Oslo 2002-7-16

We made it too Kiel just in time. And once we boarded the ferry, we could relax. The boat was big, but not too big. We had airplane seats, which were the last spaces available, and the sort of thing I am quite used to sleeping on, although Volkmar would have much preferred a bed.

At Oslo, hunger took Volkmar to a McDonalds. A 6 Euro Hamburger later, Volkmar wasn’t hungry but resolute to be more frugal with expensive Norwegian food. We stopped by the tourist information centre to get maps and info on Campsite. I asked about the national parks, and was told that protected areas are completely closed to the public. Unfortunately, ‘tourists, mostly Germans, come up here with their big camper vans and leave their shit all about.’ But not us of course…our English is too good. And so we left to our VW Bus filled with groceries from Lidl.

Bergen 2002-7-18

Pizza Margherita at a bar near the Highway. $25!!!

After a couple nights in the beautiful valleys and fjords further north, we finally made it to Bergen. It was very nice, although it wasn’t going to win me away from Vancouver as I might have once thought, it was a beautiful day. Volkmar’s Berkley t-shirt (see Road Trip 2000) got us noticed by an American ex-pat, who seemed quite content to stay in Norway.

Karlstad 2002-7-20

Well we crossed into Sweden and despite pulling over in the pouring rain to try and find someone to stamp my passport (we were re-entering the EU) the Customs house said that they didn’t do that, and that we would have to go to the police station. We found a camp site that was perfect, not fjordy, but just like Ontario wilderness. The lake was a disturbing yellow and remarkably warm. The swimming was fabulous even if we couldn’t explain the water. In the morning we headed to Karlstad to try and find a place to fill up our propane tank. We stopped at countless gas stations and equipment suppliers, but after three hours of driving through the incredibly American suburbs of the city we managed to fill the tank.