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That's the one. The original dated back to 1150, only about thirty years younger than our parish church. We visited whilst on a cruise and went by bus. GoogleEarth shows fairly cramped parking unless not busy.Hi cyberyacht , thanks. Is that the Fantoft, which is a replica in Bergen itself. The original burned down in 1992 I think. We may go into Bergen this week and will try to find it if we can find good enough parking. We have visited two really old ones today about 800 years old. Amazing structures.
If you're after the great outdoors, then this is an hour east of Stavanger -If anybody reading this knows of good places to visit South or East of Stavanger we would love suggestions, we still have 5 weeks left. We can investigate Denmark of course and even a bit of Germany. We don't like museums and the like very much. Mainly outdoor things.
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Thanks very much. But as I said in the Blog at over 80 and after her Stroke Judy is not up to that sort of hike. She does as much as she can but a couple of hours up hill is just too much. We wanted to do it though.If you're after the great outdoors, then this is an hour east of Stavanger -
A photo of the day thread
Perhaps he didn't want to get up early tomorrow. Not the smartest of moves then…those of us in the nearby car park can snooze until 45 mins before departure while this guy will get moved on in his underpants as soon as the gate he’s blocking opens at stupid o’clock, if not earlier.www.motorhomefun.co.uk
And this is about 2 hours east of Stavanger -
A photo of the day thread
Perhaps he didn't want to get up early tomorrow. Not the smartest of moves then…those of us in the nearby car park can snooze until 45 mins before departure while this guy will get moved on in his underpants as soon as the gate he’s blocking opens at stupid o’clock, if not earlier.www.motorhomefun.co.uk
If you manage to get to Alta the Tirpitz museum might be of interest, We intend to visit if we manage our Norway trip next year.Hi
Thanks for your posts, have read all of it and found very interesting. We are currently on day 29 and still heading north. Currently at UKK National Park, about 25km south of Inari in Finland, and still enjoying the 'midnight sun', just, I believe the sun sets again in two days and a few more days at Nordkapp. As you say, Scandinavia is fantastic for this sort of travel, this is our 7th trip, summer and winter, north and south. Our plans are to go as far north and east as we can in Finnmark, across to the Barrents Sea coast. And then, our tick trip to Nordkapp (our first time!).
Have not decided yet, our trip south but probably across to Alta/Tromso/Semja/Lofoten, then Bodo and back into Sweden. We will monitor how busy it is in Lofoten and decide later. We do have another 7 weeks so hoping it will quieten down a bit when the schools go back in mid August.
Since our crossing from Stockholm to Turku (via Aland Isles which I highly recommend for a few days), we have not seen a single UK vehicle. Our journey north has been up the east side of Finland (generally following the Russian border) and this has been quiet most of the way. Mainly just Finnish motorhomes.
Enjoy the rest of your travels and have a safe journey, and thanks for the info. I will definitely look at your links as we begin going south.
If you are wanting to explore the great Norwegian outdoors on more of a road trip than a hike, then the Norwegian Public Roads Authority have created a series of 18 Scenic Routes or "Nasjonale Turisvegar". I don't know if you have seen about them. There is a fantastic printed version from Tourist Offices with stunning photos and all English text. You can also access the information online.Thanks very much. But as I said in the Blog at over 80 and after her Stroke Judy is not up to that sort of hike. She does as much as she can but a couple of hours up hill is just too much. We wanted to do it though.
Thank you, yes we have driven most of the scenic routes, should be doing the 44 Jaeren one on Wednesday. We are a bit east of that at the moment exploring some places along the 45 heading for Svartevatn. If you are working your way south I can thoroughly recommend the 520 from near Røldal to Sauda which I described in our blog last week. Only about 47 km and a little buttock clenching in places but some of the best views although not many stopping places with a large vehicle. But it will take a morning.If you are wanting to explore the great Norwegian outdoors on more of a road trip than a hike, then the Norwegian Public Roads Authority have created a series of 18 Scenic Routes or "Nasjonale Turisvegar". I don't know if you have seen about them. There is a fantastic printed version from Tourist Offices with stunning photos and all English text. You can also access the information online.
The Scenic Routes
www.nasjonaleturistveger.no
East of you in Stavanger is this one -
Ryfylke
A drive in the borderland between the archipelago and the highland moors, from Lysefjorden to Sauda and over the mountain pass to Røldal.www.nasjonaleturistveger.no
South of you is this one -
Jæren
A journey through distinctive cultural landscapes and idyllic coastal towns along the North Sea.www.nasjonaleturistveger.no
As well as being beautiful routes in an amazing environment, the Public Roads Authority have commissioned architects to produce interesting and unique rest stops and viewing platforms along the each route, which is an added attraction.
