More future travel planning!

We've got a busy four months or so ahead of us!

We head back to Canada between August 5th and Sept 10th. We'll be visiting Montreal, Calgary, Nova Scotia, and Ottawa. It's going to be a hectic five weeks, but we're looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family!

But when we arrive back in Amsterdam on September 11th, we won't be going back to Max. 

Not much sun, but Max's batteries are doing fine.

Yesterday was a work day.... Prime Day is probably the busiest day of the year for us with our Amazon group on Facebook.  So we found a decent parking spot for Max with a strong cell signal and spent a lot of time on our laptops!

We are parked beside a nice walking trail that goes around a small pond, so we did take time off to go and get some exercise...

A worthwhile detour!

Monday was a beautiful day with a high of about 22C (72F), and I had read about the interesting Himakana hike that was about 30 kms (18 miles) off our route, but it seemed like a worthwhile detour... and it was!

Remember a month or so ago when we did the via ferrata to Trolltunga? Well Himakana is being billed by some as the "mini" Trolltunga because it also has a rock overhang that people stand on to get a photo of themselves with the view.

Well, that was a good day!

So glad we moved south. The weather has been much better. I don't think it rained at all yesterday!

We had been parked at a trailhead overnight, but didn't know anything about the hike itself. But we were overdue, so we had some breakfast and hit the trail not knowing where it was taking us.

We got our invoices for the ferries we've been taking...

We woke up to a bit of blue sky Saturday morning. It didn't last... but it was nice to see for a change! Overall, the day was just okay. It still rained on and off, but at least we managed to get outside without getting soaked.

We're just meandering our way south now. No special plans until we get to Kristiansand for our ferry departure to Denmark on the 26th. 

Two new laptops... but we can't use them yet!

First order of business yesterday was to go laptop shopping. I had already done quite a lot of research online, so I had a good idea of what we were looking for. It was more a matter of what kind of deal we could get, and if they had the ones we wanted in stock.

Power Electronics is a big chain store in Norway. We went to their largest location just south of Bergen.

Into the city of Bergen, Norway

You don't get anywhere fast in Norway, and we still had 140 kms (87 miles) to get to Bergen. That's about three hours. Most roads you're between 60 and 80 km/h (36 to 50 mph) and then of course you're on a ferry or two and they take extra time as well.

We left Vadheim at 9:15am. Yes, it was raining.

Heading for Bergen

The weather forecast for the next two weeks was terrible, so we decided to flee to the south of Norway where it looks much better. We're heading for the city of Bergen first (to possibly purchase two new laptops) and then further south to Stavanger. There, we should find better weather.

When we left Flatraket, our first stop was Maloy. There, we had to wait for a ferry to take us to Oldeide. 

Change of plans

The weather where we are currently is horrible. And the forecast for the next two weeks in this area is more of the same... horrible.

For example, the high yesterday was 10C (50F) with wind and pretty steady rain. We could handle the temperature... but along with the steady rain? Nope. It's not nice.

Laundry and laptop problems

Yes, problems with both laundry, and laptops!

First of all, the laptops. My Asus 15.6" laptop has done me well. I bought it five years ago so in laptop years it's pretty much an antique! But it's become really slow to start up, and the network adapter is acting up and it takes several tries and resets to connect to WiFi. It's still working, but it's annoying and I've tried all the easy fixes. Not worth paying someone to look at it. Time for a new one.

We might have rain, but at least we don't have bugs

Because the location of Norway is close to that of northern Canada, and they have similar climates, we assumed there must be the same type of black fly and mosquito problem that Canada has. 

How happy we are that this is not the case! In fact, we haven't had a single issue with bugs of any kind. Even since we left Turkiye. No bugs at all!

A little frustrated with our travel medical insurance

We thought we had found the perfect solution to our travel medical insurance last year when we started with Heymondo. It was relatively inexpensive, and valid for anyone up to age 70 so we figured this would be our "go to" insurance for the next ten years or so.

Unfortunately it was too good to be true! They have now changed the terms and conditions so that the long term policies are only good up to age 50. You can still buy a short term policy for a trip of up to 30 days that is up to age 70, but that doesn't do us any good.

Tourist ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt, Norway

Many of Norway's ferries are part of the highway system. Others are part of the tourist ferry system, yet they also allow a number of vehicles. We took one such ferry yesterday.

The route from Geiranger to Hellesylt leads through Geirangerfjord, one of the most scenic fjords in the world, and of course this is the fjord that is very popular with the cruise ships.

Behind the waterfall

Another gorgeous day in Norway. 

So to take advantage of it, we planned a hike up to a waterfall. But this waterfall is somewhat special because you can actually walk behind the falls. It's really quite something!

