The Cape

So we made it. We didn't got bust, we didn't get lost and found the cape. We actually were pretty lucky with the weather, as we arrived just in time to take a couple of pictures before everything was covered in thick fog and rain. Good thing we didn't expect more. If you plan to go the the cape as well, have some cash ready, the toll road to the cape and the entrance to the visitor centre costs almost 80 Franks per person and bike (380 Kronen).

And the weather today was actually how I imagined it to be up here, cold, windy, a drizzling rain... Actually, I'm glad, it was only today like that so far!

The scenery at the cape is not that spectacular, but that wasn't the reason why we got here anyway. It was all about driving the way up here. And the best thing is, the trip is only half over.

Next stop: Russia!

Lonely roads

Driving here in the north is quite special as today we didn't came across many villages and were for miles alone on the road. That somehow gives a feeling of being really far far away from home. About 5500 km from home to be exactly.

Oh, and when you see a gas station - better fill up!

Long ride north

Today we got a big step closer to the Cape and are now about 200 away from it. We are now back on the E6. It is better to drive up here as there is not much traffic, but it was a long and rather boring trip never the less.

It is still surprisingly warm up here (about 25 centigrade) and we are somehow waiting for the bad weather surprise any day now. Either this is global warming or the summers are just much warmer in the north than we expected!

Lofoten Islands and Hobbits

What can we say about the Lofoten... Other then when you go to the northern part of Norway, you absolutely should spend a couple of days there. If you have the time, you can go fishing, hiking, sailing or just drive up and down the Islands and enjoy the view. And what a view you will have! Steep, dark mountains that rise from the sea, green rolling hills, white sandy beaches and here and there colourful fishermen villages. And as it was a wonderful day, I didn't whistle songs while driving the bike, no I was even singing :)

A tip for the traveller, when you go from the Lofoten north using the E10, be aware, that camp grounds get more and more rare. After we decided to not yet take one, we had to drive about 100 km until the next one came.

Since a couple of days, the scenery reminds me pretty much of certain landscapes from the Lord of the Ring movies. And guess what we found on the camp ground we took today? Yes, a hobbit house!! So, they have to be somewhere around here. Maybe we can surprise them later, when its dark.

No wait... We're in the land of midnight sun now, so that won't work.

Meeting a friend

Today's trip went to the island of the Lofoten, were we met with Roland and his family, a friend I know from a school I did last year. A very pleasant trip and I think the ferry we took from Bodo to the islands was the last one for a while.


First thing Roland said, after I took off my helmet was “Man, they got you!”. He was referring to the mosquito bites I guess. I stopped counting them, but my face looks like I would be in second puberty. Or have the black plague. The good thing is, they only start itching after three days. The bad thing? It itches like hell.


It was a pleasant evening, talking about cars, bikes, a bit about work and the company. Not too much about work, as he is on his sabbatical as well :) They rented a house, right at the beach and I think they have a splendid time up here, travelling through Scandinavia, renting a house for a week or two, and then go to the next place. Their son told us quite proud about the fish he caught, and the kids seem to enjoy it here definitely as well.


From today on, navigation will be rather easy. I simply enter “North Cape” in to my GPS and follow the the pink line on the display :)


Oh, and something for the geographicly challenged like myself: We are now further north than any big town in Alaska.

Past the Arctic Circle

Yepp, we made it. We are now officially in the Arctic. How do we know? Well, the mosquitoes and little flies are eating us alive, the days are even longer and the speaker on the ferry announced it when the ship crossed the Arctic circle. And if you look really carefully, you see a globe on the shore. We looked really, really carefully, but we didn't see a line where the Arctic circle came down the hill and hit the shore. All we saw was a rainbow spanning over some hills.
And best thing was, that we got that ferry ride for free. Somehow, nobody thought of charging us for the ride and so we didn't have to pay for the longest and most expensive ferry ride on road 17 :)

The day started with a wet surprise (again), but as the days before, it stopped raining and the sun came out. The road number 17 is still fantastic, good to drive and the scenery is still very, very nice. It starts to look different now, the woods climb only a a few above sea level and then every thing seems to be rock and moss. And the tree look different as well, smaller, kind of a hobbit version of the trees we know. And the light up here is really fascinating. Not so much around lunchtime, but in the long mornings and evenings the light is awesome.

Almost midnight Sun

Almost midnight sun... 11 PM, when we were about to go to bed, we were surprised by this view when then sun came out of some clouds.