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Going to Nordkapp in July...tips on what to see?

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cnb

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My husband and I will be going to the North Cape by motorcycle this July. I'd be happy to get any tips on what to see (and photograph!) along the way from the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish members of the forum! Please feel free to comment on our planned stops and offer any alternatives; we're pretty open to suggestions!

Here's a rough sketch of where we're planning to go:

We'll drive up through Denmark with a planned stop in Arhus, then take the ferry from Hirtshals across to Norway, visit Oslo, and make our way to Trondheim and the western coast. Someone advised me to take the route that passes through a former mining town whose name escapes me (instead of the E6), which sounded very interesting. We opted against doing the famous stretch of fjords around Bergen, and decided instead to spend a few days on the Lofoten islands, which I'm really looking forward to. Then on to Nordkapp via Tromso and Alta, and from there back down south through Finland and Sweden.

The short Finnish stretch of the trip is pretty open; we're thinking of stopping for the night in Inari.

For the Swedish part, we're planning on taking the coastal route instead of the inland road; we've read mixed reports, but the coastal route seems more appealing (plus we'll probably stop and visit with some friends around Umea). Further planned stops in Sweden include Sundsvall and Stockholm and Malmö. I was thinking of visiting Malmö and then crossing the bridge to Copenhagen, instead of spending two nights in Copenhagen. We've both been to Copenhagen, but never seen Malmö.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Cheers
Christa
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ch_cnb/
 
RØROS is the mining town you don't remember the name of..

http://www.roros.no/?set_lang=en

Well, spend a moment in Oslo, but not too long! Go visit Norsk Folkemuseum at Bygdøy - there you'll se a lot of old norwegian culture and history. http://norskfolkemuseum.no/

If you have time, you can visit other museums here as well, see some viking ships etc. Really cool :-)

If you decide to skip the fjords in the western part of the country (bad idea, by the way ;-)) then at least make sure to go through some of the mountain areas on your way north. Sognefjell, Valdresflya, Jotunheimen etc. Look it up. If you have time, try to avoid the main roads south of Trondheim - they are boring - except E6 across Dovre.



By the way, I've been on the peak of the highest mountain in the picture - Snøhetta at 2286 meters. Have a few pics in my gallery from that trip. Should give you an idea.





Of course, there won't be much snow when you get here (I hope...)

Røros is worth a visit, then head north. The nature in the coastal areas

in the northern part of Norway has a lot of breathtaking sceneries, so keep your camera batteries charged!

Lofoten is an excellent choice!

Have a nice trip!

Kind regards,
Magnus
 
If you are looking for someone to carry your suitcase and camera bag on that adventure, there is this guy in Schoten (Belgium) that I know...

No seriously, can't help with tips for that region.
Tell us all about it when you get back. And do it with illustrations.
--
Roel Hendrickx

lots of images : http://www.roelh.zenfolio.com

my E-3 user field report from Tunisian Sahara: http://www.biofos.com/ukpsg/roel.html
 
cnb said:
My husband and I will be going to the North Cape by motorcycle this July.
Click to expand...
Christa, I wish you all the best and especially fine weather - you are quite brave make that huge trip by motorcycle! I am heading to Finnmark (Loppa area) this July as well, but using a car ...
cnb said:
I'd be happy to get any tips on what to see (and photograph!) along the way from the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish members of the forum!
Click to expand...
Altough I am not a citizen of Nordic countries I have been in all of them several times and really love Norway, so hopefully help a bit ...
cnb said:
We'll drive up through Denmark with a planned stop in Arhus, then take the ferry from Hirtshals across to Norway, visit Oslo, and make our way to Trondheim and the western coast.
Click to expand...
My advice is to keep in mind (right from the start) that most amazing counties (at least for most of the people) are Sogn og Fjordane and More og Romsdal. So the advice is if you are going across the south of Norway do not waste lot of your time unless you reach borders of Buskerud / Oppland / Sogn og Fjordane. There is lot to see and enjoy before, but after this moment the game really changes - as Sogn og Fjordane and More og Romsdal counties is the most beautiful part of Europe in my opinion (if you know well Switzerland you will be maybe not so shocked, but we are each year again and again).

