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From: damag@bigpond.net.au

To:

Cc:

Sent: 13 June 1999 12:42

Subject: The wonders of Norway

First of all, happy birthday Deb B.

The attached picture can far better describe the wonders of Norway than any words we could possibly say. We haven't sent pictures of the ice and snow, the deep ravines, the hugely gushing waterfalls. The "Trolls" didn't get us on the troll (not toll) road. Two substantial areas were covered today - from Geiranger Fjord up 11 zig zag bends that took us up 620 metres above sea level in 8 km (1 in 12 gradient) and secondly 11 zig zag bends going up 858m above sea level in 15kms. This latter road is known as Troll territory and the bridge that hangs over a waterfall is very scary.

We were at the top of the hill and two busses met on one of the curves - glad we weren't behind one of them. The road is really not meant for buses and certainly not for towing carvans - marked in the maps that you shouldn't - however, that does not seem to stop people. Anyway, the bad old trolls didn't get us. (Actually, they are supposed to be friendly, ugly and mischievous.)

A few brief highlights - We have seen some remarkable Stave wooden churches - stayed at a most beautiful camp, owned by a dentist - Arnold climbed a glacier! The Briksdalbreen is a glacier at the foot of which we camped for the night - we now know the meaning of ice blue! An unbelievable (I am running out of adjectives) colour that follows through into the melted water that comes rushing down the waterfalls and rivers.

Yesterday, the highlight of the week, we crossed the Arctic Circle. The territory was quite amazing. Firstly, the grassy pastureland starts to change into coniferous hillsides, changing to coniferous mountains, to not so coniferous mountains, to desolate rock clouded in mist and topped with snow. It has an aura that is difficult to describe. Rain had been falling for most of the trip yesterday but about half an hour before we reached the Circle Centre it stopped and the sun came out. But don't be fooled - it is the Arctic Circle and the wind came right off the North Pole! There is a tradition that each person who crosses the Circle places a rock onto one of the many mounds that have been created by other travellers in the past. Hence the almost lunar landscape in picture. The Aussie flag we tried to buy it from a young man on board a Contiki tour (full of Aussies and Kiwis). He wouldn't part with it. The Norwegians seem to be flag mad and it would stop people from thinking we were Poms (sorry Ron & Tricia!). The river flowing beyond the Circle centre was back to being icy blue/green again and its temperature only needed to be guessed at. Sipping hot chocolate inside the Centre's kiosk and writing postcards, to be marked with the Arctic Circle Stamp, was an amazing thing.

There are two memorials at the Centre's igloo (the shape of the tourist office/souvenir shop). One is to the Russian, the other the Yugoslavian prisoners of war who worked and died under atrocious conditions (only to be imagined) during WW 2. It is strange how often one is reminded about man's inhumanity to man here in Europe. What is also amazing is the wording on many of the monuments. Despite being in "other" languages, there is no doubt about the mention of the Nazis and their oppression. Most of our fellow "campers" are German and we often wonder how they must feel being constantly reminded of their country's past. It doesn't seem appropriate to ask.

Highlight over, the rest of the week was certainly not uneventful - all those double negatives! Trondheim, Norway's second or third largest city, was ordinary and the Cathedral that houses the body of St Olav was closed, so the pictures were only of the incredibly decorated external carvings. Most of the churches in this country are made of wood and this huge stone place has for hundreds of years been a place of pilgrimage.

Several ferry rides (up the RV 17 Ron & Tricia) took us through more fjords and snow capped mountains and the time spent on the ferries (up to an hour in some cases) allowed for R&R for Arnold (who is still doing all the driving). Between ferries and tunnels (and there have been "hundreds" of them -AG) the driving is interesting and apart from having to wait for 2 hours for one particular ferry, they do not hold up progression north too much.

Note for Ron & Tricia - Caravan Parks - all of good to excellent quality - all with excellent sanitary facilities, most not mentioned in the Caravan Club book - go to the Norwegean Tourist Agency in London for their Camping Guide. Narvik Camping, Nesna Feriesenter OG Motell AS, Fauske Camping, Vandesnes Camping (no shower curtains but it is immediatelly off the ferry and has an amazing restaurant that seemed to be crowded with people who came from God knows where to eat huge plates of prawns).

Tonight we are camped high on a hill, overlooking just another beautiful fjord with spiky mountains that look like molar teeth. The teeth need cleaning cause there is white stuff all over them - snow. However, the heater in the Clubman is keeping us (and our ever dwindling wine supply) at even temperature. (Scandinavian Governments have a strange attitude to alcohol and if you want to buy some you have to line up in special centres and order by the number from the book, hence we brought in our own from over the border in Luxembourg which has a more liberal attitude to booze and remarkably cheap prices.)

