Norway - Sometimes up, sometimes down!

Route to the blog:

Just arrived in Norway, it went for us the first time really up and down. Unfortunately, however, not only on the road, where we now, shortly after the Swedish border, already drive at least twice as many meters in altitude per day as before. Our motivation also went up at times, but then unfortunately rather down!

Before we get into our little run of bad luck, let's mention two or three peculiarities about Sweden:

We were pleasantly surprised by the price level, which is similar to the prices in Germany. Especially the lunch menu offers are very good value. Coffee lovers also get their money's worth, so you can pay for filter coffee once in almost any restaurant or café and then refill it for free as often as you like. It is very pleasant to be a cyclist on the roads, as drivers always give us plenty of space when overtaking and even brake early at crosswalks to let us through.
In Sweden, it is possible to purchase a car that is limited to 30 km/h at the age of 16. So you see various young people holding up all the traffic with their pimped out carts or they accelerate full throttle again and again in the parking lot (to 30 km/h 😂). At the weekend, the older guard brings out their US sleds. In large parts of the country, these cars are very popular. We have often wondered if someone has placed a collective order 😃.

For our taste, we were in Sweden for far too short a time. We liked it very much, perhaps also because we spent our only two warm (< encoded_tag_closed > 20°C) days there?!
As soon as we crossed the border into Norway, it became very chilly again, with temperatures around 14°C. Somehow it just doesn't want to yet like we do. Every day we also fight against a fierce headwind with gusts up to 50 km/h. At least we were mostly spared from the rain, but that will definitely change in the next few days according to the weather forecast 🌧.
As if this wasn't enough, we both caught the flu. A condition in which you' d be glad to be able to cure yourself at home in your own bed. We had no choice but to take overpriced accommodation so that we could relax and shelter from the wind and weather.
We stayed in the run-down motel for three nights, paying CHF 80 per night, which was by far the cheapest option in the region.
Despite all this, we still had many wonderful moments with people who meant us well. So, in Hamar, the employee of the tourist information office organized us a free lunch, because she was so pleased with our trip. She also called the journalist from the local newspaper to interview us. The motel owner also gave us food as a parting gift and offered us a small discount.
But the biggest highlight for all of us was the news from the Australian Embassy that we had been granted the 12-month visa that we had applied for an incredible two months ago—our patience had paid off 😍! Our flight leaves on 26.09.22 from Helsinki to Brisbane.

In order to reach the coast at some point, we decided to take the train to Åndalsnes just before the coast. There we had to realize that we needed one more break day after all. So right now we are behind a hockey field in the tent and hope that we can finally continue tomorrow!

At least we were able to refuel here for the first time again some motivation and confidence, the landscape is beautiful, the weather finally almost windless, even if still a bit cold and also the mosquitoes are gone 🥳. Ahead of us now lies the supposedly most beautiful road in the world, the Atlantic Road 😍.

Here are our impressions. When we look at these pictures in retrospect, everything looks so beautiful. In reality, our invisible opponent, the wind and mosquitoes is very grueling and hardly lets us enjoy and relax one evening.