Campsites,Norway

When we crossed the border from Sweden into Norway, both the roads and the view changed. The roads are now narrower and the stripes are yellow (Sweden’s roads are wider, and stripes are white), but the scenery is much more beautiful with higher mountains, more snow, more water falls, and better looking farms. We spent the night in a campsite about 20 miles east of Trondheim.

We had decided to stay at a B&B tonight, we saw several signs, but each was closed for the season (late September). Emmy was afraid she would get her hair wet in the high showers at the Andalsnes campsite, so I brought a bucket of hot water for her bath in the camper. There was fresh snow on the mountainside, so we drove on roads near the shore, rather than over the mountains.

Would have stayed at a sod-roofed hotel we looked at, but it seemed too expensive for what it offered. Drove on to Brekhe and found a campground with a light in the restroom. I could find no one anywhere in the campsite, so went across the road to ask at a lighted farm house, and found the farmer owned the campground. It had good plumbing, but we were the only people there, that night.

The campsite near Bergen was closed for the season, and there was no one to collect the money. The woman next door was from Australia and had been traveling since January. She is spending money she received from her mother’s estate — she must either spend it or pay it in taxes. We invited her over for popcorn. She has night blindness and cannot see in the dark, narrow tunnels, that are found all over Norway. She is headed north, and we’re glad we are headed in the opposite direction, toward Oslo.

Emmy awoke in the Oslo campsite feeling weak and dizzy. We decided that if Emmy is not feeling well we should check into a hotel so she can rest in comfort tonight. Found the Hotel Grand in Oslo, with a shower, and two very hard beds. Motel 6 would have been much better at less than $70, based on the tiny room and the hard bed. Our room was on the 6th floor and we could still hear Oslo street noises all night. The camper is really more comfortable, and campsites are quieter than hotels! Emmy would have rested better in the camper.