make out little of the splendid mountain chain.
Rough seas and the resultant sea swell made retiring to the lower decks an attractive alternative, more so because clouds and the mist hid most of the scenery anyway.

Back on solid ground, we toured the Western ie seaward side of Andoya.

Andoya is a beautiful island with large flat areas of bogland and magnificent, free standing cliffs, in the backdrop.
It’s landscape is different from the islands lying to its North, East and South, of course not counting Greenland to the west. Geologists believe that Andoya was probably partly ice free during the last ice age, a tiny foothold for plants which made spread of vegetation faster when the ice retreated. It is also the only place on the Norwegian mainland where coal has been mined, though not in great quantities.

Reaching Risoyhamn we crossed the bridge between Andoya and Hinnoya. Not very bright weather, but calm, and some opportunities to find motives of mountains mirrored in the sea.

In the evening we reached Lodingen and had a good night’s rest.

On Sunday 26th we left Vesteraalen and entered Lofoten .
The Lofoten archipelago is a string of islands, almost 250 km long, which on a map look like an X-ray image of a finger poked into the sea. In winter the arctic cod congregates here and hence cod fisheries have a long history in this region. For centuries fishermen came here to haul the cod out of the sea.

Now a days tourism and fish farming have joined cod fishing the main stays of these islands. What makes Lofoten so special is the contrast between the lush green lowlands and soaring alpine peaks with long hours of low sunlight highlighting every crevice in the towering spires.
From some of the promontories one could see the Lofoten mountains for tens of kilometers, Looking across Vestfjorden, the far away mountains of the mainland offer no less a spectacular view. Even while facing the ocean, the land never seems end. No wonder, artists here discovered a rich source of landscape motives in the last decades of the 19th century.

We drove the E-10, the main road going the length of the Lofoten islands to Svolvaer. The place through the ages has been one of the main fishing stations in Lofoten islands. For centuries fishermen from all over Northern Norway, gathered here in large numbers during the harshest winter months to take part in the cod fishing. To accommodate such large congregation of migrant fishermen, king Oystein Magnusson ordered a church and fishermen cabins to be built here. The huge wooden church in Svolvaer, popularly known as “The Lofoten Cathedral”is probably 5th or 6th in line of the same.

Built in 1898, the church can accommodate 1200 persons and is a must see monument.
West of Svolvaer the mountain Vaagakallen (“the Old Man of Vaagar”) is a prominent landmark. He probably wasn’t in his best mood, the day we passed by, as he never lifted his cloud cap to greet us. Perhaps he was bored of all those little midgets scuttling to and fro?
Past Vaagakallen we made a small detour to see Henningsvaer, another important fishing station. Situated on several small islands, and connected by bridges.
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it offers a great view of the western part of the “Lofoten wall.”
Driving further west we camped on a camping ground near a lovely lake, not far from Leknes and explored places north and west of the island.
On this little excursion we had a look at the Viking centre at Borg.

The Viking centre is housed in a replica of a Viking chieftain’s hall,that once stood nearby. Partly museum and partly theme park it can literally give you a taste of the Viking age. As we arrived late, just before closing time we missed the opportunity to take a look inside this magnificent building.

Next day and our last in Lofoten, we headed for the tip of the archipelago, aptly named Å (last letter in the Norwegian alphabet ). We crossed the strait between Vestvaagoy and Flakstadoya, going under the sea - dryshod. An excellent subsea tunnel connects the two beautiful islands.

We sampled some of the beaches in the area,
and reached the village of Reine.
Reine is a settlement with numerous traditional boats.

Tall stems and dramatic lines of the large number of boats, accentuated by the mountains rising straight out of the sea, was indeed a delightful sight.
We finally drove the few km back to the ferrysite at Moskenes for a crossing to Bodo.
As we had a little bad experience of our previous ferry crossing between Gryllefjord and Andenes due to rough seas, we were a bit apprehensive, being a longer crossing. Suffice to say that the worry was misplaced. Vestfjorden turned out to be as flat as a millpond for the duration of that crossing.

