My Hymer is now checked all over and ready for 6000 km.
The trip to Trondheim went as planned. We made a short stop at Alvdal and then straight to a nice Greek dinner in my daughters new house. It was nice to see her and my two grand children again. I haven't seen them since Christmas. There was no possibility to park over night outside her house, so we pushed forward to a camping site in Steinkjær.
Trondheim and Steinkjær is both places from my early military career that started as a sergeant in ordnance core and ended as infantry lieutenant on a border station on the Norwegian - Soviet border. I will come back to this topic when back in the border area. However, that is a very long me ago.
No specific plans for tomorrow. 640 km today makes tomorrow an easy day.
We started from Steinkjær 09:00 and drove on E6 to Gartland. The main road E6 is partly in bad shape. It's a shame for Norway to offer main roads that more look like a farm road than the main route between north and south. I'm glad I'm not a truck driver!
From left E6 by Gartland and at Høylandet we started on Rv17. The Coast Road that will bring us up to Saltstraumen, near Bodø. The weather today has been wonderful all the way. Sun and light wind all the way.
Ferry from Holm to Vennesund, then from Horn to Andalsvågen and the final one for today from Forvik to Tjøtta. The last leg was the best one. You could see the Sevens sisters from the south side al the way and the ferry had to pass many island so close that you could see the bottom just a few meters from the ferry. Read the ledgend of Lekamøya here
On Tjøtta there are a huge memorial cemetery from World War II with 7500 Russian soldiers.There is also a memorial cemetery just beside the Russian for 2000 people that died whe the prisoner vessel Riegel was sunk by British warplanes.
We found us a beautiful camp site on the island of Offersøy and we parked almost on the beach. Seagulls are sitting a few meters away, because they are used to have fish entrails when people are cleaning the catch of the day. However we forgot to shop before we parked, so the dinner today was canned spaghetti with meat balls, emergency food! We had planned for a small fishing trip, but the price was too high for just a couple of hours
Woke up to seagulls screaming out in the ocean. Weather forecast for the next days are promising, and we hope that the meteorologist had it right this time. So far so god, because the weather this morning is beautiful. In the south and west the archipelago of northern Norway, in the north the Seven Sisters and in the east the morning sun over the mountains.
Drove just 300 km today, but most of the day went by on ferries and waiting for ferries. On the ferry between Kilboghavn and Jektnes we passed the arctic circle, and was also able to view Hestmannen from the west. After the last ferry from Ågskaret to Forøy we passed the glacier Svartisen just before the city of Glomfjord. The glacier and the other mountains gave enormous water supplies to big power stations that for decenniums have supplied Norsk Hydro with electricity for production of fertilizers. My uncle worked here for almost his whole career.
Now we are at Reipå, app. north west of Glomfjord. At the cemetery here my grandparents on my mothers side found their last resting place, and I will visit their grave to pay my respect. They were my favourite grandparents and I loved to stay with them. My grandfathers original profession was pilot along the coast of Finnmark, and he started at sea when sails were still means of power supply, and ended as a ships agent for the vessels coming to Norsk Hydro in Glomfjord to load fertilizers.
We woke up vith company from horses just outside. After breafast we left Reipå after visiting my grandpares graves. We would try to go by ferry from Bodø to Moskenes. At Saltstraumen, the world’s biggest whirlpool, we hit almost by high tide so there was no great currents or whirlpools to see. The bad luck of the day. We continued to Bodø to find out that the ferry was overbooked and not even curtain we could make the next four hours later. The second bad luck. We decided to try from Skutvik to Svolvær. On our way to Skutvik over the island Hammarøy we passed Hamsund, the place where the great Norwegian writer Knut Hamsund lived. He was a brilliant writer, but hat sympathies with the Nazis during the war, and was punished for that. However, nobody can deprive him from the fact that he was a great writer.
