The world

A rainy day and not very warm either. What happened to the summer feeling we’ve enjoyed lately? Gone. 

Had to get in early today due to a training session at work. Then I stayed an hour after work for another reason so my short day almost turned into a full day. Oh well.

Now I’m off until Monday which is nice! A lot of fun things going on the next couple of days with the Eurovision semis and finale, the world championships in ice hockey starting on Friday and soccer of course. Long weekend – here we come! 

Our last day on our roadtrip – time to pack up and start the long drive back  to Sweden. We left Oslo after breakfast and decided to take different route back. So, instead of driving via Årjäng we drove north and passed Torsby instead. Entering into Sweden we stopped to take a photo of this very old stone marking the border between our countries.

We arrived in time for dinner – we picked up some thai food and could enjoy dinner with the boys for the first time in a week. Lovely. Missed them so much but I am so glad that they are ok with us being away. Now I’ve ran some laundry and downloaded the 700 photos I have taken. Lol. Now my hubby has to download his photos too and then we can start sorting them out. Puh. A great roadtrip has come to an end.

We woke up this morning looking out of the window in our roof overlooking the mountain with waterfalls. Amazing. What a start of the day. 

After breakfast we stopped for gas before we started the journey to the famous viewpoint Stegastein with the Aurlandfjord below. The road was very narrow but we made it to the top and the trip was worth it! Wow! 

Driving towards Oslo we passed thru snow covered landscapes, lakes with light blue glacier ice, beautiful valleys, fjords. Since we started the day a bit later than planned (they didn’t start serving breakfast until 8 AM) we skipped one of our stops and drove to the Utöya memorial site directly. Very interesting to see and a beautiful place. 

Finally we arrived at Oslo – our last destination before heading home tomorrow. Radisson Blu hotel seldom disappoints – but first they gave us a room that didn’t fit the description of our reservation so we complained and received another room which is really a great room. On the 15th floor with a view over the castle and Karl Johan street. Amazing. 

We checked out after breakfast and drove to see the Gamlehaugen castle where the Norwegian royal family lives when they are in Bergen. After that we went to see the Edward Grieg residence.

A lovely day driving by the Hardangerfjorden stopping to see a lot of spectacular views, waterfalls and mountains. Another amazing sunny warm day – can’t believe how lucky we have been with the weather. We drove all the way over to Vøringfossen which was amazing but a bit too high up for me… couldn’t take any good photos there unfortunately. But truly breathtaking!

Arrived at our destination around 4.30PM – at Gudvangen Fjordtell. A viking-hotel right by the Nærøyfjorden. Now we’ve relaxed for a bit after another long day in the car before it’s time to have dinner.

The breakfast in Stavanger was not as good as the one in Drammen but still very nice. We checked out around 8.30 and started our drive towards waterfalls, ferry-trips, mountains and fjords. And we had a wonderful day with sunny weather and around 23C. 

We arrived in Bergen around 7 PM and after we had found a parking garage and checked in to the hotel (which was much less standard than the four stars it had been given) we took the mountain railway up to the top to enjoy a spectacular view over the city. We had dinner up there at the Floyen restaurant which was lovely. After dinner we took the railway back down again and strolled around the dock for a bit – and looked at the traditional Bergen houses on the photo. 

After an amazing breakfast – best we’ve had in a hotel I think – we started our long drive. Made stops along the way looking at all sorts of amazing views – waterfalls, fjords, adorable little villages, mountains etc. We stopped for a nice lunch in Grimstad.

The day went without any problems and we made quite a few stops along the way. 600 km and 12 hours later we arrived in Stavanger and checked in to the Victoria Hotel in the harbor in the old town. We went out for a late dinner and enjoyed great food at a fish restaurant sitting outside at 10PM. Now it’s time to hug our pillows. Another day in the car awaits. 

We got up early and got ready to start our journey right after breakfast. It was a lovely sunny day and very little traffic on the road so the trip went without any problems.

We stopped a few times to change driver and also to get a bite to eat. First stop Arboga, then Karlstad and last stop Årjäng to get some gas before we entered Norway. Then we did a fourth and final switch when we had about an hour left. Arrived in Drammen about 8 hrs since we left this morning.

We managed to find the hotel with no problem and it is quite alright but not situated in a very busy area. Unfortunately a lot of restaurants and stores are closed due to the holiday – May 1st – so we’ll see where we will have our dinner tonight.

Yesterday I walked by the Kungsträdgården in town and all the cherry trees are in full bloom. Unfortunately I was on my way to catch a bus, otherwise I would have enjoyed the park a bit longer. 

Today it is Walpurgis night and I’m having a day off since I worked a full day yesterday instead of a half. I have been packing our things for tomorrow and in a minute I will start to get ready for our guests arriving for dinner and celebration of Walpurgis. We thought we might start the grill and bbq for the first time this year. And then later on we will walk over to the bonfire. Love traditions. And family around me.