Sunday 5th July

We were woken at 6am in time for a quick light breakfast, then said goodbye to our final travelling companions. At 8am we were back in the car for the final run home, through Hull, then Yorkshire, and past a mass of wind turbines.

We finally arrived back in Castle Donington at 11.30 am, just in time to head out with friends for a local event - Music in the Park. More beer and wine, but with the knowledge that this time we could walk home.

Distance driven: 107 miles

What a wonderful holiday, with fantastic people! We look forward to meeting many of them again at other events round Europe.

Total distance driven: 3598 miles

 

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Saturday 4th July

After a standard buffet style breakfast we packed, then waited for the boat to dock. There was a small moment of panic when I could not find the key to the glove compartment containing TomTom and Mick's driving glasses, but it turned out it was still in the car....again!

We left the boat to be greeted by hot sunshine. All went well until the outskirts of Hamburg where we hit a virtually stationary traffic jam. Dave Burgess's car was struggling (still with only first and fourth gears and a very dodgy clutch) and he had to hot wire his car in the queue after the ignition cut out. Learning the motorway was actually closed ahead, we pulled off and took shelter in an Ikea car park while the engines cooled down. At least when we continued on we were driving down roads with trees and some shade. The temperatures had hit 35 degrees by this time!

Finally back on the motorway the Boys in Blue shot off, leaving us, Ian and Mary driving at a slower rate. We were now worried about getting to the ferry on time, but, by only allowing a few minutes for a refuelling and toilet stop, we managed to get to the terminal by 6.30 pm. We actually beat the boys to the ferry, but only as they had taken a more leisurely stop. Last to arrive were Alan and Robert who had had a wheel bearing problem.

First stop was a shower, then beer!! Afterwards we ate in the a la carte restaurant on the boat, on exactly the same table as we had used on the way out. A fitting end to the trip.

Distance driven : 400 miles.

 

 

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Friday 3rd July

We had a nice room at the Oslo hotel, better than last time, and I was able to have a cup of tea in bed! We said more goodbyes, then drove into the centre of Oslo, refuelling on the way. Only later did Mick wonder if this was a good idea with a possible fuel leak and a sea journey coming up. In Oslo we competed with one way systems, taxis, cars, trams, bicycles and people as we visited two branches of Clas Ohlson to buy a memory foam cushion for my back. We managed to buy the only one available in Oslo, then made our way to the ferry terminal. Arriving there at 11.30 we found ourselves behind a line of Lotus Seven cars on their way to the UK to visit Brands Hatch.

Bjarne came to see us off, and we eventually drove onto the boat at around 13.00. Only the seven cars for the UK, plus Martin and Yesca, are left in the group now.

The boat is huge, and has a central shopping street, bars, restaurants and a spa on board. Our cabin is small but nice, and on the inside of the boat so it will actually be dark tonight.

We wandered around, then stood on a sun deck watching Oslo pass by and photographing the seagulls following the boat. We sat and read for a while, but it was too windy outside, so we went wandering again.

After exploring the boat, and checking our dinner reservation time, we had a coffee with Robert, Martin and Yesca, then went to the upstairs observation lounge and read our books, ignoring all the waiters! We had to go and get our jumpers as the air conditioning was so cold.

The gourmet meal in the evening with Mark and V was very good. Six courses, with a couple of extra mouthfuls, washed down by a nice wine from Spain. It also has to be noted that the view off the back of the boat is exceptional, however I think Mick and I are now convinced that big boat cruising is not for us.

Miles driven : 10

 

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Thursday 2nd July

Up early today as the boat docked at Trondheim at 6.30am. After unloading all the cars, and grabbing a quick breakfast, we were ready for the long drive to Oslo.

First stop was the Nidarosdomen, or Nidaros Cathedral, in the centre of Trondheim. The early arrivals parked in front of the West Wall, but before we found them they had been asked to leave!

There was a bit of fog just as we left Trondheim, but apart from that it was a wonderfully hot and sunny day. We overtook Tom and Berit, then Martin and Yesca, just for photographic reasons of course.

It was a beautiful drive down a wide valley towards Roros, following a large salmon river. It was so pleasant to be in the cars again, and lovely to have sunshine.

We arrived in Roros at 11.30 giving us plenty of time for a walk round this UNESCO World Heritage site. Gathered around an old copper mine which operated up until the 1970s, the village contains one of the largest concentrations of old wooden houses in Norway.

Lunch was at a local hotel, and was traditional creamed moose stew followed by blueberry pie, served by the chef. This was the last time the entire group was all together so the first of the farewells started.

We then had a five hour plus drive to Oslo! The weather was still sunny which was nice at first but later we longed for sun visors as the newer cars had! We stopped for an ice cream at Koppang, then later at a rest site to stretch our legs. Mick found new employment as a wind screen washer man.

