Introduction to Norway

Norway was the great unknown to us, uncharted territory. We had read a lot on various bike forums but did not know bikers who had been there. The forums were full of stories of wild weather, fantastic roads, beautiful scenery, over zealous Policing and the cost of everything especially beer. Our landlady in Copenhagen had added to the intrigue by warning us 'they are a bunch of Pirates up there'.

So it was with great excitement but some trepidation that we lined up to board the overnight ferry at Copenhagen bound for Oslo. Our luck was in as we joined two Norwegian bikers in the queue who were returning home from a BSA rally in Sweden. Both were mounted on 1960's BSA  bikes, a Spitfire and a Lightning. These two friendly guys spent some time on the crossing setting us right as to the realities of touring Norway on a motorcycle. There are severe penalties for speeding and the roads are policed by 'civilian cars' - unmarked cars. There are also fixed and mobile speed cameras. Fuel is 15 NOK (Norwegian Kroner) per litre which equates to about $2.40 AUD and beer at a hotel/restaurant about $10 AUD per glass. A main course meal at a restaurant will set you back about $40 AUD and a hamburger about $10 AUD. So yes it is expensive.

Our plans were pretty loose. Norway has marked a series of 20 roads as "national tourist roads" and our plan was to string together as many of these as we could in the week that we had allocated. We were concentrating on the south-western part of the country - fjordland. There is something very special about arriving at a new place by boat, especially overnight. We always enjoy our trips to Tasmania and the crossing to the Isle of Man is very special. So it was that we woke to cast our first look at Norway as our vessel the Pearl Seaways quietly made her way along the long inlet leading to Oslo. Old fortifications and cute as a button little rust coloured houses set amongst the greenest landscape on a fine morning presented a very pretty picture.

We loosened the rear wheel of the Gray Ghost from her very secure wheel cradle (the best form of bike security we have encountered) bid farewell to our new Norwegian friends and set off into the traffic of morning peak hour Oslo. We do not particularly like cities but rather than ride straight out of Oslo we had chosen three destinations to visit to give us a taste of what the city has to offer.We had set each point on the GPS but best made plans were thwarted as Oslo is undergoing some major inner city construction works (much as we found in Copenhagen) and the GPS mapping did not have some of the new roads included. Both issues had us going back past the ferry terminal after about 15 minutes of riding in search of our first destination, the City Cathedral.

The Cathedral was nothing special, surrounded by roadworks and Gypsy beggars, so Jane took some photos while I hovered in a loading zone and we sought out destination No 2, Vigeland Sculpture Park. The way here was also thwarted by road closures but our perseverance was rewarded as this place is truly spectacular. The sculptures were constructed over 100 years ago by noted local artist Gusrav Vigeland in whose honour the park is named. It contains 227 Bronze and Granite statues celebrating humanity in its most simple playful (naked) forms. The statues and arrangements are just beautiful.

Norway and Oslo in particular is the home of Museums. There is a museum for anything you can imagine and we had chosen one as our third destination. The Kon-Tiki Museum houses the balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, that Norwegian Anthropologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl had sailed across the Pacific Ocean in 1947. We had both read and studied the book during our school years and this was a chance to see the real thing. The museum also houses the Ra 2, a reed boat from later adventures, as well as much memorabilia from Heyerdahl's life. A very interesting place and well worth the visit.

Our three goals achieved we headed north out of the city to the venue of the 1994 winter Olympics, Lillehammer. We had booked into a remote hotel some miles behind Lillehammer that was set on a lake in the rugged mountains, just what we were looking for after our stay in Copenhagen. Reviews had alerted us that 'the last 16 kilometres' were on gravel road but the way our GPS took us to the hotel co-ordinates was through some very basic farm tracks. The hotel was old and a little run down but the setting was beautiful, the hosts warm & friendly and the food excellent. One of the workers rode an old Jawa so the Gray Ghost had company in a warm garage. I had commented on the ride in that this road would be 'fun' to ride in the wet and as tempting fate so often happens, it rained overnight and as we were leaving. There was an alternative route out via Oyer albeit down a steep slippery incline and this was recommended. It was a very careful ride out with low cloud, rain and the greasy road surface which left the bike a dirty mess. The run north-west alerted us to the slowness of travel in Norway. Not only is the open road speed limit 80kph but what appears like a short trip can become a major journey as you have to negotiate your way around the fjords. The scenery is spectacular so we didn't mind the extra time in the saddle.

Our home for the next 2 nights was the small village of Sjoholt about 30 km out of the popular seaside port of Alesund. On another wet day we headed north to tackle the famed Atlantic Road with its bridges and causeways allowing us to 'Island Hop' all the way to Kristiandsund. We passed many bikes returning from a big Biker Rally further north. The Atlantic Road is well chronicled and maybe we were expecting a bit more after all of the hype but we found it a bit 'ho hum'. Nice but not spectacular. We then entered a long undersea tunnel before exiting at Kristiansund. We returned via a tolled road bridge out of Kristiansund which surprised us as we had to pay additional toll for Jane as a passenger and we noted they even charged pedestrians a toll to walk across the bridge. The tunnel and bridge at Kristiansund were the only tolls we had to pay in Norway as motorbikes are exempt on all the other tolled roads we encountered. With the late twilight we had time to go into Alesund for dinner and again we were a bit underwhelmed by Alesund. It is touted for its spectacular harbour setting and old Architecture but we found it to be a bit neglected and the Architecture compromised by unsympathetic modern intrusions.

Next day dawned fine as we headed for the most famous of Norway's National Tourist Routes - the Trollstigen to Geiranger Fjord Road. This road is simply stunning as first you climb the Trollstigen Mountain on a series of switchback bends and are rewarded with magnificent views back down the valley. The road then tracks across the high plateau along a beautiful flowing road before you hit the edge of the plateau and descend past waterfalls to the Nordals Fjord and a ferry crossing. Climb again, not as steep this time, before you hit the outlook above the Geiranger Fjord. The view simply takes your breath away. We dropped down through a series of tight switchback turns into Geiranger where three cruise ships were negotiating their mooring at the head of the fjord. There is no cruise ship terminal at Geiranger, passengers are ferried to shore. We booked a cabin overlooking the fjord and rested after one of the most spectacular rides you could imagine. This is Norway at its best.