Arlene and Paul’s Scandinavian Adventure, August 2009
Arlene works in Oslo, and for her August visit, asked if I would come along. I agreed, as long as we went on our bikes, as I have always wanted a trip round Scandinavia. When Arlene’s Norwegian colleagues heard of this venture, they offered to lend us their log cabin, sited on the edge of the Oslo fjord. Thus the ride was planned – 10 days should do it, we thought. We asked our friendly travel agent to look at all the ferry options, and we made our decisions and booked it! So….ride to Harwich, ferry to Esbjerg (west Denmark), ride to the north of Denmark, ferry from Hirsthals to Cristiansand (south Norway), ride north to Oslo along the fjord, a few days in Oslo, then down the west coast of Sweden to Varberg, then ferry to Grenaa in East Denmark, ride through Denmark, then ferry home from Esbjerg – 1500 miles in all.
Day 1 The day has arrived – we loaded our trusty steeds with our luggage – Paul had twice as much as Arlene!! But Arlene had the kitchen sink!! The ride to Harwich was unremarkable as you might all guess – boring motorway riding. Paul had contacted an old friend who lived in Colchester to see if she would be in if we called by, and she gave us a wonderful roast lunch. So we set off to Harwich on full stomachs and empty petrol tanks – nearly forgetting to fill up before the ferry. Lucky for us, there was a petrol station 100 yards before the ferry port. We tied our bikes down on the ferry deck and settled down for the night crossing to Denmark (22 hours). We sailed DFDS – the food was fantastic!!! (and Arlene hasn’t stopped raving about it), the cabin was comfy, and we had a sea view.
Day 2 We arrived at Esbjerg at mid-day and had only 7 hours to do 250k to catch the second ferry. We rode through the town of Esbjerg instead of taking the motorway, and eventually found the A11 coast road that would take us all the way north. The day was clear and sunny, but exceptionally windy, with strong gusts. The traffic was light, and once we understood the road signs, we settled in to enjoy the ride through farmlands, forests, small towns and the obligatory bridge or two. Our radios were invaluable. As we neared the top of Denmark, we had a fiskeburger and chips at Ody (yes Roger, a fish burger), overlooking coastal wetlands. However, the petrol station next door remained a mystery to us, because we could not operate the pump, despite enthusiastic help from some local people. So we rode on nervously, in the hope of more fuel soon, and in the fear of running out! You will have guessed by now there were not many petrol stations on the coast road. Trees screened the view of the sea to a large extent, somewhat disappointingly, but it was pretty. At one stop in a lay by, for a leg stretch……a car followed us in, turned into a nearby house, and then a man appeared, speaking in a Scots accent. He had married a Danish woman, lived in Denmark and missed speaking in English. He told us that the lakes in summer were very busy with water sports, but that it shuts down in winter because of strong winds, rain and snow. On arrival at Hirsthals, we could not see the ferry. It soon arrived and we rode aboard, strapping our bikes down yet again. Riding onto the ferry was not so easy, with wet metal floors, and raised floor fittings. By now we were getting good at tying down the bikes and helped others. This ferry crossing was 4 hours, and we arrived at Cristiansand in Norway at midnight, in the rain! We had booked a hotel in advance, that was 5 minutes from the dock. However one way streets, wet cobblestones, unlit and illegible road signs made the journey challenging – all 20 minutes of it! We arrived to a darkened hotel exterior. No one answered the night bell. Frantic phone calls were made. A sleepy eyed student emerged from a room in the foyer with a handful of keys -take one of these he said. We obeyed.
Day 3 Norway dawned grey, wet and very cold. We had about 300k to go. The coast road north ran just past the hotel, so we easily picked up the E18. The road was supposed to be very beautiful, around fjords, over mountains, through forests, past lakes, but with very low cloud, massive road spray and very heavy rain this ride was hellish. We stopped every now and again to wring out our gloves and buffs, dripping water all over small café floors, and nourished with hot chocolate and pastries. We reached Horten late afternoon to find a small ferry to take us across the fjord to Moss, on the east of the Oslo fjord. This saved us about 2-3 hours of wet riding. We were met on the other side by Arlene’s friends who led us the final 10 miles to their log cabin. Arlene and I stripped off and put all our wet clothes in a drying room. With dry clothes, a log fire, tea and waffles, all was well again. Inger and Per made us very welcome. On reflection, the riding took longer than it should have, with cold hands and damp noses, but now we had another day to look forward to before Arlene needed to go into Oslo to work. By now the rain had stopped and we took an evening stroll along the edge of the fjord – stunning!
