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Circa 2022.
Covid ensured we had no holidays in '20 & '21.
Work from home made life at home frustrating and we badly needed a Holiday. As soon as restrictions started to loosen up, we had to get out. Where do we go?
Restrictions were loosening up but then, paranoia was still around. Couldn't imagine going to crowded destinations. We kept striking out destination after destination and were soon left with the one destination we both agreed on - Norway!

We enjoy being in the nature and going on hikes in the Mountains.
If it is Norway, as we figured from our 2017 roadtrip, it had to be in a Motorhome!

We always leave our 5 yr old (at the time of this travel) dog, a Labrador, in a pet hotel whenever we go on holidays. This time around, since we had the space, we took him along too.

Our daughter, 6 yr old at the time of travel, needed a lot of her toys and books with her. Motorhome had room for that too.

Everybody got what they wanted and off we went to Norway.

Some teaser shots for those in a Hurry.

The place....





The Route..



..and the ride



TLDR folk can click here for a quick overview of the route and destinations.

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Now that you've gone past 1st post, stick around for the full story.

The planning.
Being completely bogged down at work, planning was always a moving task with no definite deadline untill we applied for vacation. Even then, we had the "aaraam se karenge" attitude till it was so close to planned vacation dates that we had literally no choice but to book whatever was available. Got lucky with getting a rental motorhome with my choice of floorplan for 4 pax.
Job 1- check.

The ferry to Stockholm, however, was a tricky one. Eventually we found one leaving from Turku, a city 120kms west of Helsinki, but had odd return dates that didn't suit us. Checked around for other means to cross the Gulf of Bothnia and get back to Finland and a different option worked out - take the ferry from Umeå in Sweden to Vaasa in Finland which is about 420kms North west of Helsinki. Booked these ferries and we were good to go.
Job 2 - Check.

The only other thing left to do was plan the route from Stockholm to POIs in Norway to Umeå. Got lazy again and chose to go to pretty much the same places we had gone to before with a few changes. So, if you've seen my 2017 Norway travelogue, you'll see some similarities.

Day of departure soon came up, went to the rental pick up place, inspected the vehicle, learned the tech bits, picked up groceries, picked up bedding and a few more bits and bobs and bicycles from home along with family and hit the road.






90 mins of driving later, we reached the port, checked in and lined up for vehicle boarding.



Boarded the Viking Grace soon after.



The vessel we boarded was a new one with modern interiors compared many other tired looking vessels I've boarded before.



Used the SPA and unwound myself.



Chilled out after sumptuous buffet dinner.



This, by the way, is 11 in the night in Summer.



This ferry is shorter duration than the Helsinki-Stockholm route and reached at 8:30am. Hit the road soon after to dash towards Norway.



Planned to drive till Drammen which is a city west of Oslo.



Made a brief stop at McDonald's for breakfast.



And stopped for lunch at lake Värnen near Karlstad. Daughter stretched her legs and so did Bongo, our Labrador. In the meantime, started looking for place of stay for the night near Drammen, Norway. Why Drammen? We were targeting ETA of around 6 pm which is good enough for dinner and put the little one to sleep by 8pm and this place is where we'd be based on our pace.

Where to park and sleep? Going from previous motorhome experience in Norway, I was positive I'd find some place but where exactly?
Thankfully I had learnt of an app called Park4night which, as they define it, is a motorhome overnight parking app where one can search for parking spots and look for what others have said about the spot, if it has toilets or not, noise, etc.







We reached Drammen as planned and called it a night.





Woke up well rested. Daughter got into her creative best and started drawing about the day that went by.



In the meantime, Bongo needed his playtime as well.



Freshened up, had breakfast and hit the road to our 1st POI- Låtefossen waterfalls.







Passed many beautiful locations but we soon hit an odd traffic jam. It was not expected on this road





Quickly turned around the behemoth where I could and went back to a lake we had passed by and took our lunch break.
