By the nature of the terrain, the roads are often narrow, steep, and bendy. Even when single track we've found that the frequency of passing places makes them not too onerous.
We're planning on this one tomorrow, heading up from Sognefjord on the Sognefjellet - described as the roof of Norway, as it's the highest pass in Northern Europe at 1,434 metres (4,730 feet).
Sognefjellet
The Scenic Route travels from the cultural landscape in Lom across the highest mountain pass in Norway to the innermost part of Sognefjorden.www.nasjonaleturistveger.no
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Going there tomorrow if it stops raining.If you want to do the most southerly point in Norway to complement Nordkapp, you can park overnight at Lindesnes Fyr (lighthouse).
For an entrance fee you can visit the lighthouse and a small museum.
N 57.9851, E 7.04948
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Yes we rationed the wine and G&T's but rationed it so much that I can't remember when it ran out. Bought some more wine at the first Lidl in Denmark.I experienced a feeling of Deja Vue when reading your travel blog posts. We travelled from Holland to Kristiansand and returned Kristiansand to Denmark, spending 85 days in country. As you stated, AutoPass for Ferje is a must. I had an AutoPass tag tied to the Ferry. Didn't it make it hassle free. 8 weeks into the trip, we had to go onto war rations with the G&T's , as our secret stash of Gin was being depleted and we were still above the Artic Circle.
I thank you both for taking us on your fantastic journey. Will we go again, I certainly hope so.
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As we have a solar system at home all run by HomeAssistant the house was merrily making me money while we were away so we returned to a positive balance of a few hundred pounds in our Octopus account to help with the small cost during winter. Yes, normal grocery costs need to be deducted from the shopping figure. I just put it in as is to show that it was not as expensive to live as we thought.for sharing your adventure. Good value for money. As you would have spent money at home on shopping +Gas & electric.
Do look at the Autopass account, especially the ferry pay account. We are over 3.5 tonnes so have to have an account in Norway. We are also over 6mtr so the ferry charges double so the discount is very much worth it. As long as you are registered with Autopass as type M road tolls are the at the 3.5 tonne rate in Norway. I am sure you will have a fantastic time. We may go again next year.Thanks for this post and your blog.
Going to Norway next year, so so much great info from your endeavours.
Hi allHi all, just published the final blog for this tour:
Week-13 The End!
Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask them here or on the blog.
I have done a round-up of our costs for those interested in doing a similar trip.
But for those not wanting to visit our blog I have copied it here:
Round up of costs for the 90 day trip.
Our total distance travelled was 13,757 km ( 8,548 miles)
Total Diesel used was 1,510 lt
Average consumption of 25.74 mpg or 10.97 l/100km
The total cost of diesel was £2.462 averaging £1.63 a ltr a little higher than the current UK cost.
Food Shopping = £1,025 perhaps a little more than in the UK
Ferry’s, Tolls & Parking was £529
Gas used £105
Internet = £80
In the whole 90 days we only paid for three nights camping charges at a Marina in Norway so we could use their washing machines – £22 and at the last Stelplatz in Germany €6.
So a total cost of £4,223 for a 90-day or 13-week holiday! And we enjoyed every single minute. Three months of staying in the motorhome was no trouble at all, even with some of the rainy and cold days we had had.
We could have stayed at campsites, but in Norway especially, there is no need. Motorhomes are welcome to stay almost anywhere.
We felt very safe everywhere.
Our Google Timeline for the trip can be seen here >>.
The Oresund Pay account and the Biz which is the bleeper tag attached to the windscreen was very important as it took care of all the tolls on the roads and on the Storebælt and the Øresund bridges. The tag was only ever used on those two bridges but the account gave at least 20% discount and also enabled linking of the AutoPASS for Ferje account for automatically paying for all the ferries. It needed approximately £150 deposited with them initially but gave a full 50% discount on all the ferries. The balance not used will be returned to my account as soon as I claim it. I used our Revolut account to send this money and will get the balance returned there so it is easy to transfer it to Pounds at the best rates.
Lessons Learned.
If/when we go again we will take it very much slower. We didn’t miss out on anything but did rush the first and probably most important part of North Norway.
We would go through Denmark and take a ferry to Kristiansand in Norway, travel Northwards through Norway then return via Sweden which can be done as fast or as slow as necessary, but we did miss most of Sweden and quite a bit of Finland. But then both countries are vast so deserve a separate holiday in each.
Carry some Norwegian coins. We spent no cash at all, everything was on a card, even entry into a small Stave Church so we had no coins for the various roadside stalls selling cherries, honey etc. which was a shame, all were honesty boxes so there was nobody to give change. Also, Aires and Stelplatz and parking in Germany, France etc. needed euro coins so it was a lot of scrabbling about to find the right money. So we must gradually accumulate a collection of euro coins.
