Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday 27th of July.
Da vi nok en gang våknet i et vått telt bestemte vi oss for at vi påfølgende natt skulle spandere på oss en natt i campinghytte, dessuten insisterte René på at han skulle gå i støvler den dagen. Teltet skulle jammenmeg få sove ute! Himmelen var grå til tross for at teltet var slått opp 300 meter fra fergen til øya der Himmelblå ble spilt inn. Vi kjørte så inn til Mosjøen og kritiserte baker Karlsens spede utvalg. Vi vasket så bilen, ble overveldet av Coop MEGAs store utvalg og dro videre mot Hillestad camping i øresvik en kilometer syd for polarsirkelen. Etter noen lange svingete veier og flere ferger ankom vi omsider den berømte Øresviktåka. Yr.no mente at her var det sol. Vi tilbrakte så en natt i en falleferdig hytte, men med innlagt strøm og et svært lavt
fuktighetsnivå.
When we woke up and the tent was once again wet and it was still cloudy with some slight rain. We decided that the upcoming night would be spent in a cabin. While driving to Mosjøen we booked a small cabin at a campsite on our way north. In Mosjøen we bought food and got a carwash before heading north. After some almost fatal encounters with trucks on the very narrow coastal road, we finally arrived at the small campsite which were located just a mile south of the arctic circle. According to the weather forecast it was sunny. All we could see was fog. We checked in and got he key to the cabin. It was really tiny. The floor was uneven, and was slightly lower in the middle. It had 4 beds, and a small stove. What really made us happy was electricity. We started charging everything cell phone, camera and computer we had, then made food. Since we hadn’t seen a store for hours, we made spaghetti (the only food we had). After having eaten we headed for a dry bed. What a good feeling.
Some boat.
The awesome cabin.
fuktighetsnivå.
When we woke up and the tent was once again wet and it was still cloudy with some slight rain. We decided that the upcoming night would be spent in a cabin. While driving to Mosjøen we booked a small cabin at a campsite on our way north. In Mosjøen we bought food and got a carwash before heading north. After some almost fatal encounters with trucks on the very narrow coastal road, we finally arrived at the small campsite which were located just a mile south of the arctic circle. According to the weather forecast it was sunny. All we could see was fog. We checked in and got he key to the cabin. It was really tiny. The floor was uneven, and was slightly lower in the middle. It had 4 beds, and a small stove. What really made us happy was electricity. We started charging everything cell phone, camera and computer we had, then made food. Since we hadn’t seen a store for hours, we made spaghetti (the only food we had). After having eaten we headed for a dry bed. What a good feeling.
Some boat.
The awesome cabin.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Tuesday 26th of July
Vi våknet av at regnet hadde samlet seg og på en mystisk måte forvillet seg inn i det lille teltet vårt. Etter noen harde tyske gloser vasset vi snublende ut av teltet med røde øyne og et ønske om å bestille kiropraktortime. Etter at teltet fikk ristet seg og overført mye av vannet sitt over på oss, lot vi det hoppe inn i bagasjerommet der det i alle fall ikke plaget oss med sin masete klynking og vonde lukt. Alle vet jo at våte telt ikke lukter godt, og når det er så dårlig dressert er det greit å få det unna. Vi kjørte til Namsos, som egentlig ikke var den peneste byen i verden, der vi leverte noen bilskilter. Vi putret videre i bilen vår og passerte et fareskilt som viste at her var det risiko for passerende reinsdyr. Det nærmeste vi kom reinsdyr den dagen var da vi observerte prislappen til joikakakene i butikkhyllen i en matbutikk vi var innom. Vi fortsatte nordover på riksvei 17 og til vår store overraskelse møtte vi på Sunniva Østvik Hage på fergen fra Holm. Etter det forsøkte vi å finne et tysk krigsminne og til vår store oppdagelse fant vi et skilt som advarte mot eksplosiver i stedet. Vi rygget forsiktig tilbake og dro til Brønnøysund der vi ikke fant de berømte registrene og skapte i stedet en konspirasjonsteori om at staten oppgir at registrene er i Brønøysund fordi ingen gidder å dra dit for å sjekke at de faktisk er der. Snurt dro vi videre fordi en yacht fra New Zealand, Hildurs Urterarium, en frittgående lama og to forelskede elger som ikke hadde funnet hverandre enda. Da vi kom til et fergeleie innså vi at båten hadde gått. Det var 1 timer og 40 minutter til neste båt. Vi bestemte oss for å lage mat, de nesten to timene vi hadde til rådighet burde være nok til å koke noen poteter og steke litt laks på selv det treigeste stormkjøkken. Vi tok feil. Etter som potetene (ikke) kokte, ble vi mer og mer stresset som tiden gikk og fergen nærmet seg. Vi endte med å spise halvkokte poteter og stekt laks. Etter ferga kjørte vi gjennom et landskap preget av furuskog og naiv elg. Dette var fint for oss som var sterkt motiverte for å få avbildet disse kjukke hestene med horn. I nærheten av Sandnessjøen campet vi for natten. Der så vi en hegre René skremte bort før han fikk tatt bilde av den. Skydekket skulle lette neste morgen. Spenningen var til å ta og føle på.
