Once North Cape and back. From Trondheim to Narvik.
I continue my tour alone. The old man and his Saab in the direction of Narvik. Always further north! After Trondheim, I soon turned onto the coastal road Fv17, the route that always leads along the coast on small roads. You pass many fjords, sometimes they are bypassed, sometimes crossed by ferries, which is always a nice change.
Smaller waiting times must be included. On the route you pass the landscapes Namdalen, Helgeland and Salten. At first, the weather did not want it the way I wanted it to, it was pouring rain. The first day literally fell into the water. Gradually, the weather improved and my rule, min. 10 degree, no rain = open could now be used very often! Gorgeous, in the open Saab convertible the beautiful, varied landscape pass by. The relaxed driving was not quite so, because between the ferry passages is still quite a lot of cars on the road and you want to reach the next ferry in time. Because the ferry leaves, it means to wait an hour or more.
I missed something the serenity, sometimes a ferry to miss. However, it is so, you put a goal, has already booked a hotel and then you just stop there.
You also pass the large glacier Engabreen, Svartisen. Very impressive, if only seen from a distance.
My nights on the track were in Terak, Mo i Rana, Straumen and then at the end in Narvik.
The worst hotel of my life
Terak, how did I get to stay here? Ugly place, godforsaken and probably the worst hotel of my life. The next morning, just a thought away as quickly as possible.
Mo i Rana ok as a passage with a nice hotel and good breakfast. Simple statue in the sea, called Havmannen, makes a nice photo opportunity.
Straumen, site of the world's largest tidal current, the Saltstraumen, an impressive spectacle. Through an 2,5 kilometer-long and about 150-meter-wide sound, the tides swirl almost 400 million cubic meters of water between the Saltfjord by the sea and the Skjerstadfjord inland (also "Inner Saltfjord") back and forth. The Sound is located between the island Straumøy in the south and the peninsula Knaplundsoya in the north. The water flow through the bottleneck between Straumøya and the mainland is small because of shallow water.
The hotel an old wooden box with many outbuildings. When I arrived, 40 motorcycles stood in front of these outbuildings. Something went down the aisle for me right away, I do not really like these things that just produce such an unspeakable noise. The more astonished I was then in the morning! All motorcycles disappeared and I did not hear anything, eh? They must have left early in the morning and belonged to the species that could move a motorcycle quietly.
Then Narvik, an industrial city with all its ugly faces. There is still a lot of ore from Kiruna transported to Narvik and loaded there on the freighter. There is something rough, raw in the air of Narvik. The houses all seem a bit run down or even abandoned. Narvik, but the name has something horrible. The city also has a sad past. During the Second World War, she was badly shaken. Many notice boards show that.
Next stop: The Lofoten.
Beautiful pictures and very interesting written, dear Hans! Thanks a lot! Also very interesting info with the best and the worst hotel of life. 🙂
A question arises to me: Will not you be a little lonely on such a long distance then alone? Or is the presence of lime beauty, the beauty of the landscape, the enjoyment of open-air driving and the birdsong or the sound of the sea perhaps heard? (The dislike of motorcycle noise, I can understand.) Or do you then enjoy the Saab sound system? I have that in my beautiful, then newly configured by me 2007er convertible in the beautiful sapphire blue metallic (fusion blue, gabs in the models with the outer facelift then unfortunately only very briefly) anyway also gladly done, the 300 watt system with 10 speakers had a fantastic sound! And if you were not out and about in the city, I did not find it too stupid to enjoy the open-air ride to the full! 🙂
I'm looking forward to the next part of the travelogue!
Of course, you feel a bit lonely traveling alone on such remote tracks. I would have liked to have my partner with me. Unfortunately does not go from their point of view, because they can not leave the house and especially the garden alone, respectively wants. (we already had our discussions!)
The day is over but busy with all sorts of stuff, shopping, refueling and of course rest and watch. Driving is a real pleasure, good, tasty music is of course part of it. As I then slowly the serenity had set, I set the cruise control so 60 70 km / h, let the automatic drive mostly in 4 gear and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Pure enjoyment.
Well, then one arrives somewhere in the evening, goes to the hotel, unpacks, takes a shower and then goes somewhere to eat. Then the loneliness returns very quickly. There is almost nothing more boring or feeling alone than waiting for his food in an almost empty, barren restaurant. Fortunately, there are the Smart Phones today :-), because you just ping around on this and looks at the next track and other things.
Traveling alone is a bit ambivalent. You can actually do and leave what you want, but just never has someone on the side to share the beautiful impressions of such a trip!
Thanks to all readers for the very positive feedback on my travel report so far.
Yes, these are the really stupid sides of traveling alone: Sitting alone in the restaurant and that you can not share the beautiful impressions with his / her sweetheart. I feel the same way! For example, I would love to make a sailing trip to small islets in the Mediterranean again. But my lover is not seaworthy. He then tells me to do it without him, but I do not feel like it. Just so romantic impressions and enjoyable moments you want to share with your loved one. Fortunately, we share the Saab passion! The garden passion I can understand as a woman but also! Maybe there will be a garden fan in the circle of acquaintances or a professional gardener who can help out? But that was a good compromise. Maybe then for the next trip in the other direction with the Saab to the Cape of Good Hope ?? 😉 😉 😉
Cape of good hope, that's good! Since I would prefer my over years in Kenya driven Landcruiser HJ47 😉
Thank you for this nice travel report. This invites to imitate.
Greetings from the Erik