The first I can strongly suggest is to cross Jotunheimen mountain NP - both main roads (51 starting from E16, or 53 starting from E16 and continue on 55) are outstanding and you will see mountains, lakes, glacier rivers, stone fields, etc. with possibility of Jostedalsbreen (the biggest glacier in Europe). If you have a time you can optionally choose the way to Stryn where you can see Briksdalbreen glacier with lot of waterfalls around and well known Vidalfossen waterfall. Otherwise the way continues to road 15 and 63 which is heading to famous Trollstigen and voted most beautiful fjord in Norway - Geirangerfjord with waterfall called Seven Sisters - which both are a must. Those roads are fantastic with lot of breathtaking sceneries to see. Then you can continue on 63 to Eisdalen and after short ferry go to Andalsnes. Altough it is way back, it is worth to go for a while on E136 from Andalsnes to see Trollsveggen (Europe's highest vertical rock) and at least a small part of amazing Romsdalen valley surrounded by waterfalls everywhere (we count 12 big waterfalls visible from one place staying out of the car on this road ...).

Someone advised me to take the route that passes through a former mining town whose name escapes me (instead of the E6), which sounded very interesting. We opted against doing the famous stretch of fjords around Bergen, and decided instead to spend a few days on the Lofoten islands, which I'm really looking forward to. Then on to Nordkapp via Tromso and Alta, and from there back down south through Finland and Sweden. After that I strongly recommend to continue on road 64 then 660 (direction Nesset) to Eikesdalen, also known as waterfall valley. In this area is also not so well know, but astonishing road called Aursjovegen which goes over mountains, lakes, glacier rivers and close to Mardalsfossen (possibly the highest waterfall in Europe). I am not sure where it starts from the direction of Nesset, but one start is from Sunndalsora - do not miss this one if you will be there as this is amazing for all bikers. Next you should drive in direction to Kristiansund, but take care of you will not miss other attractions as there are many - as Innerdalen close to Sunndal (often called most beautiful valley in Norway). I don't know all the things in this area as you can easily spend weeks only there, it is full of beauty. Again, if you will have enough time I suggest to drive on 64 to famous Atlantic Road (Atlanterhavsveien), which is outstanding, also voted as one of the top roads around the world. There is also brand new tunnel from Kristiansund, which should be worth to drive - I assume it can be one of the longest tunnels along with those to Smola and Hitra islands.

Oops, way too long post ... will try to give you some more suggestions later ... I can recommend to put those names (and others) to google and check pictures. I assume that this (excellent!) forum can help you a lot: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=579479 .
cnb said:
The short Finnish stretch of the trip is pretty open; we're thinking of stopping for the night in Inari.
Click to expand...
As I do not know north of Finland well (yet) I can tell only what my friends from Finland told me - that the best part of Finland is the area of Norway/Sweden/Finland borders.

Just a few pictures, but I am not a landscape photographer ...

















 
magnus600 said:
RØROS is the mining town you don't remember the name of..

http://www.roros.no/?set_lang=en

Well, spend a moment in Oslo, but not too long! Go visit Norsk Folkemuseum at Bygdøy - there you'll se a lot of old norwegian culture and history. http://norskfolkemuseum.no/

If you have time, you can visit other museums here as well, see some viking ships etc. Really cool :-)

If you decide to skip the fjords in the western part of the country (bad idea, by the way ;-)) then at least make sure to go through some of the mountain areas on your way north. Sognefjell, Valdresflya, Jotunheimen etc. Look it up. If you have time, try to avoid the main roads south of Trondheim - they are boring - except E6 across Dovre.

By the way, I've been on the peak of the highest mountain in the picture - Snøhetta at 2286 meters. Have a few pics in my gallery from that trip. Should give you an idea.

Of course, there won't be much snow when you get here (I hope...)

Røros is worth a visit, then head north. The nature in the coastal areas

in the northern part of Norway has a lot of breathtaking sceneries, so keep your camera batteries charged!

Lofoten is an excellent choice!

Have a nice trip!

Kind regards,
Magnus
Click to expand...
Dear Magnus,

Thanks for the tips! Nice pictures, too.

Yes, Roros is the town I was thinking of. I just read that Folldal is also an old mining town, and that the road along the Rondane to get there (E27) is very scenic. From Folldal, it's not too far to Roros, and I've been told that this route is a good alternative to the E6. So we may choose that, avoid a good bit of E6 and do some smaller roads instead.

We decided to skip the southwestern fjords because we don't have enough time to see everything, and we're both really keen on spending some time on the Lofoten islands. I understand that we'll be missing some of the biggest and most famous fjords, but we'll keep those for a future trip... We'll console ourselves with the many other fjords as we make our way up north :)

Cheers
Christa

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ch_cnb/
 
RoelHendrickx said:
If you are looking for someone to carry your suitcase and camera bag on that adventure, there is this guy in Schoten (Belgium) that I know...

