September 2017: Italy

Its Monday the 11^th September and we decide to pack up and head around to Toscalana Moderna and have a day or two there. By the time we park up its is pouring with rain so we again sit it out hoping for a break, which we do get around 1.30pm so we unload the bikes and head off looking for a bike repair as Vic has a puncture that we manage to keep inflated while we look. I know a place but its closed so we do some grocery shopping and by the time we get back it opens at 3. All fixed, 10 euro and she is all set. The afternoon stays fine and we drag out the table and chairs and relax in the sun till it cools off once the sun disappears over the horizon.

We decide next day to head off and continue south looking for more sunshine, our destination is Piedmonte and around Alba and Asti, famous for the wines produced in these areas.

We follow the SS45 until we hit the E70 towards Piacenza, along the way hitting a massive traffic stoppage where we are static for long periods of time. Its one of those where people are out of the cars standing on the road with nothing moving, we eventually make the detour and after circling around through minor roads we end back on the E70. We exit at the SP3 just before Alba and climb the hills to a camp near Mango at the winery La Trava. Amazing area and we manage to grab the last spot overlooking the vineyards, its perfect and the sun is out. These are the places you travel for and endure hours of driving to find, we feel lucky to have found such a spot, plus the owner Maria is just so happy to see you that you feel very welcome. Well we are not going anywhere so out come the chairs and table and our amazing view is spread out before us. Piedmonte is the poor cousin of Tuscany, not as many famous old towns but the area is amazing and well worth exploring.

What a view from our van!

Next Morning we take a walk up to the village Mango and some shopping at the small supermarket, fresh bread, ham and local cheese for our lunch, strolling around the few streets where it varies from totally rundown to pristine properties and of course the views from every corner. It was quite cloudy this morning but by 1pm it has all cleared with sunshine and light winds. During the afternoon we watch the arrival of a trailer load of Barbera grapes that are crushed and pumped to the vats for initial fermentation. The whole operation is very efficient and most of us that are camped here are watching the process.

Barbera grapes being processed

 

We asked Maria about the wine tasting and its all set for 7pm, so we postpone dinner or I should say prepare it and join 2 Swiss and 2 French couple for a detailed degustation of the local wines. Maria does exceptionally well with all the language differences and for us we find it quite easy to follow her Italian with bits of English thrown in, surprising how much you do remember once you are in the local environment. We sample about 8 wines including a couple of whites we have never heard of, plus the Barbera, Nebbiolo and even a Spumante. Had a lot of fun, learnt more about the local wines and wine making in general. I chat to one of the Swiss men and tells me of a dinner organized for tomorrow night at a local family agriturismo so we agree to go and book, along with another Swiss couple. We did think we would leave tomorrow but grab the opportunity to see what eventuates.

Piedmonte, what a view..

Its Thursday the 14^th of September and we awake to heavy cloud cover and its pretty cool so we hope for a repeat of the last few days where the cloud burns off after a few hours. Spend most of the day inside, it’s too cool outside, we feel guilty not exploring more but really this spot is as good as it gets. Later we do go walking through the vineyards for a bit, taking it all in and enjoying the sounds of farming, tractors, dogs always barking, the odd chook crowing and the simplicity and beauty of it all. Our dinner date tonight isn’t until 7.45pm, which to those that know us is a stretch, so we have a little antipasto, a glass of  prosecco and glass of wine while we stretch out the time until we are picked up and transported to our destination. The meal is nice, we did expect more people but it’s just us and the 2 Swiss couples, we enjoy the meal and conversation, at times we had no idea what they where saying but to their credit they swapped to English many times, nice people and we had already decided previously that Swiss are friendlier than some of their neighbours, and proved by this evening. The meal is 6 courses and coffee, costs us 70 euro including the wine.

