It seems that as soon as we arrived in Norway all the trees bursted into colors. In fact, there is a camping site (packed full) just on the norwegian side of the border on the valley floor surrounded by brightly colored mountain sides. It would have been just another 15–20 minutes to get there last night… (I should have stopped for a picture, but didn’t since we had “just” stopped when crossing the border.)
The road became much wider (there’s a lane divider!) by the fjord at Skibotn. We stopped to take some pictures of the fjord, but it was difficult to capture the size of everything. The drive up north gained length from the fact that there are no bridges across, instead you have to drive to the bottom of each fjord and back. The power lines have been strung straight across, though, in an impressive demonstration of modern engineering.
There were frequent tunnels as well. I guess after so many rebuilds of the road after landfalls it is simply the cheaper option. We only saw one road construction site from a landfall, and didn’t realize what it was until we were passing the crew. (Which is why we hadn’t readied our cameras…)
Once the road climbed high enough that we reached the snow line! The tundra was really more colorful in real life (and this sample has the most color from all the pictures I have from the tundra). The road was drawn with a ruler in long straight lines across expanses of flat land. There were no villages or shops as far as we could tell (except for one tourist attraction, which was closed) yet regularly there would be low small houses by the road with cars parked next to them.
It is good that we refilled the refrigerator in Finland: there are no restaurants, cafés or diners anywhere! I guess everyone eats at home. Or we don’t know how to recognize such establishments (but really, I can read most road signs, or so I think). Finally there were signs for Kafe E6 well in advance. I would have missed it, but fortunately dad likes to enjoy the views and spotted the rarity. However, our coffee break seemed to confirm the suspicion that the Norwegians do eat at home…
Alta seemed a bit too early for camping for the night (and the only camping site we saw there wasn’t at a very attractive location) so we just kept on driving and arrived in Hammerfest well after sundown. There should be some nice photo opportunities on the road back to Skaidi tomorrow. There’s a strong wind going on in Hammerfest with occasional rain. Doesn’t sound that attractive, does it? But it is not all that bad — just keep a good grip on the handle when opening any door…
Hello! I happen to work at Kafé E6 in Burfjord, mentioned in your text. I just wondered what you ate, when you visited us?
Berit Bjørnholt — 28.11.05 @ 14:19
Hi Berit!
Thanks for writing!
Let’s see, we had some coffee and muffins. The coffee at Kafé E6 is excellent: they have a coffee machine that prepares each cup separately, so there is not worrying about getting the last drops from a stale pot that has stood on the counter for an hour or two. The muffins were fresh, and overall it was a refreshing break from the driving.
Actually, we had only brought instant coffee with us, which is why I would have liked to have found more cafes by the road. I think next time I’ll take the extra couple of minutes to make real coffee… :-)
In Finland many gas stations have bars that also serve food — sort of like diners in the USA. It was a surprise that I didn’t see any in Norway (well, Norwegian Lapland). Not many restaurants either, at least by the road. Any good hints on where to look next time?
Kimmo Suominen — 17.12.05 @ 16:56