No seriously, can't help with tips for that region.
Tell us all about it when you get back. And do it with illustrations.
Click to expand...
Roel, there won't be much to carry! One motorcycle, three hard bags, two people. That's why I got the E-PL1...well, and "very limited space" was a perfect excuse to get a cute new camera and join the Pen hype :)

On a practical note, I'm planning on keeping the camera under my jacket and ready to pull out and use during the trip, so I don't always have to get off the bike and open the top case. I bought this binocular X-strap to keep the weight off my neck; got the idea from a birder who lugs around heavy Nikon lenses for hours on end ;) So, I definitely plan on bringing back lots of pictures!

Cheers
Christa

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ch_cnb/
 
Dear Jan,

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I'll check the places on the map and figure out if we can see some of them. We'll definitely be driving through the national park region in central Norway, so we should see plenty of mountains.

Lovely pictures, too - not bad for someone who doesn't consider himself to be a landscape photographer ;)

Cheers
Christa
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ch_cnb/
 
cnb said:
going to the North Cape by motorcycle
Click to expand...
Wow - I'm jealous!
cnb said:
Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish members of the forum
Click to expand...
Well, I'm German, and don't know that area, so all I can do is wish you a good trip, and to return nice & safe with lots of photos.

for us, it'll be Malaysia again starting this coming Sunday. But plane only, not the long way round ;)

cheers,
Wolfgang
--
using free and open source software,
and an open camera system (Olympus 4/3rds)
 
Hi Christa,

It sure will be a long trip on two wheels... ;) Although the scenery will be unusual in many ways, and of course beautiful, I don't envy you for that trip, especially not on a motorbike. Did you check the distance? Yes, I suppose you did, but for those who are not familiar with the distances north of Copenhagen I think it would be interesting to see your calculations. Anyway, when in Malmö don't forget Lund. It is a smaller town but it is beautiful. During the summer it is very quiet since many of its inhabitants are students and teachers, university teachers, professors so the town is really quiet during the summer.

If you are not too tired of driving you could take the coast road from Stockholm as well, which will be the E4 until Norrköping and then the E22 until Kristianstad and than road 118 to Ahus. When 118 ends turn left on the road 19 to Brösarp. At Brösarp left again on road 9 directions Kivik. That road leads you all the way to Malmö and it is beautiful. Along the road you can stop almost anywhere and take a swim or just relax. Of course, it would be considerably faster to take the E4 all the way, but not as nice.

If you want to stop by for a coffee and a little talk, I live a few kilometres outside Lund. Send me a mail, your husband and you are welcome, assuming I am at home and not travelling. German, French and English are conversational languages in my home; apart from a few more, so even if he is not as good as you are in English, I am sure he won't be left out.

PS. For the Northern part of Sweden and Finland don't forget to bring something against mosquito. They can be really bothering during the summer, they are aggressive and are in HUGE numbers some times.
 
olyflyer said:
PS. For the Northern part of Sweden and Finland don't forget to bring something against mosquito. They can be really bothering during the summer, they are aggressive and are in HUGE numbers some times.
Click to expand...
Hehe, Olyflyer, that is exactly the first thing that came to my mind when reading about Christa´s trip up there, lol! Enjoyed my BMW bikes for over 20 years but never went up North because of the mosquitos!. Always preferred to go to the Alps, the reason I have no advice here for this trip, Christa.

So besides a liter of engine oil I´d say half a liter of Autan (or something similar), lol!

And when shooting from the bike, probably over his shoulder, make sure to look at the front element of the lens now and then; one of these mosquitos might end up on your lens and you only recognize it much later and some shots might get ruined.

For that type of shooting a good MRC coated B+W filter really sounds like good advice! And a micro fibre cloth to clean it, preferably in your pocket and not somewhere in the camera bag in the tank bag or top case. MRC coatings are REALLY tough and can take a lot!

Christa, wishing you both lots of fun on that trip! Without my silly back feeling the way it feels, 20 years younger and still owning the K100RT I sure would like to come, too!

René

PS: Christa, your profile looks a bit funny, Location: "United States, Zurich" ???

Oh, and when you see some scary looking big blue lights in the back mirror (what probably would be police over here); in front of Ume&#229 flygplats I have seen many of them, but not on police cars but ordinary cabs/taxis. Maybe some special type of fog lamps, I don´t know.

 
The trip you are planning is quite a long one, many are surprised how far you have to go and what time it takes, in particular on North-Norwegian roads that may not exactly be of highway standard - but then on the other hand offering some much more to see - but also with a certain risk of not to good weather which may also slow the pace.

Jan3X5 has mentioned many good suggestion for scenic places in southern Norway. However, the important question is: How much time do you really have available?

