Norway

In Summer 2001, we travelled to Norway for a whole month! We started right here in Baden with our Citroen XM called Ariane and drove up to the North Cape to enjoy the amazing Midnattsol. Lars took the chance for a ride to the summer house of his parents in Sweden, where we started our holiday with a 4 days stay. All together we made more than 10'000 km, and it's a sign of Arianes good quality that she refused to do her service only once!

We were always camping, which gives you a real feeling for the norwegian nature and is very uncomplicated up there- either you find a nice ground to put your tent on (even this is not so easy in the more crowded south, but very convenient in the lonesome north), or you just drop into a camping ground, which are open even in the middle of the night! Camping has also the advantage that you can save money, as Norway is not really a cheap country (also not if you are used to Swiss prices)!

Norway is an absolutly amazing country, with snow-topped mountains growing up directly from the sea, and deep Fjords cut into the coast line. The far you go to the north, the landscape turns from wood to Tundra, and you can see a huge horizon (if the weather permits). And soon after you pass the polar circle, the midnight sun shows up (if the weather permits) and one doesn't want to sleep anymore... Take care, it can happen that you forget if it's day or night!

After passing the most northern town, the most northern university, the most northern Citroen garage, the most northern camping place and the most northern gas station, you reach the most northern point- the North Cape. It is in fact not the most northern point, but one of the nicest point up there, so they decided to make this the Tourist place. If you succeed to escape the Tourist trap (e.g. a huge parking fee to use the only parking place up there) and arrive early in the morning or evening (before the bus tourists arrive) and are lucky with the weather, you will see something you never have seen before....

When going to Norway, you should not miss the Lofoten, a isle group connected with the continent by ferries- if they are not broken because they hit the land while arriving in the harbour! The Lofoten have their own charme, with huge sand beaches and the most northern golf place, where Norwegians play the whole night. We found the best camping place ever seen with direct access to the midnight sun, it's recommended to everybody showing up there!

A convenient way to travel is the Hurtigruten, the postal boat, or let's say the cruise ship, that follows the whole coast. Beside the (mostly elderly) people enjoying a cruise, it really transports important goods from south to north, and at every harbour you can follow the loading. Booking from abroad is almost impossible, except you want to book a whole trip for about 5000 SFr., and don't even start to look for a booking office in cities like Trondheim- you will not find it. We had to go up to Svolvaer on the Lofoten to get the relevant information how to get on the ship: You can directly call the ship you like to board and ask for space as a "distansereiser", which means just from point A to point B. You will sleep in a common room on the floor, but it's very very cheap and an unforgettable experience!!! And you also can take your car with you!

Norway people are very friendly and enjoy the summer deeply. It's nothing special if you meet them in the middle of the "night" enjoying the sun with a glas of Champagne or just at work.

There is a lot to tell about this trip, and on the following sides you can read about some of our experiences, but at the moment all the textes are in german!

Norway | Nach Sweden >