Day 1: Étretat

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Updated: July 29, 2022

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We made it to France! Having arranged a direct flight to Paris, we successfully eliminated any dramatic airline stories from this first blog entry. Instead, let us tell you that we prepared for the trip by purchasing France-themed M&Ms and doing a ceremonial Chartreuse shot before we headed to O’Hare!

France trip pre-gaming

Upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle International, we deplaned, passed through customs, and found our bags happily circling around the conveyor belt awaiting pick up. CDG is not the easiest airport to navigate — and it was definitely a zoo today for some reason — but we eventually managed to exchange some money and find a Relay store with the SIM card we wanted. (Fun fact: Setting up SIM cards is super easy for everybody on the planet except us)

Picking up our rental from Europcar, they told us they did not have anything similar to the Toyota hybrid model we signed up for (boo!) but in exchange, they offered us a Mercedes C Class (nice!), which also came with navigation, buying us the extra time we needed to get the data plan working on the SIM card. (Seriously, how does everybody else understand SIM cards better than us?)

I guess we’ll accept the Mercedes instead of a Toyota

Matt handled the Parisian traffic with ease, despite the fact that motorcycles appear to have no inclination or legal duty to acknowledge Rules of the Road over here. After a comfortable and scenic drive north, we made it to Étretat just before 5PM. Navigating narrow streets, we found La Castel De Terrasse and admired the grandeur of the place.

Castel de la Terrasse, our humble abode tonight

Our host Estelle introduced us to the resident seagulls (yes, that’s right) and explained why our guest room is themed after famous French writer Maurice Leblanc. She also suggested the best way to explore the Cliffs De Étretat and where to find the best seafood.

These boats aren’t going to sail themselves people!

Once a popular retreat for impressionist artists such as Monet and Manet, the Cliffs de Étretat are still a popular tourist destination. Before dinner, we hiked up part of the western cliff(s) called Falaise D’Aval to set down some of the natural splendor.

Looking west from Falaise D’Aval at La Manne Forte


Humans for scale! Falaise D’Amont In distance


La Chambre des Demoiselles and Ètretat beach

We walked back to town for our dinner reservation at La Marie Antoinette. We bravely tried the oysters, but stuck to cooked fish for our main course. We also had our first French bread and French bottle of wine, so I’d say dinner was a success.

Good oysters. Delicious seafood. And check out that dog in a suit!

Afterwards, in preparation for sunset, we walked back to the cliffs and explored Falaise D’Amont to the east. We hiked up past the church, beyond the field of dairy cows, then back down to the beach via a rocky staircase and a small 40ish-yard tunnel through the cliff.

Chapelle Norte-Dame de la Garde


Shadows climb the cliffs


Low tide reveals hidden skulls… just checking if you’re reading the captions.


Falise D’Amont at low tide


Entrance to Le Chaudron tunnel and MarioKart shortcut.


Watch out for the super rare rock jellyfish


Getting a perfect shot of…


…this seagull enjoying the sun setting on Falaise D’Aval


Golden hour sinks below La Mancha (English Channel)

Throughly impressed with the views and satisfied with our hike and dinner, we walked back to the Castel de Terrasse to end the night. Day One was a success (amazing weather!) and we are hoping to keep the trend going.

Getting Ready for France

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Updated: July 1, 2018

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Welcome back! This year we are heading to France — the land of wine, cheese, bread, and bikes. We leave Chicago on Wednesday, July 4th with a direct flight to Paris, which hopefully cuts down on the airport shenanigans. (We are flying United, although I’m sure Delta is working furiously to bump us off a connecting flight for old times sake, ha!).

Starting the journey at the Cliffs d’Etretat, we’ll follow the coastline west to Normandy to visit the D-Day beaches. There happens to be a Medieval Festival right where we are staying in Bayeux, so clearly, we will need to check that out. Heading further west will be Mont Saint Michel where we plan to stay overnight and hike the bay when the tide is out.

The 2017 Médiévales De Bayeux posters went full Game of Thrones!

Our friend Nate Caucutt and his family live in Lorient — in the Brittany region of France — where we will visit for a few days and watch the fourth and fifth stages of Le Tour De France ride thru town. Following that, we drive waaaay back east towards the Alps with a quick stop in Auvergne for a hot air balloon ride over extinct volcanoes (weather pending).

Spotted last year in the Amsterdam airport… so obviously Paris was next

Arriving in Geneva, Switzerland, we will meet our bike tour guides — Alpine Chaingang — and begin the crazy biking adventure. With a summertime ski chalet as our home base, we will bike for six days on various routes in the French Alps. If we manage to stay alive, we will see even more Tour De France action (stages 10, 11 and 12), as the riders will be entering the Alps and biking some of the same roads during the week. Hopefully, Chicago Divvy bikes and Soul Cycle classes have prepared us to pretend like we are competing for the polka-dot jersey.

