It was one of those gorgeous blue-sky days, and the four-hour ferry crossing was smooth as…until we docked.
No sooner had we rolled off the ferry than my worst fear happened: tunnels. Boom. Boom. Boom. Three in a row, not even time to catch my breath. And not your average tunnels, either. This was an underground maze, with forks and offshoots going god knows where. Mike missed our exit, and suddenly we were hopelessly lost in Norway’s underground.
Eventually, we resurfaced and pulled into a shopping centre so I could calm my rattled nerves. We also picked up a Norwegian road atlas, because sometimes you just need to see the entire battlefield.
Mr Google kept trying to herd us onto the highways so I did my zoomie trick where I zoom in on the map and follow the wiggliest lines I can find. That led us to the coast, and oh wow, what a detour it turned out to be.
Norway’s southern fjords are absolutely stunning. Clear blue water and red timber houses perched at the water’s edge were just what I expected from Norway. It’s picture postcard, chocolate box and every other cliché you can imagine. We couldn’t stop grinning at the sheer beauty of it!
But we should give some credit to France, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark. Their flat landscapes set up Norway to wow us as soon as we got off the ferry. It was like we’d been transported into another land (we literally had).
The afternoon was spent driving along narrow winding roads, every turn another beautiful scene. I found two really decent free camping spots, but Mike was loving the drive so much he didn’t want to stop. The weather and scenery was too nice.
We continued on but couldn’t find any decent camping spots. Thankfully, with the long evenings (it doesn’t get dark until around 10 p.m.), we had time on our side. Eventually, we found a free spot in a rest area just off the main road. Even their rest stops are ridiculously picturesque. We’re overlooking a pond, with picnic tables, chairs, and even toilets. Just a bit of traffic noise, but it didn’t bother us at all.