On the Road Again!

We have thought about it a few times.  Of course, we have been on cruises to the fjords twice in the past. Once with Saga and once with P&O. You only get a snapshot of the fjord country. The more excursions you go on obviously mean you get away from the tourist hot spots.  Most ports only give you limited time as well. So going further afield under your own power risks the ship departing without you. Olden Old Church  Each time I have begun to plan something, it's been thwarted by some external force. With an ageing dog as a major restriction, we will need to wait until we are dog-free.  Norway driving tips Norway Cruise 2013 Norway Cruise 2018 Norway Posts

Our first proper cruise.  We had done an overnight in-port stay as a taster, then a two night cruise from Edinburgh to Dover.     So we have taken the plunge and will take to the high seas on a Saga cruise to the Fjords in Norway. The itinerary is: 12 Jun Dover, England Embark Saga Sapphire. Depart 1600. 14 Jun Stavanger, Norway Arrive 0800. Depart 1800. 15 Jun Jondal, Norway Arrive 0700. Depart 1400. Land by launch or tender. 16 Jun Olden, Norway Arrive 0800. Depart 1700. 17 Jun Bergen, Norway Arrive 0800. Depart 1700. 19 Jun Dover, England Arrive 0800. Disembark Saga Sapphire after breakfast Still over six months to go......

I toyed with Denmark and Norway for 2014, but the ferry fare across to Denmark from the UK was prohibitively high for August, and although cheaper in our other holiday time, October, I doubted that the weather would be that good for riding. So I booked a Spanish trip instead. Why Norway? We did a cruise to the fjords in June 2013 and the weather was superb. Mostly sunny and warm. And most importantly for bikers; dry. The locals did say that they hadn't had any rain for quite a while.   The fjords are spectacular and scenery is like Scotland, only much bigger. The number of passenger sailings across the North Sea to Scandinavia have been reduced over the years and now only one remains, Harwich to Ebsjerg in Denmark. Back in 1987 or 88 my (then) partner Audrey and I went to the FIM Rally in Kuopio in Finland. We used the DFDS service from Harwich to Gothenburg, but sadly this service has now gone. But, whilst googling ferry crossings I found the DFDS Freight website.  A limited ...

I have given up on the DFDS long ferry routes to Norway from Immingham as they are too inconvenient and the chances of the "competition" starting up this side of hell freezing over, nil. I was reading another blog where a guy was going to Sweden. His plan was to use the Harwich to Hoek van Holland overnight route, then ride across Germany and Denmark. That got me thinking and planning. When to go? The last time we went to Norway on the cruise it was June and we had "exceptional" weather according to the locals.  It was dry and mostly warm. So what about August? A little  googling  shows that although far more northerly than the UK, the climate is generally favourable due to the gulf stream. I don't have the holiday to get as far as the North Cape, maybe another time, but the turning around spot needs to be the  Atlantic Road  near Molde.  So, it will be out with paper and pencil, the days scribbled out and then working out the distances between each place. ...

So quickly following up the last blog entry. Looking way into the future to 2024. Has anyone done Norway in a campervan or motorhome?  Advice or links to blogs in the comments please. Our Elddis Moho in 7.2m long and about 2.25m wide. So we need to be able to get across to Norway and navigate the roads once we are there. Getting there? Ferry from Denmark or drive across the Øresund Bridge and then turn left (north)? A trip that far would need us to go for longer than the traditional two weeks away. We'll have the dog with us and so we'll need to find dog friendly places on the way and when we get there.  Tips? Advice?  Please comment. It's over a year away so things can change before then.

Plan A is coming along. The trip is effectively split into two parts. Before and after the "cruise". The before is the shortest.  The ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. Overnight it's about £125 each way including a cabin. That's for two of us and Döra. A couple of longer days to cover the 600 miles to Hirtshals and then the cruise section. Hirtshals to Bergen, another overnight arriving at lunchtime the next day. And that leads us into 400 miles of fjord and around three small ferries like the one that featured in " The Heroes of Telemark " movie! Without the saboteurs I hope! Steadily moving ever northwards, through Olden, where we stopped off on the cruise in 2013. The cruise that gave me the inspiration for a bike trip to Norway and the fjords. The final ferry of the day takes us to Molde and the most expensive stop. Hotels are few and far between as you move north. Using the Visit Norway website to plan stops and then Booking.com to make some ...

Dora's next adventure is to Norway.  See  Valhalla! I have a route and now need to see about ferries etc. Update 23rd February 2018 Valhalla blog was merged into DevallTravels some while back and the posts can be found here .

Another awaycation already! The P&O ferry was booked for this trip whilst we were away last year. There was an offer that vastly reduced the fare and so I took up the offer.  It wasn't quite at the level of being unable to refuse though! So where to go? We leave after the kids go back to school in early September, and so we should have a children-free adventure in the Moho. Well, that's what I am hoping anyway. Personally I'd like to go to Norway. But with only two weeks booked that's not going to be possible.  I think Norway will become Awaycation Summer (Sun?) 2024! Sun in brackets as that depends on the time of year.  I think we'd be looking at June and maybe three weeks or more.  We'd also need to be more self sufficient by then. Anyway back to #2 this year. Since I went with some friends to the Czech SOC Rally last year and we came back via Fussen and some of the Romantic Road, I'd like to try Bavaria again. Once again we have two weeks.  Claire lik...

