Am 11.08.2020 we were able to enter Norway via the province of Vesterbotten in Sweden near Mo Irana. Last week, the Norwegian government designated this province as a green zone during the Corona crisis. So now the adventure in Norway begins.
We continue straight north – now for the third time over the Arctic Circle – until we come to the ferry port in Bodø. We're lucky again and can take the next ferry 16.00 clock. To 4 Hours of driving time we arrived in Lofoten ! We drive a few kilometers to the southernmost tip of the island, we stay there for the first night. A short tour takes us to the nice village, everywhere you can see the large racks for drying the fish and built on stilts, red wooden houses.
The dinosaurs in Lofoten 
8Paws in Lofoten 
Caribbean feeling in Lofoten
The next day, unfortunately, everything is overcast and gray, but at least it's not raining. We pay a short visit to the pretty town of Reine, then we drive the road (there is only one main street here) on to Fredvang. A nice hike starts from there (the car park neighbors recommended them to us) up the mountain. From the top you have a great view of Kvalvika Beach – a sandy beach like in the Caribbean. To 3 Hours we come back to our Henriette exhausted but happy.
The next day it is still gray, in addition there is a good wind. We continue to Ramberg to a beautiful sandy beach. There, however, we only bathe our feet in the crystal clear one, light green and ice cold water. The boys are really happy about the fine sand under their paws and frolic like crazy on the lonely beach. When we get back to our car after an hour, a Norwegian draws our attention to this, that the dogs should only be kept on a leash. We give him a friendly nod and decide, that we didn't hear that.
On the further route we come to the small one, very touristic place Nusfjord. There's an old grocer's here, that still looks the same as before 100 Years. Then we discover a real bakery (it's like winning the lottery here !) and buy delicious cinnamon rolls – about the price of 4,50 € we overlook generously. About the village of Viken (There is a glass blowing workshop here and you can watch a vase being made) we come to Ballstad. This is our first time shopping in Norway and we immediately regret it, Not having replenished our supplies in Sweden any better. A can of beer costs stately 2,80 € – then we'd better become anti-alcoholics 🙂
It's still raining, my mood is gradually sinking ! Today we go to Stamsund first, take a few photos and continue the journey. I can hardly believe it, but actually a very small ray of sunshine can be seen. That lifts the mood immediately and Henriette confidently drives along the narrow coastal road. Shortly before our destination, Henningsvær, the campers are piling up – the place seems to be a tourist magnet. Despite the rush, we find a free parking space and neighbors come back immediately, to photograph our Henriette. We find real souvenir shops on a tour of the town, open cafes and restaurants. The small town even has a large soccer field – fits exactly between the rocks on a small islet.
We are scared at night, that we're blown away, it storms so hard here. But Henriette remains steadfast and so the next day we drive the Kaiser Wilhelm route along the Raftsundet to Digermulen. The route is breathtakingly beautiful, Unfortunately, we can only see the mountains rising to the right and left partly behind a veil of fog. At the end of the road (the term “street” would be an exaggeration :)) we find wonderful sandy beaches.
Because we really want to see whales, we now drive to the north side of the Vesteralen to Hovden. There are also great sandy beaches here, so that the dogs get their money's worth. We find a place in the middle of the racks for the dried fish and hope, that no fish are hung up overnight. The whole place smells a bit harsh – and we just can't understand, that this dried fish should be such a delicacy. Unfortunately it is still gray and foggy, so that we don't see a whale.
Since we still haven't seen a whale, we decide, book a whale safari. Said, did – the trip is booked online. So we drive towards Andenes, with rain showers, short rays of sunshine and a fresh breeze. At Bleik we find a great parking space right on the beach – all alone and far and wide, no houses or streets – the best place so far in Norway. Frodo and Quappo make the beach unsafe and chase away all the seagulls and crows – so we are really all alone here.
