Norse Bound!
Checking out of Jamtland (center of Sweden) time to drive to Norway but not before me and the Misses see the great symbol of the province, a moose. Just so happened that while we were heading out, a moose strolled across the road and into the woods. No big deal for us Warm Springers and Springettes, we see them all the time. BTW- they look the same here as at home.
Driving time today will be about 6hrs, good driving weather with a little bit of rain and around 550. Tonight, we’ll stop in Oppdal then continue on tomorrow morning to Alesund where we’ll hang out for 4 days or so. We chose Oppdal simply because we needed to break up the drive and they had a great deal on a hotel room. It’s a small town, mostly popular with skiers in the winter so not expecting much to be going on when we arrive.
You know when you drive from one state to another in the US, there is usually a sign welcoming you and everyone (Linda Brown – that means you) stops for a Kodak moment to document their arrival. Crossing into Norway, no welcome, just a simple sign stating driving laws (yeah, right) like headlights on at all times (big fine if you don’t!), and seatbelts. Speaking of fines, if you are unfortunate enough to actually get a traffic fine, it is payable on the spot to the officer. No court, no delay, no argument, just pay the man.
In town 50Kph, outside of town 80Kph, headlights on, seat belts on. All you need to know.
OK, got the driving laws now what about this scenery? Amazing! One minute we were surrounded by trees, lakes and a few boulders; the next, massive mountains, gorges, waterfalls, ravines that seem to disappear into the Earth! Beautiful!
The change really was that dramatic and that quick. All at once the lakes disappeared and rivers took their place; the trees thinned out and mountains sprang up for as far as you could see. The road no longer went boringly straight, but curved in and out along the mountain following the river. It seemed that every mountain had at least 2 or 3 waterfalls. Quite a change from Sweden!
Onward to Oppdal! Here are a few pics from the road and our first ferry ride of the adventure complete with a traditional Norwegian hot dog!
Downtown (City Center) Oppdal with the ski area in the background
Norwegian troll. Tradition has it some are good, some are bad.
Nothing like a good ole bacon wrapped hot dog!
Besides skiing, there is a lifestyle museum (not again!), and the largest Iron Age burial site in Norway located in Oppdal. But, since we’re only here for the evening, we’ll pass on the attractions and instead try to find a nice place to have dinner. Our hotel, the Hotel Skifer (translation: Slate), seems to have the only upscaled restaurant open at this time. Good enough, the enclosed outside (does that mean it’s inside?) patio works for us. We each have a glass of wine, Mom-Bear has Pinot Grigio and I have a cab, and an exciting dinner, fish & chips and a reindeer pizza!
A store in Oppdal with traditional sod roof
Collette’s fish & chips……BORING!
Dan’s reindeer pizza….ADVENTUROUS!
During my working years I spent some time in Finland so reindeer isn’t a big deal for me, but to Collette it’s a new experience. Reindeer tastes a bit like beef but a little gamey. She likened it to beef that has aged. Her exact words were, “beef that’s old”. OK, so not her favorite but not terrible either. I thought it was fine, it was the lingonberries on the pizza that were a bit much for me. Come to think of it, reindeer, lingonberries, mushrooms and horseradish isn’t your everyday pizza.
End of another day so off to bed. We don’t need to get up too early, our drive tomorrow is about 5hrs along the Atlantic coast to Alesund. The port town of Alesund, is a small village known for its Art Nouveau architecture. It’s a good jumping off point for exploring the Greirangerfjord, Trollstigen, and other amazing natural sites in the area. The town is also well worth a walk through with tons of tiny shops and restaurants welcoming tourists.
Almost forgot, we’re keeping track of the different styles of herring we have here in Scandinavia. So, we (yes, I’m trying them too) have had 4 different styles, mustard, lemon & onion, mayonnaise, and sweet sauce of some kind. Collette said they didn’t taste bad but surprisingly, I thought they tasted like bait. The count continues……
Good ole herring…mustard sauce, sweet sauce, lemon & onion sauce and the best, mayonnaise! Breakfast of champions!
Till tomorrow, god natt.