Waking up to that lovely field of gold is just delicious with no sounds from civilization. Birds chirping even a deer burling close by. lots of privacy and a slow little breakfast got us started.
Then the next challenge on this trip presents itself at the moment I was gonna change the car direction to tank some diesel. No Bang! This time just a very surprised look on my face when I tried to move gear and lifted a broken gearshift rod in my hand. I was not going anywhere for a while.
So what to do when your gear shifter doesn’t move the gears anymore. Well, you get out the manual and take things apart. It took me two hours to find a solution and take out the gear shift lever casing
Now that the part was repaired it was putting things back in place and see it the shifting worked. And it did, so we finished what we came to do which was to fuel up and head out again. Total time needed for the repair 4 hours which was mostly taking plating off and putting it back. not bad for a catastrophic repair job.
Driving to Groningen was a little boring, so I had put on a nice podcast to listen into while Hermes was tapping away the kilometers. The podcast is valled the Gom Jabbar and is a fan podcast about anything Dune which is one of my favorite books and later movies. Funstuff discussed gave me some distraction from the boring ride.
Decided to push through and make the return complete. So a few more hours later and we arrived at the home location. One more night in the car was going to be the last one this trop. While pesticides in the house did its work we had the last sleep in the car.
Looking back it was a challenging trip with beautiful stuff to see and experience. Glad we did it and happy to have some extra time with my little girl now. Now wrapping up, unloading and cleaning stuff. Hermes did it’s work and the engine was very reliable. On to the next one…
Early rise again today and heading to the highway. The intention for today is to make best speed and distance passing Denmark towards Germany. Which I actually did very well. I ended up near Bremen some 600 kilometers from the morning start. It had taken me some longer then intended though. At start the time of arrival was stated 12:20.It ended up to be 16:40 with breaks, a small traffic jam and a speed maximum of 80 kph.
A quick stop to prepare some breakfast and grab a large cappuccino , then music on the headphone and staring over the wheel for a few hours while the boys in the back continue to lazy on snoring the time away farting the car up.
There’s good news about fuel for the remainder of the trip . Prizes per liter have now dropped to €1.85 thats a €0,60 drop per liter. Yeah Norway was expensive…
I was disappointed when arriving at a camping site 9 minutes past 18:00 and people were still in the reception area. When I asked if they are closed they stated yes and did not bother to ask anything else like why I might be late. So i told them “Fine I’m leaving and you will get a bad review.” No one bothered to even reply.
When I thought I found a suitable overnight location, it seems prostitution was a common place there. So I made a meal looked at the circus of supply and demand and decided to pack up for other possibilities once my meal was in. A second location also did not work out as it would seem that these little caravans of “horizontal business” are more common at truck stop locations. It did however point me to a forested area where no traffic and no passing people are common.
Making our way towards our departure from Norway today. Larvik is another two hours drive which is easily manageable as we are checking in as off 15:00 most likely.
So driving down the last country roads shows us the golden barley fields of agriculture in the south set in contrast with greener unmatured fields and the diversity of animal farms close by. It is yet another impression of Norway which shows me just how diverse this country is.
I have met several very interesting people during this trip and that’s always a good refresher on world views. Different lifestyles, views of life and stories to tell. They all enrich the experience if traveling to me. Not only the travel sights and food, colors or smells but also the culture, language smiles of people make a trip like this worth it.
Each has its own reasons of course for traveling Norway. Most do it to experience Norway others to visit family or on business. Some locations on this country are now clearly very touristic like the Trollstigen where you are met in the souvenir shop by teenagers working their holiday pay by selling little trolls. Or on Reine on the Lofoten where all parking locations ask for a hefty fee and hardly any wild camping sport can be found south or close to the ferry landing in Moskenes.
Talked to a traveler who had sold all his businesses and was retired now doing a test run of some 15000km in a big MAN converted truck. He had a large rig giving him 3 weeks of independence. Having two full tanks of diesel would get him some 3300 km at a cost of €1 per km. And here I was thinking my ride was expensive. His plan was to do the middle east and beyond. Interesting like minded man with good coffee and stories.
Of course it can only be expected when this country has so much to offer in it’s variety. The tastes of the meals, the smells of old fishermans houses, dryfalling beaches and an infinite variety of flowers and wood smells.
The boarding of the boat took a little while with some 2000 vehicles being moved around . On top of that were told there’d be an hour delay. The boys were set up with comfy sleeping spot, some wAter and some music. So it was off to find the buffet.
And now time for the third review of the status to see how far we have gone on fuel consumption and costs again.
26th July 23 days in
From 2353 to 3305 to 5206 kms driven from departure
From 307 to 449 to 683 liters of diesel burned
From €719 to €1050 to €1610 spent on diesel
Fuel efficiency from 1l diesel at 7,94 kms to 7,54 kms to 7,66 kms
From €0,30 to €0,32 to €0,32 on the km on costs
Estimated end total from €2145 to €2572 to €2364
Milestone: passed the arctic circle again and bought presents!
Reasons for the these last delta’s is that the brakes have stayed stable the only addition to the costs was the unforeseen operation for Boes’ paw which added another dent of €800 in the budget.
Total costs so far estimated at €4839. Yeah Norway is expensive.
Waking up to utter silence and only two or three birds chirping is quite the meditation moment. we had no animal visitors last night not even mosquitos. It was dry even though it had been raining into the night but that didn’t bother us.
Early start of the engine in low 4×4 gear again and we we went climbing up the forrest trail. Wobbling and shaking a little we came up to the main road again and proceeded up the trail with sheep scattered around the road.