The closest there is a small rain hole and we decide to use it for a hike on the Matind. The path goes up steeply and so we work up a sweat. At the top, we are rewarded with a great view. We are now sure, that Frodo and Quappo must also be related to chamois – the way they bounce up and down the rocks ? In the distance, however, we can already see the next rain cloud gathering, so nothing we down. The descent is even more difficult than the ascent, because everything is extremely slippery and wet. But we manage to get back in the car right before the first raindrop – timed perfectly !!!!
We're looking forward to the next day like crazy: the whale safaris are on. I do the tour in the morning, Hans-Peter starts over 17.00 clock, because our dogs can of course not be on the ship. We even go to bed earlier, so that I get there on time 9.00 Am at the station. As a precaution I'll skip breakfast – you never know, how seaworthy the stomach is on it. After a guided tour of the whale museum and a lot of interesting information about the whale, finally starts the tour. We go around with a little boat 2,5 Hours out to sea and not a whale in sight :(. After half an hour, the captain finally screams for relief: A sperm whale actually appeared to the left of our boat – The cameras click everywhere in a loop. Our whale is diving after 10 Minutes again, the captain yells “Diving” in time and so we can all photograph the impressive tail fin. To 10 Minutes the next call rang out from the microphone: another whale in sight ! We are happy and absolutely thrilled. After this copy has also been photographed from all sides, turns our boat and we sail happily back to the harbor – what an experience !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Today was very exciting for me and the dogs too! We left our mistress at the whale safari station this morning and have actually been since then 15.06.2020 separated for the first time. The dogs were amazed. A long walk made up for it and so we had fun in great weather. One 17.00 Then it was time for me. Another provider and a different approach, but with the same goal……. Wale. After a short lecture about whales, we went to the closet. Since we are with an open speed boat , as can be seen in the first picture, on the way, is a water – and lanterns overalls as well as a life jacket are compulsory. We sweep with approx 50 kmH over the waves. To 45 Minutes we come into the area, in which in the morning 3 Whales have been sighted. The skipper stopped the engine and held his sonar in the water, to track whales. There were noises to be heard and he then followed them with multiple course corrections. He explained to us, that the whale too 1000 Meters below us and that it will take time. And then it actually came. For me it was a long-awaited dream, to see a whale once. And what should I say…. it was very uplifting and I'm glad, to experience something like that. Our world and nature are impressive. I already believe today, that this picture is among the top 10 Pictures of our trip will come.
After all the excitement, we need to relax a bit: I bake bread in our Omnia for the first time – on the gas stove. and, what should we say: it tastes really good ! My Norwegian weather app (the best app ever) doesn't bode well: the next few days it will only rain. But there is a ray of hope: on monday the sun should be at the north cape 17 Degrees seem. So we change the travel plan again and decide, to make a little stretch now. After filling up gas, Diesel, Water and supplies to Sortland, we drive around 350 km north. We find an absolute dog dream pitch, a disused campsite in the forest. The fur noses play hide and seek, Look for sticks and bathe in the waterfall. There is also a nice fire and a beer after work – Perfect !
We drive around the next day as well 400 km along beautiful fjords, Snow mountains and huge forest areas. On the way we find the first seed souvenir shop – I have to see that right away. On my north cap tour, which I before 40 Years (!) with my friend Renate, we have almost a third of our travel budget for reindeer skins, Norwegian sweaters and other souvenirs were given out. But the shop is very commercial, i am a little disappointed. also good, saved money ! In the evening we find a place to stay next to the football field and near a large waterfall. During the night it rains continuously and the next morning my shoes run full of water when I step out of the car – Kneipp cures are supposed to be healthy !
Juhu – today we go to the North Cape !!! We're looking forward to the last section and the weather is looking pretty good too – we have a super nice ride. Henriette masters all inclines and narrow streets (thanks to the good driver) with flying colors. I try my hand at my ride over before 40 Years to remember – Something has changed there: the road has become much better and all tunnels now have lighting. On my first tour, we almost died in a tunnel: it felt endless, had no lighting and no pavement – we were really scared, never to come out again !
