Utne campsite to Denmark

It was a bright sunny morning and we had a good breakfast of Finnish salmon and bread, but once we went over the border into Sweden it began to pour with rain, and it rained on and off the whole day.

We looked at a campsite near Bastad in southern Sweden but it was raining so hard we decided to push on into Denmark. We stopped at Angleholm for a burger and a visit to Lidl for supplies and then we took the ferry from Helsingborg to Helsingor (Elsinore) and Katka glimpsed Hamlet's castle as the ferry docked. The voyage took 20 min and we saw a Viking ship on the water.

Then we drove to a lush and leafy campsite about 40 km from Copenhaven. We were scandalised by the fact we had to pay for not only the shower and internet but also for the water to wash up!

In the night it rained hard onto the roof of the campervan. It was a good thing I didn't sleep in the tent.

Travelling South to Oslo

We got up to a bright, sunny morning and had a leisurely breakfast before going back on the road to Oslo. The temperature was 26°C but fell to 10° as we climbed into the mountains and travelled through the national park Dovrefjell,  where now we had to watch out for the sheep and lambs which liked to lie down by the side of the road and watch the travelling circus of life.

We also went through Lillehammer where they held the winter olympics in 1994, and eventually we found a camp on the Mjosa lake at Tangen. It is full of Norwegian families enjoying the bathing and boating on the lake and staying in semi-permanent caravans with decks and awnings and flowerpots and big gas barbeques made from boilers. It was Saturday night and it got pretty lively.

We saw the moon and it got rather dark for a while.

Oslo

In the morning we found it had rained in the night. We put on clean clothes and Katka made us ham and eggs. Then we left our campsite and drove about 120km into Oslo to the Bygdoy penninsular where the beautiful old houses stand (now mainly Ambassador's residences) and cows graze and there are the most interesting museums.

We visited the Maritime museum with its exhibition of developing ship technologies through the ages, and collection of old Norwegian ships, and shipping of the future. Then we went next door and visited the Fram museum - the Fram was the ship used in exploration of the north and south poles. They were both fascinating and we spent the whole afternoon there. After the museums we could watch the ships in the harbour arriving and leaving Oslo.

Then we travelled south in the rain to Utne campsite somewhere past Moss. We had spaghetti for supper.

Katka and Maros went for a bike ride and got chased by a bull.

Travelling south to Trondheim

We woke to a bright sunny morning and we had ham and eggs for breakfast, so we set off on our long drive south in good spirits. We are off in search of night.

There are more cars and caravans on the roads, and more fields and farms and more lush green vegetation, and still more stunning views of and the broad river Ranelva and fjords and mountains. It grew warmer too and we had to change our clothes and put on our sandals - apart from Maros who has worn his sandals all over the arctic circle.

The taste of Scandanavia is liquoirice, and  we have eaten more on this trip than in our whole lives up till now.

We stop at an eccentric campsite before Trondheim in Vikhammer. It was full of dogs and dog enthusiasts as there was a big dog show in Trondheim the next day. The owner let us park up on a lawn in front of a house and run our electricity cable into the home. We are overlooked by a big yellow sign and a petrol station. Under the trees rabbits were nibbling the grass and there are three goats which started eating the windowsill of the house.

A smart Norwegian couple with a caravan turned up later to share the lawn.

We grilled burgers and sausages and enjoyed the evening twilight that lasted all night. Later Katka and Maros went for a bike ride to see the town and coast.

No dark yet. Highlights of the day - the sunset over the sea, the surreal campsite, cycling round the suburbs of Trondheim, Germany knocking France out of the world cup.

Leaving behind the Arctic Circle

Today we packed up and left the camp in plenty of time to catch the ferry from Moskenes to Bodo on the mainland. Unfortunately we hit a roadblock at a tunnel which lasted for over an hour, making everyone in the increasingly long queue anxious, as most were also off to catch the ferry.
Eventually we got through and bounced along over the unmade road. The ferry took 3 hours 15 min and the crossing was smooth. We set off from Bodo towards Oslo, the road turning inland and climbing into the mountains and through the Nordland national park.

We stopped to photograph the wild rapids of the river Gubbeltaga, and we passed out of the Arctic Circle and stopped to look at the cairns and buy some souvenirs. We can now look forward to night again.

We stopped at a simple but nice campsite at a spot called Fjellgard. We had some supper and finally finished the rum.

A Day at Ramberg (Lofoten)

We spent another night at our Ramberg campsite so we had time to enjoy the beaches and take cycle rides round the coast.

Katka and Maros visited an organ concert at the local church, I watched the oystercatchers and their chicks on the shores, and we all enjoyed the ripe aroma of stockfish heads drying on their wooden structures.

It was a lovely sunny day (and night) and quite warm with a brisk breeze.

Arrival on Lofoten Islands

Today we travelled around 200km from Gullesfjordbotn to a campsite at Ramberg on the picturesque Lofoten islands. We stopped at a big Viking Museum at Borg which had a model viking ship out sailing the fjord.

At the campsite there was a seagull of evil intent who had his eye on the grill.