Hard to see but the clouds are so low it looks like water

Friday morning we awake to the clouds very low in the valleys, making some of the hill tops look like mountains in the sky, quite incredible. We pack up, empty and fill all the appropriate tanks, pay our bill, at 8 euro per night it’s too cheap Maria but thank you for your hospitality.

Piedmonte, a classic view

We are heading south again, who would guess? We head to Mango via Google maps, then down a bloody goat track till we hit the SP592, nice drive just not in a motor home that just fits the width of the road. Actually would be a great bike ride, well down hill anyway. We make our way towards Savona stopping at Lidl for a big shop and stock up of essential goods, like wine and Gin, no just joking, we bought bread, cheese and ham too. Our destination is Finale Ligure and a camp spot on the water we know, we arrive about 1.30, have lunch and collapse for a couple of hours rest. We camped here last year, its right on the water, just for motor homes and 18 Euro a night so not too bad as its convenient and a nice view. The weather changes and becomes cool so no BBQ tonight and we revert to inside cooking and watch a movie.

Its Saturday the 16th September and we awake to a fine day so we figure we will stay another day and walk into Finale Ligure along the beach side boardwalk, there are plenty of people walking and also heading for the beach as the sun is out, but I would think there is half of what would have been here in July. The town centre has a typical Italian pasta shop where we stop and buy fresh pasta and pesto sauce, also a nice delicatessen for sliced roast beef, pork and marinated olives. Perfect just what you want when you are in Italy. Next stop for some bread and we are set for lunch. It’s a sunny day so we make the most of it with chairs out, feet up and books open. Next morning Sunday we head off following the SS1 along the coast about 20km and book into a camp site, camping Baciccia near Ceriale for a couple of nights. The sun is out and Vic is by the pool within minutes of parking, ha ha. We will just chill for a couple of days and decide where to go next.

September 2017: Prague

We awake early and head off about 8am, manage to get lost trying to get out of Dresden, so really lose about an hour after retracing our steps, oh the joys of travelling with google maps. Don’t ask about the GPS, it’s too long a story. Eventually we manage to find the right roads and head off towards Prague. Last night I attempted to book a bike tour in Prague today, but didn’t receive a confirmation, just an email that said it will be confirmed once places are available. Ok so this morning we didn’t have an email before we left so I wasn’t sure if we had a booking. I checked when we stopped for a spell and coffee along the freeway and yes we were confirmed for 11.30 today, bloody hell we are at least 30-40 minutes from Prague and it 10.30 am, doesn’t look like we will make it, plus I’m sure I booked for 2.30pm? It’s a mad rush into Prague, we miss the turnoff to the camp site so it’s after 11am by the time we pull up. A quick Skype call and its all sorted for 2.30pm this afternoon, no stress now, we set camp grab some tram tickets and head into Prague centre.

It’s about 12pm so we have a couple of hours before the tour, so we head up the hill towards the Lobkowicz Palace where we grab views of Prague with all the rest of the crowds plus we grab a sausage and bread to head off the hunger from the food stalls all set up here. It’s pretty full on and after a bit of a look around we head down and find a square to sit and watch the world pass by for a while. Eventually we make our way to the meet up point for the bike tour and obviously arrive 30 minutes early cause that is what we do. We have a nice bike tour about 2.5 hours and see many places we wouldn’t on foot. Prague is a big city to explore, some cities have a small old area but Prague seems to be pretty spread out along the river, we both like it and will be back for an in-depth exploration at some later date. Special mention of the spot where the men assassinated Reinhard Heydrich the scumbag, not sure if you have seen the movie but the ending is not true and they committed suicide rather than being drowned by the SS. If you go the island in the centre of the river, it is well worth visiting and just chilling out, there is a great park in the centre and you can buy a take away beer from a neat bar and relax in the park and sunshine, hopefully. It’s a bit of a walk back to our tram spot and we catch the 20 tram back to our camp site, the evening is surprisingly mild and we sit outside for a drink and dinner also, perfect thanks Prague.