Considering the fact that René has written pretty much all of today’s text using cheap word play, in Norwegian, and thereby made it impossible for me to translate I will instead write my own version.
When we woke up this Tuesday morning it had been raining all night. Some who it felt like most of the rain had gotten into the tent. After some words in German (we don’t know that many) we were finally able to get out of the wet tent. Trying to get some water off of the canvas only made us wetter. We shoved it in the trunk of the car and headed for Namsos; a town more boring than Oklahoma state. Don’t get me started on how ugly the town is. Luckily we didn’t have to stay for long. We kept driving heading for the Coastal Highway running from Steinkjær to Bodø (or the Local Coast Road judging by American standards). On the first of the seven ferries in total, we surprisingly enough met a good friend from School. We talked for 25 minutes, and said godbye on the next island. After having driven a couple of miles, René spotted a road sign saying ”War memorial”. We followed the sign in a small gravel road, only to find a big barbered fence saying ”Warning Explosives”. Rather surprised we slowly backed out and headed for the main road again, in the direction of Brønnøysund. In Brønnøysund we saw huge 200(+) feet yacht, somehow it looked familiar. Brønnøysund wasn’t to interesting, so we kept driving. Missing the next ferry by 5 minutes. Suddenly we had 1 hour 40 minutes on our hands. We quickly concluded this had to be a good time to make dinner. One and a half hour should be enough, even for our not to functional portable kitchen. Turned out it wasn’t. We ended up eating fried salmon and half boiled potatoes. Wasn’t too bad though. After the ferry we drove through a landscape full of trees and moose. Lucky for us who wanted to take pictures of the fat horse with an antler. Near Sandnnessjøen we found a nice ”field” with a nice sea view.
Markus Driving.
The Road. (René had fun putting his lenshood on Markus' camera)
A dutch guy we met while waiting on for the ferry. He where cycling a total of 5000 miles.
The war memorial?
Brønnøysund church.
Moose in hiding.
Our Campsite
The view.
and that's most of the pictures we've got, once again due to the rain.
Considering the fact that René has written pretty much all of today’s text using cheap word play, in Norwegian, and thereby made it impossible for me to translate I will instead write my own version.
When we woke up this Tuesday morning it had been raining all night. Some who it felt like most of the rain had gotten into the tent. After some words in German (we don’t know that many) we were finally able to get out of the wet tent. Trying to get some water off of the canvas only made us wetter. We shoved it in the trunk of the car and headed for Namsos; a town more boring than Oklahoma state. Don’t get me started on how ugly the town is. Luckily we didn’t have to stay for long. We kept driving heading for the Coastal Highway running from Steinkjær to Bodø (or the Local Coast Road judging by American standards). On the first of the seven ferries in total, we surprisingly enough met a good friend from School. We talked for 25 minutes, and said godbye on the next island. After having driven a couple of miles, René spotted a road sign saying ”War memorial”. We followed the sign in a small gravel road, only to find a big barbered fence saying ”Warning Explosives”. Rather surprised we slowly backed out and headed for the main road again, in the direction of Brønnøysund. In Brønnøysund we saw huge 200(+) feet yacht, somehow it looked familiar. Brønnøysund wasn’t to interesting, so we kept driving. Missing the next ferry by 5 minutes. Suddenly we had 1 hour 40 minutes on our hands. We quickly concluded this had to be a good time to make dinner. One and a half hour should be enough, even for our not to functional portable kitchen. Turned out it wasn’t. We ended up eating fried salmon and half boiled potatoes. Wasn’t too bad though. After the ferry we drove through a landscape full of trees and moose. Lucky for us who wanted to take pictures of the fat horse with an antler. Near Sandnnessjøen we found a nice ”field” with a nice sea view.
Markus Driving.
The Road. (René had fun putting his lenshood on Markus' camera)
A dutch guy we met while waiting on for the ferry. He where cycling a total of 5000 miles.
The war memorial?
Brønnøysund church.
Moose in hiding.
