The Update #14 – Reinforcement

Yes, finally! We are in Norway! We’ve only just got here, but it’s amazing! We have already seen wonderful things. But not only that, we also have reinforcements. We have been traveling for several days now with Florine and Thijs from VanVerhalen. We’ve been following them on instagram for a long time and listen to their podcasts (and we participated once ourselves, listen to that episode here). In addition, they have set up Vanlife magazine together with another couple. So you could say they are real vanlife celebrities and they are also really wonderful people. We laugh a lot together. But, let me start at the beginning.

The Sunday morning started with ensuring that the new update could be put online again. We often spend a few hours with this. However, with our parkspot, that was no punishment. A beautiful view over the water and on the beach, fantastic. Do you remember the location of those fossils? But when this was finally finished we drove a bit north to Rold Skov. Here we found a place at the forest and we made a delicious lasagna after which we took a walk through the forest. Back at the bus we enjoyed sitting in the sun reading. In the end we felt that we had to move a little more and we went for another run on the same loop that we had walked before. The rest of the evening we continued reading to the sound of young people (+/- 16-17 years old) who were enjoying themselves in the same place. It was entertaining to watch and reminisce about when we were that age (hahaha we did feel a bit old because of this).

The next day we had a nice hike planned in Rold Skov. We had found a nice hike in the area of 11 km. It was a beautiful day, nice and warm so once we started the hike, the sweat was quickly running across our backs. Fortunately, the walk was really varied, we climbed large hills, walked through heathland and through a forest with trees all curves and curled that could have come straight out of a horror movie. We ended up at a watchtower that was so wobbly that we both hesitated to go on it. Jap walked bravely on and shouted from above that I was not missing anything by staying below. We had a nice chat along the way and it was a really beautiful environment that surprised us a little. Back at the camper we were both very hungry so we quickly heated up the leftover lasagna from yesterday. We could also use a good shower again and especially after this work-out, so we went to a campsite. Because we are mainly parked on normal carparks, using the solar shower is not very pleasant, so we decided that camping site was really needed. We found a beautiful one in the dunes from where you could also walk to the beach. Here we spent some time on the beach reading in the sun. We also used the WiFi to congratulate Kas on his birthday and to hear their stories about their journey. And of course to call our parents. Then it was time for the well-deserved shower, for those who are curious, it did not score higher than a 6. When Jap was reading outside and Lon went to the bathroom, he thought a kitten was visiting and sat under the other camping chair. But when he had a second look, it turned out to be just a fox looking for food. Unfortunately, the fox soon saw him and ran away again before Jap could take a picture. But he was really only a meter away. Really cool!

The next day we started with the camper tasks, as at a campsite it is always easy to refill and empty everything. Then, because the weather was so nice, we decided to stay a little longer to enjoy the beautiful beach. But we no longer needed the campsite, so we checked out and parked our car in the parking lot. On the beach we again returned to our sunbathing and reading our books. We both have an attention grabbing book and want to read more quickly to finish it hahah, so there was a lot of focus on reading. Hunger was ultimately the motivation to drag our buttocks off the beach and move back to the camper. We had lunch in the parking lot and then we drove on to the next camper spot and the village that was next to it. It was a nice touristic village where it was really busy. And because it was real summer weather, we couldn’t resist the temptation of an ice cream. Well we were not disappointed. Really they were huge ice creams, we both had two scoops but really they were huge, in the Netherlands it would certainly have been in proportion to 5 scoops. But the ice cream was really tasty and the cone was baked on the spot. After this meal, we walked around the village and towards the beach. Here we soon saw a lot of cars parked on the beach. We already had seen before, that camping and parking on the beach is possible in several places in Denmark but we have been stuck 2 times already just near the beach. So we wanted to skip this opportunity. Until we saw what kind of cars and campers were parked on the beach. Keeping in mind that, “if they can do it, we can do it too” and we drove there anyway. It did look great. There was still a little doubt before we drove our von on the beach but we went for it. And it went really easy. We set up camp and were really happy with this fantastic place. It was fairly busy but there was plenty of room so everyone gave each other enough space and there was a very cozy atmosphere. It couldn’t be better. Quickly get out the SUP and into the water. I initially wanted to join but decided that the waves were a bit too high. So I decided to continue reading my book on the side. Jap spent almost the rest of the afternoon surfing (tried) and SUPping on the waves. He was completely wrecked when he came out of the water. In the evening we started talking with our Swiss neighbors with whom we chatted for a while and the rest of the evening we enjoyed the sound of the sea.