Check back for updates and pictures! Oh, and if anyone can teach me French, now would be a great time.

Day 16: Airports

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Updated: August 22, 2017

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We made it! Just a final trio of flights with two airport layovers, and our Norwegian adventure will officially be in the books — or the blog, let’s say.

Norwegian waffles are tasty, confirmed

But, first things first. At breakfast, we discovered the Oslo Airport Park Inn has a Norwegian waffle making stand. Having not seen this do-it-yourself culinary option at any of our previous breakfasts (we had seen them for sale elsewhere, but made in advance), we took this opportunity to give the local favorite a shot. It did not disappoint.

OSL sidewalks are like being in Tron

After breakfast, we checked out and enjoyed five minutes of nice weather as we walked from the hotel to the airport. After a pit stop at the Global Blue counter to get a tax refund (for the shoes), we proceeded to check in.

Tragically, we couldn’t find anything to spend our last 19 kroner on. Even a small pack of gum was 22 kroner, about the equivalent of three dollars. The coins were a better souvenir.

Checking in with our friends KLM and Delta


Jo bids farewell to the locals

Having timed our arrival pretty well, we didn’t wait long for the first flight. Our seat assignments from yesterday were successfully noted on the boarding passes, so we were able to get on the plane! Take that, KLM.

Oh boy, we actually get to board our KLM flight this time!


What is this, a coke for ants?! 🙂


Approaching Amsterdam

The flight was smooth, and we made it to Amsterdam with an hour and a half layover before our next flight. Stopping at the food court, we used our remaining consolation food vouchers from two weeks ago when they bumped us. Two free salads and drinks later, we were ready to take our 11th flight.

You’re still on notice, KLM and Delta

The departures board told us our flight would be boarding in 10 minutes, which is what our information indicated as well. Then, rather abruptly, the board said our gate was closing. OK THEN! So we quickly jogged to the gate.

On the plus side, we didn’t have to wait around for boarding again. And in the end, our sprint seemed slightly unnecessary as they didn’t close the doors until five minutes before take-off anyway.

There’s our Delta plane maybe boarding in 10 minutes, or maybe not!

A mere eight hours later — involving several games of Ticket To Ride on the iPads (Scandinavian Coutries expansion, of course) — we landed in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Hey Minnesota! We put our Global Entry status to work and cleared customs in a matter of minutes.

Sorry we brought the rain to Minnesota, you guys

Taking advantage of the three-hour layover and our return to American IP addresses, we camped out at the gate and caught up on the two episodes of Game of Thrones. We also re-visited the Google Fi trivia vending machine in the G concourse, where we successfully answered a series of three (very) obscure geography questions in order to win fuzzy socks!

Eventually, our final flight boarded and we were delivered back to O’Hare for a 10pm arrival. Our bags arrived quickly, we hopped in a cab, and were home by 10:45pm.

Blurry Chicago lights come into view

Here are some fun facts we compiled about the trip…

Transportation Totals:

  • Planes: 12 (longest 8 hours, shortest 20 minutes)
  • Trains: 3
  • Automobiles: 17
  • Boats: 12
  • Dog Carts: 1
  • Steps: 205,486

Weather

  • Rain: 12 of 16 days

Umbrella industry does good business during Norwegian summers

In Svalbard, it was common practice to take of your shoes before entering rooms — including public spaces such as hotel lobbies and restaurants. This seems like a really good idea, especially come winter when copious amounts of snow and slush get involved.

Still need a shirt for service??

Camping and hitchhiking are very common in Norway. It is legal to camp anywhere unless otherwise noted, and many people plan on hitchhiking to get around. We saw many people with their thumbs out on the side of the road.

It usually looked like their plan was going off without a hitch.

Hey-O! Thank you for enduring one of our two Norway jokes. We’ll be here all week. Remember to tip your wait staff.

Electronics casualties:

  • 1 cracked phone screen (minor nick)
  • 1 water damaged phone (glad it was an old phone)
  • 1 blown power converted/wifi router

So long, European power outlets!

And finally, there was one Norwegian radio station called Norge, which played good music, but lost all credibility when they cut short both “American Pie” and “Blinded by the Light.”

Aside from those travesties, the bottom line is Norway is awesome. Highly recommended. Everybody should go. We might have to get back there someday ourselves.

