Home again

As mentioned in the comments for my previous entry I am now home. The whole journey took a few hours less than four weeks in which I drove well over 5500 miles or almost 9000 km. It took about three weeks to reach Nordkapp due to my meanderings and a week to get back even though an extra country was involved. Seven countries in total including the UK with five different currencies. The campervan behaved impeccably and managed to achieve an average of over 40 miles to the gallon which is about 32 mpg for those in the US I think. I did post a few pictures of the outside but for those who don't know these vehicles, here are some shots of the interior.

The front seats both have adjustable armrests which are very comfortable for long distance driving. When parked up they can both be swivelled round to face the rear.

Moving back the unit on the left contains the fridge, the sink and the two gas rings. The cover lifts off and can be attached to the swivelling arm just seen bottom left becoming a table. The fridge works either with12 volts from the vehicle, gas or 220/240 volts from the mains hook up when at a campsite.

Under the rear seat are the water containers and when the tap is turned on an electric pump moves the water to the sink. Behind the cardboard box is a built in gas heater. The seat folds down to become a bed, supposedly a double but because of the cupboards it is a narrow double, perfectly comfortable for one though. There is a second double bed available when the pop top roof is raised. I did occasionally raise it as that gives more headroom when at the sink or hob. As you can see there are several cupboards.

A few last photos, Fluffy looking at the boats going by on the ferry back to Harwich.

Also on board was this 1930s Morgan 3 wheeler.

Sorry, I forgot to change the light settings for that picture. The owner was returning from a gathering in the Netherlands of the Dutch Morgan Three Wheeler Club, it seems there are a few over there.

And here we are back home, the picture taken the next day as we didn't arrive until about 10.30 in the evening.

I suppose I could write about why I did it and what I gained from it but I don't think I will apart from saying that it definitely wasn't a midlife (or little bit later than midlife) crisis but it was a wonderful experience which I don't need to do again!

Not been able to update for a while so I haven't been able to say of my slight change of plans. There were various goals I had for this trip and they have been achieved. The main one was to get to the very top of drivable Europe and along the way seeing a Munch in Oslo, riding the Flåm railway, getting inside the Arctic Circle and seeing elk in the wild, all done. I'm still loving the scenery but now I would like to go home and see Sarah, I am missing her terribly. I was thinking of spending some time in Stockholm and Copenhagen but these are places that Sarah would like to see again as well so we will be planning a return trip to visit them together, maybe in a year or so. It's still going to take a few days to get home and I'm not sure which route back I will take, heading for the Hook of Holland first.

Thoughts occurring while driving in Sweden. They love their burgers. I don't think I have seen so many McDonald's golden arches, they seem to be at almost every road side stop and every town. The signs rise up out of the forests to let you know they are just 15 minutes away, ten minutes away, five minutes away, just so many! Not only Macdonalds, a couple of days ago I saw the knife and fork sign showing for the next service stop and found that the only food available was from a Max which is another chain of burger joints, about twenty different burgers on the menu but apart from fries and milkshakes, nothing else. Later I saw a large sign listing all outlets at a service point on the opposite side of the road showing you had a choice of two brands of fuel and the only food seemed to be from a Macdonalds, a Burger King and a Max. Three different burger places and nothing else. I don't think I will say a bad thing about a Little Chef again!

So much for Sweden losing its identity, how about a small positive point. I liked the way that the chevrons used to show corners or sharp bends on the road are not in the usual red and white but in the Swedish colours of yellow and blue.

Took the ferry back from Helsingborg to Helsinor, same one as before, the Hamlet.

Today's photo shows some old rail tracks on the ramp onto the ferry. Not used now but trains from the south would use the ferry to get further into Scandanavia. These days the new (ish) bridge/tunnel from just below Copenhagen to Malmo carries a railway line as well as a road.

On to Copenhagen and a couple of hours spent with friends who gave me coffee and strawberry cake. I also met the beautiful Mathilde.

Down towards Rødby for the ferry to Germany but first to a campsite near Øre by the water. Very crowded as it's another Danish holiday weekend. Up early on Sunday and was on the ferry at 9.10 and it left at 9.15. It goes to the Isle of Fehmarn which is where Jimi Hendrix had his last official show in 1970, I played Hey Joe as I drove through the boring flat landscape and decided to miss the huge duty free shop that was crowded with hordes of people with trolleys stacked high with lager. Not sure where the duty free bit comes in as the border is between two EC countries but it was doing phenomenal trade.

You can soon tell you are in Germany as there are more roadworks than clear roads. I measured at least 15 miles of almost stationary traffic around Hamburg but fortunately it was in the opposite direction. We are forever being squeezed into two very narrow lanes when the other carriageway is closed off.

OK, now in a service station which fortunately seems to sell more than just burgers and has wifi, not free but I needed to do some updating. After refreshments I will be heading again to the Hook of Holland but doubt whether I will be there until tomorrow and then I will have to see if there is a reasonably priced ticket for the crossing to Harwich. If not I will head further round the coast and come across on one of the channel ferries.