No more bad luck for the day and the ferry trip from Skutvik to Svolvær in Lofoten took two hours. The mountain Vågakallen from the seaside. It blew a chilly wind from north, but no waves. The weather had changed. No more pleasant summer temperature, and the cold fog is rolling and pushing on the mountains of Lofoten trying to get over. Here on the east side we are sheltered. We have some wind, but as long as the rain stays away, then we’re happy. The seaward approach to Svolvær is very narrow, and in bad weather it is not possible to dock.
We were met by my cousin and together with her family we were served a delicious meal. Our planning horizon is still short and flexible, but we are planning to drive towards Moskenes and Å. How far we will get is another question. We’ll see what happens during the day .
This morning the fog is all around us in the nearby mountains, and the weather
forecast is not too good. Well, that is North-Norway in a nut shell. The distance
between pleasant temperature to chilli and even cold is short. However as we drove
southwards the weather got better and better, and for the most of the day the sun has
been shining and temperature stayed around 17ºC.
At Borg on Vestvågøy we visited the Viking Museum. See Viking Gallery.
Today we drove to Å. This is the end of the road in Lofoten. We've taken us good time
today. Regretfully there are some drivers with caravan and mobile home that
should have stayed away from Lofoten. Luckily most of them don't meet one of their
own kind, because that would surely result in a disaster on these partly very narrow
roads. Two times today I've met such a driver, but since I know where my wheels are
and by balancing on the edge of the road I didn't loose a mirror or worse.
Parked at Ramberg gjestegård and one of
the most beautiful beaches imaginable.
However bathing here, even on warm summer days, is for the tough one.
Assume temperature in the water to be around 12ºC. Water is crystal clear,
and the cries of the seagulls are there constantly. For my friend I’ve hoped for
the midnight sun but hope is may be not enough. The sky is quite cloudy,
so I think we’ll be disappointed.
On our way from Å we stopped in Kvalvika and bought fresh whale meat and a fish
burger for lunch. The fish burger tasted like it should in Lofoten. From the
whale meat we made a casserole with cream sauce. The meat was very tender and it
tasted delicious
Woke up to light rain and 12ºC. Fog out in the ocean and in the mountains.
No reason to stay in Ramberg any longer, so off we go.
The days drive went all the way to Skibotn north in Troms county to
Olderelv Camping. The new
road from Lofoten to the mainland (Lofast) without ferries opened Dec. 1st 2007
made the trip easy. No waiting for ferry and not too much traffic. At Bardu we
went to see Polar Zoo with
the animals there. Personally I dislike Zoo's very much due to a
experience in a Zoo some years ago with a tiger in a small cage. Skinny and she
looked to be in a bad condition. Since that I always say that wild animals
belong in the nature and not in a Zoo. Take a look at the Polar Zoo gallery (If
I get it downloaded)
We started from Olderelv Camping in fairly good weather. The fog in the
Lyngen Alps was still there, but only on the highest peaks. In and out of the
long fjords takes time, but the scenery is marvellous. Fist top was at
Storslett. A friend has a cottage along the Reisa river, and it was nice to have
a break with waffles and coffee.
From Storslett over
Kvænangen, over the
border to Finnmark county and to Kåfjord
before Alta. In this narrow fjord the big
Nazi battleship Tirpitz was attacked by mini submarines
in September 1943. The
attack
had limited success but made her not seaworthy and needed repairs. The brave
submariners that died are buried here.
Tirpitz represented a big threat to the allied convoys, and needed to be
sunk. She was sunk in November the year after near Tromsø by Lancaster bombers.
In Kåfjord in old days there was a copper mine here, and by the church gate a monument of
the working man hero and his family is erected. It surely had to be a tough
life. My great great grandfather on my mothers side worked as a teacher for the
copper mine workers children here. He came from Torneå in Finland sometimes
around 1880.