Our Campsite
The view.
and that's most of the pictures we've got, once again due to the rain.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday 25th of July
Vi voknet opp i fjæra på Myrbærholmen utenfor Kristiansund. Vinden blåste friskt, og da vi tok ned teltet dro vi nesten på paragliding. Da det etter hvert begynte å høljregne og vi ikke følte for å dusje på den måten, dro vi til badeland nærmere bestemt Atlanterhavsbadet i Kristiansund. Der stod forlystelsene og fornøyelsene i kø. Markus tok baklengs salto med skru fra stupetårnet mens René tok barnesklia. Da vi traff utseendemessig pensjonsalder bestemte vi oss for på pakke sekken, nærmere bestemt baggen, og dro videre i retning Trondheim. Der tok vi en titt på super-Andrés tidligere hjem. Deretter dro vi videre forbi ”Helvete”, Kringla og ikke minst Stiklestad der Olav den Hellige ble drept av en stikling under slaget i 1030. Slag er fortsatt en vanlig dødsårsak på Stiklestad men berører i dag en eldre samfunnsgruppering. Kjørerturen møtte sin ende på et jorde noen mil nord for Steinkjær. Det var en blindvei, så vi slo opp teltet der.
We woke up by the sea on our small island outside of Kristansund. During the night the wind had picked up, and by the time we woke up, it had gotten quite windy. As we packed the tent, we almost ended up paragliding. When it also began to rain we decided that wasn’t the way we wanted to shower. So we drove to Kristiansund to find the local indoor swimming pool, know as Atlanterhavsbadet. It was a nice place with huge swimming pool, a diving tower (3-, 10-, and 15feet), a water slide, and different saunas. Markus backflipped from the diving tower, while René tried the water slide in the baby pool. When we turned more wrinkly than the average retired person we decided pack our bag and leave, heading in the direction of Trondheim where we visited one of Super-André’s childhood homes. We drove through Hell,(yes Hell), where we were actually quite surprised by the weather. It was much colder than expected, and it was even raining. We passed Stiklestad where Saint Olaf of Norway was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. Finally finding a field outside of Steinkjær, we put up the tent next to a creepy barn and said good night.
Due to the fact that it was raining all day long, and due to the fog, we didn't take more than 3 pictures.
A couple of minutes without rain on our way to Trondheim.
This was the view most of the day.
The field with the creepy barn.
We woke up by the sea on our small island outside of Kristansund. During the night the wind had picked up, and by the time we woke up, it had gotten quite windy. As we packed the tent, we almost ended up paragliding. When it also began to rain we decided that wasn’t the way we wanted to shower. So we drove to Kristiansund to find the local indoor swimming pool, know as Atlanterhavsbadet. It was a nice place with huge swimming pool, a diving tower (3-, 10-, and 15feet), a water slide, and different saunas. Markus backflipped from the diving tower, while René tried the water slide in the baby pool. When we turned more wrinkly than the average retired person we decided pack our bag and leave, heading in the direction of Trondheim where we visited one of Super-André’s childhood homes. We drove through Hell,(yes Hell), where we were actually quite surprised by the weather. It was much colder than expected, and it was even raining. We passed Stiklestad where Saint Olaf of Norway was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. Finally finding a field outside of Steinkjær, we put up the tent next to a creepy barn and said good night.
Due to the fact that it was raining all day long, and due to the fog, we didn't take more than 3 pictures.
A couple of minutes without rain on our way to Trondheim.
This was the view most of the day.
The field with the creepy barn.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday 24th of July
Opplagte spratt vi opp av soveposene. Vel, så opplagt var vi kanskje ikke når jeg tenker meg om. Men vi fikk hvertfall dratt oss ut av teltet etter hvert. René satte seg bak rattet, mens Markus ladet tubeosten og fant fram brødskivene. Ikke før vi hadde kommet ut på veien og kjørt 1 kilometer møtte vi på 120 geiter som var ute på søndagstur. Etter som marka fortsatt var fuktig etter nattens regn, hadde de bestemt seg for å ta hovedveien. Det oppstod derfor saktegående kø med biler og geiter om hverandre. Litt lenger borti veien stod kuene. De hadde alle, med unntak av én, funnet det lurt å holde seg på jordet. Den ene kua derimot, stod midt i veien, og så dumt på bilene. Lenge! René tutet og kjørte nærmere og nærmere kua, som tilslutt flyttet seg vemodig fra veibanen til veiskulderen. Etter dette slapp vi heldigvis å møte på andre dyr en den lite matnyttige ferista. Selv om den også kan virke skummel i 80km/t.
Early Sunday morning we jumped out of our sleeping bags ready for a new day. In real life the jumping looked more like two people dragging their still sleeping bodies out of a tent. And to be honest, it wasn’t that early. René jumped behind the wheel while Markus dug through the food supply. After less than a mile of driving they hit rush traffic. 120 goats was apparently out for a Sunday walk. Since the fields where still soaked, they had decided to take the road. This resulted in slow going traffic with both goats and cars. Another mile down the road, a bunch of cows was hanging out. They were smart enough to stay of the road, with an exception of one. It was standing in the middle of the road with a stupid look on it’s face. René used the horn and kept driving slowly. It took a while, before it slowly moved out of the driving lane and on to the road shoulder instead. Luckily this was our last encounter with free range farm animals this they. The only cattle we encountered was with the less meaty cattle grid. Which can still be seem quite terrifying at 50mph.
On our way to Gerianger.
