Monday, March 18, Week 06
Tomorrow -10 °C
Noon 11°C
Evening 6°C
We start in winter and almost end up in spring!
The journey along the E14 towards Norway leads through a wonderful winter landscape.
As soon as we have crossed the border we go downhill - meter by meter.
And with every meter of altitude, the snow disappears and makes way for a dusty road and a brown landscape.
However, the view of the sea near Trondheim is again wonderful.
First we head for the LPG filling station in Trondheim. Another quick visit to Rema1000 and then we drive to the parking lot in the city. These places are usually not particularly beautiful but are very well located. The center can be reached quite quickly on foot.
And so we soon set off to stroll through Trondheim once again. We stop for a bite to eat along the way, we are hungry.
But we are too late for the cathedral, which closes at 2 p.m. and the visitor center closes right in front of us at 3.30 p.m.
So the tour will have to wait until our next visit ;-)
We have covered 5 kilometers until we are back at Pfüdi. That's enough for today.
Day route: Tännforsen - Trondheim
Distance: 170 km
Average consumption: 8.5 liters
Average speed: 55 km/h
Travel time: 3 hours 4 minutes
Pitch cost: 340 NOK incl. water/electricity
Tuesday, March 19
Tomorrow 3°C
Noon 6°C
Evening -4 °C
There is a railway line behind the parking space in Trondheim. And a lot of trains passed through yesterday. Freight trains, passenger trains, timber transport trains - but not a single train passed through the night!
We slept well!
Our decision is made! We are still driving comfortably but a little faster towards the south.
So we leave snow-free and almost spring-like Trondheim at around 9.30 a.m. and unexpectedly land back in the depths of winter.
We spontaneously leave the planned route and drive the Rondane scenic route. We drove this route on our first Scandinavia tour in 2015 and got caught in a thick fog. At times we moved forward almost at walking pace.
And today? OK, the weather is getting worse during the afternoon, but we still have good visibility and a good view. And it's deep winter! We're all alone in the big parking lot at Spidsbergseter Ski Center and we'll spend the night here.
A snow plow drives up and down the street almost every 15 minutes, but we don't really know what it's plowing.
The road is free of snow except for a few snow drifts.
A few snowflakes are dancing around.
We are standing in a fairly large parking lot. It is now 5:30 p.m. - the large parking lot next door has been being cleared with a snow blower for two hours! For what or for whom? No idea!
We are excited to see what awaits us tomorrow morning! The weather forecast says 2-5 cm of fresh snow!
Daily route: Trondheim - Rondane National Park
Distance: 265 km
Average consumption: 10.1 liters
Average speed: 56 km/h
Travel time: 4 hours 43 minutes
Parking cost: 50 NOK parking fee, incl. NOTHING
Wednesday, March 20
Tomorrow -4°C
Noon 5°C
Evening 1 °C
Norway is once again unpacking the most beautiful winter fairytale! What a way to start the day. Mystical clouds of fog create a fantastic atmosphere. The few centimetres of fresh snow enchant the entire landscape.
We can't get enough of it. Our cameras are running hot.
Pure Scandinavian winter!
At some point we finally start and with every meter of descent the winter fairytale leaves us.
Well, that's it for winter. We're speeding south. Of course there's still snow. But there's also a lot of traffic on the E6. We change to the 3, later to the 2, and stop to do some shopping at Rema1000. We still have to return some PET bottles.
It's going to be a long day of driving. There aren't exactly a lot of places to stay overnight along the route. The first parking spot is completely deserted in the countryside, still a bit snowy, and no one has driven there recently. It just doesn't fit. The second parking spot is next to the oldest lock in Norway.
Our Pfüdi manages the journey over the gravel road, which is also covered in slush, without any problems. But unfortunately the parking lot at the lock has not been cleared. It would be so idyllic here. We would even shovel a gap, but the snow is rock hard, no chance!
Hansruedi skillfully turns our motorhome around and we drive back to the main road. The third place is in Sweden and we finally have some luck. It is snow-free and located by a beautiful lake.
There is no one around. We enjoy the peace and quiet after this long day of driving.