The ferry docked in the town of Bodo just a little before midnight, and we headed straight for the E6, the fastest road south. Just as we moved past Bodo, we had to stop, to take in the beautiful sight of mountains bathed in the midnight Sun.
We then made a small detour to take a look at the famous tidal current of Saltstraumen as well.
However it turned out to be a disappointment as our timing was not perfect and hence display of tidal force was not anywhere near as expected.Nevertheless it was a beautiful, clear and a bright summer night and we were hopeful of spotting some wild life. Moose are nocturnal animals, and driving through the bright night we had good hopes of seeing one. But when a young moose obligingly appeared by the roadside, we were ill prepared to photograph it.
However we did manage to photograph two fox cubs near Rognan , alittle before the mountain crossing of Saltfjellet and the Arctic Circle.
We sampled the last of the midnight Sun, but made good speed, the road almost empty in the small hours. As a convenient resting place came up, we stopped for a good nap, only to wake up to a beautiful sight.

Refreshed we pressed on, and soon crossed over from Northern Norway into Trondelag (Mid Norway) .
As we approached Trondheim, farmlands started becoming more and more prominent part of the landscape.

Trondheim is the third largest city of Norway with a rich and colorful history. It started out as the first capital of Norway in the middle ages and was also the seat of an archbishopric. Consequently it has the World’s northernmost medieval cathedral. The town itself is situated on a peninsula which except for a tiny “neck” is surrounded by the sea and the last bend of the river Nid.
We took a stroll through the city centre,had a good look at the cathedral and the west wall in particular, adorned with numerous sculptures.
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As the evening drove close, and we had no accommodation in Trondheim, we drove a little further, to a camping at Kvaal, half an hour’s drive south of Trondheim. We rented a nice cabin at the local camping, and a good thing too. Tenting would probably have become a rather wet affair as the weather turned out.

We met in Tromso past midnight after a long and tiring journey and immediately started on onward journey for the North Cape. North Cape – long thought of as the end of the World, beyond which only demons and trolls dwelled. Standing on the cliff at the North Cape, only the Svalbard Islands separate you from the North Pole You do not get further north on mainland Europe More precisely it is the second northernmost point on the European mainland and one of the few places at lat N 72°10’21’’ which you can actually drive to. Of course we had to go there in a slightly run-down Mazda 323 (332 000 km and still counting).

Weather was overcast when we drove out from Tromso, but a few holes in the clouds gave us glimpses of mountains bathed in the midnight Sun.
One and a half hour and a couple of photo-stops later we arrived at Bjorneboe camping to spend the rest of the night or rather the morning.

After a good sleep and a lazy forenoon we checked out and started north. We drove the E-6, the main road in this part of Norway.
Weather was still overcast, but the craggy mountains towering above Storfjord and Lyngenfjord merited a few photo-stops anyway.The E-6 follows the coastline most of the time, winding in and out of fjords. After Nordreisa the road takes a short-cut to the next fjord. Climbing well above the tree line, into the realm of lingering snow and gaining 600 m of altitude from where we could take in the view of Kvaenangen. While seeing a real glacier – Jøkelfjordbreen – in the distance, was a breath taking experience. seeing heards of reindeer was no less exciting.

After Kvaenangen we followed Langfjorden, a rather appropriate name for this long, narrow and straight stretch of water. Still the same steep , but green and lush, mountainside with a narrow strip of more level land by the sea. Alta, the northernmost place where they grow cereals, is situated by the wide valley surrounding the estuary of the mighty Alta river.

We reached Alta late evening, and stopped at nearby Jiebmaloukta to take a look at the rock-carvings, a UNESCO-listed site. Almost 3000 rock carvings are known to exist in this area. These were probably made by hunter-gatherers. The youngest carvings were made some 2000 years ago and the oldest more than 6000 years ago. People, boats and animals like reindeer, elk, birds and fishes are depicted. We do not know why the rock carvings were made, but most archaeologists believe they had some religious or mythical significance. Sometimes the figures seem to tell a story, perhaps a hunting scene.

