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.

Farewell Germany welcome to Scandinavia

After some consideration we decided to catch a ferry from northern Germany (Puttgarden) to southern Denmark (Rodby) and then proceed onto Norway from Copenhagen. We picked the city of Lubeck as our overnight stop en-route with no expectations other than a place to sleep. We were more than pleasantly surprised when we arrived following a boring day on the German motorways. Lubeck is a magnificent medieval city well sited on the river Trave and a major German port on the Baltic Sea. The extensive Brick Gothic Architecture throughout the city has earned Lubeck a UNESCO World Heritage Site listing. We spent several hours wandering the streets and barely touched the surface. A must see place if visiting this part of the world.

We had pre-booked our ferry and left Lubeck with time to spare - that was until the German Dept of stuffing up Highways intervened. Whole sections of the highway were closed down and turned the place into a carpark. Lane filtering is illegal in Germany but we 'bent' the rules along with a couple of Finnish bikers and a German local. Still missed our allotted ferry so had a short wait. The 45 minute crossing was smooth and then we were in Scandinavia. First impressions were of flat well kept rural lands, plenty of road bridges, different Architectural style of the farm buildings and all cars have their headlights on during the day (this is a law in Denmark and Norway). We proceeded onto Copenhagen and to our prebooked suburban B&B. The suburban shopping area was a sea of bicycles with double storied bicycle racks at the rail station. The rural tidiness we had first observed unfortunately did not carry over to the urban area with graffiti an ever present eyesore. There was also a general air of untidiness which really surprised us - we had expected Denmark to be as neat as a pin.

Copenhagen itself has taken on the air of a construction site - apparently the Danes have decided they need a subway system and have been building one for the past decade with no end date in the foreseeable future. The locals have become conditioned to the disruptions and changes to bus routes etc. Whole sections of the city are 'under construction' and even in the most populous tourist areas dumpsters and demolition work compete with the retail sector. There are some lovely parts of the city - we watched the Changing of the Guard at the Amalienborg Castle and that was performed with the expected degree of pomp and ceremony. The Marble Church, the old wharf area (Nyhavn), new Opera House, Rosenberg Castle and Gardens and 'the Little Mermaid' are all noteworthy sites to visit. Also notable after so long in Europe is the increase in prices in Denmark and only to get worse in Norway. The home of Carlsberg and Tuborg has the most expensive beer we have encountered so far. Food, fuel, accommodation and public transport are all much more expensive than what we have left in Germany. We had a chance meeting with a local riding a Danish built Nimbus motorcycle from 1949. This in-line 4 cylinder military model with shaft drive and exposed overhead valves was as simple as a hammer and still giving reliable daily service to its owner.

We left Copenhagen late afternoon on the overnight ferry to Oslo. We had spent the day along the coastline north of the city where the Danes were enjoying the last days of their summer holidays in the sun and along the beach. It is a very relaxed area away from the bustle of the city.