Scandinavia etc

Raymo

Active Member
The High Prices are the brain child of Nogbad the Bad to keep the Anglo Saxons at bay, ( the Picts & Celts are even greater tight wads, so don't bother as all nice mountainous places look like Scotland anyway.. Just ask Euan Macgregor )

Bring back sensible pricing as we had in the good old day under Nogin the Nog :)

 

soho

Well-Known Member
I was first in Oslo, January 1975. One TV channel 7pm till 8pm, news followed by a BBC nature programme. The only place to buy alcohol was the Vin Monopol, open only on Saturday mornings. Night clubs closed at 11.30pm and very few families had a car any better than maybe a Skoda. Decent trusting folk though, I remember going to Tromso airport in the Artic one night for a coffee........nobody there and the entire place was left unlocked, control tower and all !! I was 19 then and stuck there with no bike ! On the upside I was earning Norwegian money and only paying 10% visiting artist tax . I could use some of that again !
In contrast, working in Denmark there was so much alcohol going on it was probably 6months before I met anyone sober.
 

austin

Well-Known Member
In Denmark now. No beer yet though.

A word or two on campsites in the Scandinavian countries. They are great if a little expensive. Every site we have been on has an indoor kitchen of some description. Some have had nearly new appliances, others old decrepit things from the 60s. Some have been fully equipped with crockery cutlery plates pots pans etc others have had nothing not even washing liquid or a dishcloth. There will be a seating and dining area too. Again varies from heated with comfy seats, books and TV to a small basic rustic table and a few dining chairs. Anyway it means self catering is much more practical than heating up stuff on the trangia and you can get out the weather - just as I am now typing this looking at a light shower passing over.

Many campsites though are generally more geared to campervans, caravaners and renting huts. Tent pitches can be a bit of an afterthought on a couple of tatty bits of gravelly grass. We have ridden away from several campsites after looking at the pitches - I am not paying £20+ to camp on rough dirt a couple of feet from the track. Huts though can be brilliant - we have had 5 nights in them when we were either soaked or freezing cold. A real life saver. Around £50-£55 for a heated 4-6 bunk cabin (although the cheapest we actually paid was £35 for a V. small two bunk cabin in Finland.). You get mattresses and pillows & duvets but no sheets or cases so best to bring your own or a sleeping bag. Some cabins have a tiny electric stove and fridge plus some utensils and crockery, tables chairs etc, others are literally just somewhere to sleep. You can off course pay extra for en- suite.

So, if you were travelling with a couple of mates renting cabins would be a great way to travel light and relatively cheaply.
 

Lowflyer

Well-Known Member
The High Prices are the brain child of Nogbad the Bad to keep the Anglo Saxons at bay, ( the Picts & Celts are even greater tight wads, so don't bother as all nice mountainous places look like Scotland anyway.. Just ask Euan Macgregor )



Oi matey,

I resemble that remark :D cheeky git :p

Don't remember Nogin the Nog, but I do remember Captain Pugwash ( which is attached to your clip ) with all the silly innuendos, Seaman Stains etc
How on earth did they get off with it ? :eek:

Mind you, I was too young at the time to understand half the meanings ;)
 

austin

Well-Known Member
We discovered how fast my bike is fully loaded two up yesterday - 120mph. That was just twist the throttle and hold it there until obvious acceleration stopped. Probably another few mph if I was prepared to hold it on the stop for a few more minutes. An Audi something or other went past us like I was stopped when we were around 100. I reckon he was going at 180 or more.

Edit to say that the bike was absolutely rock steady too. No hint of weaves wobble or head shakes. Amazing really considering all that luggage on the back.
 
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austin

Well-Known Member
Home today after an unremarkable ride through northern Germany in the wind and rain yesterday and a very choppy overnight ferry crossing.

6,700 miles. 6 weeks 2 days. 11 countries plus the UK. 5 currencies. 10 (I think) ferries, 5 nights in Huts, 3 in hotels, 36 in tent, 2 Moose, Countless Reindeer, lots of eagles and sea eagles, 1 Santa Claus (seriously, we met bloke on a Guzzi V50 on the Hull ferry who works as SC at the North Pole resort in Finland), 1 mention on a Romanian Radio station, 1 small keeping the bike vertical incident :oops:, countless tunnels, a million mozzie bites each (actually they weren't too bad - Latvia was worst, too cold further north still), lowest temperature +4c/Highest +29c, 1week North of the Arctic Circle, a billion hairpin bends.