Day 15: Leknes/Gardermoen

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Updated: August 31, 2017

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Great weather in Leknes this morning! Because we were leaving, of course. With the bright morning sun streaming in from windows overlooking the grassy backyard, we took our time waking up, making breakfast, packing up and tidying our AirBnB.

Sunny morning after yesterday’s squall

On the bright side, the fact that yesterday’s typhoon cleared up gave us some level of confidence our travel plans for the day would be a success, starting with a noon flight from Leknes to Bodø.

Dropping off the second rental at LKN

Unlike Chicago or Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Leknes airport has two rooms. One that holds the short baggage claim belt, rental car desk, check in, and security. The other is the one-gate waiting room. We arrived in plenty of time for our 20-minute flight over the Vestfjorden.

March of the passengers, Part 1


Not tired of these Lofoten views


Different rocky coast look near Bodø, also awesome

After a short layover, our next flight took us to Oslo (or more accurately, the city of Gardermoen, which is about a 40 minute drive outside of Oslo). The views out of the window were not “Lofoten Islands” level of greatness, but the clouds and landscape heading inland to the east were still worth a look.

March of the passengers, Part 2


Thanks SAS! We like you better than Delta/KLM

Back in the land of large airports, we collected our bags and stopped by the KLM counter to see if we could check in, or at least get assigned some seats for the first leg of our itinerary tomorrow (because Delta and KLM are dysfunctional partner airlines as noted previously). The agent was able to reserve seats for us, so hopefully no more bumps! She’ll probably get in trouble for not charging us some lame fee to help us out.

Checking in to the Park Inn hotel at the OSL airport

Walking to the hotel, we realized how exhausted we were. The hotel is a bit of a hike outside the city of Oslo, and since it’s a Saturday everything in Norway tends to shut down on the weekend. None of the places we were interested in seeing were open. Opting for a relaxing evening in the hotel instead, we wrapped up our epic trip with a nap and dinner.

Nap time!


Lounge and dinner time!

Norway has been amazing, and we will miss it. Chicago is now calling us home. Tomorrow we finish with a trio of flights back to Chicago — our 10th, 11th, and 12th flights of the trip. For some reason, flying west always seems and feels easier, so here’s hoping that holds true.

One more thing. As we are posting this blog in the Park Inn bar right now, it is pouring rain outside. Ha! We win tonight, Norway weather demons!!!!

Day 14: Lofoten Islands

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Updated: August 16, 2017

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As yesterday’s weather report predicted, it was a beautiful morning in Leknes today… BUT only for a while. Knowing the weather was going to turn by late morning, we woke up, ate breakfast and hit the road by 8:30am-ish to see the Lofoten Scenic Route.

As we learned last week, when Norway calls something a “Scenic Route” they are not screwing around. It’s the main reason we adjusted plans at the last minute yesterday and rented a car. So off we went in our snazzy brown Opal Astra stasjonsvogn.

Great weather… for now!


Impressive views

On the road signs, the route is simply called Ŧ (pronounced ‘oh’), which is the name of the city at the end of the drive.

Sandy beaches on NW coast of Vestvågøy


Got photos in all directions

Heading southwest, we tunneled to Flakstadøya Island and took a quick detour to see a historic fishing village called Nusfjord. Parts of the village have been replicated to serve as hotels (the part we saw), and parts have been preserved from its original state (which you could see for a fee).

Road across Flakstadøya


Outskirts of Nusfjord

The drive continued south, hitting another island named Moskenesøya, getting us more amazing scenery, and eventually to Ŧ. Another small fishing village on the edge of the island (what else are you supposed to do when you are so close to water?), Ŧ has a hotel, restaurant, bakery, cafe, museum, and of course, a gift shop.

Open-air tunnels toward Ŧ


One of the historic buildings now part of the museum


The Kraken has a long history in Nordic seafaring folklore

When reading about the Lofoten Islands, we learned they are famous for stockfsh, which is dried cod (mostly), preserved using the old method of cleaning the fish and hanging it on wood racks to dry. Making stockfish is such an integral part of the culture and history that the museum in Ŧ is actually the Norwegian Stockfish Museum. We were game to try some, so we bought a small package. Additionally, while walking around looking for the gift shop, we accidentally found the bakery and failed to resist devouring a freshly baked cinnamon roll (Norway forgoes the globs of icing, and it is still amazing).

Delicious Kanelsnurr on the right

By this point, the glorious sunny weather was long gone so we headed back north toward Leknes. For what it’s worth, the Lofoten Island scenery still manages to impress even when it is rainy and cloudy.