In Alta we revised our plan due to bad weather forecast for the cost of
Finnmark. Strong wind made us take a detour to Karasjok in the Norwegian
Lapland. Tomorrow last leg through Finland to the first part of the journey to
Kirkenes.
It's raining in Karasjok. I can hear it drumming on the roof. I hate driving when it's raining. It's much more tiring and average speed is also much lower. However, we have only 280 more km to go.
We drove from Karasjok over Finland and into Norway at Neiden, but made a short stop
at Näätamö for shopping before we crossed the Norwegian border and came to Neiden.
Only a few reindeers on the road. Normally in these parts you have to be very
observant, not only on the road but the surroundings as well. Neiden river is one of the best salmon rivers in the municipality and the
waterfall Skoltefoss is untouched by dam
builders.
We went directly to Height 96 in the Pasvikdalen
valley with view over to the Russian town Nikkel. In Pasvikdalen you will find bear
warning signs, because it has the most dense population of brown bears in
Scandinavia.
On our way back we stopped by my friend Fredd,
who was celebrating his 64th birthday. His old cottage burned down two years ago,
so a new one is about to be build. Not ready yet. Most of the e interior is not
finished. His son had made a big camp fire outside his cottage.
We needed this camp fire because the weather was chilly, like it always is here
with wind from north. The different food on the grill were
King Crab, pork cops and rest of he whale meat
I bought in Lofoten. The King Crab is everywhere. The Russians moved some from the
Pacific to Barents sea, and they have since then spread westwards. Not everyone is
happy about this, because they are a threat to the original marine life.
The king Crab is a foreign species in these waters.
Over 30 persons showed up, most of them I knew from before, so many old stories
were told. The party faded out after midnight.
This was the day for the final stage of the first half of
the trip. After 3100 km we reached
Grense Jakobselv,end of the road. Here the
Barets Ocean is pounding the beaches and
also the fisherman's shack
is worn by te weather. For the tough ones there is a sandy beach waiting.
(Russia on the far side. Not many knows that we at
this point are east of Istanbul! We drove along Grense Jakobselv, the border
between Norway and Russia. The river is very small and easy to ford, however not
recommendable because you will be arrested either by Norwegian or Russian border
patrols. It is marked with yellow Norwegian and red and green Russians border
poles.
It was quite windy at the end of the road, so our visits outside were short.
There are always some tourists out there, and the optimistic ones put up a tent.
For their sake I hope the wind don't increase because it pick up speed all the
way from the north pole. We stopped by King Oscar II church
before we left the valley.
We were hungry and stopped by the Restaurant
Gapahuken and had reindeer meat for
dinner just
250 m from the Russian order by the water front of Pikevannet. Funny, in the
days of the cold war the border was hermetically closed, and now you have to
give way for traffic from Russia.
Grense Jakobselv is my favourite salmon river, and I've been fishing there since
I was a kid and long before the road came. You had to take a local boat
from Kirkenes. The peer haven't been used for many years and the weather has
done its job thoroughly.
My sister lives at Elvenes by the Pasvikelva river, and we parked in her
courtyard over the night.
Wife and son with grandchildren arrived at the airport today.
Kirkenes was for nearly 100 years depended on one corner stone company, A/S
Sydvarager. Iron ore was taken out from opencast quarry and in the
surroundings there are mountains of waste rock. My father worked for this
company for nearly 40 years before retirement. However the marked for iron ore went bad and the company
closed down the quarry for more than 10 years ago. The marked for iron ore is
now much better, and an Australian mining company is now trying to restart the
quarry
Shopping day in Kirkenes and then fishing. First in a small lake with no result, and then small trout in a creek in the edge of my sisters garden. Result is guaranteed.
Cleaning day. Mobil home cleaned in every corner, and it was needed.
In the afternoon out to my sisters cottage by the sea for grilled dinner.
After
dinner out fishing with my two grandchildren, and they
caught two small cods.
Not much to have, besides everyone says that cod is only eatable in months with
"r" in the months name.