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Enjoy the rest of your trip. If you are taking the bridge/ferry etc from Gothenburg /halmstad/trelleborg/malmo etc, I certainly recommend the swedish islands (orust, tjorn etc, and the archipelagos), that you will pass. All the ferries are foc.I thought I'd add my two penneth to what has been previously said, although I agree with everything written.
We're still in Scandinavia. Been here 10 weeks. Three more weeks until we return home.
Like previously stated, we're finding the day to day living costs not to be as bad as feared. Norway is noticeably dearer than Sweden for pretty much everything, but costs are not too eye watering even there.
Service industries tend to be expensive, due to the high cost of labour.
Interestingly, consumer durables are often cheaper than the UK. A replacement phone was needed in Norway (distress purchase for Mrs BD - when she dropped hers down a mountain crevice - I kid you not)! A basic Motorola Android replacement smartphone cost £72 in Norway (UK price £99).
DIY materials, fishing tackle, new shower hose, etc., have all cost the same as the UK.
Diesel is noticeably cheaper in Scandinavia than the UK. We've generally paid the equivalent of £1.38 per litre in Norway, and £1.25 in Sweden.
Autogas is around £1 a litre. Adblu from the pump is only 65p a litre!
Food in Sweden (Willy's and Lidl) is comparable with the UK. In Norway, it's clearly dearer, but using Rema100 and Kiwi supermarkets it's still not outrageous.
Eating out is very expensive, especially in Norway. However, coffee and cake is not dissimilar to UK Costa prices.
Alcohol is significantly dearer in Norway. Beer can be purchased from supermarkets, but anything stronger is only available from state liquor stores.
However in Sweden, alcohol is similar (sometimes cheaper) than the UK. Swedish lager (Lucky Bait 5.4% ABV) is around 70p for a 330ml can. Wine starts from around £6.50 a bottle. Again, all alcohol stronger than 3.5% has to be purchased from the government monopoly liquor store. The state liquor stores are beautifully laid out with knowledgeable staff and a massive selection including imported British beers and ciders. Even drinking out is not prohibitive. A 400ml glass of local draught beer at some of the neighborhood bars can be under £3.50. At the Bishops Arms chain of pubs (in most Swedish towns and cities) it's around £6 for 400ml. Anything imported is still pricey.
We've spent very little on campsites. You can wild camp everywhere. It's not just motorhomes, but caravans, roof tents, youngsters pitching ordinary tents in lay-bys next to their cars, and a lot of car sleepers parked overnight before getting up in the morning to hike. Motorhome service stops are all over the place in Norway, in lay-bys, affiliated to motorhome dealerships, or next to filling stations. Free to dispose of grey and black, and take on fresh water. Similar exist in Sweden but are harder to find. The main exception to free camping is in cities. We've paid nearly £30 a night to stay in the centre of Stockholm - decent showers / toilets / EHU, etc. so not bad value in the centre of an expensive major city, 5 minutes walk from a tube station.
Public transport is the same cost as the UK.
Launderettes are hard to find, but no dearer than the UK.
Tolls are pretty much non existent in Sweden (just a couple of bridges). They're plentiful in Norway however. They are not expensive though. We've spent £55 on road tolls (mainly around cities and through tunnels) - we tend to avoid main roads / motorways, and £95 on ferries - both figures after the discount from having an Autopass agreement.
We've used our various UK Lebara and O2 SIMs for roaming without issues and without incurring any additional cost during the trip - so far - fingers crossed!
The exchange rates for both the Swedish and Norwegian Krona against Sterling are at recent highs, which is why the costs don't seem to bad.
We've not visited Finland on this trip, and only quickly drove through Denmark, but will be spending longer there on our way home.
Anyway, enough about costs! Scandinavia is a fascinating place. It's beautiful and wild. Fantastic for hiking. It's unfailingly friendly and welcoming. It's also got fantastic public services, superb roads and infrastructure, modern cities and an overall "sheen" about the place that is sadly lacking in the UK and much of Europe.
I've not got a blog, or a separate Scandinavian thread running on MHF, but I post regularly in the Picture of the Day thread, and occasionally on the Photo of you Camping last Night thread, if you want to see some of the amazing places Scandinavia has to offer.
We're already planning another trip by motorhome, and maybe a couple of weekend city breaks too. Stockholm is fantastic. We've only arrived in Oslo this evening, but looking forward to exploring that too over the next couple of days.
The Map I published was a screen grab from my Google Timeline which Google produces automatically by noting where your phone is seen by a router somewhere or maybe a mast. You may have it switched off if it is possible. I quite like it though, after all I am being tracked by my credit card and ANPR cameras so why not have access to some of the tracking, it may come in handy some time if your number plate is cloned and you get a speeding ticket which is not yours.Route: (sorry, have not logged it on Google)