On the way we finally see a lot of reindeer and at the very end a white-tailed eagle. Arrived at the cape, we find 500 m in front of the official parking space in the wilderness – free of charge !! We run to the obligatory steel ball and take photos. There is really little going on, only a handful of RVs are in the parking lot. We are not allowed in the halls with the dogs – can not do anything. There is one downer, however: my weather app let me down: the weather tomorrow leaves a lot to be desired, the sun should only shine on Tuesday ?
At night we feel like we are on a small fishing boat – it storms all the time and we are rocked vigorously. In the morning, reindeer stand around our car in fog – So the dogs have to wait a little longer with Pippi. the 2 find the weather not so tingly anyway and stay in their cave for an extra long time and pretend to be asleep. Hans-Peter dares to go out with the boys a little later, at some point the bubble will push. Then we spend the day comfortably reading, sleep, Drink coffee and tea. In the late afternoon we take a short walk to the sphere – and with some gusts I really have to be careful, so I don't get blown away. Quappo and Frodo are also struggling with the North Cape Storm and are happy to get back in the car. After 2. on a stormy night we start our return journey. The sun even comes out on the way and we're happy, to finally be able to walk normally again. We want to let the dogs run around on the beach – stupidly standing there right now 2 Reindeer and look at us stupidly.
In the evening we stand by the river, make us nice and warm with a fire and I snuggle up in my warm super blanket.
It's time again, to refuel our Henriette: we need water, Gas, Diesel and some supplies for us. So we're heading for the next bigger city: High ! We can find everything here, what we need and we are self-sufficient again for the next few days. We feel like it, to undertake a longer hike again and therefore drive around to a hiking car park 15 km south of the city. We are in the middle of a huge wooded area and there is also a notice board with tour suggestions: however, these are tours for the snowmobile – There are no hikes here. So we just keep walking down the small road and discover nice small and large holiday homes hidden in the forest every few meters. Unbelievable, how many of them there are here. After a few kilometers we decide to turn around, since there is apparently no other way back. In retreat there is real traffic on the little lane and we are amazed, where all the vehicles suddenly come from ?
We read on the internet, that there is an interesting open-air museum in Alta: so we drive back to the nice town the next day (Alta is beautifully situated at the end of a fjord) and visit the museum. There are rock carvings / carvings to discover here, the between 3.000 – 7.000 Years old ! It's really fun, the reindeer, fishes, Discover boats and moose, that people carved into the rock so long ago. After this journey through time we drive a bit south towards Kautokeino – this is where the Sami come from.
In the evening we stand by a beautiful waterfall and hope for it, to see a northern lights once in a while. And then actually: we can't believe it, it appears against 23.00 Clock a green stripe in the sky ! So we saw our first aurora borealis !!!!! Out of sheer amazement, we can't do it anymore, to photograph this strip – in the photo it can only be seen very faintly (how that should look right, shows the next photo (stolen from the internet) ). We're still practicing !
The next morning we start to Kautokeino and visit Juhl's silversmiths there. This is a very lovingly designed gallery with an incredible architecture and decoration. There is beautiful silver jewelry, Ceramics, Glass and other souvenirs. However, like everywhere in Norway, the prices are very high, very high and so we decide, nothing to buy. The journey continues to Karasjok, shortly before the city we find a signposted "Kulturminnet" – a beautiful hiking trail through beautiful pine forest with a few remnants of Sami life. In any case, the dogs are flat and so we try our luck, whether we can continue to cross the border into Finland.
Hans-Peter is sure, that we will be let in, I'm rather skeptical about that ? But we can do it and the journey continues.
Our conclusion on Norway: Norway is an absolute highlight in terms of landscape – and a trip there can only be recommended to everyone. However, we found it very touristy in Lofoten, there were an awful lot of RVs on the way and it was difficult, to find a nice parking space. Also, the weather didn't really play along, it rained almost every day. A Norwegian mechanic from MAN- Werkstatt had already warned us: he mean, in Norway there is 9 Months of winter and 3 Months of rain – the man was right :).
