Stutopia Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) A taster from my recent two weeks touring round Norway and Sweden. Sorry I seem to have gone on a bit The Route I had big ideas of driving most of the coast of Norway (as far as Tromso) and it’s mountains and the coast of Sweden, the reality of all that mileage soon set in and the schedule had to be cut down So the final list was cut down to: Copenhagen Gothenburg Oslo Flamsbana (Flam Railway) Bergen Trollstigen Pass Innvik Molde Levanger Rognan (Arctic Circle stopover) Kilmpfjall Umea Stockholm Malmo Not bad for two and a bit weeks road tripping The receipt from Hertz says we did 5147 kms (3198 miles). The Transport My grand scheme for a few of us to rent something a bit special soon went pear shaped as the numbers dropped down for the trip. All the interesting cars have 100km per day distance limits, with between 40p and 80p per km supplement. I did some quick maths and a Range Rover Sport for the trip would have been over £3k - and just me to pay the bill :scare: All the fun limited km cars were then out: M5, GT86, RR Sport, Porsche Macan, XKR, not even a measly 911. That left me with either a Volvo XC70 or a BMW X3, I plumped for the X3 as it looked a nicer place to be inside. Landed a 3.0D V6 Twin Turbo with X-drive and poverty spec, no parking sensors, no shat nav, no electric seats for crying out loud. Just me and CB radio (our own). The other two on the trip were taking a 640D all the way from England, I was picking mine up the X3 at Copenhagen airport and shaving 4 days off the trip. I did briefly toy with taking the Zed but the extra time off work, the salt and the thought of RWD and snow all put me off. Not to mention sticking 6k on the clock and I discovered out there that there isn’t much Super to be found. I was a bit disappointed at first to get the X3, having my plans downgraded from more exciting options, but I was pleasantly surprised. Firstly, compared to the Zed the auto box and nice high driving position made it easy to drive in the first half hour getting used to driving on the wrong side and in a city where apparently everyone cycles and has right of way over cars. Your Danish cyclist will think nothing of passing on your blind side even if you are signalling to turn off, though he may think twice next time! (no contact was made). They also have the same rule as some other countries where both pedestrian crossings on side roads get the green light at the same times as the traffic, so you go green but still have to look out for pedestrians stepping out! Scando Lesson - cyclist and pedestrians are used to the extremely patient motorist, they will go out in front of you, without looking, safe in the assumption you’ll stop! Once I got out of the city, she was fun, initially I didn’t fully appreciate the difference that flipping the box to Sport made in addition to engaging the Sport button. She was more than quick enough for Norway’s hardcore speed limits and I never struggled to keep the 640D behind me On the down side, I don’t know what BMW do differently to other cars on the power steering, but it feels so far disconnected from the wheels it’s untrue. Totally fine for town and motorway but once the roads opened up I couldn’t really tell what the front wheels were up to, I could have had loads of grip or been on the limit . It didn’t help that the suspension is set up as a Chelsea Tractor either, but happily grip didn’t run out until we hit the slow switchbacks on the mountains and the Arctic snow. All in all, I really liked the X3, much more than I expected, and it was perfect for the roads, speed limits, weather and sheer volume of cruising miles we did. It did get a bit hairy when the satnav sent us off down a dirt road for 20kms and I flipped off the stability stuff and got down to some Colin McRae - gravel driving at reasonable pace was a whole new experience for me and the surface is all kinds of fun. I’d love to do it properly in a rally experience. The Best Bits Ski-doo razing in the snow was simply superb. It’s not just the petrolhead thing, though going super fast across a frozen lake, driving up mountains in fire breaks and burning down snow swept valleys is obviously amazing, but there were also some tremendous views. Unless you’re an arctic regular, simply being out there in the snow and sun and blizzards and mountains is an experience in itself. To top it off, our guide was superb. He’s a bike stunt rider, who does shows all over the place. He let us check out his place and all the awesome looking snow and ice driving vehicles, he even gave our very filthy cars a quick power wash… … and still had time to give us a couple of autographed pics. Here’s the main man’s stunt bike and Sune Anderson in action. Linky to the website for any of you ice petrolheads (google translate to English) https://translate.go...t.se&edit-text= Scando Lesson - the snow is often much deeper than you think and will all of sudden collapse and leave you up to your thighs I would give serious thought to trying to organise a Forum Trip over if anyone was up for it next winter, ideally groups of around 6-10 give a good balance of ice time and trying different vehicles apparently. The usual deal is a couple of days tooling about on ski-doos in the mountains, with some fishing and then a day on the ice ragging Volvos round the ice track. Speaking of Volvos, here’s an ice prepped drifter. They use Volvos as they are RWD, parts are cheap and these old one’s have no driving aids to hinder your progress on “track†Other Ice Toys - these weigh nothing and have bike engines I think Proper Winter Rubber Bergen Segway Tour Bergen is a stunning, small city on the west coast of Norway, which is ideal for viewing by Segway. I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t