Norway in a Day

After working through the weekends, and with the weather not cooperating, we were giving a day off on Thursday June 8th. It's about a 3-hour drive West over the mountains to Norway on E-10. So, four of us got into the Audi and started out around 8:30am. The plan was to make a loop through some fjords via the ferry system and get back in the evening. Click on the image to the right to see the route we took.
The road is the only way to get to Norway from here without going 100's of miles north or south. Above the Arctic Circle in early June, there is still snow on the mountains and some ice on the lakes. Take a look at the photos I took. The views were spectacular! Over the high portion of the mountain pass, the rocky landscape was dotted with lakes and cabins. Most of the activity happens in the wintertime, with ski areas, lighted snowmobile trails, and lots of ice fishing. Ice huts were temporarily stored onshore during the short summer.
As we got further into Norway, there were small farms on the hillside but very little tilled soil. How do these people make a living? Ah, socialism!

The major highways through Norway have many bridges, but the larger gaps in the fjords have a well-run ferry system. We took one 2-hour ferry ride from Lodinen to Bognes (cutting south from highway E10 to E6), then a 1/2-hour ferry ride from Bognes to Skarberget (the only link in Northern Norway on E6). There were probably 50+ vehicles onboard, including RV's and tractor trailers. On the passenger level, they sold sandwhiches and had comfortable seating areas. I went onto the outside deck to see what it was like. Windy and cold! The dark water of the ocean inlets reminded me of the Great Lakes. But, in the distance were layers of snow-capped mountains, and small waterfalls.

On the way back, we stopped at Peppe's Pizza in Narvik. A welcomed break from the piles of gruel and mystery meat I've been eating every day. (Actually, the Esrange food is quite good most of the time!)

Some of the best scenery was along the road to Narvik. Weathered stone mountain sides, rivers, bridges, small towns on the edge of the Fjords. We got back to Esrange around 9:30pm, just in time to join the party put on by the Aesop science group to celebrate the successful end of their mission. Their payload is being recovered near a frozon lake in the Northwest Territories in Canada after 5+ days floating at 130,000 feet.