Rainy in Reine


Coastal showers

Next up, we drove directly to the Lofotr Viking Museum and festival in Borg. Norway has a serious history with Vikings, including a trove of artifacts found on the site of the museum. Many parts of the property feature cultural remains, while others have been reconstructed. The museum is open all year, but for one weekend a year, they host a Viking festival. Lucky for us, it fell on the weekend we were there!

Things to do at a Viking Festival

Rain or shine (but really, just rain for the rest of today) we were determined to have fun. First up, we walked 1.5km from the Chieftain’s House (the largest Long House in the world!) to the festival area. The main goal was to sail on the replica Viking ship (the actual ship is in the Viking Museum in Oslo). We arrived in time to see the boat sailing away, giving us 45 minutes until the next departure.

Wandering into the boat house, a musician taking cover from the rain offered a demonstration about Viking age music and instruments. Another vendor outside was selling Stockfish and offered us a sample (so, you know, we can find out what exactly we bought earlier, ha!). It tastes like salty cod, but has the texture of bark. Must be what fuels everyone to be as active and fit as they are. Finally, it was boat time.

The Viking boat crew keep us from capsizing after hoisting the sail


The Vikings loved orange life vests

Turns out that windy, rainy weather makes a sail boat go pretty fast. Whipping around the lake and banking a couple steep turns, we made it safely back to the dock.

Back on land, we continued to walk around the festival and check out the artisan tents. Vendors selling their wares was expected, but it was also cool to just see the Vikings hanging around their camps, telling stories, cooking, and sharing their food. Some explained their cooking process, some sold their food (hazelnut cakes for a dollar), and others just gave out samples to passerbys (including spit-roasted pig and a much-appreciated warm cup of soup).

Hasselnøtt kjeks!

Finding a warm wool hood/poncho from one of the sellers, I felt cozy and Viking-like, and was ready to play with some weapons.

First up was archery. We both hit our targets. Next up was ax throwing. The girl in front of us managed to cut herself while throwing the ax, so we discovered they are very real. But don’t worry, she was fine, and we were wearing gloves. Matt nailed it twice. I couldn’t quite get the ax to stick in the target.

Adopting Viking fashion


Excellent archery form

Venturing into the smithy, the blacksmiths were not presenting a demonstration, but rather the three of them were just hanging out and helping each other practice techniques and share tips. Soon, festival staff came in to have them smooth and sharpen a couple of the axes we had just been throwing a second ago, which must have been why I wasn’t successful earlier. Obviously.

When the axes need repair, call your smithy

After one last lap around the market, we hiked the 1.5km back up the hill in the the pouring rain and crazy wind to the indoor refuge of the Viking museum. The exhibits feature artifacts excavated from the area, a twenty minute movie (filmed on the property), and clips of archeologists and historians talking about Viking history specific to Borg. Using iPods (old school!) to follow the audio tour, we learned a good deal about the Norwegian Vikings.

As we finished, the museum was closing, but we stuck around for the Viking feast we signed up for in the hope they’d have enough people. They did! Escorted to the Longhouse, we had time to look around before the dinner commenced. The Viking “king and queen” hosted us and performed a show throughout. When the delicious lamb and vegetable plate was served, we ate like Vikings (no forks).

Prepared to feast! And drink plenty of mead!

As dinner concluded, we finished our mead, danced around the fire, and took a look around the rest of the longhouse. Very grateful for having rented a car, we headed home in the very heavy wind and driving rain.

Our dinner hosts the king and queen… and their twins

Our trip is nearing its end. If the wind or rain doesn’t foil our flight times, we go to Oslo tomorrow for the evening before flying back on Sunday.

Day 13: Longyearbyen/Leknes

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Updated: August 31, 2017

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Other than the fact there was daylight all night, our last morning in Svalbard (or Spitsbergen if you’re Dutch and Grumant if you’re Russian) started out in a similar fashion to the rest of our Norway mornings. A little bit of rain, a little bit of breakfast, and double-checking our plans for the day.

Took this shot by the window at at 2:07am


Carefully reviewing the confirmation sheet for today’s activity

Our flight from Svalbard back to Norway was in the mid-afternoon, so we booked one last adventure for the morning — a fossil hunt! We met our guide at 9:30am and soon discovered the hike/hunt was going to take place just up the valley where our hotel was situated.

Fossil hike guide gives us some directional pointers


Rocky road up the moraine

We hiked up the moraine towards Longyearbyen glacier (but not actually to it). Way back in the days of Pangea, Svalbard was below the equator and therefore tropical. As it drifted North, the vegetation couldn’t survive the cold and dark winters, and eventually died. Many fossils of those plants can be found in the surrounding rocks as the rest were decomposed and compressed into the abundance of coal that is still being mined.

