RV Roadtrip – Norway Part 2

After Bergen we were headed north and then east before dropping down through Lillehammer and down towards Oslo to meet up with our friends, Tom and Katie. In our opinion, this section of Norway was the most breath taking. Stunning fjords and lakes, incredible glaciers and I even got in some bouldering!

We were starting to run a little low on LPG and wanted to top up whenever we could as LPG pumps are pretty rare in the Nordics (so we had been told). Near our next destination in Voss supposedly there was a filling station, and as luck would have it there really was and we were able to figure it out and top up.

Getting to Taulen Camping from the main road seemed a little sketchy as we needed to get over a very narrow and derelict looking bridge but it held and we parked up with incredible views. To my delight there were some nice sized boulders for me to play on!

Continuing north, our next camping spot was Kjornes Camping beautifully situated by the Sognefjord, nicknamed the King of the Fjords, is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. It stretches 205 kilometres inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden.

We never did end up having reindeer sausage, next time!

Sometimes the road just ends at a fjord and the only way across is by ferry!

The camping was pretty packed but we got a decent spot with a million dollar view. It truly was stunning. It was also an expensive campsite, the facilities were top notch and the view made it all worth while! (Also worth noting, even though it was an expensive campsite we had to pay separately for showers. This seems more the norm for camping in a lot of places in Norway.)

Not wanting to break the bank, we had to move on after just a couple of days. Along our route were stunning views and glaciers to hike to.

Setting off on what I would call a death march, we trekked and trekked onward and upward towards a glacier that seemed always just over the next horizon. Running low on supplies after several hours we turned back, maybe only an hour shy of finally getting to the glacier?

The road to the glacier hike.

As it was, we needed to get to our spot for the night, Breimsbygda Skisenter, a ski area that has spots for RV parking, paid electrics and bathrooms.

Sheep at the ski area.

Our disappointment (Shani’s) at not reaching the glacier was short lived. Our next stop was camping Melkevoll Bretun and a visit to world famous Briksdalglacier. The Briksdal glacier is an arm of the great Jostedalsbreen Glacier, and located inside the Jostedalsbreen National Park. Apparently the glacier grows and recedes quit a lot and the size of Briksdalsbreen depends not only on temperature, but is also strongly affected by precipitation. It was growing as recently as the 1990’s but went in to recession again in 2000. You can learn more from Wikipedia here.

It is only a few kms from the camping to the glacier and definitely well worth the visit!

As an added bonus, there was quite a bit of bouldering in the campsite and I got to play around on some boulders the next afternoon. We met a British couple while there and during our conversation we learned that they, too, had a Gaslow LPG system and he had noted the GPS coordinates of all the places we could fill up. A very fortuitous encounter!

Continuing on, we would encounter a very technical pass called the Trollstigen. Going up, not so bad. Our timing was pretty good and we didn’t have too many challenges.

Our little troll at the top of Trollstigen.

Going down, however, was a bit more of a challenge. On one hairpin turn we had the unfortunate luck to encounter a tour bus heading up. There was no shoulder for us to edge over to, just a building built to the edge of the road and a minuscule curb that our tires were pressed against. He pulled in his mirror and I did the same. Being professional drivers, we were able to navigate the tight turn.

And then there was the jackass in his Land Cruiser that figured he should gun it uphill (instead of pulling aside at the turnout) when clearly there was only space for one of us. Our rig being the bigger of the two and holding the inside lane, he had to stop. But again, we both had to pull in our mirrors so we could pass. Shani might have given him a special one finger salute as we passed by, I’m not sure, I had to keep my eyes on the road. Did I mention it was foggy and rainy?

The Trollstigen was beautiful, sadly the weather wasn’t cooperating for good photos. We ended up camping at the bottom at Trollveggen Camping, a lovely site with stunning views of the surrounding area.

Our route south was going to take us right by Lillehammer, the ski resort town that hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics. We wandered around looking at the sites and the Ski Jumping Arena for a few hours. Naughty people have been touching the statues in inappropriate ways it seems! 

Our penultimate night in southern Norway was spent at Liodden Camping near Nesbyen, located right on a lake and not far from where we would meet up with Tom and Katie and their kids for a nice hike and then afternoon and evening chilling at the family cabin in the woods.

And by not far, I mean as the crow flies! The next morning we met up and then followed them up the dirt roads and eventually the trail head in an area called Imle. The hike was up to the summit of Hallingnatten and along the way we got to forage for blueberries and cloud berries, a berry I had never heard of. Magnus, one of Tom’s cousins explained that they made a very nice sauce that went especially well with wild game. It sounded delicious to me.

(Hiking and landscape photos courtesy of and © Tom)

After a lovely hike we followed them to the cabin, again, not very far as the crow flies in an area called Fekjan. The cabin is off grid and we were surprised to see a hot tub steaming away on the porch. Upon further inspection we could see the smoke stack and learned it was heated by fire and took about 4 hours to get really hot. (They had started it that morning.)

Prior to my soak in the tub, I joined Tom and the girls for a dip in the stream that flows by the cabin. I’m now sure I know what joining the Polar Bear Club would be like…burr! (Ok, it really wasn’t that bad…)

We spent a very enjoyable evening with our friends and their family inside the toasty cabin in the woods. 

As all good things must come to an end, we all parted ways the next day. We were headed back into Sweden for some long driving days going North on wide, straight roads and our friends were wrapping up their holiday and heading home soon.

Stay tuned as we hit more Swedish marinas, look for moose and see our first wild reindeer and head into Finland before getting back to Norway for more Nordic adventures.