We had to climb some more so we ended ip driving into the clouds. Which was fun to add to my experience as a Senior Service Manager Cloud. Having actually physically been driving course into the cloud myself is something for the next team meeting.
I have booked the crossing back to Denmark for Tuesday evening so tomorrow will be our last day in Norway. Wanted to have some more sun before we left so waited till tomorrow to book that last stretch on Norwegian soil to Larvik from where we will have the 17:30 crossing.
The rest if the day was kinda wet, little showers off and on. I did find a few good prized fuel stations with near dutch pricing per liter. Other then that just enjoyed the views as I passed the Lillehammer region. With a nice spot on the last Norwegian camping and some tomato soup while the boys lounge in the sun I reflected a little on what to do when I cross over. Will decide once I’m on Euro mainland again.
Waking up today was easy with a good morning sun and relaxed dogs still snoring while opening the back door and seeing Landrovers in every angle. It’s been a good night and the wether looks bright this morning.
A little walk along the nearby fields with the boys and then starting some easy Chet Baker to prepare breakfast and some brewed coffee. out with the map again and discussed a route to be taken n our trip down. A few interesting spots were pointed out with viewpoints and a nice wild camping location in the woods. So it wont be as long a drive as yesterday but stil another 220km more south.
Sometimes I wonder why people have so little respect for another being. A motor cyclist was indicating I was a jerk driving my old Hermes on an 80 kilometers per hour road with 75 on the GPS speedometer. OK, I CAN be a jerk say some people, but today i left the jerk in the bag. This selfish idiot apparently doesn’t realize 80 is NOT a minimum to drive but a maximum. So a lifted finger waved back at him and I held my speed making sure Hermes would still make it to the end of the day.
An easy start again with a little early wake up and a dog walk, then back into the cocoon to catch some extra zzzs.
Off we went again to hit the track. Yesterday I had a review of the travel plan and found destination Trondheim quite doable. So the target for the day was set. The reason for the longer distance was a landrover gathering by the Norwegian Land Rover Klubbe www.NLRK.no. It was good to see some of the other types of Landrover even two series I oldies.
The location was a camping in Øysand near Trondheim with a beach close to park at for the night. Then after dinner it was off to have a chat with the folks in the club and see what their strong stories are like.
Had a fun night accompanied by new friends from the landrover family in Norway eating laughter and a hilarious auction of junk. Was a good day ending with a nice sunset on a beach overlooking a fjord once more.
Morning with his antibiotics and painkiller so he will have a comfy ride today. As a reward I get a loving glance when he basks a few moments in the morning sun while the little man is eating his breakfast.
So today will be a day of making some easy distance south on an easy ride with some music i was able to download again with some wifi connectivity.
I forgot we were to cross the mountains as well so Hermes had some work to be done but he was rewarded with a nice sticker of certification for being an Arctic traveler. On the stop I also enjoyed a reindeer meat baguette. It was very enjoyable and I can recommend it when in the region.
During the search for our overnight Google Maps directed me to a backroad which I gladly turned into. Ar first we were treated with a very nice rapid stream to watch and it was good had brought a large shepherd stick cause with my twisted knee the descent to it would not have been possible.
Driving that back road I had to enable the 4×4 drive because of loose gravel and rock and steep climbs and descends. It was fun feeling the might of the drive on all wheels, how easy Hermes climbed through them was amazing. It almost felt as if he was saying “no worries boss, I’ve done this all my life”.
We ended up on a nice campsite near a larger slower flowing stream with a good campsite and no traffic close by. So cooking was spaghetti carbonara time and with a nice whiskey a deep snore arrived soon after.
We had a perfect location for an overnight found on the park4night app. Even though it was sleeping on a large gravel parking lot it was still very still and relaxing with a large forrest near where lots of Norwegians have their physical workouts. It had walking routes up to 40 km out.
I have noticed how active the Norwegians can be. Yes, they also have an obese populations but apparently that is common in our commercial world. Kayaking, canoeing, trail walks, running, climbing and the list goes on. They can be an example I think of a healthy outdoor life. Of course they do have the perfect surrounding for it with plenty of woods mountains, rapid waters etc.
There is a reason why most olympian winter awards on skying for instance are Norwegian. The northmen consider three to four months of snow free soil a summer period little more south and the dry soil from rain is the new standard but of course they also do still get lots of snow.
The breakfast food is diverse with of course lots of knäckebröd and a wide selection of tubed cheese with extras added like ham, salami, shrimp and even hot chili. Also the selection of porridge for the mornings is wide and often eaten as a morning starter. No wonder they have so much energy in a day, plenty or carbons to burn.
Snack and fast food is a little more expensive were we to buy a bbq bacon at burgerking in Nl we would pays some €4 here it is double that prize. Yup, 8€ for a single burger. The meals vary from at least €11 up and higher so it is wise to get your cooking done yourselves.
Groceries in general are more expensive, on the basis you can add from 15% up to 80%. This is dependent on what is Norwegian produce and what is shipped in. Remember that this country is covered in snow for most of the year and only can provide fresh stuff in the south where there is limited soil. All other things need to be imported hence the higher prizes.
As a reference for services i have experienced the veterinarian costs as all, a normal consult would cost me up to €38 up here that’s quickly €80. No wonder they can pay these grocery prizes.
Tonights sleep over is at a road service station for trucks. It had a nice coop and god wifi which helped me secure the fotos and film again to the cloud making sure I have it all secured. It’s a little noisy during the day but doable at night.