No! This bridge is for Max!


Not much grows here, but enough for reindeer snacks

There was a bit of a learning curve to spotting the rocks with fossils in them. It felt like staring at a pile of puzzle pieces to find the one that’s going to fit. Our guide handed out rock hammers and we doubled our efforts. Eventually, we found some rocks with fossils worth taking back with us.

Checking closely for fossils


When you are told that rock “is not the fossil”


Couple fossil keepers


The terminus of the Longyearbyen Glacier further up the valley


Crazy rocks splitting open like books up here!


Last pass of Coal Miner’s Cabins as we headed back down the valley

A successful fossil hunt completed, our guide drove us to the airport. The Longyearbyen airport pretty much only has one flight at a time, so we checked in our bags with everyone else on the flight, walked through security, and had a seat in the waiting room by the gate. Small airports are fun! Plus, SAS airlines has an efficient way to board a flight… from both the front and aft!

Regular boarding in the front, party boarding in the back

After landing in Tromsø, we passed through customs and re-checked our bags. Svalbard is controlled by Norway, but doesn’t really officially belong to anyone, so another stamp goes in the passport as we officially returned to Norway. We got through security with no issues and found our favorite spot in the Tromso airport to wait for our next flight to Leknes (which is a table by the Pizza Hut). The next flight to Leknes feature the smallest plane on the trip so far. It featured roughly the same seating capacity as a Chicago city bus, with free-for-all seating a la Southwest.

Boarding our puddle jumper to Leknes


Lofoten Islands aerial, Part 1


Lofoten Islands aerial, Part 2

Rather than being confined to the limits of the Leknes bus service for the next two days, we decided to audible and get another rental car — primarily to explore the Lofoten scenic route tomorrow. Finding our AirBnB with the rental car was a snap, and we even grabbed some groceries on the way for dinner and breakfast.

Hatchback station wagons are all the rage here


Found our AirBnB!

Tomorrow, we will explore the Lofoten islands in the morning, and then chill with some Vikings in the afternoon.

Day 12: Barentsburg/Pyramiden

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Updated: September 14, 2018

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Good news! The midnight sun did not keep us from falling asleep. After our alarms rang at 7am, we had a quick Coal Miner’s breakfast and were soon thereafter picked up for a day of exploring Svalbard on an Arctic Explorer cruise.

This shot was taken around 1am

We opted for the full-day Explorer tour which took us all over the Isfjorden region, punctuated by amazing scenery, a glacier, various wildlife sightings, and a double-header of Russian mining towns in various degrees of operation — Barentsburg to the south, and Pyramiden to the north.

Our path today follows the red lines

The catamaran left Longyearbyen at 9am, heading south to Barentsburg. Seeing as it is the Arctic, and the boat was going upwards of 20 knots, it got pretty chilly in the wind. Good thing they offered us those snazzy warm jump suits! It was also cloudy and overcast, but not rainy, so we’ll take it!

Could you explain “leeward side of the boat” again?

Once we arrived in Barentsburg, we disembarked and explored the town, starting with a guided tour. While legally controlled by Norway, Barentsburg is basically Russia. I mean, there is a bust of Lenin in the town square.

Arriving in Barentsburg, an active coal-mining settlement


Our Goal is Communism!

As a currently active mining town of 400 people owned by Russia, it is not surprising the place has a lot of old Russian influences. There is a school (which, by the way, looks WAY bigger than necessary for the 70 kids who live there), a brewery (no longer the northernmost, thanks to Longyearbyen), and a hospital. The hospital only has four doctors — whom our guide says don’t even know how to use all the fancy equipment — but that’s OK because no one is allowed to give birth or die anywhere on Svalbard.

The Barentsburg school has some gorgeous murals


Yep, this is basically Russia

After Barentsburg, we boarded the boat and headed back to Longyearbyen, sailing along the coast to check out the mining “ghost” town of Grumant and the nearby Green Mountains.

We used the rest of the time time to eat some lunch, drink some hot beverages, and start on the blog. Some people were left back in Barentsburg (on purpose, presumably, because they were trekking back), and nearly everybody else from the small group of passengers ended their trip back in Longyearbyen.

Old mining town Grumant near the Green Mountains

But, a handful of people stayed on the boat with us for the day’s second tour — a trip north to see the Nordenskiöld Glacier up close and the now-defunct (and mostly abandoned) Russian mining town Pyramiden.

Plenty of new people showed up as well (about 70) because a mathematics conference of some sort is in town (really?) and apparently, they all had this afternoon free to go on an excursion.