På dagsprogrammet stod Ørnesvingen, Geiranger, Gudbransjuvet, Trollstigen og Atlanterhavsveien. Programmet var med andre ord fult. Men severdighetene lå også på rekke å rad. Litt som våre opplevde regnversdagene. På vei til Ørnesvingen lærte vi om de lokale treningstrendene. Det hotteste i disse dager så ut til å være jogging med barnevogn uten sports-bh.
On the schedule for the day we had Ørnesvingen (Eagles corner), Geiranger, Gudbrandsjuvet, Trollstigen(Troll’s Ladder) and Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road). In other we had a lot of places to see. On our way to Ørnesvingen we learned about the local workout trends. It consisted of jogging with a stroller without wearing a sports-bra.
The road.
Da vi ankom Geiranger og Ørnesvingen svømte vi oss gjennom horder av barbariske turister før vi fikk tatt noen bilder av den flotte utsikten. Etter som vi knapt forstod det lokale språket (turistsk). Bestemte vi oss for å kjøre videre. Det bar over fjellheimen og ned til nok en fjord og nok en ferge. På andre siden ankom vi Valldal. Renés spedbarndomsby. Etter å ha brukt det lokale 3G nettet til å laste opp video, fant vi et sted å kjøpe noen av de berømte Valldal Jordbærene. Guttungene som solgte bær ville selge oss 20 kurver. De ville nemlig slå jentene. René som var ansvarlig for innkjøpet plukket med seg to kurver for å være hyggelig. Markus prøvde derimot å overbevise guttene om at det var lettere å slå jentene fysisk. Han var dog rask med å poengtere at det imidlertid ikke ville være særlig hyggelig ovenfor jentene. Vi kjørte videre og før vi stoppet ved Gudbrandsjuvet hvor vi nøt naturen og stappet i oss den røde lunsjen. Vi konkluderte raskt med at det å spise seg mette på jordbær var en bra ting. Det føltes i hvert fall sånn.
When we arrived in Geiranger and Ørnesvingen we had fight with tourists to get some pictures of the great view. Due to the amount of tourists we headed to the next destination. We crossed yet another mountain pass, and had to get on a new ferry. On the other side of the fjord was the small town of Valldal. Renés “infanthood” city. After using the good reception to upload some video with our mobile broadband, we found a place to get some of Valldal’s famous strawberries. The boys selling them wanted us to buy 20 baskets. They wanted to beat the girls. René who were buying settled for two baskets, just to be nice. Markus on the other hand tried convincing the boys that beating the girls physically would be much easier. Though he was quick to point out it wouldn’t be very nice of them. We kept driving and stopped at Gudbrandsjuvet, a small canyon with a roaring river. Here we stopped to take pictures while eating the red lunch we had just bought. We quickly concluded eating strawberries till you’re full, MUST be a good thing. At least it felt that way.
Geiranger
Ørnesvingen.
A horrible picture of René buying strawberries.
Gudbrandsjuvet.
Lunch of the day.
Neste severdighet på listen var Trollstigen. René hadde lenge planglagt, som en del av hans personlige bøtteliste, å stå ned trollstigen på sparkesykkel. Vi var heldigvis heldigere med været denne gangen (se søndag 17. Juli). Bakken var tørr, og etter noen kilometer testkjøring konkluderte vi med at bremsene virket. Vi tok noen bilder fra toppen av trollstigen før René spente på seg hjelmen, treplanken og sparkesykkelen. Det siste ordet vi fikk med oss fra folkene rundt var ”GAL”, før René satte utenfor. Bakken var tørr, og trafikken ikke for stor. Vi hadde tidligere sett på løypen ovenifra og lagt merke til et vått parti ved en foss, samt utfordringene vi ville ha om vi møtte en buss. Heldigvis slapp vi møte noen busser, ved fossen forsvant derimot bremsene med en gang René var på det våte partiet. Farten økte plutselig, og Markus i bilen hadde nesten problemer med å følge med et øyeblikk. Heldigvis kom bremsekraften fort tilbake, og etter 15-20 minutter var vi trygt nede. René med et stort glis om munnen, og Markus med veldig lite batteri på kameraet. René mente han ikke hadde fått så mye turistoppmerksomhet siden den gangen han veltet en nyttårsrakettsylinder slik at den fyrte rett inn i en palme nær en restaurant på en strand i Thailand.
incline of 10 % and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountain side) René had been planning – as part of his personal bucket list – to ride it from top to bottom on a kick scooter. Unlike the last time we rode the kick scooter, this time, the weather was right. Dry and sunny. After a mile or two of road testing we could conclude the breaks actually worked this time. We took a couple of pictures of the great view before René put on his helmet and jumped on the scooter. Since it didn’t collapse René concluded the cheap kick scooter was safe. The last word we heard from the surrounding turists was “Mad”. Earlier on we had looked at the road from a viewpoint. As long as we didn’t meet a bus in one of the tight corners, we should be fine. We had one slight worry; a bridge we had to cross was wet because of the waterfall beneath it. On the way down we were lucky and didn’t meet too much traffic. But at the bridge René lost the breaks and suddenly accelerated. The speed kept increasing till the wheel dried and the breaks started working again. After 15-20 minutes of riding we were safely on the bottom of trollstigen. René had a huge smile on his face, while Markus had gotten a camera short on battery from the filming. René said he hadn’t gotten this much attention from tourists since the time he tipped over a fireworks cylinder shell making it fire straight in to a palm tree near a restaurant on a beach in Thailand.