Oh, and Mathilde is not yet four and seemed to love exploring the campervan, I think her parents might be hassled to get one for her!

Wednesday 8th June

Off we go again on the 93 which is the best surfaced Norwegian road I have driven on for a week or more. By 9.00 am I had crossed the border to Finland. The scenery was the same, forests of birch or fir or both, lakes, wide rivers but there was something different, the road surface was superb! I wondered whether they had just been more diligent near to the border but the whole way through (over 200 miles) showed that they made a real effort to keep the roads in good order. Yes, of course there was some minor damage but nothing that caused any concern. I would see ribbons or patches of new black tarmac coming up where repairs had been done and waited for the bumps but they were hardly if at all noticeable. Excellent repairs. Was it because we were further south and there was less damage from the weather? I don't think so as when we crossed over into Sweden, even though the roads weren't as bad as Norway's they were definitely worse than in Finland, well done the Finns!


Last look back at Norway for now.

You probably think I'm going on about roads a bit too much but when you are trying to clock up the mileage each day it is very high in importance but enough about them for now.


I decided to have half past tenses and saw a cafe/souvenir shop which seemed to be offering a bargain so stopped.

Coffee and this cake was had for the grand total of one Euro. If I had been less extravagent and had a doughnut with the coffee instead it would have cost 50 Euro Cents! Probably it's that price to draw in the punters to the shop and it worked but their prices were reasonable as well.


More friends for Fluffy.

Back through the Arctic Circle and as it had been signed for a while I thought I would have a good lunch there. Unfortunately, even though the people were very friendly it seems that cooked food isn't available for another two weeks so I had to make do with a Pepsi and a sandwich. I chose a Pepsi from the fridge as the weather has turned remarkably warm all of a sudden.

Just remembered that when we stopped at the Arctic Circle Centre on the way up through Norway (remember the snowstorm?) I did ask if there was similar centre on the way back through Sweden as that was where I thought I would be returning. Turned out the assistant I asked was Swedish and he thought that there was nothing so big as the Norwegian place, his words. "We will probably just sell you a hotdog". Cynicism is alive and well in the Swedish culture and as I came through in Finland I never even had the hotdog.


Stopping beside another river I saw this interesting building, not sure what it was, maybe someone's fishing hut.

Despite the satnavs ever increasing insistence that I should turn right into Sweden I decided to carry on down to the Gulf of Bothnia on the Finnish side and cross over from Tornio. First major building I saw when entering Sweden.

Went in and bought 4 basic door mats (about 50p each!) and had their meal of the day.


Stopped for the night at a campsite in Norffjarden near to the water, lovely spot but of course what with the change in weather the mosquitos were active.


Fluffy saying thank you to the camp attendant, take that how you will.

Tuesday 7th June

There is a tunnel running from beneath the main hall to a bar and stage area which has a large picture window overlooking the sea. The window is protected by steel shutters during the winter as a little snow can build up on the viewing area outside.

Fortunately there is still room to see out over the water.

It seemed strange to have small Thai museum here but the exhibits were given to Nordkapp to commemorate the King of Siam's visit over 100 years ago.

Pictures of the area and to show we both did get here.

Celebrating with a glass of wine and Sarah's gorgeous fruit cake.

And here is the midnight sun, well the midnight glow of the sun just behind some clouds but note that even it is midnight the sun is nowhere near the horizon.

I was awoken at about 3 am by the camper being rocked about by wind, it was still blowing hard when I got up a few hours later. The final 6 miles or so to get here is on a very windy, narrow, steep road with no barriers and I was a little nervous in the still of yesterday so was not looking forward to doing the return in this wind. It didn't seem to be going away so thought I would just go for it when there was little traffic about so at 8.00 I was on my way.


Then it started raining!


Fortunately as we came down from the plateau the wind did lessen although occasionally I would turn a corner and it would hit us after sweeping down a valley but we made it to slightly better roads and I could go at speeds greater than 29 mph again.


I won't be returning via the same route but will be heading for Stockholm next however the first 150 miles will be back to Alta. I read that much of the architecture of Alta is undistinguished which seems a bit harsh however the town, like so many other towns, villages, farms and even churches were subject to the Scorched Earth policy of the retreating occupied forces and everything was destroyed. The subsequent rebuilding did not allow for niceties in style but hopefully things are changing. It does have a very nice library and that has internet so hello!

Monday 6th June

Next destination was to be the rock carvings just outside of Alta and I made the car park there by 11.30 am. The first carvings were found in 1973 and the estimate now is that there are over 6000. The area is now on the World Heritage List. Due to the vegetation being easily damaged and taking a long time to repair itself the museum has made some excellent wooden walkways which take you to the carvings which are dated as being up to 6200 years old although some are only 3200 years old! 

