Norway is notoriously expensive, particularly if you want to do anything pleasant, like stay in a hotel, drink alcohol or eat out. For example, round the corner is a Spud-U-Like-style baked potato van, knocking them out for nearly £8 each. So we decided for this trip we would camp as much as possible, cook meals on our stove and try not to drink booze.
Well, that lasted until day two, when Bex picked up two bottles of beer in the supermarket, only to be thwarted by Norway's licensing laws, which mean supermarkets can't sell alcohol after 6pm. So far, so dry! For at least the first part of our journey, we're heading South from Bergen on the North Sea Cycle Route, which circles the North Sea for around 6,000 kilometres, through seven countries, and is supposedly the longest signed cycle route in the world. We met a Dutch man today, who's taken three months of work to cycle all of it. We've just two weeks and hope to cover most of the Norwegian leg ... if we don't go bankrupt first!
0 Comments
This morning got off to a slow start as we picked our way through the roads closed for the Iron Man 70.3 in Haugesund. Bex (who has triathloned and knows these things) tells me it's a 1.something mile swim, 90k on the bike and a half marathon to round things off. They all looked a lot fitter than us!
Everything went smoothly today - good flight with Norwegian Airlines - and once we finally got our bikes and panniers back together, we headed South on the North Sea Cycle Route, which we'll follow for the next week or so.
A ferry across the fjord and a bit more cycling and we arrived at Fitjar campsite. Dinner cooked and eaten; bed beckons! Knackered. 30 miles (30 cumulative miles), max. height 232m At least when we've unpacked the boxes, put the bikes together, sorted our kit and probably fought off some wolves... Waiting at Fishy station for the train to Gatwick.
Always the same - the weather gets better the moment you set off on holiday! Goodbye Cornwall, hello Norway. I'll get my coat...
|
Archives |