Nordenskiöld Glacier close up


Vast landscape dwarfs small object, Part 1


Vast landscape dwarfs small object, Part 2

Unlike Barentsburg, which is still functioning, Pyramiden was closed and abandoned in 1996. Last-owned by Russia (yep, they also have a Lenin bust and all the Communist fixins’), the city features buildings that are still standing and open for tours, but otherwise forgotten by time and left to the elements.

Pyramiden wanted to have the nicest sign


Found a rusted wheel bearing amid the abandoned debris

Pyramiden is probably one of the strangest places you can visit, considering it was a self-sufficient, company-run town (in the ARCTIC!) that was trying to “prove” the value of Socialst government. Coal miners would willingly work here for a hearty salary on a two-year contract, bringing their wives and families to live and work in the town. Housing, food, sports, and everything else was included (although sometime doled out based on class and/or mining effort).

Since its closing, the same coal mining company that owned the town has kept it open for tours. There is even a hotel that somehow attracts enough visitors to stay open. A grand total of ten people live here during the summer season, and only two residents stay all year to maintain the hotel — a very “The Shinning-esque” job.

The old commissary building was one of the buildings we were allowed to explore


Investigating the lower level


Eerie abandoned kitchen

The last fun fact about Pyramiden is that it is — by a matter of degrees — the farthest north we’ll be on this trip. The exact latitude is 78-something (40, maybe?), but it looks like they just rounded that up to 79 degrees for the official landmark in the town square.

79° N in Pyramiden


Firearm escort thru town and back to our boat, Aurora the Explora’

As we finished up the tour in Pyramiden and sailed away, the sun started to come out, allowing us to see the tops of the mountains that were partially hidden earlier.

New light for the landscape

The wildlife seemed the appreciate the sunshine as well, as we spotted a variety of critters on the way back to Longyearbyen. First, some polar bears on a rocky outcrop, then a breaching whale amid some birds feedeing. Just as we were about to pull into the dock in Longyearbyen, we saw pods of beluga whales as well!

Time to spy some wildlife!


Polar bears, can you spot them?


Whale, via the super zoom on the guy’s camera next to me


Beluga whales, in multiple pods near the end


Return to Longyearbyen

By the time the trip ended at 8:45pm (but daylight that felt more like 5pm), we were driven via bus back to our lodging at the Coal Miner’s Cabins — which now feels much more appropriate! We headed straight to the lounge and ordered up the delicious looking ribs and chicken.

Mmmmmmmmmmm

Afterwards, we kicked back with another round of Spitsbergen brews (trying the IPA tonight), relaxed in the comfy chairs, and enjoyed the excellent musical taste they have at this establishment. Tomorrow, we’ll spend a little more time in Svalbard in the morning, but in the afternoon, we’ll be exiting the land of the midnight sun.

Day 11: Longyearbyen

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Updated: August 8, 2017

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Even when the hotel is at the airport, you still need to wake up early. We gathered our things, grabbed some breakfast and headed over to the terminal for our 8:15am flight. The check-in was smooth and the first flight to Tromsø went off without a hitch. We arrived with plenty of time to make our connecting flight on SAS to the VERY northern island of Svalbard.

Not raining at Trondheim airport this morning?!?


Glimpse of the Lofoten Islands area from Trondheim to Tromsø


Multiple glaciers visible on approach over Svalbard Island

After landing in Svalbard, we collected our bags and found the bus that runs new visitors from the airport to all the hotels in the city after each flight arrives. The weather was gorgeous; sunny, a crisp 45-50 degrees, and a refreshing breeze.

Welcome to Svalbard, 78.2232° N, 15.6267° E

The bus dropped us off at the Coal Miner’s Cabins, our home for the next two nights. The cabins used to be real barracks for the miners working in the area. Most of the mines have been abandoned because they mined out all of the coal, so the cabins were converted into lodging for visitors.

Coal Miner’s Cabins


What is this, a pick-axe for ants?! 🙂


The view from our window in the cabin (looking north)

We quickly dropped off our stuff, and got ready for our dog-sled carting adventure. Svalbard Husky guide Jacobine picked us up at the cabin, at which point we realized we were the only ones booked this afternoon… awesome! After a quick fitting for warm jumpsuits, we drove south up the valley to meet the dogs. Svalbard Husky owns 86 dogs. We happily greeted them all before getting our team geared up.

Hello huskies!!!!!


So glad you are here!!!


Want to go for a cart run?

We learned how to put the harness on the dogs and attach them to the cart. Once our team was assembled, we learned how to drive the cart –basically, steer, break and don’t drive into the ditch.