At the rest area we learnt that the lower section of the E6 road had recently been improved, using rusted crash barriers and fences to be easier on the eye, individually designed wooden bridges over the road to keep drivers interested, and LED lighting; impressive. They had also got the biggest concentration of wild lupins at the side of the road that we had yet seen.

We finally got to the hotel in Oslo at about 7.30, hot, tired and dusty. After checking in everyone ended up in the bar with cold beers! We were joined by Bjarne, Tove and their daughter and all 22 of us ate pizzas in the restaurant. Good food, but not very good service sadly. After temporarily fixing a fuel leak on the TR3, and saying lots more goodbyes, we collapsed into bed at around 11pm.

Miles driven : 352

 

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Wednesday 1st July

We managed to sleep late, and only just made it into the breakfast before it closed at 10am. For the first time on board I managed to get access to the Internet and so was able to update the blog. The weather had closed in and was grey and wet so we sat indoors and watched the world slide past.

After a lateish lunch most of our party continued to read or sleep. The scenery was gradually getting flatter and less interesting, though the increasing rain didn't help.

The only excitement in the afternoon was an hour stop at Bronnoysund where Mick, Mark and V went off in search of ice cream.

At 8pm, just before dinner, we all gathered in the library for a glass of fizz. Dave Burgess thanked Bjarne and Tove for a great trip, and Bjarne thanked us all for attending and becoming friends. Everyone agreed it had been a great experience!

 

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Tuesday 30th June. The Coastal Steamer

After a good night's sleep and breakfast we sat and watched the scenery glide past. We stopped at Risoyhamn then continued on through the Lofoten Islands.

After lunch we stopped in Sortland and visited the Hurtigruten museum and learnt the coastal steamer has been running since 1884, only interrupted for a short while by WWII. The reliability of the service is probably one reason that the north of Norway is so well populated. We later learnt that the government also offer tax advantages to those who live in the north.

Between Stokmarknes and Svolvaer we passed through the narrowest of the Lofoten fjords with some of the best scenery of the trip.

The captain took the boat on a short detour into the Trollfjord, a narrow (100m) very steep sided fjord. Our boat turned round in the small space, with it's bows nearly into the waterfall on the side, before resuming it's normal course.

After a quick glass of wine with Bjarne and Tove admiring their cabin upgrade, the boat stopped at Svolvaer and we all got off for a beer. We had driven past the outskirts of the town a few days earlier, but it appeared much bigger when approached from the seaward side, another indication of how important the sea trade is to these northern towns.

After dinner and a few drinks in the bar we finally saw a true midnight sun. There were virtually no clouds in the sky whilst we were in the bar, but, sadly, more arrived later. Everybody (nearly) gathered on the rear deck of the boat at midnight for drinks and photographs and we all took many pictures before retiring to bed.

Good day all round, more of the same for tomorrow.

 

 

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Monday 29th June

We woke earlier than we had hoped or expected, but felt remarkably awake. Our first stop of the day, 5 mins from the hotel, was at noon at the Alta Museum. We had a guided tour of the rock carvings there which mainly depicted hunting scenes and were dated from 2 to 7 thousand years ago. The red colouring had been added by archeologists in the 1970s when they had been found!

Lunch was at the museum, reindeer wraps with lettuce and a pink colourd sauce (cranberry yoghurt?), and then we were on the road again. Today was one of the few occasions when we had already driven the same roads once as we were headed south towards Skjervoy to pick up the coastal ferry

It was very cold, but sunny. Our first stop was at a Sami 'outlet centre', a set of rough huts at the side of the road. Three of us bought reindeer skins, and Tove tried on a splendid hat.

The scenery was wonderful yet again, as we followed Ian and Mary's Jag along the side of fjords. They stopped at a lookout point while we carried on with Bjarne. At one point we passed a cluster of our cars around the midget. Despite a visit to the garage at 8am, it had failed again, and Hans Gunter generously towed it the rest of the way. Several cars have had problems this trip, but this was the only time we had to resort to a tow bar. Two cars did fail to make the final trek up to Nordkapp, however all the people got there thanks to generous offers of lifts from those with spare space.

We all got to Skjervoy for the Hurtigruten boat in plenty of time, especially as the boat arrived slightly late! All co-drivers had to board separately, then the cars were tightly packed into the hold.

Dinner was a three course meal, at set tables. Though a coastal steamer, the boat is more like a smal cruise ship, with tours arranged at any port where we stay long enough. The sun actually broke through the clouds just before midnight, so we finally feel we have seen the Midnight Sun!

The boat docked in Tromso at 11.45 pm, and we all headed into town for a drink. Tromso is known as the Paris of the North, and seems to be a town which stays awake all night. Not quite sunny but it was still fully light as we walked past the harbour.

A welcome beer, then it was back to the boat for our departure at 1.30 in the morning, and a very welcome sleep.

 

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