Crowded at the castle

Charles bridge Prague

Church of Our Lady Old Town

Its Wednesday the 6^th September and we leave Prague and head south towards Austria. I did a bit of research and decide to head towards Cesky Krumlov, a Unesco town in the south of the Czech republic. We know its popular by the number of tourist buses as we pull in. The trip here was mainly along the 4 route, there where a lot of road works and diversions which added to the time, pretty boring most of the way until maybe 20km from Cesky Krumlov where the landscape changed to a more rolling hills outlook and I suppose we are getting close to Austria which is renowned for its landscape. It’s a very attractive town, a little like a Tuscan mountain village, with large castle and church, winding streets and a river that winds through the town. There are plenty of hotels and pensions, restaurants and shops of course, we agree it would be a good spot to spend a night or 2, looks like regular buses from Prague and we see many people dragging suitcases along the cobblestone streets, not many backpackers though. Nice spot and Vic bought some Xmas decorations in Czech glass so that cements the place for us. We are parked just out of the town and could stay but the position is a bit average so we drive on and camp on the huge lake at camping Olsina. Its large winding lake near the border of Austria, I’m not even sure what it is called, google just gives me a strange Czech name, apparently its very popular in the summer, presently we are among about 6-8 vans spread over the camp site.

Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov Castle

Its Friday the 8^th September and we awake to a foggy morning, the cloud covers the lake and its about 3.5 degrees according to the vans temperature gauge. It soon clears to a fine sunny day and we head off towards Austria following the 163 route through rolling farmland and pine forests before joining the 126 and eventually the A1 which takes us at high-speed towards Salzburg. We need to do some food shopping so we exit at Salzburg to eventually find a Lidl and stock up. We leave Salzburg and join the 8 route towards Munich but exit at the 106 exit and make our way to a camp spot by the Chiemsee lake. A really nice spot with large grass area on the waterfront, the sun is still out so no need to ask us twice, we are quickly parked and out with the chairs to enjoy the afternoons sun, just perfect.

Its Saturday morning and we awake to about 12 motor homes around us, the man comes for his 10 euro about 7.30 and we pack up and leave, regretfully I must say because it is a very nice area, but the forecast is bad and we are heading south so its onward young man and off we go. We follow the 8 route and stop shortly after at a fuel station area to buy the vignette (toll fee) for the Austrian motor way, its 8.90Euro and you stick it to your windscreen, it’s for 10 days and we spend 2 hours on the motor way. It’s not long before we leave the 8 and join the 93 and E45 to Innsbruck and further onto Italy. Last year we went this way but on the minor roads and don’t really want to do that again so its motor way all the way. Of course there is so much traffic, roadwork’s appear periodically and there is  consistent stopping caused by all the traffic, the upside is you can stop and look around you, the views are amazing, some of the bridges are so high you have this incredible view laid out before you. Overall the drive is pretty easy and we make good time even with the stops, we hadn’t really planned on getting as far as we did but we make it to the south end of Lake Garda in Italy by 3.30pm and book into a nice campsite we stayed at last year in about April I think. Its pretty full, mainly Germans from what I can see so far, but we are parked up and will stay a few days to relax. Hoping the weather is going to be kind…..

Well Sunday didn’t turn out that well, rained most of the day, got a bit of a walk in the afternoon, but apart from that read and rested all day.

September 2017: Berlin

We leave Wismar and head on the 20 route before cutting across on to the 19 then the motorway route 24. We arrive at the campsite in Ferch on Schwielowsee lake about 1pm and set up before relaxing and enjoying the dry day. Tomorrow Sunday we will head into Berlin.

