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Tromsø to Oslo – a 2000 km road trip

Tromsø to Oslo – a 2000 km road trip

At the end of August a moving truck picked up all my stuff and I returned the keys of the flat that I had lived in for six years. The end of an era, I was leaving Tromsø and moving to Oslo. It was a beautiful sunny day, and with mixed feelings I started the long drive south.


Day 1: Tromsø to Ballesvika (Senja) – 140 km


I took a week off to drive the 2000 km to Oslo, bringing my tent and hiking boots – ready for an adventure 🙂

Waiting for the ferry at Brensholmen Last views towards Sommarøy

I took the ferry from Brensholmen to Botnhamn. Before leaving Northern Norway, I finally wanted to go on a mountain hike on the fantastic island of Senja and after some research I chose Segla.

View from the ferry - what a beautiful day! Looking towards the top of Segla

The last part of the hike was steep and sweaty, but the views were so worth it. From the top you can dangle your feet over the 639 m high drop – slightly scary 😉

The majestic view from Segla, with Husøya visible on the right You can sit with your feet dangling over the 639 m deep drop - a little bit scary!

The Arctic Race of Norway took place at Senja the week before, and somebody had left a bike with flags on top of the mountain – a funny sight 😀

The Arctic Race of Norway took place her recently, and someone had put a bike on top of the mountain Another photo of the bike

Of course I had to take some selfies on the top 😉

Selfie on top :) Enjoying the views

What a fantastic hike! Segla means sail, and the photo below clearly shows why the mountain got that name.

Panorama looking back, the village of Fjordgård far below I was there!! :D

After the climb, I kept driving towards Gryllefjord where I planned to take the ferry to Andenes the next day. I stopped to take a photo of Hamn i Senja, where I have stayed several time and have very good memories. This time though, I planned to sleep in my tent. I found this beautiful beach at Ballesvika, that I had all to myself!

Panorama of Hamn i Senja, where I have stayed multiple times - love this place! My private beach at Ballesvika

It was a fantastic place – beautiful beach, picknick tables, a flat grassy spot for the tent, and perhaps best of all: there was even a toilet nearby.

Sunset What a great place to spend the night


Day 2: Ballesvika (Senja) to Hopen (Austvågøy, Lofoten) – 235 km


I woke up to another sunny day, and really enjoyed having breakfast and reading my book in the sunshine.

Morning bliss Last photo of the pretty beach at Ballesvika

It was only about 7 km to Gryllefjord where the ferry to Andenes (Andøya) left. A lovely crossing, and I even met a friend on the ferry who was on the way to Stavanger with his girlfriend. Norway is a small country 😉 Once in Andenes, I continued a short way to Bleik where I went for a walk on the fantastic sandy beach.

On the ferry between Senja and Andenes / Andøya The fantastic beach at Bleik

It was so beautiful, I couldn’t stop taking pictures. I was almost tempted to go for a swim, but I knew the water would be too cold for my liking.

So beautiful, I couldn't stop taking pictures Some people were even swimming - the water is very cold though

I would have loved to spend the whole day on the beach, but I still had a long way to go so I continued my drive, following the coastal route, stopping for photos all the time.

I love Bleik! Driving the coastal route at Andøya - very very pretty
Car advert for my beautiful Subaru :D Andøya has large areas with marshlands

Watching a flock of sheep crossing a river, and at Bjørnskinn it looks like you are going to drive straight into the church 🙂

Follow the leader - a flock of sheep cross the river At Bjørnskinn it looks like you're going to drive into the church

I continued my way to Melbu, where I took the ferry to Fiskebøl.

Pretty landscapes along the way Leaving Melbu on the ferry to the Lofoten

From there it’s not far until you are in the Lofoten. It was a calm and beautiful evening, and I stopped all the time to take photos of reflections in the fjords.

A sailing boat seen from the ferry Reflections
Lofoten idyll Looking towards Sildpollnes Church from a viewpoint along the road

I took photos of some very shallow mist as well, before I finally found a camping spot by the water.

A very shallow layer of mist My camping spot late at night


Day 3: Hopen (Austvågøy, Lofoten) – Bodø 240 km


The next day I woke up to a grey day with the clouds hanging low – typical Lofoten weather, but very boring for photography. I went to the Henningsvær, a small fishing village.

The next morning, where did the nice weather go?! Poem on a door in Henningsvær

I visited the art museum there, which had an exhibition about according to the owner “Norway’s most famous artist” – I thought that would be Munch, but she meant Bjarne Melgaard. Google him if you’re curious – to be honest I didn’t understand his work at all so I had to disappoint the eager museum lady 😉

Art museum in Henningsvær. The missing letters in Kaviar Factory spell ART Sea urchins for sale :)

I kept hoping the sun would come back, but Ramberg beach was pretty on a cloudy day as well. I found a nice rock to read my book on 🙂

The fantastic beach at Ramberg View from my book-reading-rock

After eating dinner in Reine, the sun finally came out again and I took some photos of this picturesque village – this is probably the most-photographed view in the Lofoten though so I wasn’t very original 😉 I continued to Å where I watched sunset at a beautiful little lake. It looked like a painting!