Soon we got back to the road and lined up in the same traffic jam which was mainly due to the road, some 3 kms or so, made one way due to a construction project. There was a lead vehicle that was leading the convoys each direction while the other side waited.

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Eventually we did reach Låtefossen. It was quite a nice one which we had to miss last time around due to Paucity of time.









Bongo and I hiked down to the river bed with the DSLR in the hope of getting some Instagram approved pix.



..to get these clicks from my phone. Still haven't downloaded the pix from DSLR. Laziness.





It was soon time to find a parking spot for the night and asked around Låtefossen. Some did recommend to drive to the top of the mountain and camp out next to the lake which is the source of this waterfalls. Wife and I looked at each other and said 'naah'. We drove on towards our next POI. After about 40 mins of drive...



we saw this sign and we drove in..



..and parked for the night next to this lake.



Next morning I recce'd the area to know more about where we were.



It was one of the most beautiful and serene locations. Turns out, it was a village of farmers with a population not more than 200.





Took out my cycle for a long early morning ride before the girls woke-up.







After I got back, daughter wanted to ride



..and Bongo wanted to run.



and soon wife joined in for some fooling around.









after much fooling around, we eventually left towards the next POI- Steinsdalsfossen.

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Eventually, after a short ferry-ride to cross the Fjord, we reached Steinsdalfossen. This too is a beautiful waterfalls and a place we had visited previously.





Click from 2017. Pix from '22 are still in the DSLR. Safe and sound.



As always, we hiked around a bit. Weather was simply marvellous this time around compared to gloomy and cloudy weather we had during our 2017 trip.
And then came the most important question - where to next? Frankly, I did not know. I did need to stop at the next town to clean the Black Water tank and fill up fresh water. While I did, the girls found some brochures of the region and quickly planned a visit to Hardanger Maritime Center and that is where we drove to.



It is, frankly a very educative place for all ages and not just a museum.



they explain how boats were made in the traditional way and also restore many old boats the old school way with sometimes modern material.



Daughter got to make Ropes the way the vikings did.



and eventually made a boat of her own and floated her own boat !



Next stop was also picked by the daughter- Goldfish Lake. It is a lake with Goldfish. thats it.





There were surprisingly lots of Goldfish. The road to get there was not great though. Not made for Behemoths like mine but we managed. Got Ugly stares from locals but I ignored.



It was soon time to find a resting area for the night and a quick look-up on Park4Night app for rest areas and I soon found one by the lake.



Drove on..



..to find that we are not the only one's who chose this spot to crash out.





The weather was outstanding. We used the outdoor BBQ to make our dinner. In the meantime, made the rest area a quick office for some email Laundry.



What a serene view to see from our Window.



Woke up the next morning, Daughter got into her creative mode drawing about the day that went by.



..and Bongo did some sun-bathing after a short run.



Lazy fellow dozed off.



Our next destination was planned to be a popular adventure tourism city - Voss



Exchanged some books at this cute roadside Book exchange Library. Hopefully somebody in Norway is reading about Supandi and Hanuman while we picked up books about the Vikings.

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Voss is well known adventure sports of all kinds. River rafting being one of them. We have enjoyed river rafting in several countries and it came as a natural choice to find one in Voss. However, with a 6.5 yr old, we could only go on Family Rafting which is on Class 2 Rapids only while Voss is famous for Class 4 rapids. Daughter thoroughly enjoyed it.





Spent some time at a Coffee shop, strolled around town, ate Pizza at a popular restaurant and parked up in a busy parking lot next to a lake and called it a day.









Next morning we went back to town and took a Cable car uphill for some hiking.







Great views of Voss region.













..and soon it was time to hit the road to go to the next POI - Tvinnefossen which was not so far away.



Given the popularity of Voss and the proximity of this waterfalls to Voss, this is a very crowded place with tour-bus full of people coming in and going out all the time.