So its Sunday the 3^rd of September, Fathers Day so happy fathers day to those who are. Buses don’t run that regularly on a Sunday so we either catch the 8.17 or the 9.42 bus, no real choice there, it’s the 8.17 and we are out waiting about 7.55am cause that’s what we do, plus really not that sure which side of the road the bus stops? We work it out after checking out each bus stop and their directions. The bus takes us to Potsdam train station and we catch the train from there to Berlin central station. The bus is 2.60euro each and the train is 7.70 return each so pretty cheap really after Norway prices. We reach Berlin about 10am and have booked a bike tour that starts at 11am so we walk there in a round about way, Ok we got lost a couple of times, but found the river and follows that managing to arrive 10.45 so all is good. Mind you we do realize later we could have stayed on the train for 3 more stops and been 100m away but that’s travel, you always know after the event. Our group is about 16, now we have travelled all over Europe hardly meeting an Aussie but we manage 3 Aussies and a Kiwi amongst this 16, cities always attract the tourists. Its good though and we all have a good chat over the 5 hours the tour takes. I know I have said this before but these bike tours are the best way to get an overview of a city, plus manage to view sites that may be too far too walk between. Once you have this overview its great to go back and slowly check out the places you like.

Our tour takes us from the Alexanderplatz past the East German television tower, the St Nikolau church, rebuilt after WW2 and then onto the Holocaust memorial for the murdered Jews. A confronting memorial to remind us all of the fragility of life and how it can be snatched away by forces beyond your control. We also visit the plaza where the nazi’s did the book burning and the famous Humbolt University. We are taking a lot of information here, some reinforcing the ideas we had , other information really adding to the historical memories we have of Germany and WW1 and WW2. From here we travel through the tier garden and have lunch along the river, with German sausages and beer (for Vic) I had a wine. We the visit the Reichstag, Brandenburg gate, remains of the Berlin wall and check point Charlie. Of course most of Berlin was bombed to dust in WW2 so apart from about 5 buildings the rest where rebuilt. To me, Berlin isn’t about the architecture because there isn’t any really, apart from East German style block buildings, it’s about the underlying history that permeates the air and visualises in your mind. Everyone is different but I have always had a fascination with WW2 and there are places here that bring it to life in your mind, or really your imagination I suppose. Our guide does manage to bring to life the period of 1945 to when the wall came down between East and West Germany and its fascinating when you are standing there, he did a good job of enlightening the history of it all. So we had a great day, only rained twice, blame us we said its following us, plus then we worked out that we could catch the train back to Potsdam from here, so off we go and arrive back at camp about 6.00pm via the bus from Potsdam.

Holocaust memorial

Holocaust memorial

Remains of the Berlin Wall

 

It’s Monday the 4^th of September and we awake to a clear sunny day, decamp and head off to Dresden, a German city I hadn’t really thought of visiting, but its on the way to Prague so we decide to give it a viewing. Dresden is like Berlin and was pretty well flattened by the allies in WW2. Also many of the buildings are rebuilt, but even so it’s an attractive old town with massive churches and palace in the centre. We knew it was popular as we rode our bikes in and passed a tourist bus stop with maybe 15 buses parked. Wasn’t a big issue and they where either on the way out or distributed through the town centre. The centre seems to be still in a rebuild phase with many cranes and scaffolding surrounding various parts and that does leave you feeling that the original character is somehow missing, it’s just a feeling but nevertheless we can’t seem to shake it. Good German sausage in a roll though for 3 euro so cant be all bad, plus a lot better than Lubeck. Our campsite is a just 10 minutes by bike along the river, just a park up but they want 10 Euro so its like a parking fee really. There is about 20 vans here now plus 2 caravans, not sure how they get in but seems to be on the increase.

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden

 

 

August/September 2017: Copenhagen

Its Monday morning and we take the E18 to Oslo and already have some parking spots on our App to head towards to, hopefully to camp. Of course its never simple heading into a city with a motor home, we find both our park spots are full and really would have been difficult to park there anyway in our sized van. So we make our way to the marina which has a camping spot that takes 100 or so vans apparently,  we didn’t really want to go there as we have a meet with Liam in Copenhagen that is booked for Wednesday, by the time we manage to park its getting on and we need to make a decision….. Do we get the bikes off and head in for a few hours or leave it for another time and make our way towards Copenhagen?  It’s a 2 day drive, so after some indecision we leave and feel it’s the best move, we arrive at Gothenberg late in the afternoon and park up, so we will make Copenhagen tomorrow sometime in the afternoon and that should work out good.