Apperently Rednecks are not the only ones shooting at their roadsigns.
Trollstigen, at the top.
Picture of the viewpoint.
Picture from the viewpoint.
Helmet cam?
I adrenalinrusen til René kjørte vi videre for å nå Atlanterhavsveien i solnedgang. Markus tutet på folk som tisset i veikanten, og hilste på polakker som faktisk evnet å plukke jordbær. Mens vi tilbakela asfaltkilometer plystret vi Mendelsohns brudemarsj som gikk over i Beethovens sjebnesymfoni for deretter å gli glatt inn i Darth Wader theme fra Star Wars. Vi gjorde ikke dette med vilje, kanskje underbevisstheten vår hadde budskap til oss? Heldigvis var det eneste stikkordet relatert til gift, sprøytemiddelet som omga jordbærene vi ikke lang tid siden hadde fortært. Etter å ha passert T-krysset Åndalsnes dro vi forbi isfjorden der klassekameraten til René hadde for anledning skrudd på regn. Heldigvis var det bedre vær ute ved kysten. Vi kom frem til den berømte Atlanterhavsveien etter å ha passert fire hjort, rygget tilbake til dem, sett dem forsvinne inn i skogholtet for deretter å være klar med kameraet med telelinse. Vi har planer om å endre rekkefølge på dette ved en senere liknende anledning. Vi stoppet på et utkikkspunkt ved atlanterhavsveien og tok noen bilder. Det var en magisk stemning med solnedgang, dis i lufta, sjøluft og hese måkeskrik. Vi dro så og slo opp teltet på Myrbærholmen ikke langt fra Kristiansund. Vi var sultne og benyttet anledningen til å bruke en time på å steke egg takket være det inkompetente bærbare kjøkkenet vårt. Mette la vi oss i et fuktig telt blant måkeskrik og pelikaner. Vi ble ikke plaget av tyskerne den natten.
In the adrenalin rush we once again jumped in the car to reach the Atlantic Ocean Road before the sun set. Markus honked at people peeing at the side of the road and at polish people who were actually picking strawberries (that’s what they usually do in Norway). As we covered asphalt miles we ended up whistling. It started with Mendelson’s Wedding March which drifted inn to Beethoven’s symphony #5 and then Darth Wader theme from the Star Wars. When arriving at the Atlantic Ocean Road the weather was good. We stopped at a viewpoint and took a couple pictures. The view was great, the sun was starting to set and the air was fresh with the smell of salt water. Driving the rest of the Atlantic ocean road we headed out to a small island in the outskirts of Kristiansund. We set tent on a small island and tried making some fried eggs on our portable kitchen. It was useless. One hour later we had the finished product, scrambled eggs. We ate and headed for the wet tent to get some sleep.
The Bridge to Molde.
The Atlantic Ocean Road
Early Sunday morning we jumped out of our sleeping bags ready for a new day. In real life the jumping looked more like two people dragging their still sleeping bodies out of a tent. And to be honest, it wasn’t that early. René jumped behind the wheel while Markus dug through the food supply. After less than a mile of driving they hit rush traffic. 120 goats was apparently out for a Sunday walk. Since the fields where still soaked, they had decided to take the road. This resulted in slow going traffic with both goats and cars. Another mile down the road, a bunch of cows was hanging out. They were smart enough to stay of the road, with an exception of one. It was standing in the middle of the road with a stupid look on it’s face. René used the horn and kept driving slowly. It took a while, before it slowly moved out of the driving lane and on to the road shoulder instead. Luckily this was our last encounter with free range farm animals this they. The only cattle we encountered was with the less meaty cattle grid. Which can still be seem quite terrifying at 50mph.
On our way to Gerianger.
På dagsprogrammet stod Ørnesvingen, Geiranger, Gudbransjuvet, Trollstigen og Atlanterhavsveien. Programmet var med andre ord fult. Men severdighetene lå også på rekke å rad. Litt som våre opplevde regnversdagene. På vei til Ørnesvingen lærte vi om de lokale treningstrendene. Det hotteste i disse dager så ut til å være jogging med barnevogn uten sports-bh.