Though it was getting a little late, and cold, yet we decided to cross Sennalandet the same day/ night to reach a warmer valley, for a better meal and a good night’s rest. It would also leave us with a relatively short drive for the next day. We wanted to reach the North Cape well before midnight the 21st.

Sennalandet is a kind of highland plateau, surrounded with hill-like mountains and a big sky landscape. WE came across large herds of reindeer trekking from the interior to the coast in spring. This appearance of "meat on the hoof" made the rather level arctic landscape resemble the savannahs .

Having passed Sennalandet and Hatter we turned left to Olderfjord. .Leaving E-6 we now headed for Mageroya and the North Cape. Finding a tenting site which met our requirements took some time. Rather late in the morning of the 21st, we put up the tent in Sortvik in Porsanger

Next morning we woke up to a very heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds. By the afternoon it was almost a gale. Though our little tent withstood the gale, we ended up spending the day and the afternoon in the tent, much against our wish. Weather also left us cold and wet.
Late in the afternoon, weather improved marginally. We packed our gear and continued to Mageroya and the North Cape.

Driving through the subsea tunnel to Mageroya we found the weather conditions deteriorate again. Prospects turned rather dim as the road started its climb towards the North Cape plateau. Heavy fog built up to reduce the visibility to below 30 meters. Driving with such low visibility, on sharp turns was rather risky, but having come so far we pushed on against all odds.

After what felt like ages we saw a parking sign. We parked the car but we were in for a bigger surprise to find a gale blowing outside. The fog was so dense we didn't see it was drifting. We left the car which was quickly lost in the fog. Rather recklessly we had not brought a compass with us. However, luck was on our side, and after some fog-walking we located the entrance to the tourist centre. Inside it was cozy and warm, and quite a few people. After a long drive through sparsely populated parts of Norway, the place looked rather crowded

Visibility was still very bad and a glimpse of the sun seemed out of the question. We were, just about, able to locate the "globe" monument at the North Cape plateau, about 50 meters away from the main building. With gale blowing and extreme cold, there was little to do but struggle back through fog and gale to the warmth of the tourist building. We were not only badly tired but dejected.

Safe inside but with little to do, we decided to take a tour of the multistoried tourist building. The centre has an exhibition telling the story of the North Cape , and a wide screen cinema showing a documentary film about the North cape. With visibility down to zero, we decided to rather see the film. It was a spectacular 30 minute picture, but a small consolation compared to seeing the midnight Sun from the North Cape plateau. We were still in low spirits and our mood not too bright, when we came out from the cinema.

As we came up, we were in for a great surprise to find the sun shining. Still patches of fog, but bright sunshine. Though It was a little after midnight, but Norway covers quite a few longitudes, so local Midnight at the North Cape is closer to 00:30. With bright Midnight Sun on the horizon we launched ourselves into a new photo-session.

Satisfied, and with lifted spirits we drove back to the mainland. Going back the same road was more interesting, now that we could actually see something (and take some pictures). After some hours of drive, we stopped in Olderfjorddalen, a few kilometers south of where the E 69 from the North Cape joins the E 6, tented and slept a few hours.

The previous days, we had done a lot of driving and endured quite a lot of "arctic summer", so after some hours of sleep we decided to pack the tent and drive for some hours to find a convenient camping and indulge ourselves in the luxury of a cabin and the bathroom facilities of a camping ground. Weather was still overcast, but with fewer stops, we made good speed. Early afternoon we stopped at Alteidet camping, got a cabin, and rested for the night.

After a good night’s rest, the next day ie on 23rd June we continued on our journey back, following the E-6 along the Lyngenfjord for a while and then taking the alternate and shorter route to Tromso. This route involved two ferries, one across Lyngenfjord and the other across Ullsfjord. We were thus safely in Tromso in the late afternoon.