 

 

Its Tuesday the 30^th August and we are up early, had seem to have forgotten that it was noisy here, truck start up at 3am, so not a restful night overall. But the weather looks better and we make our way down the west coast of Sweden and into Denmark. Originally thought we would cross the bridge at Malmo but decide at the last minute to take the ferry from Helsingborg to Helsingor, a 20-minute ferry ride that stung us $167, ouch. Anyway Copenhagen is not far and we head to the Marina that has a camper van section, its $36 for the night and we manage to get a waterfront spot. Its about 3pm and we contact Liam to meet and have dinner and meet up about 5pm at the front of the marina. We have a BBQ and quiz him on the goings on since he arrived, seems to have made heaps of friends and settled in quick so we are happy for him. Next morning we decide to move and find a free camp, too dear for us to stay here. We find a nice spot opposite an old marina with park land behind and make camp. We unhook the bikes and head into Copenhagen with the rain starting to come down, half way in have to find shelter as we are getting pretty wet even though we have raincoats on. We make it into the centre and head to the town hall where we lock up the bikes. Impressive building the city hall and inside it houses the famous Jens Olsen World Clock which is equally impressive, plus its handy to shelter from the rain.

Jens Olsen world clock

We have arranged to meet Liam at 12 for lunch so we tour around the main area and back streets, some parts remind us of Amsterdam and some buildings may have been built by the Dutch merchants they are so similar. We meet up with Liam and grab some lunch as the rain keeps persisting down, worst day he’s had since he got here apparently, just our luck. We part as he has commitments at the Uni and looks like we wont see him again until he returns to Aust in February, still we are lucky to have been able to catch up with him while he is here. We head off on our bikes but are getting soaked so make it back to the van and hope it clears up. We get heavy rain and thunderstorms in the night and awake to low cloud and drizzle. Had been hoping for a good day and go back into Copenhagen but looks like it has settled in and after an hour or so we decide to pull stumps and head south to Germany. After a stop round the corner at Lidl to fill our food stocks the drive on the E20 is pretty easy, although we go through the toll for the bridge over the water towards Odense and its $145 to cross a bridge, oh boy those ferries now sound cheap. We camp at a marina in Schleswig for 12euro, parked right up against the yachts, nice spot. Really have to get off the freeway and head on the smaller roads, the freeway is good to get you there quickly but becomes mind numbing after a while.

Nice camp stop at Schleswig

Well its Friday the first of September, cant believe how quick time has flown, we pack up and leave our marina and head towards Lubeck, firstly on the 76 route, stopping at an Aldi to grab some more supplies, then hooking up with the 203 and heading to Lubeck which I believe is one of the top spots in northern Germany. We manage to find a camper van park close to the centre, park up and pay for a couple of hours. It’s a short walk to the centre and the impressive church and Rathaus. Both extensively damaged in WW2 and its easy to see where they have been rebuilt, looks a bit like a jig saw puzzle put back together. Unfortunately the centre is over commercialized and spoils the town. We find the waterfront is a bit decrepit and in need of an overhaul. Again strange that we find this obviously attractive tourist destination that is in need a serious makeover, it’s a shame as there are many places in Germany that are pristine and also heavily attracted to tourists but manage to keep it looking good. We did think we would stay the night here but it’s a pretty average stop so decide to move on, unfortunately it’s a bit of a drive as we don’t come across anything for a while. Eventually headed to Wismar and parked up in a camper van spot with about 30 German vans. Wismar looks nice as we drive through looking for the site, seem to have boats selling fish moored along the marina. Tomorrow we are heading to Berlin. Or I should say a camp spot outside Berlin from which we will catch bus and train into Berlin.

