Day 3 - Norway At Last

Got going at the crack of 10 this morning and hit the motorway again. This time I made a bargain with myself, just get north of Goteburg and then go for a play in the small roads. And it worked just fine. Actually, even the Swedish motorways are moderately interesting. The main road from Malmo to Oslo has to pass through some rocky forested hills so not much of the northern half is straight. I set the GPS for Oslo as a destination and told it to avoid all main roads and motorways.

I popped out by the coast a bit later and saw the main road in the distance crossing this bay/fjord. Looks idyllic but just round the corner is a huge factory & port. If the Danes have wind and turbines, the Swedes have rocks & trees and are busy turning them into cement & paper.

Apparently, Oslo is great for Museums and bumming around in the bay. Neither of which I could do with bike and luggage. As as the weather was starting to play up, I decided to skip going to Oslo and cross the Oslofjord about 30km to the south by ferry and 50 Krone later (less than the price of a beer) I was the last one on. I asked the trusty GPS to find me a campsite near Sandefjord and it duly obliged. As I pulled up to the entrance, I was disconcerted to see it was a bit shabby compared to the one I stayed at last night. This kid on a bicycle rode up to me and spoke english.....with an Irish accent. He offered to show me the way in to the office and I followed. The alarm bells should have been ringing loud and clear but I was in a bit of a rush as the rain was coming. Then I saw them...the caravans and various HiAce, HiLux & Flabed trucks plus the obligatory pile of rubbish. An Irish tinker camp in Norway....who would have thought. I did a big U-Turn and gunned it.

Route 341 miles/9:31 hrs


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