Daughter tried her hand with the DSLR



and we soon chose to go on a hike. Asked around as always and got directions to a road that goes uphill to the top of the waterfalls. The road, I admit, was very sketchy and definitely not made for Motorhomes. Pickup trucks and Box Vans at best. We were lucky not to get stuck uphill and not needing rescue services like some off-road misadventures in Colorado I keep reading about.

but the views - Outstanding !







The girls found some natural power food - Blueberries !. soon they filled up a small of Blueberries. Blueberry picking is our annual later summer activity in the woods near home. They just relived it.



Education time.





and then, we hit the road towards our next POI - Gudvangen.



Before, that, we needed to find a resting place. Park4Night suggested a rest area with toilets which is where we headed.

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When we drove into this rest area, we were the 3rd vehicle there. We cooked our dinner, blacked out our windows, did some reading and emailing and slept. When I woke, up, this place was crowded with vehicles ranging from cheap vans to a Mn EUR bus.



Anyhoo, we drove on to Gudvangen which is the end of a Fjord.



Our place of visit was the Viking experience. A village themed to look and feel like the viking days. Not to elaborate presentations about Viking History and Mythology. Had to pay a visit for education purposes.







fooled around a bit..



..and moved on to Undredal which was a short drive away.









Undredal is a very beautiful Fjord village by the Naeroyfjord. It is said that the movie Frozen I is inspired by this small village, with the surrounding steep mountains rising straight up from the fjord. Frankly we landed in this village only because Daughter found a brochure somewhere where it made the Frozen reference to this village.

View from the fjord. Pic by Norway Tourism.



The view to the Fjords were amazing and dramatic with those tall steep mountains on all sides.











Decided this village needed more time and he explored the place starting with the map.



soon we were hiking along the glacial river for a bit







and decided it was time for Apple Pie, Ice cream and some coffee !



For the nights parking, we didn't try to hard. in fact there was a parking area at the beginning of the road to Undredal that breaks off from the highway.



We just parked up right there and called it a day after reading some stories to the little one.

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Next morning we drove straight to Flåm which too was a short drive away.



The road, as are many in Norwegian mountain region, was all under the mountains in very long tunnels. Some of them are lit-up brightly like this to reduce eye fatigue.





We soon reached Flåm parking.







Walked around a bit while we waited for the Flåmbana. In the meantime, we strolled over to the railway museum which is pretty much like a 3D narrative of how the tunnels and the railroads were built back in the day.



After some education, we took Bongo and boarded the Flåmbana uphill and back



..stopping at the beautiful Kjosfossen both directions and seeing the mesmerizing song and dance both times.



Got back and started to explore parking spots. We knew a few spots from the last time we were here but unfortunately they were all taken. Pulled out Park4Night app and found another hidden spot. Drove over and parked up and within 5 mins, 2 more Vans came to the spot that could hold only 2 Vans. Turns out, all of us found this spot from the same app.

Parked for the night and went for a ride after the girls slept. The Dutch guy in the neighboring Van had the same idea. Upon chatting over beer, we realized we had common connections in Netherlands ! He supplies parts to my customer in Netherlands and we both interact with the same customer SPOC !!

Woke up to a crisp morning, set the table for breakfast.



..while Bongo looks at me thinking ''I'm outdoors yet I'm Indoors. these hoomans are weird''.



Spent rest of the day hiking around town.















while the van was still at the same spot.

Played some Ludo with the family, pet attention-seeking Bongo and crash out.

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Next morning was our next long distance commute as head towards Geiranger while stopping at a Glacier - Briksdalsbreen. We had 2 roads we could take.
1) The 24 km long tunnel that took approx. 30-40 mins of driving or
2) Drive over the mountains via the Gamla Aurlandsvegen.

We were in no hurry and chose the scenic Gamla Aurlandsvegen. This road is also listed in Norways recommended Scenic Routes.


First stop on this road was Stegastein after a scenic drive in the twisties which would have been far more fun in a motorbike or a sportscar. Not so much with a Diesel driven Behemoth that I drove.