Lubeck rebuilt after WW2

Lubeck rebuilt after WW2

 

August 2017: Norway Finale

Its Thursday the 24^th August and we wake early due to this spot also being a truck parking area plus a ferry parks up nearby as well so that doesn’t help. A quick clean up, breakfast and we are off, back along the E13 following the river that is rushing down to the fjord. About 10km along we see 3 huge waterfalls cascading into the river, a twin waterfall and one opposite, quite spectacular. It’s not long before we leave the E13 and take the E134, again following the river and winding up and down the mountains, the drive again being picturesque with tiny villages, small farms and huge lakes. We leave the E134 and take the 37 route with Rjukan our destination. The mountain Gaustatoppen is supposedly the most beautiful mountain in Norway, unfortunately the cloud is very low, its raining non stop so we can’t see a thing but we make our way to the cable car and park in the adjacent car park but it doesn’t look good. Because of its orientation being east to west and the mountain, Rjuken is sun free 6 months of the year, from September to March. Now they have placed huge mirrors above the town to reflect the sun in the Winter. Also famous here for the important sabotage mission in WW2 to prevent the Germans from obtaining the heavy water required for an atomic bomb. We end up staying the night here and the rain continues, next morning it is clear and we head off early to Tonsberg, the oldest town in Norway. We continue on the 37 route and wind our way past the lakes, through thick fog to start before entering into clear sunshine, then the 40 route before joining the E18. The countryside becomes less harsh and more meadow like. I have to say I’m a bit sorry about detailing the roads here, but in the future it will help me remember which route I took and we all know it gets harder to bloody remember.

Perfect Noway

We reach Tonsberg without much hassle and have arranged to meet friends Gael and Danny who live here; they are from Williamstown in Melbourne and Danny is working here for Mobil. We spot Gael waiting along the roadside and park up in car park nearby to stay the weekend with them. After meeting up with Gael, and checking into their apartment we head off while the sun is out to make the most of it with a walk around Tonsberg, past the old castle, down along the waterfront and through the old town. With a nice dinner cooked for us and a soft bed, we take a spell from sleeping in the van; it’s nice to have a change for a couple of days and enjoy great company. ( oops, not that my wife is not great company, maybe its the other way around??)

Light house, Norway style

Next day we take a trip down to Verdens Ende, the southernmost tip of the island of Tjome, with rocky islands and views across the water towards Denmark. It’s a very popular spot with families and wedding parties, plus groups including the Norway Morgan club who we manage to bump into in the car park, plus amazingly they are all women, not being sexist here, but normally its a male domain so we find it refreshingly different. They are magnificent cars, and there must have been 20-30 perfect Morgan sports cars and they all roared off with appropriate noise levels, we where so jealous. From there we spend time walking over the smooth rocky islets before heading to Sandefjord and stopping for a bite to eat at the port. The weather is being kind and the sun is out, we enjoy dinner cooked for us again, and another evening of great company and laughs.

“Lands End”

It’s Sunday the 27^th August and Danny takes us across to Moss via the ferry and then further on to Frederickstad, an old fortified town with old timber village and we have lunch in the sun. Amazing we have had 3 days here with perfect weather, just good luck I guess but we will take it.

Take my money, I will have one!

 

Its Monday and with regret we leave Gael and Danny this morning, we had a great weekend and visited parts of Norway we wouldn’t have without them so we are really grateful for their hospitality and “tiki tours” through their part of Norway. Of course only a few will recognize that phrase ” tiki tour” so that’s for you.