There was a carving found earlier than 1973 by a farmer while ploughing in 1950 and this original stone is on display inside the museum. Archeologists called it the Pippi stone after the children's book character Pippi Longstocking.

Here is a photo of the carvings as they were found, I have actually tweaked the picture by increasing the contrast so that the markings can be seen more easily. To make them more clear the museum has shown some of them up by using the same reddish pigment used for ancient cave paintings, it could be they were originally painted this way but that has not been proved conclusively yet.

Moving on, where is everyone?

This was a straight road for more than 5 miles and we were alone, it seems we are at about 1600 feet.

Who said reindeer were timid? I have now seen hundreds of them and they are not afraid of the traffic although they do get wary if the vehicle stops nearby.

I thought that I would get near to Nordkapp today and then do the final 50 miles on Tuesday but looking at my satnav I thought, why not go for it? So I paid the exorbitant toll for the tunnel (one way so I have to pay again to get out), paid the Nordkapp area entrance fee and here I am! I was told where I should park and thought they are very neatly arranged but of course they are all facing to see the midnight sun.

There's a museum, displays , shop, cafe, chapel to get married in and hotel here so a little commercialised but nowhere near as much as Land's End for those who know that. One thing they don't have is internet which is a shame.

I will leave it there for now and tomorrow's blog will hopefully have a bit more about it.

Yippeeeeeee, I did it!!!!!!

Have to get back home now.

Sunday 5th June

This should be a driving day with no major diversions although the main European Route 6 does become a ferry for a while between Bognes and Skarberget so there is an enforced break while we wait for a sailing. It has been a bit breezy however the water looks reasonably flat so hopefully the crossing will be good, it should only take 25 minutes once we get going. There are two ferry crossings up here and they appear to be the only route that vehicles can get further north in Norway as the only other ways seem to be footpaths. Looking at the map of Sweden it looks like you have to go a long way east before there are actual roads.

Photos, here is where we spent the night.

Ferry and views from.

The road ahead.

The road seemed good, there was no rain and I wasn't tired so decided to drive into the evening. We hugged the shoreline of a fjord so no great change in gradients, just sweeping bends with some straights…perfect driving roads, the Maserati would have loved these! 

Having said that Norway provides regular areas to stop when I thought it was time there were none to be found. There were houses dotted along the way, probably for fisherman as there were many frames for nets on the beaches and I believe that areas for stopping are not placed near to habitation so I had to keep driving along this idyllic road for a bit longer. It was after 11.00 pm before I came across my stopping point for the night and by then I was definitely ready for it. There were a couple of bonuses though, firstly I was nearer to Nordkapp than I had expected to be but much better than that, I saw an elk! Actually I saw a pair of elks that had just crossed the road in front of me and were wondering how to climb the bank at the side.  Traffic didn't seem to be a concern and there was just a momentary turn of their heads as I went by. Unfortunately no pictures.

The parking spot was welcome but nothing special to look at so no picture there either.

Saturday 4th June

It was raining when I first woke at about 4.30 and it was still raining when I was on my way at 7.30. More mountains, more snow, more raging white water rapids, more cascading waterfalls, more lakes, can you have too many? At the moment I will say definitely not, I'm just loving the fantastic scenery. Can you have too much rain? Definitely yes!

The rivers seemed to be swollen more than maybe their usual as instead of the clear water of freshly thawed snow it was more muddy and the rivers were flowing over grassy areas and among trees. Maybe not too unusual as despite this there was no overflow onto the road and I could see that any buildings and tracks were still above the water.

The European Route 6 (E6) is the main north/south road in Norway however don't expect it to be up to even UK standards for all of it. The winters cause the surface to break up and they obviously don't repair them all each year so there are cracks and potholes in many places. There are many roadworks and as there are often no alternative routes you have to drive through them, today I had about 5 miles of this.

Later I parked by a river for a break, you might be able to see a little white on the water just below the railway bridge.

The wide but seemingly gentle river becomes this under the bridge.

There was another VW camper parked and the Germans in it were hoping to kayak down this, I left them to it!

So rain, potholes, steep hills, what more could there be? How about hundreds of cyclists in some sort of race? Groups of maybe two up to fifty would appear as I chugged slowly up a hill or came round a bend and this went on for at least 15 miles. It must have been a major event. 

The rain stopped as it started to snow! Just in time for me to reach the Arctic Circle, seemed appropriate. Pictures were taken of Fluffy and myself showing we had at least made it to this level.

The snow it seems is unusual at this time of year but not unknown as we are at quite a height. As we dropped down the mountains on the other side the snow stopped and the rain returned. The next port of call was Saltstraumen, the biggest maelstrom in Scandanavia. Twice a day the powerful currents and narrow channel create violent kettles or whirlpools. I could see some of this from the bridge but I was not there at its peak.

Next to a campsite near Fauske where after 2 nights of wild camping I can at least have a shower and do the washing up. It also a laundry room and oh joy, it has internet so I can update the blog and Flickr.