I would generally advice that if you for this trip has North Cape as your target, you should go north more or less as directly as you can, to see what time you then have available for the return trip - and possibly return to southern parts of Norway for another time.

I will - not just because I am Norwegian - say that northern Finland and Sweden around the Baltic Sea is not the most interesting and scenic areas. However, the roads are better and faster, so go there, but consider doing that as a more or less fast transit through Sweden and Finland on your way directly to North Cape, and thereafter start the much more scenic road dwindling southwards through Norway and then see what time you have available for touring, until you possibly speed south in transit again for a possible return.

Lofoten has lots to offer, (what about a links golf course at the ocean in midnight sun for instance?), so you will probably spend some time there, However, you should already have passed (going southwards) through a magnificent scenery in Lyngen northeast of Tromsø.

If you have time, I would strongly suggest to go the two hour trip from Tromsø westwards out to the ocean and a magnificant place called Sommerøy. (Even my spoiled and easily bored children got excited by that - and that was in bad weather without the panoramic view the place offers in nice weather.)

When going through Norway between Bodø and Trondheim, you should seek to follow the coastal route, not E6 if the time allows. The coastal road involves some ferries and is a somewhat slower route, however, it is much, much more rewarding from a scenic point of view - in particular in summer with midnight sun over all the dramatic islands and the sea. The slower pace of this route due to ferries (that gives you some breaks on a long road) etc, makes it also easier to get in touch with the people and the way people live.

Consider in general going some stretches by the coastal liner ("Hurtigruten") or more local ferry/ship lines on the distance between North Cape and Trondheim. Since you are going to Lofoten, I would strongly suggest you to consider going (southwards) by Hurtigruten from Tromsø (where you leave by midnight - but still in the sun), alternatively from Harstad, to Svolvær - bringing you through some very interesting coastal routes - in particular the short but breathtaking side trip these ships make into the extremely narrow and steep Trollfjorden in the summer months

Hurtigruten from Svolvær to Bodø or further south may also allow you a shortcut from/to Lofoten, although you then skip Narvik which with its funicular to the top of the mountain behind the city (similar to Tromsø) offers you a splendid view.

Bergen is a nice town in itself with great character, but the fjords in that area is for spectacularity easily surpassed by fjords up north or in the northwest-area west of Trondheim through Ålesund area, as mention by Jan3x5.

So, in short, go north, you will then easily find your motives for photography, but consider time and distance thoroughly.
 
EspE1 makes a lot of sense. Nordkapp is not a very special place except that it is supposed to be the northernmost point of Europe. Lofoten is another matter all together. I live in Oslo, and I go to Lofoten every year (I have never been to Nordkapp and I have no plans to go there). The outermost point of of Lofoten is the island of Røst, my favorite spot in Norway. If you are interested in birds, this island is a must. You get there by car fgerry from Moskenes in Lofoten, and you could continue from Røst to Bodø by the same ferry.

Northern Sweden and Finland is flat and a bit boring. But Stockholm is worth a visit, a beautiful city.

EspE1 also suggest taking the "Hurtigruten" for a leg on the trip, and I support him fully. When I have travelled with foreign friends I have started in Harstad and gone to Svolvær in Lofoten. This means you will enter the "Trollfjorden", a very narrow fjord, during daytime. So my suggestion would be to travel southwards from the far north, to Harstad, then "Hurtigruten" to Svolvær in Lofoten. After a stay in Lofoten, go to Røst for a couple of days, see the bird rocks, and then furher on to Bodø.

If you want to see some images from Røst and Lofoten, please visit my website bildebank.com (see below).
If you want more details about what to see in Lofoten, don't hesitate to ask!
--
Raymond
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1244032#author-bookshelf (my books)
http://osloray.wordpress.com/ (Image blog)
http://www.bildebank.com
 
...Wolfgang, olyflyer, René, EspE1, and Raymond!

Some additional information on our trip:
  • The trip to Cape North is a classic among Italians for some reason. My husband is Italian and has been dreaming of doing this for years. We've read several blogs of other bikers who have done it, and are pretty well prepared I think. I'm looking forward to the adventure and to the great places we'll see along the way and all the experiences we'll have.
  • We're leaving from Zurich, but we're taking the overnight "autotrain" from Lörrach, just north of Basel in Germany, to Hamburg, and plan on doing the same on the way back. We'll do an estimated 6200km; probably a bit more.
  • We'll be on the road for 3 1/2 weeks.
  • We know that Nordkapp itself is nothing special (something of a shopping mall for touristsl, I've read), but it's just the northernmost destination: the purpose is the trip itself.
  • We're skipping the southwest coast of Norway because we decided to spend more time up north, especially on the Lofoten islands. We're also planning to go whalewatching in Andenes, something we've been wanting to do for a long time. The return trip through Finland and Sweden will be much faster, with fewer stops.
  • We're prepared mentally and physically/gear-wise for bad weather and mosquitoes :)
Thanks for the tips on Sweden, olyflyer, and for the invitation. We'll have to see how much time we have left when we arrive in southern Sweden; I'll let you know if we have time to spend in Lund or Malmö!