On the schedule for the day we had Ørnesvingen (Eagles corner), Geiranger, Gudbrandsjuvet, Trollstigen(Troll’s Ladder) and Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road). In other we had a lot of places to see. On our way to Ørnesvingen we learned about the local workout trends. It consisted of jogging with a stroller without wearing a sports-bra.
The road.
Da vi ankom Geiranger og Ørnesvingen svømte vi oss gjennom horder av barbariske turister før vi fikk tatt noen bilder av den flotte utsikten. Etter som vi knapt forstod det lokale språket (turistsk). Bestemte vi oss for å kjøre videre. Det bar over fjellheimen og ned til nok en fjord og nok en ferge. På andre siden ankom vi Valldal. Renés spedbarndomsby. Etter å ha brukt det lokale 3G nettet til å laste opp video, fant vi et sted å kjøpe noen av de berømte Valldal Jordbærene. Guttungene som solgte bær ville selge oss 20 kurver. De ville nemlig slå jentene. René som var ansvarlig for innkjøpet plukket med seg to kurver for å være hyggelig. Markus prøvde derimot å overbevise guttene om at det var lettere å slå jentene fysisk. Han var dog rask med å poengtere at det imidlertid ikke ville være særlig hyggelig ovenfor jentene. Vi kjørte videre og før vi stoppet ved Gudbrandsjuvet hvor vi nøt naturen og stappet i oss den røde lunsjen. Vi konkluderte raskt med at det å spise seg mette på jordbær var en bra ting. Det føltes i hvert fall sånn.
When we arrived in Geiranger and Ørnesvingen we had fight with tourists to get some pictures of the great view. Due to the amount of tourists we headed to the next destination. We crossed yet another mountain pass, and had to get on a new ferry. On the other side of the fjord was the small town of Valldal. Renés “infanthood” city. After using the good reception to upload some video with our mobile broadband, we found a place to get some of Valldal’s famous strawberries. The boys selling them wanted us to buy 20 baskets. They wanted to beat the girls. René who were buying settled for two baskets, just to be nice. Markus on the other hand tried convincing the boys that beating the girls physically would be much easier. Though he was quick to point out it wouldn’t be very nice of them. We kept driving and stopped at Gudbrandsjuvet, a small canyon with a roaring river. Here we stopped to take pictures while eating the red lunch we had just bought. We quickly concluded eating strawberries till you’re full, MUST be a good thing. At least it felt that way.
Geiranger
Ørnesvingen.
A horrible picture of René buying strawberries.
Gudbrandsjuvet.
Lunch of the day.
Neste severdighet på listen var Trollstigen. René hadde lenge planglagt, som en del av hans personlige bøtteliste, å stå ned trollstigen på sparkesykkel. Vi var heldigvis heldigere med været denne gangen (se søndag 17. Juli). Bakken var tørr, og etter noen kilometer testkjøring konkluderte vi med at bremsene virket. Vi tok noen bilder fra toppen av trollstigen før René spente på seg hjelmen, treplanken og sparkesykkelen. Det siste ordet vi fikk med oss fra folkene rundt var ”GAL”, før René satte utenfor. Bakken var tørr, og trafikken ikke for stor. Vi hadde tidligere sett på løypen ovenifra og lagt merke til et vått parti ved en foss, samt utfordringene vi ville ha om vi møtte en buss. Heldigvis slapp vi møte noen busser, ved fossen forsvant derimot bremsene med en gang René var på det våte partiet. Farten økte plutselig, og Markus i bilen hadde nesten problemer med å følge med et øyeblikk. Heldigvis kom bremsekraften fort tilbake, og etter 15-20 minutter var vi trygt nede. René med et stort glis om munnen, og Markus med veldig lite batteri på kameraet. René mente han ikke hadde fått så mye turistoppmerksomhet siden den gangen han veltet en nyttårsrakettsylinder slik at den fyrte rett inn i en palme nær en restaurant på en strand i Thailand.
incline of 10 % and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountain side) René had been planning – as part of his personal bucket list – to ride it from top to bottom on a kick scooter. Unlike the last time we rode the kick scooter, this time, the weather was right. Dry and sunny. After a mile or two of road testing we could conclude the breaks actually worked this time. We took a couple of pictures of the great view before René put on his helmet and jumped on the scooter. Since it didn’t collapse René concluded the cheap kick scooter was safe. The last word we heard from the surrounding turists was “Mad”. Earlier on we had looked at the road from a viewpoint. As long as we didn’t meet a bus in one of the tight corners, we should be fine. We had one slight worry; a bridge we had to cross was wet because of the waterfall beneath it. On the way down we were lucky and didn’t meet too much traffic. But at the bridge René lost the breaks and suddenly accelerated. The speed kept increasing till the wheel dried and the breaks started working again. After 15-20 minutes of riding we were safely on the bottom of trollstigen. René had a huge smile on his face, while Markus had gotten a camera short on battery from the filming. René said he hadn’t gotten this much attention from tourists since the time he tipped over a fireworks cylinder shell making it fire straight in to a palm tree near a restaurant on a beach in Thailand.
