Norway, North Cape
We cross the border to Norway and are far north. We are in Lapland and therefore there are also many reindeer. You have to be careful when driving.
It's great to be able to see the sea again, it somehow puts you in a really good mood.
These are magnificent landscapes we pass through, it is just so incredibly beautiful. Despite a bit of dingy weather, the road to Nordkapp makes one happy in the soul.
It is very popular to take the bike to Nordkapp. We meet quite a few fresh cyclists on the trip there. It is quite windy, but they are in good spirits. They are cool - it is not for ordinary people to cycle to the Nordkapp.
There is a boy who has just arrived, who joyfully calls his friend and tells him that the goal has now been reached. It is easy to feel his overjoyed radiance of pride.
The parking lot at Nordkapp costs the tidy sum of NOK 400. Included in the price is that we are welcome to spend the night in the parking lot. A strong wind is blowing and the weather is a bit dingy, so we think it is not a good idea to put up awnings and tent sides. It will just land on the North Pole.
There is a large visitor center which offers good hot food and delicious waffles. So we choose to have some time to go with a good meal while we wait for better weather.
We are sitting by a large panoramic window and scouting for the globe, but it is so hazy that we cannot see anything.
Fortunately, there is plenty to do indoors. There is a small cinema where a film is shown about the history of the North Cape and there is also an exhibition about the course of life on those edges.
After a good time with waffles and hot cocoa, it's cleared up so much that we can come out and have a look.
Johnny is looking for the King's Staircase, which goes down to the sea. Here the royal house could moor and come up and enjoy the view. But it is not that easy to find, wonder if it has been stripped down? We don't want to spend any more time looking for it and instead enjoy the sunset over the Barents Sea.
Although it is the month of August and it is late when the sun sets, it is not hot at these latitudes. Slightly frozen, we rush back to the visitor center, where we just manage to get warm before they close.
Despite the fact that we can install winter insulation in the roof tent, it is quite a cool pleasure. It is very windy and since it is our first trip, we don't quite know how much the tent can last. Fortunately, it is going well. Neither the tent nor we land at the North Pole, but it was an exciting night. We also didn't get quite as much sleep as we would have liked.
To our great joy, the center opens again at 7, so it is possible to get warm and go to the toilet. For a small fortune we buy breakfast in the café and sit by the large panoramic window and enjoy it all. It's crazy to think that we drove all the way to the Nordkapp. From Helsingør it is further to the Nordkapp than it is to Naples in southern Italy.
Since we are now at the top of Europe, we have to decide how we want to drive south again. That decision is not that difficult. We really want to see Lofoten.