Picturesque Reine in the evening, when it finally cleared up Sunset at a lake near Å

I decided to drive to the ferry even if I was way too early – or so I thought, but I had misread the time table and a ferry for Bodø arrived 15 minutes after I joined the queue. Nice! Watching the Lofoten become small on the horizon during this spectacular sunset was quite magical. This was also the furthest I had travelled previously, so from now on I would be visiting new places – exciting!

Sunset panorama A spectacular goodbye to the Lofoten from the ferry to Bodø

I arrived in Bodø in the middle of the night, so I went to a hotel for a good night of sleep and a much needed shower 😉


Day 4: Bodø – Flostrand/Utskarpen – 265 km


I was excited to leave Bodø and see new places, so I picked up a brochure about the Helgeland coastal route from the tourist information and I was on my way. This route is over 400 km long and has 6 ferries. It was once again a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed driving through this beautiful landscape…

Starting the coastal tourist route south of Bodø A nice beach for a lunch break

After some very long tunnels, I finally got a good view of the glacier Svartisen – beautiful! I really would have liked to take the ferry to the glacier and hike up to the cabin Tåkeheimen. This cabin was voted “most inaccessible cabin in Norway”, but it looks SO beautiful. Unfortunately it was too late in the day for the ferry, and if I had to wait until the next day (and then hike for two days), I wouldn’t be able to continue my road trip until 3 days later so with a heavy heart I decided to drive on. I hope I can come back here one day!

Svartisen glacier - wish I could have visited! Warm evening on a ferry

My parents were driving from Tromsø to Oslo at the same time as me, though they had taken a different route (avoiding the Lofoten). Now we were back on the same route, and I decided to join them at the free campsite they had found next to the road. A very nice place!

Putting up my tent at the free campsite


Day 5: Flostrand/Utskarpen to Vennesund (Sømna) – 260 km


The next day was sunny and warm, but very windy. A lot more ferries and bridges were waiting… the bridge below is Helgeland bridge near Sandnessjøen.

View from one of the many ferries Helgeland bridge at Sandnessjøen

After Sandnessjøen there were some nice views of the row of mountain peaks called the Seven Sisters. I would have loved to climb one of them, but the wind was very strong (or perhaps I was just lazy 😉 ) so I kept on driving and decided to find an easier peak further along the route.

The Seven Sisters at Sandnessjøen

After taking the ferry to Horn, I climbed Mosfjell which has great views towards Brønnøysund – a nice evening hike!

View towards Brønnøysund Brønnøysund seen from a mountain top - pity it was so hazy that day!
The landscapes were changing from further north: more agriculture Great views

The sunset near Brønnøysund was spectacular!

Sunset south of Brønnøysund Sunset panorama

It was getting harder to find camping spots, as the landscape was changing a lot – now I was mostly driving through farmlands, and I could hardly put up my tent in a field of crops 😉 It was getting dark and I was worried I wouldn’t find a good spot – but just in time I discovered the perfect place near Vennesund. It was a beach with picknick tables and a proper toilet building with running water and good grassy spots for tents.

The only issue was the wind. It was SO windy that the food flew from my fork while I ate dinner, and putting up the tent was quite a challenge. Meanwhile it was still over 20 degrees, a very strange combination.


Day 6: Vennesund to Inderøy – 250 km


After a CRAZY windy night where I got scared that my tent would blow straight into the sea (I didn’t get much sleep…), I woke up to a windy morning. I drove back to Vennesund, ready for the very last ferry crossing (nr 10!) of this road trip.

My very windy campsite - and another private beach :) Art

Right after the ferry crossing I hit an area of rain. That was a first! The landscape was becoming gentler and I passed some large lakes. My parents told me they found a nice campsite between Steinkjer and Levangen. It was still quite early, but I decided to stop there as well.

The landscape was becoming gentler, with some large lakes My parents at the campground just north of Trondheim

It was a nice spot by the fjord and we enjoyed watching the sunset.

Sunset from the campground Nice spot :)

My mum took these photos of me eating some (disgusting) banana dessert that I had bought in Canada, and a photo of the typical camping life 😉

Eating a pretty disgusting banana dessert that I bought in Canada The camping life ;)


Day 7: Inderøy to Tretten – 435 km


We woke up to rain, so I decided to drive as far as I could towards Oslo. I was getting impatient to reach my new home 😉 I did stop for some hiking at Dovre though – a very beautiful open mountain landscape of mossy greens.

Hiking in Dovre - love all the mossy greens Dovre panorama

I hiked to a 1200 m top, which would be impressive near Tromsø, but here the road was already at 1000 m 😉

From the top, with lots of rain showers around Selfie on top

After my hike I discovered that I was near the Snøhetta Viewpoint, of which I had seen some spectacular photos on the cabinporn website – see here. Of course I had to stop! After a 1.5 km hike I reached the cabin. It was open and there was a fire burning – what a fantastic place!