Plus a fair bit of attrition: 1.75 rear tyres. 0.75 front tyres. 1 broken tent pole. 2 broken Exped sleeping mats. 2 Sena headsets gone iffy. 2 split side bags on the bike. 2 torn and damaged Goretex balaclavas, 1 broken picnic set, 1 leaky Klim suit plus all the other wear and tear of an extended camping trip.

A couple of items still to wend through the Euro banking system but total cost all in including all ferries, insurances, one rear tyre and one new mat around £3500. From Norway onwards it got bloody expensive.

I cant remember where I got up to with pics, but a few more from Norway cant harm....

Around every corner are views like this. Honestly this was nothing remarkable but just happened to be where we stopped briefly. It becomes a problem deciding which views to photograph - meaning we photographed very few.
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Anne attempting to warm up by jogging around the lay-by. I got told to F-off as this photo was taken.
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One of the countless tunnels - with roadworks going on inside - hence the low speed. Otherwise you just through at whatever the limit is _ which is always low in Norway.
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I cant remember the name of the town but its at the eastern end of the Lofoten Islands and is a pretty but touristy honeypot.
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More Lofoten Islands
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Village of Reine next to where we were camping at Moskenes.
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Lots and Lots of bridges like these. (just to keep Lowflyer happy)
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Leaving Lofoten
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An impressive Waterfall/Rapids in Northern Norway. I cant remember what its called but its huge.
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And a couple of Anne
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.
 

soho

Well-Known Member
What a holiday ! and a long one too. Fantastic, Iv'e just spent three days in the Cotswolds at Chalcombe Enduroland. OK, but not exactly the sort of memories you'll be living on through next winter.?............ I need a trip !
 

Lowflyer

Well-Known Member
Bloody brilliant report. Certainly cheered me up on many a night. :thumbsup:

Huuuuge thanks for taking the time and effort Austin, much appreciated.


Soooo ---- where next and when ???;):D
 

Lutin

Administrator
Staff member
Forum Supporter
Brilliant job, Austin. As always.

Seriously, thanks for taking the time and effort to keep us up to date on your wanderings. :thumbsup:
 

austin

Well-Known Member
What a holiday ! and a long one too. Fantastic, Iv'e just spent three days in the Cotswolds at Chalcombe Enduroland. OK, but not exactly the sort of memories you'll be living on through next winter.?............ I need a trip !

One of the many benefits of being early retired is long breaks. :)

Bloody brilliant report. Certainly cheered me up on many a night. :thumbsup:

Huuuuge thanks for taking the time and effort Austin, much appreciated.


Soooo ---- where next and when ???;):D

Actually we just might go again in a few weeks. I need to service the bike and sort out tyres and replace some of the worn out & broken stuff. The if the finances look OK we may head to the sunnier parts of europe for more of a holiday than a tour. Portugal is supposed to be nice, and CHEAP still.

Brilliant job, Austin. As always.

Seriously, thanks for taking the time and effort to keep us up to date on your wanderings. :thumbsup:

You are all welcome. One benefit for me is that the photos and memories and all your comments are stored online for me.


Now, I have just cracked open a fresh bottle of malt for my first whisky in 2 months :thumbsupanim:
 

nick949

Well-Known Member
Have a sip for Chris and me. Jealous, of course. Great pictures and descriptions. Best to you both.
 

austin

Well-Known Member
Morocco, yes twice. It going there 10 years agto hat started all this travelling lark for us.
 

austin

Well-Known Member
last few pics.....

Getting back into temperate climes. A much more discrete place and in far better taste than the horror in Finland.

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Bridge to nowhere it seems on the Atlantic Road
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Same bridge
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More Atlantic Road views
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About the only thing that's good value in Norway are the "camping huts". This one was 500NoK (about £50) and had a separate bedroom with 4 bunks in, and a living room/kitchenette. Price included bedding in this one but most don't. The night we took this it rained from about 5 minutes after we got there and had not long stopped as we left when this photo was taken. Perfect timing I called it.
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Various views of the Trollstigen Pass, AKA the Trolls ladder.
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Gerainjer Fjord. We didn't know we were approaching this. The coaches parked at a viewpoint were the first clue and the round a corner this.....
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Sat Nav altimeter showed 3,500 feet above sea level - almost straight down. It would have been a good fun road if it wasn't for the campers and coaches taking people back to the cruise boats.
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Last one it seems. We took a road that wasn't on the map and paid an £8 privilege for it but at around 4500 feet the snow thickened up until there was more snow than not and there was loads of Nordic Skiing going on. Good to watch for a while. It wasn't unusual in urban areas to see people on long roller blade type things with ski poles absolutely whizzing along on the cycle tracks.
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