Apperently Rednecks are not the only ones shooting at their roadsigns.
Trollstigen, at the top.
Picture of the viewpoint.
Picture from the viewpoint.
Helmet cam?
I adrenalinrusen til René kjørte vi videre for å nå Atlanterhavsveien i solnedgang. Markus tutet på folk som tisset i veikanten, og hilste på polakker som faktisk evnet å plukke jordbær. Mens vi tilbakela asfaltkilometer plystret vi Mendelsohns brudemarsj som gikk over i Beethovens sjebnesymfoni for deretter å gli glatt inn i Darth Wader theme fra Star Wars. Vi gjorde ikke dette med vilje, kanskje underbevisstheten vår hadde budskap til oss? Heldigvis var det eneste stikkordet relatert til gift, sprøytemiddelet som omga jordbærene vi ikke lang tid siden hadde fortært. Etter å ha passert T-krysset Åndalsnes dro vi forbi isfjorden der klassekameraten til René hadde for anledning skrudd på regn. Heldigvis var det bedre vær ute ved kysten. Vi kom frem til den berømte Atlanterhavsveien etter å ha passert fire hjort, rygget tilbake til dem, sett dem forsvinne inn i skogholtet for deretter å være klar med kameraet med telelinse. Vi har planer om å endre rekkefølge på dette ved en senere liknende anledning. Vi stoppet på et utkikkspunkt ved atlanterhavsveien og tok noen bilder. Det var en magisk stemning med solnedgang, dis i lufta, sjøluft og hese måkeskrik. Vi dro så og slo opp teltet på Myrbærholmen ikke langt fra Kristiansund. Vi var sultne og benyttet anledningen til å bruke en time på å steke egg takket være det inkompetente bærbare kjøkkenet vårt. Mette la vi oss i et fuktig telt blant måkeskrik og pelikaner. Vi ble ikke plaget av tyskerne den natten.
In the adrenalin rush we once again jumped in the car to reach the Atlantic Ocean Road before the sun set. Markus honked at people peeing at the side of the road and at polish people who were actually picking strawberries (that’s what they usually do in Norway). As we covered asphalt miles we ended up whistling. It started with Mendelson’s Wedding March which drifted inn to Beethoven’s symphony #5 and then Darth Wader theme from the Star Wars. When arriving at the Atlantic Ocean Road the weather was good. We stopped at a viewpoint and took a couple pictures. The view was great, the sun was starting to set and the air was fresh with the smell of salt water. Driving the rest of the Atlantic ocean road we headed out to a small island in the outskirts of Kristiansund. We set tent on a small island and tried making some fried eggs on our portable kitchen. It was useless. One hour later we had the finished product, scrambled eggs. We ate and headed for the wet tent to get some sleep.
The Bridge to Molde.
The Atlantic Ocean Road
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Saturday 24th of July
Fortsatt trøtte, ble vi vekket av tyskere som tydeligvis var misunnelig på vår flotte campingplass i veikanten. Mens vi rullet sammen liggeunderlag og pakket soveposer fant teltet ut av at det skulle rømme med vinden. Så vi løp etter. Etter å ha fanget det og brukt det som kite, stappet vi det i bilen og kjørte de få kilometerne til breen. Der parkerte vi og brettet ut stormkjøkkenet. På frokostmenyen stod frokostblanding for René, mens Markus, i frykt for sojamelk, lagde seg nudler. Frykten var ikke ubegrunnet da sojamelken noen dager senere hadde endret smak til det dårligere. Under matlaginen ble vi flere ganger bestirret av en rar nederlandskdame, kanskje hadde hun ikke sett mat før. Vi stirret tilbake, og slafset i oss frokosten. Etterpå la vi til fots over bekker og store steiner opp til breen. På veien inn fant vi flere nederlendere, samt en fascinerende øy av mose. Sistnevnte ble avfotografert. Vi gikk så videre for å se om vi kunne sette fast tunga på breen. Vel borte ved isbreen forsøkte René å bli den nye ismannen(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi_the_Iceman) ved å gå inn i en ishule i breen for å ta bilde.
På vei fra Nigardsbreen, så vi et skilt med påskriften Styggevatn. Ingen tvil, dit skulle vi. Til vår store overraskelse var Styggevannet pent. Der var det en enorm demning av stein, og fra den kunne man skimte Jostedalsbreen på andre siden av den store innsjøen. Det hendte at is fra breen brøt ut i innsjøen og laget store flodbølger som skylte 70 meter inn over land. I håp om å oppnå enda bedre utsikt gikk vi oppover et fjell i nærheten, men vi ga opp da vi begynte og bli kalde og laktatnivået i lårene våre steg høyere enn motivasjonen. Dessuten var vi sultne. Vi gikk ned til bilen og brukte bortimot en livslengde på å koke spagetti. Deretter kjørte vi tilbake til Sogndal og videre nord mot Stryn. I en gresskledd dal fant vi et passende sted å campe for natten. Ulempen var frittgående kuer og geiter. På den andre siden ville disse beskytte oss mot tyske turister. Det var et spørsmål om hvem vi likte best. Valget var enkelt.