In an email from someone we were asked how many kilometres we have travelled. Our clock is in miles and we have just exceeded 5,000 miles which is over 8,000km. We have another 620km to go to reach North Cape. From there we will probably head east across the top of Norway, Sweden and Finland and then down into Finland - too far away to plan exactly yet. We are currently at Narvik which, if there was no cloud, would enable us to see the full orb of the midnight sun - no such luck yet but 24 hours of daylight is upon us.

We have been through some wonderful territory as you have seen from our pictures and although the picture we sent yesterday was lovely, it did not show just how bright the sun was. We sent that one because it is almost a carbon copy of some of the postcards that sell for ridiculously high prices at Nord Kapp (north cape). And no, we did not scan a postcard. Again the last few days have been really hard to describe. Desolate mountains (tundra type plant life) crashing down into the bluest of blue fjords, sometimes shrouded in mist and at other times so vibrantly clear that you almost wish the mist was back - so you don't see the horrendous drop on either side of the road.

On 23 June, the longest day of the year is celebrated (that just means that the sun doesn't set even higher in the sky). We were at a campsite where the traditional bonfire was lit (with considerable difficulty because of the damp wood) and where we were invited into a "tee pee" type tent to have strong black coffee and conversation. The conversation was a little difficult but we got round it. We were advised to walk for about half an hour up the hill to get a good view of the sun over the fjord. So, at 11.45pm we set off mountain climbing (well it seemed like it half way up). Well worth the climb. But wait, there's more!

Where we camped on Friday night, a herd of reindeer just decided to come off the mountain and wander through the park because the grass was so much better than on the hillside ( isn't it always). Needless to say the camera worked overtime. Driving along near the campsite we saw an albino reindeer (with pink antlers - no, we were not still under the party influence!). This midnight sun thing becomes an obsession with people and on Friday night we found out why. We climbed yet another hill (this one even steeper, with little or no path). The most amazing view greeted us with sunlight streaming in over the fjord and unlike the cloud influenced red skies that one sees, daylight was abundant and the majesty of the surrounding mountains combined with the glistening water brought tears to the eyes (the cold added to the tears too!). We wondered how it could get better.

As a point of interest, earlier in the evening a large tourist bus arrived from Estonia. We rejected the bottle of Estonian vodka that one gent produced from a plastic bag to sell! The very elderly people climbed out, put up their tents, cooked their dinner and then climbed the same hill as we did. It is traditional to drink champagne and eat caviar when you first see the midnight sun. About 20 of the Estonian people shared one bottle of champagne and although they were quite a way from us, were obviously having a great time. They went back down the hill and had all disappeared into their tents before we got back down the hill ourselves at about 1.30am. What was amazing was that by the time we woke up, they had all gone. Nobody heard anything, they just disappeared.

At this campsite we also met some more Brits (Jay & Livvy) who had been travelling for 5 years and when they want to have a holiday they go to China or somewhere! Anyway, we got some good tips from them. Saturday saw us travel the last 14km to Nord Kapp. Although very touristy in its buildings and many of its presentations, the area is breathtaking. To know that if you stepped off the 300m+ cliffs you would have to swim to the North Pole before you reached anything else solid kept me quite some way back from the edge. We were in luck. No mist. Initially not many people. The wind had dropped and the sun just kept on shining. We shared a couple of bottles of wine with Jay and Livvy and tried to ignore the approximately 50 tourist buses and 250 motor homes that had by that time reached the top. Fortunately, being in a motor home meant that we could stay the night right on top of the mountain and we were able to have the place almost to ourselves again in the morning - well there were probably still about 60 motorhomes but with the vastness of the area it didn't matter.

Nature is wonderful and there is no better place to appreciate it than in Norway. The ever changing scenery keeps unfolding before your eyes. We have now crossed the border into Finland and once again the scenery is different. Not quite so dramatic but full of pine trees and we have pulled up next to the third largest lake in Finland to be greeted by "Gee, its good to hear an Aussie accent." Some Brisbane folk who have been travelling for 8 months told us of some of their experiences and we traded a few of ours. Apparently last night the sky was blood red here and the vans looked like they were on fire because of the moving clouds. Hope the experience can be repeated tonight.

I know I have waffled on a bit and I also know that I can't impart to you the splendour of this place but we will bore you with the Power Point presentation when we get back. Ron & Tricia - some great camping places along the way. When you are ready to come to Norway, we will fill you in.