Fantastic Snøhetta Viewpoint- the mountains were obscured by clouds but the views were still great Snøhetta Viewpoint detail - I loved this building

On clear days you can see the nearby mountain tops, and there was a volunteer who was pointing out the herd of muskox that roam the area through the binoculars (I only saw some brown dots which could have been anything 😛 ).

Snøhetta Viewpoint from the outside The shower that chased me on my way down - I didn't manage to outrun it

On the way back down I got soaked by a rain shower, and driving on towards Oslo the rain got so strong that driving got quite scary. I decided to stop at a motel at Tretten, a strange place but I was tired enough not to care about that 😉


Day 8: Tretten to Oslo – 215 km


The next day was beautiful again, with some fog banks hanging over the river. I couldn’t find a good place to stop for a photo though. I arrived in Oslo around lunch time, picked up the keys from my landlord and then drove to my new home. It had been a fantastic road trip, but now I was ready to settle in my new apartment and start my job 🙂

Tromsø update

Tromsø update

Time flies! I can’t believe it’s been 2 months since my last post. I was in Canada for all of June, for a conference and holidays afterwards. It was fantastic, and I took way too many photos – not sure when I have time to post them here, but you can see some photos in my Canada album on Flickr 🙂

I’ve been really busy lately, mainly because I am moving to Oslo at the end of August! I’m really excited, but it’s also kind of bittersweet to count down the weeks I have left in Tromsø. Luckily I have visitors who make sure I don’t spend all my free time packing and organizing 😀

Last weekend my friend Jakob came to Tromsø. We went to a music festival at Telegrafbukta one day, which was really nice. We arrived a bit early which meant we couldn’t avoid the eager journalists who were taking photos, see the result here 🙂 The next day was sunny and even kind of warm (it’s been a really cool summer here in Tromsø) – perfect day for exploring on Kvaløya. We started with my favourite – Brosmetinden 🙂 always beautiful!

View from Brosmetinden towards Tromvik View towards Rekvik and Skamtinden

It was warm enough to have a lazy lunch on top (although some were dressed in tshirt and shorts and others in long trousers and a jacket 😉 – guess I’ve become climatized to Northern Norway!).

View from Brosmetinden towards the road Jakob at the top

Beautiful views all around…

Panorama view from the top Panorama view in the other direction, with Sessøya on the right

And an impressive steep drop to the sea on one side – 525 m straight down!

It's a long way down - 500 m! On our way down from Brosmetinden

The weather was so nice we decided to continue exploring, and we drove to Sommarøy. Ørnfløya is another of my favourite tops in the category “minimal effort, maximum view” 😉 – it only takes about 20 minutes to reach the top, but the view is fantastic!

Amazing Ørnfløya :) Jakob looking out over Sommarøy

The next day we climbed Sørtinden, but we practically ran down it again, chased by an angry mob of mosquitos… Afterwards we took the cable car up, and I couldn’t resist another panorama…

I can never resist another panorama of Tromsø island :)

It was a great weekend, and it worked out perfectly to have a visitor in these last weeks – I get a break from moving preparations and get to visit all my favourite places one more time 🙂

When my friend Hannah found out I was moving away from Tromsø, she proposed a farewell-to-Hanneke hike last Thursday 🙂 Of course I am always up for that! We decided on Buren, which I had only been to once on snowshoes (a disaster 😀 ). It was a beautiful day, and although it was only 15 degrees it was plenty warm enough when negotiating the steep slopes of Buren. The view is definitely worth it though!

Me on top of Buren with Ersfjorden in the background The view towards Håkøya and Tromsø, and nice cumulus on the horizon

Panorama from the top…

Buren panorama

Hannah and me on the top, and Ersfjorden on the way down.

Hannah & me View of Ersfjorden on the way down

Afterwards we enjoyed a well deserved soft ice at Eide Handel – perfect hike!

Last night I had my very last night shift, and my last weekend at work. It feels like the end of an era – after 5.5 years as a forecaster and 7.5 years in Tromsø!! I will miss Tromsø and my colleagues a lot, but I won’t miss all those irregular shifts and weekends spent at work 😉 I’m staying within the institute though, just transferring to the research & development department.

In a couple of days I will have three visitors from the Netherlands for 2 weeks – I took some days off so I hope we can go on some exciting trips. Not sure how much time I have to post photos here in the coming weeks, but I’ll do my best 🙂

Freezing Fog

Freezing Fog

A couple of days ago we had a rare case of winter fog in Tromsø – with temperatures below zero it qualifies as freezing fog. It can cause a lot of problems, as it consists of liquid droplets that will freeze on whatever surface they come in touch with. Not very good for airport runways or roads, but quite pretty in nature 😉 I went to Prestvannet to take some photos of the fog and the frozen droplets on tree branches…

Prestvannet in the fog Frozen droplet against an obscured sun

While taking photos, the fog finally started to clear, giving me blue sky as a background.

Are the branches starting to get buds?? Not sure if this one survived though... The whole tree was covered in a thin layer of ice

And finally Tromsdalstinden appeared out of the fog, a magical moment!

Another frozen droplet Tromsdalstinden appearing out of the fog - beautiful!