View of the Naeroyfjord.



After a few minutes of drive from Stegastein, we saw a hiking trail and soon drove into the parking..



..to be greeted by Sheeple.



we let them hang around and went on the trail.



Leading to great views of the Fjord.



2 best friends enjoy the serenity or whatever it is that got their attention.



..the long road ahead.



It was soon time for lunch and we had to find a parking spot..



which we did within a few minutes of driving.



We all took a stroll out to fill up our water bottles from the Glacial streams.



while Bongo once again left wondering - ''oiy, hoomans, take me too !! ''



These sheep have started show up everywhere..



ignored the sheep and moved on towards destination.



..untill this beautiful spot showed up.



had to stop the Van and hike around...as always.









Bongo gets a kick drinking Cold Glacial melt water.



This All-wheel drive VW Van belonged to the Dutch guy who parked up next to me in Flåm.



Got back to the scenic road while more Sheep stare at me as I drive by.



Yet another stop to enjoy the view of the valley.



..and it was soon time to stop the stops and head towards destination.



Stopped by the Fjord for a coffee while we waited for the ferry to arrive.



Took the ferry to cross the Fjord.



and got back on road.



We couldn't reach 1st Micro-stop which was Glacier Museum, in time. Stopped by a rest area when the little one got hungry and called it a day.

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Got up early next morning before the girls were up. Took Bongo for a long walk and got back for some Education.







Soaked in the views..





and hit the road towards the next stop - Glacier Museum.







Very informative place and quite a popular tourist spot.







Soon after we left from there, overloaded with information towards Briksdalsbreen- A Glacier.







Stopping by another beautiful spot for lunch...





..and hit the road again.



..and finally reached Briksdalsbreen.





















We then chose to have dinner at the restaurant at the base of the trail and headed to our rest area for the night - a Camp ground. We need to dump Black water and fill up fresh water. I had avoided Camp sites till now but it was now inevitable.

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the Campsite I choose for the night was by the Oldevatnet lake.



the Color of this glacial melt lake is simply amazing to see. The water is quite alluring. Daughter and I took one of the rowing boats that belonged to the property and rowed around lazily for some amazing views.















However, upon return to dock, we hit trouble. We lost balance getting off the boat and I fell in the lake. Daughter was ok. It was only me. Bloody hell it was cold. I know swimming and so that didn't freak me out but the first thing that hit me was the phone which had fallen into the lake. Thankfully it was not so deep where I fell and I managed to fish it out. I'm really glad the S21 I use is IP68 rated and it survived !! Good job Samsung.. I have now tested it for you !

Got back to Motorhome, ran the hair dryer over the ports to dry it up and get it to work. Couldn't do without phone. Navigation ran on it and so did Music. can't drive without both.

Just when I thought we were ready to leave, another issue. The sliding door on the toilet in the van got jammed. Can't use it. Ran over and borrowed some tools. a few youtube videos of learning later, I managed to fix it. Glad this worked out easily.

Left late in the morning towards Geiranger which was the rest stop for the night.

Stopped at this beautiful rest area for lunch





and drove onwards..



..and stopped at Djupvatnet. Last time we drove by this place it was a frozen lake. This time around it unfroze and it was a magnificent sight. Hung around there for a while soaking in the views.



















and then we drove up to Dalsnibba view point. It is on top of a hill next to the lake. The views from here of the Fjord and the valley is amazing.







..and soon we descended to Geiranger.

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Geiranger is one of the most popular tourist destinations in this part of Norway. All the spots suggested by Park4Night were taken. There were a few spots around but they were sketchy to drive on and only huge MAN 4x4 and 6x6 truck based Motorhomes could reach and the others were susceptible to get parking ticket. Did not want to fool around and started looking up Campsites all of whom were booked up too.

Btw, we did see a MAN 4*4 Truck based Motorhome that looked like this..



Finally found a parking lot where many Motorhomes where parked. Spoke to a few that had parked and it seemed ok. Parked up and ended the day.

