The best view comes after the hardest climb

Norway, land of the vikings, fords, millions of hikes and waterfalls. We are driving around in Norway for about a month now and only saw a tiny bit of the Northern part of the country. The Artic. We didn’t saw nothing yet but we loved every minuted of it. It was a big wish to see Norway some day but we also knew it would be expensive. Ah, and don’t forget the weather. For the county and it’s people it’s good that it not always (understatement) sunny. If so Norway would be too packed with tourism, because it is unbelievable beautiful. If you love nature and hiking it’s paradise. The crystal clear and blue water reminds us of the Maldives with only a small difference of temperature of assumably around 25 degrees. 😦  

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If we felt that the Swedish people were “ reserved”,  we didn’t met the Norwegian people yet. But it’s not that they don’t want to talk, they just want to give you privacy. For Stephen this is sometimes difficult to understand because he is the opposite of  being reserved….Good for getting out of our comfort zone. After travelling through so many countries we are amazed by the difference in culture we see and feel. Even in Europe the difference in massive. The hospitality we felt in some countries, the importance of fe. food and the openness against others is so different that we sometimes find ourselves wondering how those big difference were created and what the past had to do with it. Culture is strange phenomenon but we also keep reminding ourselves that assumption is the mother of all fuckups. 

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We decided to do the Artic part first and afterwards drive down to the south. If we wanted to find a good weather for the Northern part it would be in July and August. This was in our case a little bit true. The first impression was as expected. Incredible views of mountains, clear blue water and small roads. We drove to Bodø, were we took the boat to the Lofoten. The wind was quite strong and the waves big. Luckily we didn’t mind the waves and we did not felt any seasickness. Unfortunately 80% of the other travellers on board did not felt the same….. The boat ride took 4,5 hours but for a lot of people I think it felt like a lifetime. 

The first sight of the Lofoten was a massive mountain covered in mist. Mystical and beautiful. The next morning we woke up with a blue sky which is something special we found out later. So we did our first hikes of many and the first test for Morgan if she felt like climbing all the muddy and wet routes. In Sweden the hikes are ( like everything) perfectly marked, well organised and the wet parts are covered with planks or other attributes. In Norway it’s not the case. Wet, muddy and slippery parts are following each other and hiking is not something easy going. A lot of real climbing is included but we love it and it’s all so worth it!! The views but also the hikes itself are all really incredible. We did so many now and every day we are looking for new one to be added to the list. 

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We are very fortunate that Morgan is enjoying the hiking as much as we do. If it’s too easy she complains about the fact that it’s too boring….During our hikes we are also creating some “ entertainment “.  Every one of us has to create a story to tell. I think we can write a book about all our imaginary friends and the stories we are creating. It is a lot of fun and “Timmy the goldfish” is our favourite. Stephen created Timmy but he is here to stay. Every day Timmy has new adventures with his friends against the bad guys, two sharks named Peppy and Cooky. 

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We drove the scenic route through the Lofoten and went from the tip towards inland. We were surprised about the amount of campers there were and how busy it was. It’s one small road through the Lofoten but its packed. Five years ago the Lofoten were not something special yet but after the pandemic and all the newly bought campers it turned out to be very crowded. We also had to have a little patience once in a while. Norway is super green but it only can be like that due to enough rain. Norway’s weather is something unpredictable so you have to life by the day. Luckily we have the time and are not in a rush. The rainy days were used for studying (Stephen is doing a study about sustainability) and finding a job somewhere in the snow.  We also visited a couple of small villages along the route. After Lofoten we drove to Langøya and Andøya were we visited Nyksund and met Andes and Renate. The are bar owners of a beautiful bar in Nyksund. We spend two days with them and met them a couple of days later for camping. Thank you for nice time! We took the boat to Senja after saying goodbye to Andes and Renate. Taking ferries in Norway is like taking a turn on the high way. Easy and very normal. We drove around and did another great hike were we had to climb two tops (both 680 meters) in one walk. We thought we pushed it too far with Morgan and climbing, but she felt totally fine. We had more issues coming down than she ever had. Through Tromsø we drove back to Sweden. We wanted to visit Abisko National Park but because we crossed the border to Norway much earlier than expected we decided to go back for a two day hike and some (a lot!) of groceries. Funny how prospective is changing along the way. We are getting spoiled by all the beauty so that we found the hike of Abisko along the Kings Trail “ just another hike”, while the scenery was great and we camped in the middle of the national park. 

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Our first intention was to go the North Cap but after receiving a message of a good friend who is joining us in the beginning of September we decided differently. We don’t want to drive to just see a sign with North Cap. We want to have the time to explore and feel and see the surroundings. No rushing need to be involved. We did not feel we had enough time to drive up and be in the South on time so we skipped the North Cape for now. After coming back from Sweden, packed with food we drove to Narvik to celebrate Morgan’s 7th birthday. As a surprise for Morgan our French friends, “ The Bears “ , Quentin and Marie joined the party. Even do it rained the whole day, Morgan had a great time. One day per year she is allowed to decide everything. What to do, to eat, when to sleep and that’s on her birthday. So we ate pancakes for breakfast, hotdogs and cake for dinner and did games the entire day. She went to bed at the same time  as us so the next day we took it very slow 🙂

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After the 2 days of hiking in Sweden we also hiked Rago National Park. It’s not “ famous” but we were extremely impressed. The scenery changed constantly and we had two days of beautiful weather. Morgan was able to sleep in one of the huts and we slept next to the hut in our tent. What a hike! Slowly we are driving towards the South along the beautiful coastal road. It’s still raining a lot but we make use of the sunny periods to hike and enjoying the scenery. We park everywhere and anywhere and we still have the best back garden of all. 

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We also have some other good news. We found a job in the snow!!! We are super happy and exited. We are going to be a chalet host for a beautiful chalet in France. We will work in the area of Les Arcs. One of the biggest ski area in France. We will host a chalet, for up to 14 guests. Our jobs includes cleaning, hosting and of course cooking breakfast and diner for the guests in the Chalet. So…… if you would like to be treated as royalty for a week, book our chalet and we will be the entertainment. 🙂  https://yourmountain.life/chalets/la-grange-dalice/