The Arctic Circle

After scrambling back down from the glacier and taking the return boat trip we continued our journey north.


After 3000 miles we've finally crossed into the Arctic Circle!

 

The Arctic Circle Centre (or gift shop) is another funky building!

Our first bear - tomorrow I'm going out to buy a very large can of pepper spay!



Cheers! We've carried this bottle of wine all of the way from Calais.
Oh and we had to buy a corkscrew too as someone packed ours in the storage unit....

The Svartisen Glacier

After a night in the middle of nowhere with not a single Elk, Reindeer (or bear!) to be seen we drove back along the dirt track and then along another similarly rutted track to a carpark where there were several other MH's. From here we took a 20 min boat ride to the Austerdalsisen arm of the Svartisten glacier.


Apparently it is possible to walk along the side of the lake - we chose the boat option!

After the boat there's a "3km trail" to the glacier - again we're not sure how they measured this! It starts off as a rough track which deteriorates until you're scrambling up through a stream. After this the hike turns into a scramble/climb over slippery rocks and ledges. It took over 90 mins of hard work in heavy rain showers to get to the foot of the glacier.

Svartisen is Norway's second largest glacier and the Austerdalsisen arm, at 20m above sea level, is the lowest in mainland Europe!

Today Em is modelling Berghaus - her new boots are waterproof too!

This one looked more blue than the previous glacier - perhaps it's the mucky weather.

We decided not to go any closer to this glacier as it didn't seem as stable as the Nigardsbreen.

Taken in heavy rain, unfortunately there's water on the lens.

Marmorslottet - The Marble Caste

Leaving Mo I Rana we headed north west into the Saltfjellet-Svaritisen National Park. Once again there were no signs so we followed the satnav to an approximate location we guessed from a tourist map. The road started off a fairly typical Norwegian single-track and rapidly deteriorated into a rutted dirt track!
The road ended at a rough parking area which had a cars parked but still no signs.


After our evening meal we followed the footpath away from the parking area. As it was evening and we would be in woodland, Em opted for mossie spray and I chose a long sleeved top. The Marble Castle is apparently a 1.5km walk - we estimated it was twice that and turned out to be another scramble in places.
It wasn't long before I regretted my choice of mossie protection - I ended up with at least 14 bites on my back.

Caves, giant’s kettles and other rock formations are formed by the melt water from the Svartisen glacier.

A Giant's Kettle

The "Stone Horse" - apparently people sit on this!
Mmmm - last seen floating down the river...

Lots of weirdly shaped rocks

Maybe a dip would stop the mossie bites stinging? 

Mo I Rana

 

Emma insisted we stop at Mo I Rana to see the 10m high sculpture by Anthony Gormley called "Havmannen" (the Ocean Man). 

Scenic Norway

One of the may stunning vistas we've had in Norway
(Plenty of fodder for our Calendar!)

Laksforsen

Our first stop today is Laksforsen which is an impressive waterfall.


Every second 700m3 of water plummet down these 17m falls!
 

Em's having a second shower of the day.

Tonights View from Kiki

We've now left the coast to head inland so that we can visit the Saltfjellet-Svaritisen National Park which is the glacier region above Mo I Rana.


We're stopped for the night in a picnic area with another lovely view of a lake.

Torghatten

After the ferry we continued north to Torghatten which fortunately was a waypoint in our satnav, otherwise it would've been difficult to find as even when you arrive at the car park there's no signs or information! We're finding this a lot in Norway - I guess you're supposed to just know where things are....


Quite a steep climb over fairly rough terrain.
 

Torghatten is a large hole in the side of a mountain. According to legend, it was created when the Horseman shot an arrow through the rock as he was filled with passion for the maiden of Leka whom the king had prevented him having.
 

Smile for the camera

 

Ridged Mountains

On leaving Namos we decided to take the coastal route, which despite having lots of fairly expensive ferries appeared to be the more scenic - it turned out to be a good decision!


We stopped last night in a layby alongside a fjord. This morning we're headed for our first ferry at Holm. 

Namos

Here we are in Namos, we've just walked around the bay and are eating lunch whilst I use the free Wi-Fi to upload several dozen pictures for our blog!

 

Sunday Morning Reflection(s)

We left Stiklestad in a thunderstorm which stayed with us all of the way to the picnic area just south of Namos where we stopped last night.


This morning the storm has gone, this is the view from our window.  There's no breeze and the reflections are amazing.

Stiklestad

After filling up with diesel (it's cheap in Hell) we continued on to Stiklestad which is the site of the battle in 1030 where King Olav died.


The king on his charger
 

A recreation of a local village
 

The local bobby gets a lift
 

Every year the battle is re-enacted in an open air amphitheatre.
 

 

The church at Stiklestad was build over the spot where Olav died.

Today we went to Hell

When Em said go to Hell I thought she was being rude!

The Slide and the Bicycle Lift

After a lie-in this morning we wandered back into Trondheim.


It would've been rude to walk down the steps when there was a shiny slide nearby - it was rather fast too!
 

The bicycle lift is the only one of its kind in the world - Apparently you put your right food against the metal plate on the kerb, press the start button and your foot is pushed up the hill. I guess you're body is supposed to remain attached to your foot and you have to sit on your bike as well! Unfortunately it wasn't working as everyone in the maintenance department is on holiday...

Sign of the Day

Don't let kids play in the building site?
Answers on a postcard please....

Trondheim

After spending most of yesterday driving we finally arrived at the Official MH parking to find a scruffy car park with a couple of abandoned vans - strangely for a big city there were no other MH's.... Undeterred we popped into the local supermarket for some fresh fruit & salad at eye-watering prices, had our evening meal and settled down for the night. By 9pm nobody else had arrived and we'd seem some MH's driving past so Em looked on the City's website and discovered the official MH parking had been moved closer to the centre!

We plugged the new co-ordinates into Jane (the sat-nav) and proceeded to drive across the city, via bus/taxi lanes and other strange routes (there were roadworks everywhere because they're installing a tram system) until we arrived at the other car park. Here there were about a dozen other MH's - much happier we settled down for a good nights sleep.


This morning we're exploring Trondheim - this is the cathedral which contains the body of Saint Olav who was king of Norway in the 900's and brought Christianity to the country.
 

The patron saint of travellers has a wreath with a black band as a mark of respect for the victims of the Spanish train incident.
 

Bryggen, the old town
 

More waterside warehouses similar to those we saw in Bergen
 

Today Emma is modelling a very expensive dress by Crew Clothing (last seen when we left our wedding reception).
 

The old bridge across the river
 

Bakklandet - more buildings in the old part of town 

 

Another view of the dress and some very shiny shoes!
 

Apparently Emma has a house!
 

 

This old lady used to walk around town smiling at everyone so when she died they created a statue of her.