The hike was not that far in distance... but it's quite a bit of altitude gain. Only 4 kms (2.4 miles) from where Max was parked, but it gains 553 meters (1,800') so it's a bit of a climb. 

4 Reasons Why You Should Visit Australia at Least Once in Your Life

 A trip begins when we consider our options and try to decide where we are going to go. This is not as fun or easy as it might sound because the amount of destinations available can be overwhelming. 

As you might have already guessed from the title, we passionately believe that a trip to Australia is a safe and awesome choice. We have to be clear and say that most of the time it is pretty expensive and tiring to fly there, but it is totally worth it. Australia should be on every self-respecting tourist’s travel bucket list. Why? 

June Expenses

Norway is well known to be one of the most expensive countries in the world. 

And we are normally known to be "budget" travelers. But there is nothing saying that you can't do an expensive country on a budget! And by bringing our house with us, at least we don't have to pay for accommodation, which is a category that can really add up in an expensive country.

We were in Norway the entire month of June, so let's see how we did on the expenses...

This is as far north as we go

We got up at 6:30am Wednesday morning and started driving right away. It's so much nicer without as many vehicles on the road. 

We didn't have far to go... only 79 kms (49 miles) from Stryn to Geranger. But it's a varied route with a lot to see!

Every drive is a scenic drive

There isn't a road we've been on in Norway that wouldn't be considered a scenic drive in any other country. 

And of course, that's what we came here for. We didn't come to Norway for the local cuisine, or the culture, or the people. We came for the scenery and the hiking. And the scenery impresses us... every single day!

To go, or not to go...

We woke up to rain and fog Monday morning. And the forecast for the rest of the day was calling for 90% chance of precipitation. We contemplated simply moving on, but we really wanted to do the bike ride along the fjord.

For the balance of the morning, we tossed around the idea of leaving. To go, or not to go?

Just enough for a change of scenery

We're finding it hard to get anywhere fast here in Norway. Not that it matters really! Yesterday, we managed to do 56 kms (35 miles)! Just enough for a change of scenery.

But we ended up at the prettiest little village, with the prettiest view from our overnight spot.

There is so much to see and do

Saturday was a bit of a rest day. We liked our spot at the ski hill. There were very few people coming and going, and even overnight we only had one other motorhome and they were parked quite far away. 

So we decided to just hang out for the day. 

The amazing 900 year old wooden stave church of Urnes, Norway

A stave church is a type of medieval wooden church that used to be widespread throughout Europe. Most of them were built between the years 800 to 1400. But due to a variety of reasons including poor original building techniques very few remain in existence today.

And the vast majority of the remaining stave churches are located in Norway. In fact, they think there used to be as many as 1,000 of them spread across the country, but now only 28 remain.

The pretty little town of Laerdal, Norway

We used to think that Iceland was the most photogenic country we had ever been to. But Norway has now taken over first place in that category! The gorgeous scenery just never stops. It's just simply beautiful here. In fact, someone mentioned the other day that I'm running out of descriptive terms to express what we're experiencing.

So we found ourselves in the town of Laerdal, and decided to take a relax day and just hang out. But of course for us that means we only did a short 6 km (3.7 mile) hike on a trail above the town!

Cruise ships in the fjord

We were parked at the trailhead and the weather turned out better than expected. We weren't originally planning to do the Prest Mountain trail, but I did some reading on the internet and even though it's a fairly short hike, it sounded like it was a good one just for the views of the fjord.

So we set off at 10:00am, headed uphill.

Tips for Selling Your Home and Prepare for RV Living

You’ve lived in a comfortable home your entire life. Whether that be a cozy apartment or a full-sized house, you’re well-acquainted with a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room set up. Up until recently, this has felt just fine, but perhaps the need for some sort of adventure has captured your mind. You wouldn't be the first person to feel like this, and you most certainly won’t be the last. In an era where everyone is ditching their conventional living spaces for time exploring, trading your house for a life in an RV isn’t that far out of an idea. If this has been buzzing in your mind, we have some tips for selling your house and preparing to live in an RV!

Finally had to put some fuel in Max

We had arrived in Norway with a full tank, knowing that Norway is probably the most expensive place in the world to buy fuel. But we knew that full tank wouldn't last us for our entire time here, and yesterday was the day to pay up.

Like most other places in the world, the price at the pump tends to fluctuate with the world price of oil. I've noticed here in Norway there is a bit of a delay in implementing that fluctuation, and the oil price is now off its peak. But the price at the pump here hasn't dropped.

We had a beautiful blue sky day!

Based on the past three weeks, a blue sky day doesn't happen very often in Norway! We woke up and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And it lasted like that pretty much all day. Wonderful.

We went and did some more grocery shopping before doing the short drive to the tiny fjord port of Gudvangen.