First to the elderly home for visiting my mother in law
together with son and grandchildren and then bathing day in Barentsbadet with
swimming pool and water slides. After dinner coffee by my niece.
I had planned for picking cloud berries, but they are delayed this year.
I recommend a visit to Grenselandmuseet. The exhibitions here are from the very
old days and not at least the World War II. Kirkenes was the march up area for
Nazi troops fighting the Russian on the Litsa front. Very hard battles when
the Soviets sent wave after wave of soldiers against the Nazi battalions. A saying in these parts is that the
river Litsa ran red from
blood.
Kirkenes was liberated in October 1944. As the Russian troops pushed on, the
Nazi soldiers burned everything, leaving practically nothing left. Much of the
population was evacuated, but many fled into the wilderness and survived in
caves and huts made of peat. In one of the tunnels in the quarry a couple of
hundred took shelter and app. 10 children were born there. A local midwife,
Nelly Lund, was famous for her effort bringing these children into the world in
a very primitive delivery room. She was also the midwife for me, my wife and my
eldest daughter, and our families are also related.
Last day of July and 9ºC this morning. Weather is always a
challenge here in the arctic and so far we're not blessed with summer
temperatures, but we have warm clothes and happy as long as long as it's not
raining also.
Today is the opening of Kirkenesdagene, a cultural and commercial yearly event
the first week in august. Concerts, dancing, exhibitions, a variety of
food and commerce. The
Russians are coming across the border with goods of all kinds, varying from old
Soviet souvenirs, crystal and clothes. Also other travelling traders are present
with their stands and like the Russians they have all kinds of things, useful
and not useful, depending of the eyes that see. Other events like snow
scooter
drag on a nearby lake is spectacular. Those who don't make it must salvage their
vehicles from the bottom of the lake. "Take the chance" is a game with home
build crafts that run down a ramp into a lake to reach a bell mounted on a pole.
Fastest craft wins.
First day in August and 7ºC this morning with light rain.
Not particular pleasant, but there is nothing we can do about it other than put
on warm clothing. No particular plans for this rainy day.
My sister served salmon soup for dinner. Delicious.
Son and grandchildren left today for home.
The plans for today was to drive a mountain road up to the border stations I
served at back in 1979. The road condition was in such a bad condition that it was not
recommended to drive there with a mobile home. The period I served there was back in the
times of the cold war, but never the less this period was one of my finest during my
six years in uniform. We were watching the border and all movements very closely.
All patrols were made by walking, and not as today with terrain vehicles. But there were
also personal time that were used for fishing trout in the lakes or salmon in the river
Grense Jakobselv.
Instead we made a trip to Kirkenes as today is the last day of Kirkenesdagene.
Return trip to Asker will start on Wednesday, and today I started packing away things that will not be used any more. The weather is still not much to talk about. 7,5ºC this morning. I had planned for a fishing trip, but I'm too old to stand fishing in this temperature with north east wind in addition. I know what that is like. For me fishing shall be a pleasant experience, ad today it will not be. Better make ready for return trip.
Today the rain has stoped, and the wind has eased off. Time to go and check the marches for cloudberries. The result was four kilo.
Beautiful weather today and one more day on the marches to
pick cloudberries. Total result from two days (only four hours each day) is 9
kg, and I'm satisfied.
Making mobile home ready for departure tomorrow morning.
Now the pure transportation is to taka place.
Departure from Kirkenes at 11:30 and stop for the night in Kalix, Sweden after
660 km.
Start at 06:30 and stop in Torsby, Sweden, not far from the Norwegian border. 1100 km
Start from Torsby 07:30 and arrived in Asker 09:30. 250 km, and total of 2010
km within two days and nights.
Net driving time: 26 hours. Average speed per net driving time: 77 km/h thanks
to good roads in Finland an Sweden.
Total since start of journey app 6000 km.
Thank you for all that followed my trip. Good bye!