Dog team assemble!!!


Today’s starting lineup


Fixing a collar malfunction


Israel to Chaplin: You ready to go?

Driving the car pulled by six huskies was really fun. They can go pretty fast, and some of the dogs would rather run on their own than with the team. The view of the snow-capped and barren mountains surrounding us wasn’t so bad either.

Rolling down Svalbard in our Husky-six


Really letting the throttle go


One of several water breaks (warm out for the dogs)


Cortney is hydrated and ready to go again

When we returned, we unclipped our dogs, removed the harnesses, and an brought them back to their kennels where they got dinner. Before leaving, we also got to see the husky puppies that were only six weeks old, as well as a few who were only two weeks old.

Husky puppy, awwwwwwww

We said goodbye to the pups, and were driven back to the cabins. On the way, we saw some reindeer, though none with red noses. In the lounge of the hotel, we enjoyed delicious beer brewed locally in Svalbard. The locals are proud of how far north they are, so many things are “the most northern _____.” Therefore, we are drinking the most northern brewed beer, staying in the most Northern hotel, etc. Dinner at the Coal Miners was also very tasty.

Excellent local brews

The weather has finally been great for us today, which is quite the advantage in Svalbard. The sun will never fully set when we are here. It is now 11:35pm and it looks like 7:35am out the window. We’ll see you “tomorrow” from the land of the midnight sun!

Day 10: Atlantic Road

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Updated: August 7, 2017

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Today was our last day with the rental car and we aimed to make the most of it! Our plan called for us to wake up in Andalsnes and drive over 400km to Trondheim. As usual, we stocked up on breakfast food and hit the road at 8:30am. Thankfully we were on our way before most of the cruise ship people ventured into town (pretty sure it was the same boat we saw in Geiranger yesterday).

If it’s always raining like this, then the trolls are right


Andalsnes from across the bay

From Andalsnes, we considered two possible routes to head north, both of them involving a ferry. The route we picked had another Stave Church nearby, so we took a detour to find it. Since it was built in the 1100s, it was close to the water and a bit off the main road. In the time it took us to walk around the church, light drizzle turned into a heavy rain, so we got back in the car and continued the drive.

Did I not already mention YOU MUST STAVE AN UMBRELLA!

Instead of taking the shorter drive to Trondheim through inland highways, we took the Alanterhavsvegen scenic route following the Norwegian Sea. Officially, the route starts in the small fishing town of Bud, but the views leading up to it were pretty great as well. The rain had stopped and was holding off, which was very helpful and appreciated. The first stop, Kjeksa, provided a viewpoint of Hustadvika Bay, shipping lanes, and the ocean.

We’ve reached the Hustadvika!


Driving along the coast from Bud to Kristiansund


Weather-beaten coastline

Although not a listed stop on the scenic route, we came across an farm from the 1800s. While no longer functioning, it has been preserved for visitors to stop by and see a typical Norwegian farm.

This barn looks startled

Across the road from the farm was another point of interest called Askevagen Bay. After a little backtracking, we found the viewing platform and gazed out over the sea. In the past, kelp from this area would be burned to use for medicinal purposes, such as making potent iodine. Burning of the kelp has since been banned, but it is still used for commercial pharmaceutical purposes.

If it’s the Norwegian Sea, why do they call it the Atlantic Road?


I’m not Smoky the Bear, but sure looks like some kelp “caught fire” here

As we continued along the ocean, we arrived at Eldhusøya Island. There is a walking trail on the island, but the real attraction is a series of nearby bridges — including Storseisund Bridge, which is the largest bridge along the Atlantic Road. Perhaps you’ve seen it in a car commercial?

Storseisund Bridge


Getting a good view of the bridge

Myrbærholm Bridge isn’t as stunning as Storseisund, but it’s prime fishing location (and great view) makes it a popular spot. We didn’t try to catch anything except pictures.

Lots of locals fishing


More locals fishing

Shortly after the bridge, the scenic route concluded, and we continued to Kristiansund via Atlantic tunnel before heading inland. We took our last ferry across the bay from Halsa to Kanestraum, picking up a snack on board.

One more spin on a ferry!

Once we exited the ferry, we still had blue skies (WHAT!?!) and were treated to great views for the final 130km of driving to Trondheim.

Follow the red car to Trondheim, Part 1


Follow the red car to Trondheim, Part 2

Rather than going straight to the hotel (30 minutes outside Trondheim), we decided to spend a couple hours in the city itself.