Planning. The date has moved to August now after the decision to go to Florida in May/June. Once the spreadsheet (a modern day pen and pencil), columns for date, day, daytime, overnight, staying in, was started I could start to see that we have 11 days for the trip and then I could begin putting a few ideas together. Slotting in ideas. Using the Harwich to Hoek van Holland ferry means that we can use the Thursday night to travel. Claire doesn't work on Fridays so we would get a head start instead of sleeping at home. The ride from the Hook to Hamburg and the halfway point is 320 miles.  If we went over on the short route on Friday, the ride would be about 480 miles; a longer day and less chance to have a look around once we get there. From Hamburg the ride to Hirtshals is another 320 miles according to Google Maps, and about six hours riding. Allowing for a few stops we should be there well in time for the boat to Norway. The original plan was to get to Hirtshals, hotel and then ea...

After several months of planning the next "adventure" for Dora, Claire and me, to Norway, the project has gone on hold.  I am hoping to revive it in May and/or June 2016. I have the "Rough Guide", a road map plus a route or two safely stored in Tyre.

Back from the cruise. Loved Norway and must go back there. The house was so clean and tidy when we left and now the cases clog up the whole place. When I say must go back there. It will have to wait until 2015!! Next year we have the Florida trip as our main holiday and Norway is simply too far for a short trip!!! 

Dora's next adventure is to Norway.  See  Valhalla! I have a route and now need to see about ferries etc.

After a few days of looking and exchanging emails with a travel agent we have booked.  But not with her.   The Cunard cruise on Queen Victoria sails from Southampton on August 3rd. A Friday.  A further examination revealed very few Norway sailings for August.  But P&O have one on the 4th.  Much better. Both are for seven days with slightly different ports in Norway.  We have been to Stavanger and Bergen before but didn't have much time to look about. Hopefully, in Bergen we'll dock in the city port,  Bergen Havn,   rather than way out in the industrial point and lose time waiting for coaches into the centre.

One of my favourite pastimes is planning trips and holidays. At the moment I am looking at Norway . I think it will be a dream for this year and more chance next year. There just aren't enough days available for that kind of distance.  So what instead?

Sadly all ideas of a trip to Norway aboard Döra with Claire on the back has had to be cancelled.   Why? Last week I had a small heart attack. I was rushed to the local ER complete with sirens and blue lights and had a stent fitted in one of my arteries and the others spring cleaned. So I am not going to be fit enough to ride to Scandinavia for two weeks with a pillion. Hopefully, some time in the future, heart and Claire's hip allowing, we can try again.   I had thought about simply re-planning it and taking the car and maybe even the dog.  Norway doesn't seem all that dog friendly.  Instead we will have to have something more local. Or a "staycation" as it is now called. Bummer!!!

We have pretty much a full day in Olden and with it being Sunday there might not be anything open. We are alongside the dock today and another ship is at anchor in the fjord and using its tenders. The other ship is the Swan Hellenic Line "Minerva". It used to be the Saga Pearl. Maybe today we will find an elusive post box for our cards bought and stamped on Friday? After breakfast we'll take a stroll into town. Or maybe lazily take a ride on the tourist train. We are on holiday after all. Light breakfast taken.  We took the little tourist train. It was 300kr for two. A little pricey but we saw things that if we had been on foot we'd never have seen. The train takes you past Olden centre and out on the road to the Briksdalsbreen Glacier. We opted for the local tour as we went to a glacier yesterday. A couple of stops to look at the lakes formed by the glaciers in the ice age and the waterfall on the outskirts of the town. We hopped off the train back in the town and wa...

With the weather being the unpredictable factor this summer, I have been looking at further north.  How about the Baltic? Germany? Denmark? It's an area that neither of us have been to before.  I started to look at the area where the "Riddle of the Sands" was staged around the German East Frisian Islands. For years I have thought about a trip to Peenemunde , where the Germans designed and tested the V1. It's on the German Baltic coast. Then I thought about Denmark, or a toe dip into Poland?  I discounted Norway and Sweden!! I tried to get ChatGPT to come up with a sensible idea but it seemed unable to come up with a plan that wasn't a rush there and back. The basic text I gave it was quite specific regarding some places to include but still it planned a whistlestop tour.... So back to the drawing board? Claire would prefer France, Normandy and Brittany.  All that's set in stone are the Eurotunnel dates. As I mentioned in a previous AT26 post, it pr...

We already have a few trips planned for this year.  I am still looking for something to do for Claire's birthday, that this year falls on a Saturday. Maybe a weekend away or simply a night away somewhere, with or without the dog.  We'll have to see. The big news is that Claire has been to see the specialist and a new hip is on the cards for the first half of this year. We don't exactly know when but on January 25th she has the pre-op meeting at the hospital.  This is to acquaint her with the procedure etc. it should also take place between one and three months before the operation. At the full three months that would drop it firmly into the week that we have booked to go to Spain.  The Extremadura trip might have to be cancelled. With budget airlines booked it certainly can't be delayed without losing the airfares and one of the hotels I had to book direct. The rest of the week is booked with booking.com and have free cancellation. She needs to have it done and if th...

The monument outside the town hall to the heroes that worked tirelessly during WW2 to hamper the German occupation of neutral Norway. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage

.... another one opens. It is disappointing to have to shelve the plans for a trip to Norway in the summer, but it is not worth going if Claire is going to be in pain for the entire time we are away, and subsequently not enjoying the trip.  So I started to look for an alternative.  If we are to stay at home we might as well look for somewhere for Reggie to come too.  With our first glamping coming up this Friday to test the water, we looked at maybe doing the same but further afield.   We saw Loch Ness Glamping on the TV some weeks ago and it looks nice, plus it's dog friendly and we can go in the car! They are pretty booked up for August, the dates we have booked off already, but there is a three night slot that will allow us to drive up there, about 636 miles door to door. However, there are a few days to look at before then. Even in the car it is a long way to drive. So I need to factor in at least one stop on...