Norway > Driving above the Arctic Circle

At night, the room is warm. The sun is shining on the windows. At half past two, we decide to open the window. Hopefully, there aren’t any mosquitoes. Outside, it almost looks like morning. We turn over for a little more rest. Once again, we pack all our belongings for a long journey south. This time, Brutus starts without any problems. As we leave Hammerfest, we realize it is Sunday.

Norway - A small group of reindeer gathering on the asphalt

On Sundays, the shops are closed. Yesterday, we had thought about shopping at the supermarket, but with all the hassle at the garage, we didn’t feel like it. Also, it’s better to buy meat as late as possible. If we don’t find an open store along the way, we’ll have to make do with the provisions we have with us. With a bit of creativity, we can still make a meal. We’ve decided to skip Tromsø. We drive straight through toward Narvik, planning to stop about 100 kilometers before the city. This makes tomorrow’s route shorter and allows us to enjoy the Lofoten Peninsula for longer. The first fifty kilometers take us back to the main E6 road. Since it’s Sunday morning, there is practically no traffic. Even if we count buses twice, we encounter more moose and reindeer on the road than oncoming cars. Even on the E6, it’s still quiet. Several Norwegians are out early to fish in one of the fast-flowing streams. The weather is perfect for it. The landscape is indescribably beautiful. We drive along fjords with mountains in the background, some still with patches of snow. Slowly, the vegetation increases again—conifers and deciduous trees. The road sometimes seems almost glued to the mountainside. Where the slope is too steep, tunnels have been built, sometimes stretching for kilometers to the other side of the mountain.

Norway - The cozy trekkers hut for overnight stay

At various points, new tunnels are under construction to make the main road more passable. Halfway along the route, in Storslett, we stop for lunch. In a restaurant that, fortunately, is open, we order a sandwich and coffee. The rest of the route is equally stunning. The roads are full of bends. Oncoming traffic warns of hazards, which usually means animals on the road. Today, it’s an accident: a truck has gone off the embankment and lies on its side, with an ambulance nearby. Unconsciously, we drive a bit more cautiously. We are perfectly fine when the GPS indicates we have reached our destination late in the afternoon. We drive into the street but cannot find the address. Consulting Google Maps, we discover we are still 21 minutes away. We are currently on Nordivegen, but we need to be on Nordiveien. Garmin doesn’t recognize this “veien” variant. A little later, we arrive again at the destination—this time the correct location. The owner comes over and shows us the toilet, shower, and our small hikers’ cabin. Of all the hikers’ cabins so far, this is the most comfortable. Using ingredients we brought from the Netherlands, we prepare our meal.