Still sleepy, we were woken up by Germans in their RV’s, obviously jealous of our roadside camp. While we packed our sleeping bags, the tent decided it wanted to be a kite. Luckily we were able to catch it, and after putting it in the car we drove the few miles to the glacier “Nigardsbreen”. In the parking area we started making breakfast. René ate cereal with soymilk, while Markus – in fear of the soy – made noodles. Markus´ fear was not without reason, only days later the soymilk didn’t taste like soy milk anymore. While making breakfast we were on multiple occasions stared at by a creepy Dutch lady. We were not sure she had even seen food before, but regardlessly we ate our breakfast without sharing. After having finished the food, we headed for the glacier crossing streams and big rock on the way. We even found more dutch people and two small islands consisting of moss only. When finally reaching the glacier, René tried becoming the new ismann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi_the_Iceman) from walking into an ice cave.
English:
On our way from Nigardsbreen glacier, we saw a road sign saying ”uglywater”. No doubt, we had to go there. Surprisingly “uglywater” was actually good looking. It was a big dam, with a glacier on the other side of the big lake. There was even a warning sign telling us giant waves could occur, due to unstable ice. To get a even better view, we started climbing one of the surrounding mountains. But as the we got colder and the level of milk acid got higher then our motivation, we gave up. Not to mention we were hungry. We walked down again, and made spaghetti. Getting the water to boil took what felt like a lifetime. We drove from there to Sogndal, and then towards Stryn. In a grass valley we found a nice place to set camp. The only downside was free range cows, goats and sheep. On the other hand, the animals would hopefully protect us from the German tourists. The questions was which one we would prefer. Which wasn’t really a question.
The campsite.
Making breakfast.
And another stream.
René doing some drinking.
"Uglywater"
På vei fra Nigardsbreen, så vi et skilt med påskriften Styggevatn. Ingen tvil, dit skulle vi. Til vår store overraskelse var Styggevannet pent. Der var det en enorm demning av stein, og fra den kunne man skimte Jostedalsbreen på andre siden av den store innsjøen. Det hendte at is fra breen brøt ut i innsjøen og laget store flodbølger som skylte 70 meter inn over land. I håp om å oppnå enda bedre utsikt gikk vi oppover et fjell i nærheten, men vi ga opp da vi begynte og bli kalde og laktatnivået i lårene våre steg høyere enn motivasjonen. Dessuten var vi sultne. Vi gikk ned til bilen og brukte bortimot en livslengde på å koke spagetti. Deretter kjørte vi tilbake til Sogndal og videre nord mot Stryn. I en gresskledd dal fant vi et passende sted å campe for natten. Ulempen var frittgående kuer og geiter. På den andre siden ville disse beskytte oss mot tyske turister. Det var et spørsmål om hvem vi likte best. Valget var enkelt.
Still sleepy, we were woken up by Germans in their RV’s, obviously jealous of our roadside camp. While we packed our sleeping bags, the tent decided it wanted to be a kite. Luckily we were able to catch it, and after putting it in the car we drove the few miles to the glacier “Nigardsbreen”. In the parking area we started making breakfast. René ate cereal with soymilk, while Markus – in fear of the soy – made noodles. Markus´ fear was not without reason, only days later the soymilk didn’t taste like soy milk anymore. While making breakfast we were on multiple occasions stared at by a creepy Dutch lady. We were not sure she had even seen food before, but regardlessly we ate our breakfast without sharing. After having finished the food, we headed for the glacier crossing streams and big rock on the way. We even found more dutch people and two small islands consisting of moss only. When finally reaching the glacier, René tried becoming the new ismann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi_the_Iceman) from walking into an ice cave.
English:
On our way from Nigardsbreen glacier, we saw a road sign saying ”uglywater”. No doubt, we had to go there. Surprisingly “uglywater” was actually good looking. It was a big dam, with a glacier on the other side of the big lake. There was even a warning sign telling us giant waves could occur, due to unstable ice. To get a even better view, we started climbing one of the surrounding mountains. But as the we got colder and the level of milk acid got higher then our motivation, we gave up. Not to mention we were hungry. We walked down again, and made spaghetti. Getting the water to boil took what felt like a lifetime. We drove from there to Sogndal, and then towards Stryn. In a grass valley we found a nice place to set camp. The only downside was free range cows, goats and sheep. On the other hand, the animals would hopefully protect us from the German tourists. The questions was which one we would prefer. Which wasn’t really a question.
The campsite.
Making breakfast.
And another stream.
René doing some drinking.
"Uglywater"
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