Day 4 Sunday was glorious – a sunny morning, with light dancing on the water. The wind was still strong and the Norwegian pennants streamed in the wind. We took another walk along the shoreline, saw the marina where Inger swam, and many smaller cabins built on huge pink granite boulders. The bedrock here is granite. The water temperature was 18C, but forgive is if we didn’t venture in! Inger and Per showed us how to get to the local fish shop and fish restaurant, rated the best in Norway, sited at Engelsviken. We subsequently visited more than once! Inger and Per went back to Oslo that evening, leaving us in charge for the next 4 days.
Day 5 Arlene rose at 6am to ride into Oslo. The journey took one and a half hours in the morning rush. Paul however, stayed in bed and took a leisurely ride into Oslo later that morning and pretended to be a tourist. Paul had lunch by the Oslo harbour overlooking the tall ships, the cruise ships, the ferries, and the long ships. We rode back to the cabin together, through the rush hour traffic and into the countryside.
Day 6 No respite for Arlene – back to work, riding into the early morning sun…..Paul came in later, and took in the Oslo ship museums: the Viking ship museum, the Kon Tiki and the Fram, Amundsen’s Arctic explorer vessel. We met up after work at the new Oslo Opera House, with Per and Inger, and walked all over the roof. It is designed as a glacier, with an iceberg rising from it. The sides are geometric planes of white travertine marble, offset and angled so that you can walk up to the roof, for a stunning view of the Oslo fjord. Google it for some good photographs. The opera house sits at the head of the fjord. We sat on the terrace, in the sun, and had dinner.
Day 7 Arlene’s day of work had been cancelled so we had a free day to explore the area. We rode south to Fredrickstad, a medieval fortified town. We stopped for coffee and to visit the studio of a renowned glass maker – a small purchase was made…..We then rode out to the island chain of Hvaler: a small grouping of inhabited islands linked by stunningly engineered road bridges. The final link was through a very deep, dark and dank tunnel where Trolls lurked. We didn’t see them though, as it was too dark! We had lunch at Hvaler and Arlene ordered a prawn sandwich – big mistake, as it turned out, since the plate of prawns would have fed the 5000. Our bikes had been attracting attention throughout the trip, but here we were pleasantly accosted by a group of older people out on a day trip from Oslo, who wanted to reminisce about their youthful times on scooters. On returning to the cabin, we had a final stroll along the fjord.
Day 8 We secured the cabin, and set off as early as we could. The route home took us down the west coast of Sweden on the E6. The road was wide and fairly straight, with little traffic. The road passed through forests, with granite outcrops, and occasional glimpses of the sea, with small wooded islands. By now we had figured out how to work the automatic petrol station pumps, so favoured in Scandinavia, and could read the visa card instructions in 3 languages!! We were now in a position to help other tourists similarly flummoxed by the automatic pumps. As bikers, we also had the luxury of free passage on the many toll roads.
Roadside cafes and services were few and far between. For lunch, we found a leafy picnic area with a tourist information office. A charming and very helpful young man helped us book a hotel for the night in Varberg, on the coast. We stayed in a small hotel that was once a merchant house. The rooms were elegant, with high ceilings and white voile covered four poster beds. Varberg is a Swedish fortified town with a medieval centre, and a large marina. We were surprised to see lovingly restored American convertibles cruising along the shore and through the town square. We had planned to ride on to Malmo the next day and cross to Copenhagen via the new road bridge. However the weather forecast was against us. We voted for prudence and decided to take the early morning ferry to Grenaa on the north east of Denmark. The weather forecast for Denmark was considerably better, and it turned out so!
Day 9 On the ferry to Grenaa we picked up some maps of Northern Denmark, and had a lovely afternoon riding to a medieval nunnery, neolothic stone circles, and we swear we found the best ice cream in Denmark. As we pulled up into the car park, the owner of the ice cream shop appeared smiling, and silently handed us planks of wood on which to stand our bikes. He was clearly biker friendly and offered free coffee to all bikers.
Day 10 We rode from east to west and then south to Esbjerg along the coastal sand dunes. The wind was too strong. Menacing rain clouds gathered. But we out rode them! Many houses were built between the dunes, nestling down below road level. We understood why! On the other side of the road was a long and large inland lake, festooned with sailing boats, kite surfers and wind surfers. The road into Esbjerg was virtually empty. We were surprised to ride through so many small towns and villages on a Saturday that seemed so deserted! It was DFDS home, and with the amazing buffet!
Day 11 What should have been an easy run from Harwich turned out to be a nightmare journey. The M25 was shut, so we had to take the A12 into London to pick up the North Circular. And guess what? Everybody else did the same thing, and all the roads had road works. Sanctuary came in the form of the Ace Café. Tea and muffins helped to relieve the strain……..of the 5 hour homeward journey.
Paul Burton
11 days and 1500 miles
16.09.09