Cheers
Christa

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ch_cnb/
 
Hello

I have lived in Aarhus, Denmark for 12 years now and like it very much. It is a very good place to live. However, in my mind, it is not very interesting from a tourist perspective and not very scenic for photos. Instead of going to Aarhus, i would advise you to go to Skagen, which is on the north tip of Denmark - its an old fishermans town with a lot of soul. It really has extraordinary lights this time of year which will work very well on photos with all the water around it (two seas meet eachother on this spot(maybe you know some of the Skagen Painters, which were a small collective of some of the more famous painters in danish history, who moved there to take advantage of the light).

Have a good trip.

Christian
 
Hi Christa!!

Nice trip you have planned!! May I offer my (very biased) opinion? Being Finnish, I
would naturally take you down through the labyrinth of lakes in eastern Finland

(Called Lake Saimaa, or just Saimaa for google) . You could ride say: Inari, Kuusamo,
Kajaani, Nurmes, Koli, Joensuu, Punkaharju, Savonlinna and then over to Helsinki
to catch a ferry to Stockholm (or Tallinn).

Kuusamo region has rapids and hilly wilderness, whilst the Saimaa region is truly amazing in summer time: If you fly over that region, you cannot tell islands from the main land since it's all scattered with land and water 50-50.



There's also a dramatic medieval castle (Olavinlinna) in Savonlinna.



Just my two cents.... Pasi
 
If you take a close look at the map, you will notice that Nordkapp is on an island, not on the mainland, and that it is not even the northernmost point on that island. The cape cliff even looks much better from afar than from the top of it. The real northernmost points are far less easy to get to, and names like "Knivskjellodden" do not appeal that much to tourists.

If you decide to go the considerable extra distance up from Lofoten to get to Finnmark, do consider the islands of Loppa, similar, tiny, fishing ports, not so spectacular mountains, but far less crowded than Lofoten in the tourist season.

I would not worry that much about mosquitoes out on the coast in Finnmark; it is the inland which can be an ordeal.

Like others here, I agree that the first 500km up to Trondheim (with Europes northernmost medieval cathedral), will be more interesting (but slower) the further west you go. A suitably sigzag route needing 3 days might take you from Oslo to Hønefoss along lake Sperillen (with an excellent tiny shop for inland fish; "villfisken") after a while up over the mountains on toll roads (remember to have 10 and 20kr. pieces with you.) to Gol, through Hemsedal and over Filefjell (past Borgund Stave church), onwards from Lærdal across a number of fjords

up to Møre where the Jugend-style city of Ålesund is worth a look before you go on to the routes described elsewhere. Again, the outermost coast is totally different from the inland.

On the way up, the smaller coast roads and the tiny mountain roads are in general much more scenic than the inland mainroads, so do not be too rigid in setting daily distance goals. Do bring kit suited to a week of rain and 10degrees C, as well as for sun and 20C, and do not expect to go faster than 80kmt without hefty fines when caught by speedtraps.

p.
 
Raymond Wardenaer said:
Northern Sweden and Finland is flat and a bit boring. But Stockholm is worth a visit, a beautiful city.
Click to expand...
Well, that's a matter of taste. Personally I prefer the flatter scenery than the scenery of Norway. Don't forget that Christa is from Switzerland so she has seen some snowy mountains before... ;)

As for "Stockholm worth a visit" that's very stereotypic. Personally in a once in a life time trip I'd pass through Stockholm as fast as possible and would concentrate on more unusual places. Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen are just some big cities and waste of time in my opinion on a trip like this. All three can be visited on a separate occasions quite simply by flying there directly. Spending a day or two in each would be just a huge waste of time and money. Of course, like your opinion about the flatter landscape is personal, this is also just my personal opinion, but I don't think the aim with such a trip is to visit large cities; at least it would not be my aim.
 
6200km on a motorbike is a long trip. Enjoy every minute of it.

The invitation is a standing and open one. Just let me know and I'll give you the details. Next week I'll be in Langen outside Frankfurt and the week after in Paris but after that apart from the 17th July I'll be at home. We have planned a DPR meeting in Varberg for the 17th July, I hope it is still on.
 
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