Day route: Rondane National Park, Norway - Bön, Sweden
Distance: 360 km
Average consumption: 8.7 liters
Average speed: 55 km/h
Travel time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Pitch cost: 180 SEK Incl. electricity and waste bin
Thursday, March 21
Tomorrow 1°C
Noon 7°C
Evening 4°C
Today is a normal travel day.
Shower, have breakfast, tidy up, pack up and hit the road.
Many campsites currently offer few services. Here we had electricity and a rubbish bin. So there is a lot on the agenda today.
The first stop in the next town is a MAXI ICA. Coincidentally, we also get rid of the grey water here.
Second stop at a gas station - here we can fill up with fresh water.
Third stop a few kilometers further at a parking spot where at least the latrine is usable. We have water in a 5l PET bottle for flushing.
Fourth stop at a Systembolaget – the red wine has run out.
Fifth stop at a gas station with cheap diesel – Pfüdi needs something too.
As always, we stopped for lunch. Today at a beautiful, but still frozen lake.
And so the day flies by. After 205 kilometers, we reach our destination for today at 3 p.m. - the parking spot in Trollhätten. It is located slightly higher up than the locks and we can even see a large cargo ship transporting wood.
On the third attempt to spend the night here, it finally worked. The first time in 2015, the parking space was not accessible due to road construction work. On the second attempt (I don't remember exactly when) it was full.
Here, too, there is currently only electricity and waste bins.
Well, and then Hansruedi starts the tedious work of unscrewing the spikes again. This turns out to be more difficult than screwing them in. Some spikes are really "hidden" in the tire, others are crooked, etc. After almost two hours he finally manages to get the front tires out!
Since studded tires are banned in Germany, they simply have to go.
After the work is done, we make ourselves comfortable with a delicious raclette and toast with one (or two ;-) )
Glass of wine to our successful winter adventure. We have definitely left the snow behind us today and we are looking forward to the first signs of spring.
Day route: Bön, Sweden - Trollhätten
Distance: 205 km
Average consumption: 9.1 liters
Average speed: 59 km/h
Travel time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Pitch cost: 200 SEK Incl. electricity and waste bin
Friday, March 22
Tomorrow 6°C
Noon 10°C
Evening 8 °C
And we find these signs of spring today. The day starts with raindrops, but as the day progresses it gets better and better and ends with lots of sunshine!
But let's take things one at a time. We sometimes have a fixed goal for the day in the morning. But that can suddenly change for various reasons.
So today we're aiming for different places along the way. We'll get rid of the grey water once, we can empty and flush the toilet at a rest stop and we'll skip filling up with fresh water today.
At around 3 p.m. we reach our planned destination for the day - the parking space in Landskrona.
We need some exercise today! What better way to do this than by visiting the Landskrona Citadel.
So we set off, enjoying the first flowers in weeks and the rays of sunshine.
In the end it was 7 kilometers, it felt good.
We stopped in Landskrona almost 5 weeks ago. It was a Sunday, rainy weather and there were 3 motorhomes here with us.
Today the site is very busy until the evening! There are about 30 motorhomes here - the season has started and Easter is just around the corner!
For us that means going home. Easter is going to be busy!!
Route: Trollhätten - Landskrona
Distance: 308 km
Average consumption: 10.0 liters
Average speed: 75 km/h
Travel time: 4 hours 4 minutes
Pitch cost: 250 SEK, incl. water/electricity
Saturday, March 23
Tomorrow 5°C
Noon 10°C
Evening 7 °C
The weather surprises us very positively!
Today is a normal day of travel and since the campsite also offers a top-notch V/E system, we don't waste any time on all these things.
We cross the Øresund Bridge and chug down through Denmark. Traffic is limited, and we're on the road quite early.
In Rodby we have to wait a good half an hour for the ferry, so we have just enough time for a quick lunch, as it is now 12:00. Just like 5 weeks ago, there is a lot going on on the ferry, a real hustle and bustle.
The Easter holidays have started for many people.