Next morning, we left the motorhome right there and took the hop on /hop off bus to a few POI's uphill that we wanted to take the little one. Bongo joined us too. We got off the bus at the top and started walking downhill taking some scenic hiking trails.






passed by a Goat Farm. Daughter tried to talk to them like she would with Bongo.





and then some waterfalls.







and got back to Geiranger and strolled around...





..and got back to the parking lot and drove over to a Campsite by the fjord we had used last time around. Luckily we did get a spot but the previous night's rain had made it slushy. There is only so much one can do about it.

Pulled the BBQ, grilled some chicken and chilled out.



Next day started quite lazy and we left towards Trollstigen after the typical Water service - Black/Grey water out, Clean water in.



We soon reached the dense fog covered Trollstigen. We still walked around and met the local troll



..and then, literally like magic, these sheep showed up. I am being followed by Sheep. This seems like the Norwegian way of spying.



Got past the Sheeple and called it a day...

Daughter got her playtime with the new toys she had just picked up.

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When we had parked the previous night, there were only a few vehicles but when we woke up, the parking was full !

It was a beautiful sunny day and soon this place became crowded. Cyclists, Bikers, Caravan's, Motorhomes, Tour Buses, anything with wheels. They were all there that day.



The views of the valley are simply magnificent. This does fall in the ''Words can't describe'' category.

















The Cafe in Trollstigen is in a architecturally beautiful building and also had great food. Unfortunately, it was closed this time around having been destroyed by an Avalanche in 2021.











After some hiking and strolling around, we soon hit the road towards Umeå. Drove as far as we could which ended up being just across the border in Sweden by a beautiful lake.











Woke up, freshened up and hit the road soon enough towards Umeå where we were to board our ferry operated by Wasaline across Gulf of Bothnia.



these reindeers got word from the Norwegian sheep and became the only traffic on this desolate highway.



Took Wasaline ferry from Umeå to Vaasa which reached destination late in the night.





Having lived in Vaasa for 4 yrs, I knew the place very well and knew exactly where to park for the night. It is a small beach island. What I hadn't anticipated is the challenge to park a vehicle as big as the Motorhome. Somehow parked it into a corner just so traffic was not hampered. It did irritate many morning runners though but I looked the other way.





Vaasa is also a city where we have a lot of memories. Many friends too. our Little one was born in Vaasa. We then went about driving around old hang-outs and then met some old Finnish friends for a long lazy lunch.

It soon dawned on me the long drive ahead in the last leg to home. Quick dash to a Gas station to clean the black water tank and off we went on our non-stop to Espoo.



..and 5 hrs later, home Ahoy !



with that, we ended another Epic vacation. One that will stay in memory for a long time to come. 3 weeks of family time with minimal work-intrusion is the best kind of Vacation to have.





If you have made it this far, Kudos to your patience.

Hope you liked it.

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For those Curious about the Motorhome - it is built by a company called Adria on a Fiat Ducato Chassis and came with a 2.3L 140 bhp Diesel. It was alright. Lacked any desire to drive uphill but otherwise manageable on the highways.


The motorhome I rented came with the following standard equipment:

• solar panel system
• spacious fridge-freezer
• microwave
• gas stove
• cooking utensils
• tableware and cutlery for 2-6 people
• awning and
• bike rack for two to four bicycles.

This motorhome has been designed to be suitable for year-round use and are equipped with:

• an efficient electric and gas heating system
• heat-insulated water tanks
• electric underfloor heating
• Engine block heater with an internal plug

Detailed pictures of the design of the motorhome I rented. Most pix are from manufacturer.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Jeroen]

Thanks for putting together this outstanding travelogue!

Very informative and excellent images.

We have friends who have been renting motor homes for a few years. He is in the process of getting his truck license, so they can drive even bigger campers!
Based on what their experience we have been contemplating renting a camper in the Nordics too. Maybe next year.

Jeroen