Tying the Knutten

From Oslo, we headed up to Lom, by way of Lillehammer. Where, by the way, I got slapped upside the head by how ridiculously expensive Norway is. We stopped for lunch at Lillehammer, where we paid the equivalent of $80 AUS for two beers, a salad, and a sandwich at a pub by the river. So, from that point on, we were on camping rations. If you're planning on going to Norway, either buy a tent and stock up on supplies in France or Germany, or be prepared to mortgage your house. :P

As we headed north from Oslo, Mark and I would look at each other and say, "This is unbelievably gorgeous!" And then about five minutes later, I'd say, "I thought what we just saw was beautiful, but this is even better!" And then ten miles down the road, I'd be completely gobsmacked by some waterfall or mountain lake.

Lom is a beautiful mountain village.

Look hard and you'll see Mark waiting for to finish looking at the church already!

We stopped to get our bearings and look at a stave church. Well, I did anyway. Aunt Grace, Mark doesn't like to go to churches, mainly because I've dragged him to so many everywhere we go, he's over it. He's got more of a "seen one church, seen 'em all" mentality. I find them absolutely fascinating, and can poke around in them for hours. Mark was a good sport at first, but now he just sets me loose and finds a nice rock in the sun to wait for me until my curiosity is satisfied.:)

Anyway, stave churches are made entirely of wood, with intricate carvings. This church was originally built in the 1200s, and parts of that first church survive, although most of it dates to renovations carried out in the 1600-1700s (thanks Wikipedia!).

Lom stave church

Dragon!

Inside the church

Check out the carved wooden chandelier!

We stopped into the local tourist information office, to ask for suggestions on places to camp. We told the nice man that we'd like to get out of the big, commercial campgrounds, and his eye literally twinkled. He leaned across the counter and said, "Well, I do know this place..."

We had to go about 40 minutes up a one-lane toll road. What I've learned driving in Norway is that whoever has the biggest vehicle gets the right of way. So get ready to back yourself up, because there are some sizeable trucks zooming around those mountain roads. It was worth it, though.

At the very end of the road was Spiterstulen, a family-run campground - although I use that term loosely. They'll let you pitch your tent pretty much anywhere you want in their high mountain valley (and use their pit toilets). It's right on the edge of the national park. Norwegians take their national parks very seriously - anyone can go into them, just not on anything with a motor. So as long as you're happy to hike in (or ski in, I suppose), have a great time! Our local friend said, "You know, there's a really nice hike into the park - only eight hours return, up to one of Norway's highest peaks. You should give it a go!" Our twinkly friend was 70 if he was a day, and I have no doubt that he regularly hikes that trail. We decided Spiterstulen was close enough to the park for us.

I was surprised by home much of my time in Norway was spent desperately seeking shade. The sun (which seemed to never, ever set) was absolutely blinding!

That's one of Norway's highest peaks in the background.

When we were buying our equipment, I was quite distressed to realise that we'd forgotten to buy any kind of lamps or lights. We're always camping in the dark in Australia, due to a lack of reliable lighting, and I was determined not to have that problem this trip. So at various place, I bought a hanging lamp, and a little flashlight, and we had a headlight, too, just in case. Mark said everywhere we stopped, I was buying lights. Didn't use any of them, not even once. They don't call it the land of the midnight sun for nothin... These pictures inside the tent were taken about 10:30 or 11:00 pm.

Tent bar!

Dude. It is STILL light outside!

But I'm cool with it.

I got spanked at cribbage, but look at our identical hands - spooky!!

After our night at Spitalstulen, we backtracked into Lom again, and then drove to a campsite just outside Gerainger. Again, can you believe this weather???

The photographer at work...

This was another recommendation from our friend at the Lom tourist information centre, and it was Mark's favorite of the whole trip, a little spot called Knutten. We both loved it because a) it's gorgeous (I'll try to find another word to describe Norway, I promise), and b) I'll explain in a minute. Most people drive right past this spot, because it's about 400m off the main road. It's a remnant of the original old road (built in the 1800s) that opened up these valleys and fjords to traffic. It's called Knutten ('the knot') because the road doubles back underneath itself beneath a bridge, like a knot.

It's closer than you think!

The bridge, with the old road on top

The old road

Driving through the knot

Pretty as a picture!

407m above sea level

In the middle of the knot, there's a little grassy meadow-y spot, where we pitched our tent.

Must. find. shade.

That mountain looks like dog from a cartoon to me, but I can't place it!

Leighana & Catherine at dinner

A picnic dinner with lots of cheese, wine and terrine!

The other reason Mark liked this place especially is a little something called right of access, which means, theoretically, you should be able to stop wherever you want and camp for the night. If it's on someone's property, you just have to let them know, and you should only stay one night (you can't squat!). This works really well if you're in a camper van, and you'll see people pulled off onto especially scenic spots by the side of the road, with their folding chairs out, enjoying a thermos of tea and settling in for the night. I think Mark liked the idea of exercising his rights - just a pick a spot and stop! I'll camp wherever the hell I want, thank you very much... it's the law!

I didn't think Norway could get any more spectacular, and then FJORDS! You'll see them in our next episode...