Mostly a college town, Trondheim has many shops, pubs, street art, and a big church. We found a lovely park and took a break to eat some dinner before driving truly aimlessly through the streets for a while. Trondheim is a very active city, and very hilly. To help the bikers, on the very steep hills, there are bike lifts where you place your foot on a mechanical ramp to push you and your bike up the hill.

Colorful Trondheim


Streets of Trondheim

Eventually, we parked the car and wandered around on foot. The Nidaros Domkirke Cathedral was built in the 11th Century over the burial spot of St. Olaf, the King of Norway. It’s big, old, and houses a giant organ. We arrived just in time to hear the end of an orgelmeditasjon, or organ meditation. Impressive.

Nidaros Domkirke Cathedral


Somebody won the Cathedral ring toss!!

Meandering down towards the pier, we passed by some street art, a stage in a square, various closed museums, and some interesting shops. Trondheim seems like it would be a fun place to explore, but alas, we must be on our way to the hotel and prepare for our next adventure.

Trondheim street art

We arrived at the Raddison Blue Trondheim Airport hotel just after 8pm. Of course, the rain started up again, lol. A long, but exciting day of driving completed, we said goodbye to our trusty car, which carried us about 1800 kilometers (1,118 mi). It was helpful that the rental car company and airport are literally a two minute walk from the hotel… Again, not an accident.

Tomorrow we fly out of Trondheim at 8:15am and connect in Tromsø before flying to the island of Svalbard. Fingers crossed the flights go smoothly!

Day 9: Geiranger

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Updated: August 6, 2017

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Hey, it’s still raining! After another tasty Norwegian breakfast, we checked out of the Fossheim Turisthotell and crossed the street to the Lom Stave Church for some quick pics. The church was open, and surrounded by tour buses. Even in the rain, getting a look at the old architecture was worth it.

Shocking weather development… rain


Off to brave the elements again


Today you must Stave an umbrella

We continued to drive out of Lom and head north towards Geiranger. Route 15 is not technically one of Norway’s Scenic Routes, but the view still seemed pretty scenic to these Midwesterners. The rain even cleared up for a bit.

Looks like the mountains are holding back a frothy beverage


This road is not open for more than half the year


Bank barns are popular in Norway

Once we arrived in the town of Geiranger, things got more scenic, but also more crowded. A small town of 240 residents, with a fjord and amazing views, Geiranger is a main stop for cruise ships. Today there were (only!) two ships in port, raising the amount of people in town to about 6,000. We made our way through the throngs to find the meeting spot for our RIB Boat tour. Zipped up in warm waterproof suits, we were ready to speed through the fjords.

Ready for some speed-boating in the fjord

Unlike your typical fjord tour boats (like the one we took in Flam), an RIB boat holds 10-15 people, goes very fast, and gets you so close to the cliffs you can touch them. It was super fun.

Want to check out that waterfall?


Have a look!


Natural hair dryer


Most famous waterfall in the fjord is the “Seven Sisters”


Seven sisters close up

Finishing the boat ride and our pit stop in Geiranger, we continued north into the mountains the only other way you can drive in or out of Geiranger — via the Ørnesvingen-Eagle road. We stopped at the viewing platform at the top for a last look.

So long, Geiranger!


So long, Geirangerfjord!

After another ferry ride from Eidsdal to Linge, we emerged in strawberry country. This, of course, required a stop at one of the roadside stands for a delicious carton.

Jordbær fields!


Berry good road snack

The stops along the scenic route got less crowded as we travelled away from Geiranger, including Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge. It’s a pretty standard gorge by traditional gorge standards (rushing water carving out rock and such), but the Norwegians do love installing avant-garde architecture to spice things up.

Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge


Was the architect previously a basket-weaver?

By the time we got to Trollstigen, it was raining pretty hard again. Any views were totally blocked. Only 30 minutes from the hotel, and still only 5pm, we decided to hang in the visitor center/cafe to see if the rain would let up. Trollstigen (Trolls Footpath) is a stretch of road with 11 hairpin bends and a 10-percent grade. It is a popular and scenic road when it is not covered in clouds.

By 7pm, the rain had stopped, but the clouds still lingered. The visitor center was closing, so we packed up and made do with what we could see — which wasn’t too much.

Trollstigen viewing platform, visibility low

We took the switchbacks down (which, by the way, are not scary anymore… we have been driving in Norway long enough) and got a couple decent views once we were below cloud level. There was a road-widening project here a few years ago, so this road was probably in better shape than 90 percent of the rest of the roads we’ve driven in Norway.

Best view of a Trollstigen in dreary weather

Finding the hotel in Andalesnes, we were ready to take it easy for the night. Tomorrow we hope to drive all the way up to Trondheim and say goodbye to our trusty car.

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