We make a quick shopping stop in Burg auf Fehmarn and then drive back out to Burgstaaken to the car park for motorhomes. We expected more vehicles. Actually, there are no more than there were 5 weeks ago.
We are happy about this and immediately reserve a table for dinner at the Zum goldenen Anker restaurant.
We are both a bit tired, so we treat ourselves to a lazy afternoon with some office work.
Day route: Landskrona - Burg, Fehmarn
Distance: 250 km
Average consumption: 10.0 liters
Average speed: 72 km/h
Travel time: 3 hours 27 minutes
Pitch cost: 12 euros, including waste bin
Sunday, March 24
Tomorrow 5°C
Noon 11°C
Evening 6 °C
We can dispose of waste very well in Burg on Fehmarn next to a car wash.
And then we treat our Pfüdi to his first wash after almost 6 weeks!
It's incredible what has accumulated there. And we can say that in Scandinavia the roads are not salted! The results are already visible, even if we are still a long way from being completely clean.
Today we cover a little over 400 kilometers towards home. And we are extremely lucky - we never get stuck in a real traffic jam.
It is simply amazing how many motorhomes, caravans, campervans, buses, etc. are on the road today.
And anyone who thinks that they are all heading south is very much mistaken!
Denmark will probably be full by this evening! Many people may also head to southern Sweden. Or wherever, just north.
We landed - how could it be otherwise - in Lippoldsberg today. And for once we found ourselves standing in the car park, which was completely unusual. Even after 6 weeks, the meadows were still - or even more - completely soggy.
There are still 650 kilometers to go until we get home.
On our 6-week trip we will have covered 8,550 kilometers.
Our travel report ends today.
Starting tomorrow, the homepage will no longer be available for editing for a while. Why?
In December, we received a surprise notice from Swisscom terminating our web hosting contract at the end of May.
They want to give up this line of business. Of course, they also made suggestions as to who the homepage could be transferred to.
If we don't do anything, the homepage will no longer exist from June 1st and all the work will be gone!
After the initial shock, we decided on the one suggested provider and initiated everything that was necessary on our part.
Swisscom also assured that work on the homepage could continue at any time during this change.
Well, and then we simply didn't hear anything for a long time.
Seven days ago the email came from the new provider.
Starting Monday, March 25, we will begin moving the website. The website is always available to our readers (we hope that's true!), but we cannot work on it.
So much for Swisscom's promises. If we're unlucky, the interruption will last until May 14th!!!
We just hope that you can still read these lines!!
Now to the conclusion of our winter trip through Scandinavia:
We have prepared thoroughly for this trip, especially for the possible extreme weather conditions of cold, snow and ice.
We experienced the coldest night in Jokkmokk with minus 16 degrees and our precautions against the cold worked well. However, we never needed the two thickest blankets for thermal insulation in the driver's cab.
We encountered icy roads for about 1,500 kilometers and the decision to buy spikes to screw in was really worth it.
Snowfall – we actually missed that a bit! We never needed the ladder to clear the snow from the roof. The snow shovel wasn't used much either.
The four snow chains also just came along.
Our dream of experiencing the Lofoten in their true winter dress did not come true. But the beautiful weather and the wonderful Northern Lights more than made up for it.
With a heavy heart, we canceled Senja and Tromso because of bad weather (rain) and a lack of snow. We know both destinations and really wanted to experience them in winter conditions. But it wasn't meant to be.
Overall, we had very good weather conditions with lots of sunshine. We enjoyed every minute of the trip!
Will we travel through Scandinavia again in winter? We cannot answer that question at the moment.
We will probably arrive home on Tuesday and wish you a beautiful spring with many hours of sunshine.
Just check back again! We'll be in touch again. Be it via our brand new homepage, via Instagram or via WhatsApp status.
We'll definitely be on the road again sometime in May and then it'll be time to head for new shores (i.e. countries)!
Tagesstrecke: Burg, Fehmarn - Lippoldsberg
Distance: 425 km
Average consumption: 9.5 liters
Average speed: 73 km/h
Travel time: 5 hours 47 minutes
Pitch cost: 13 euros, including water/electricity
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