Because it was such a nice place and the ultimate beach weather, we just stayed another night. We didn’t do anything else all day than read, paddle and relax on the beach. In between we walked to the town for a delicious iced coffee and we had something to eat in the village in the evening. Unfortunately, this meal was nothing to write home about… Afterwards we took a nice evening walk on the beach towards a number of bunkers from the Second World War, almost all of which had slid off the dunes due to erosion. On the way back there was a really big sea fog so the rest of the evening we sat inside and read.

And after that the time had come, we went on our way to Norway. The first step was to get the car off the beach again. Well, what do you think, did we get out in one go or not? Stop reading… and let me know in the comments what you think… no, don’t read further… did it work?…. Well we succeeded. Especially up the slope to get back to the street was a challenge, but we made it. Haha finally… Then we headed for Hirtshals from where we would take the boat to Norway. But the boat left at 12.15 pm so we still had time to make a stopover at a beautiful lighthouse in the middle of the dunes. Here we were just in time to avoid the crowds and we were able to take a look around and fly the drone. It really was a special sight such a lighthouse in the middle of the sand. But there was no time to hang around too long because we couldn’t miss the boat.

The boat trip all went well, of course we had to show our COVID passport and answer the necessary questions. Especially if we didn’t bring too much alcohol, oooooooof course not ?. And then….then we were finally in…Norway. We ended up here after a detour via the Netherlands. We had been in contact with Florine and Thijs for a while, who had the boat two days earlier. And because they were heading the same way, we drove to their beautiful camping spot. It was still 2 hours away. But that is really no punishment here, because what a view a long the way. Really around every bend or coming out of a tunnel we saw the most beautiful views of fjords and mountains. Truly Norway is already fantastic and we are only just getting started. The rest of the evening we chatted with Thijs and Florine talking about anything and everything.

Today we woke up in a fantastic place and the weather was perfect, we walked to the lake after breakfast with Thijs and Florine. With an amazing view of the mountains, the water was like a mirror reflecting the mountains around. We had a lovely swim here and I floated on my floaty, it was a great start to the day. The weather was also really fantastic. We decided to travel on to the first big stop, the Preikestolen, together with VanVerhalen. Along the way we had lunch together and we came up with the plan. We go to a wild camping spot and then drive to the start of the hike with 1 car, because you have to pay for parking here and so we could share the costs. We’re still Dutchies, right! haha. So we parked the car and got going. It would be a journey of 4 km up and 4 km down, with a lot of climbing. To avoid most of the crowds, we didn’t start walking until around 5:45 PM and that was the best decision of the day. We only met people who were just on their way down. There were a number of people who had the same plan but not many. We chatted along the way and we stopped regularly to enjoy the beautiful views. After a 1.30 hour hiking we arrived at our end point, the Preikestolen. What a cool view that was, with a rock towering over a distant view over the most beautiful fjords. What a view. We were able to take pictures in peace because there were only a few people and everyone waited their turn. We also had a nice sandwich here after which we walked back down. Along the way we saw a lot of tents which was really fun. What a great way to camp like this. In the middle of nature, on a lake, really lovely with such beautiful views around you. Once back down we quickly went back to our camp spot and went to bed after this perfect day..

Unfortunately, the next day it started drizzling and it hasn’t stopped for the rest of the day. This made us extra happy that we had already been to the Preikestolen the day before when the weather was still good. We woke up in the morning along the road and drank our coffee at the edge of the lake nearby after which we left for the next place, a 2 hour drive. We had to take a ferry again on the way and drove along the most beautiful fjords with islands in them and beautiful mountain ranges. Such views are never boring. Unfortunately, while driving, there wasn’t much chance to really pay too much attention to it. The roads meandered over narrow mountain roads, especially Lon found it difficult to get into this types of road again. And what better way to spend a rainy day than indoors with a lot of games. So that’s what we did and we actually didn’t stop for the rest of the day. It was really fun and we laughed a lot. It’s a nice change with the four of us, hopefully we can enjoy each other’s company for a while longer.

That was it again.

Love Jap and Lon.

Menu of the week

Spendings of the Week

Route

Driven kilometers: 751