Horse and cart only

August 2017: More Norway

We awake this morning on Tuesday the 22^nd August, the sky is pretty clear and we are encouraged hoping for a good day. It’s a short trip on route 5 to the ferry stop that takes us across the fjord to Fodnes. Now our next venture really comes down to a chance encounter yesterday with a Dutch man who we had passed and then he had passed us over a few hours along the roads up through the mountains and including a few stops for roadworks.  We stopped at one of the amazing spots along the road and he happened to be there, we got chatting and I mentioned we where heading to Flam, probably be there tomorrow (today), so he said it was a good idea to take the mountain pass rather than the 25km tunnel, Ok so we did.

Heading up FV243

On a road I would sometimes call a “goat track” we headed up the FV243 and wound our way steadily to the top of the world, in this area anyway. We do pass a few vans coming down and the odd car but the traffic is fine, there are passing points so it’s no big deal. This is one of the great drives, the views are stunning, the landscape changes all the time and then you reach the summit amongst the remains of the snow and the glistening lakes, absolutely amazing. I thank my lucky stars I didn’t take that monster tunnel, I would rather inch my way along  a road like this than be stuck in the tunnel any day. We eventually descend and the fjord at Aurland comes into view, I’m sorry to repeat myself but the views are absolutely stunning, the descent with hairpin turns has our brakes hot plus we also manage to drive past the tourist hot spot half way down that offers the best photos, too late to stop and there is no chance of turning back. I do manage to pull over and get a couple of shots plus give the brakes a rest about half way down. We finally make it to water level and stop to grab some groceries at Aurland, it seems quiet here and we soon find out why. A few miles on and we arrive at Flam, our destination, or I should correctly say we arrive after missing the turn off and heading through a 5km tunnel before turning around and heading back through the bloody tunnel.

Still snow along FV243

Magic view along FV243

 

Well Flam is a tourist magnet, massive cruise ship parked here, dozens of tour buses, all this just turns us off, and we do a quick walk around, the famous Flam train is booked out by the hordes so no chance of catching that. The only choice is back through the tunnel, and as we make our way to Bergen the tunnels come back to haunt me, there are so many that you become mesmerized by them, some only a few hundred metres others kilometres long. Our destination is a camper van stop in Bergen and we know it will be popular so fingers crossed we get a spot.

Half way down to Flam

We arrive about 4.30pm and there is one spot left, my prayers are answered, didn’t really want to drive any further, so we park up and settle in.

This morning we are up early and head into Bergen via the tram, its foggy but no rain. The tram trip takes about 15 minutes and costs about $5 each one way, we are deposited in the centre of Bergen and make our way indirectly to the harbour and the old town, and by indirectly I mean we walked the wrong way first, but that’s normal. Bergen is a destination for visiting the fjords by cruise ship and train and it’s already pretty crowded with tourists, in fact I think if you took all the tourists away there would be very few people left. The old Bergen wharf area has a Unesco heritage rating and is well retained and restored, but over crowded and really not our scene so we walk on and check out the remainder of the area. Must say its pretty dirty for a top tourist spot, we have been to many others where they are particular about keeping the rubbish off the streets, doesn’t seem to be the case here, place could do with a good clean up. Overall it’s a nice spot, but too crowded and hard to enjoy so we grab the tram back, pack up and leave. (I’ve just read this and it sounds a bit harsh, trouble is we have seen the best of Norway with no one around and that makes us very resistant to masses of people, sounds elitist but we are just lucky we can tour out of the normal tourist paths.)

Bergen harbour

 

We take the 582 route back out till we hit the E16 before turning onto the 7 route. By chance we stop along the way at Steinsdalsfossen, and the huge waterfall you can walk behind, bit touristy for us but I liked it, and we manage to visit between the groups of tour buses that turn up frequently. We continue on to Torvikbygd and catch the ferry across the fjord to Jondal. From here we take the 107 route and manage to miss our parking destination which arrived too quickly after a 11km tunnel, my eyes still adjusting to the light and the road is really tight with no possibility of turning around, doesn’t matter we drive on and eventually stop at Odda which is at the mouth of a fjord, our camp spot right in front again with amazing views.

Magic waterfall

Odda campsite view, just another day in Norway.