all for this. Riding a Segway is the best way to look a tit, throw in a giant helmet and a hi-viz vest and you can’t help but feel a berk. That soon wears off though as you battle the thing all round the city, through town, down the roads, up paths in the park and along the harbour. So much fun and you can fit 4 hours sightseeing into 90 minutes, with half an hour to just tool about on the Segways, which seem a hell of a lot faster on them, than they look for a spectator If you’re going out there, you’d be mad not to do it - http://www.bergensegway.no Volvo Museum, Gothenburg Though they may not be the most exciting car manufacturer, the museum is worth a visit and shows off some of their more elegant historic designs and some concepts. Slammed Volvo LCP4 Slammed Volvo Truck First Ever Reverse Cam Trick Rims! Lego Volvo Some rather nice classics… Loved this one… …particularly the rear end! Older readers will remember these from BTCC! I remember being blown away that they had an estate out there in the Championship Edited May 4, 2015 by SuperStu 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) A Couple Of Very Minor Gripes Norway’s speed limits are ridiculous. Once you’re out in the open, EVERYWHERE is 50mph and they don’t mind a speed camera or two either (though they are helpfully sign posted. It’s such a shame as an extra 10-15mph would allow these roads to be truly epic, yet still safe. We got shopped by a Truck driver to the local plod, for what he considered a dangerous overtake. The road was clear, open and safe to pass - none of us are lunatic drivers. Scando Lesson - Never leave your go-pro on the windscreen if you can avoid it However, apart from having a friendly, brief chat with us, and checking the usual documents and the vehicles, they sent us merrily on our way. They don’t like an overtake in Norway, some people will sit for miles behind a truck and never think to pass, even on the longest and straightest roads Sadly the Trollstigen is closed a lot of the year I was gutted this wasn’t open for us to drive, this is as close as we got before they closed the road. You can just see the switchbacks at the start/end of the pass. It’s expensive to have a drink, a round for three doesn’t see much back from £30 (particularly when one of you doesn’t drink beer GRRRR), but accommodation is similar to nice hotels in the UK - typically it cost us £40-£60 each a night in a room for three; in places like Radissons, Hiltons, Scandics etc. Food is about 20% more than here, £20 for a sirloin, £30 for reindeer. Helpfully, when in a restaurant anything over a 10% tip is considered to be being a flash prick, so it’s not too bad. Reindeer Steak - nom nom Swedish Whisky, very light and smooth Scando Lesson - Always leave any coins on the bar for the bar person, take the notes. There are no Zeds in Norway or Sweden. Not one:( Though they all obviously read Gangzoom’s posts as EVs are everywhere. You can’t move for Teslas, E-Ups, Leafs, and even on Renault Twizy. Free parking, free charging, no tolls, tax breaks and god only knows what other incentives they have; making them extremely common. Last sad note is that UKIP have managed to start political campaigning over there too All in all… Norway’s countryside is stunning and easy to see from the road. If you want to be out in nature and (god forbid) do physical exercise, this is the place. You can’t move for skiers, runner’s, cyclists, canoers, fjords, mountains, lakes. They love to be out and about (probably because booze is so steep!) Norway Countryside and Mountains Arctic Circle (It moves around! But it was definitely here a while ago ) Sadly not frozen over… The Atlantic Road Not quite as amazing as you might be led to believe by the internet, very pretty but not a patch on the mountains. Some Random Stuff A typical Stockholm houseboat, having some issues! Sometimes there will be a wolf in reception. Oslo Opera House - stunning! Beautiful Mustang in Bergen 912 in Copenhagen Motorised Reindeer in Oslo Secret Volvo Test Vehicle in Gothenburg Falcon - the easiest drinking beer in town, less than £8 a pint (well 400ml ) English spoken everywhere (except one petrol station in the back of beyond). Oslo & Stockholm are both great cities, and dead easy to tourist in. Everyone speaks near faultless English, it makes it so easy to do and organise stuff, not to mention getting food and beer in. I loved the countries, the people, how quiet and open it all is, petrol is even cheaper there, which was a surprise. Good luck finding Super though outside the cities. The population is so low compared to the land area, it makes things extremely relaxing. Particularly driving in the major cities when you don’t know where you are going, nothing like Paris or London They’re a chilled out bunch, who live well. I’d move there if I could find a job! Don’t go if you like to count the pennies on a holiday, it’ll drive you bonkers. Otherwise, what are you waiting for??? Edited May 4, 2015 by SuperStu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pritchard Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Awesome !!! great read i've always wanted ot go Scandinavia, i will be showing this lot to the missus. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Excellent stuff Stu and loved all the pics. Sounds like it was an awesome trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 Awesome !!! great read i've always wanted ot go Scandinavia, i will be showing this lot to the missus. cheers No worries. I'm sure you'll have no problems convincing her, they're both fantastic countries to visit. If I was taking a lady, I'd head to Stockholm. For starters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Really enjoyed that read and pics and somewhere I have always wanted to visit, but my other 'alf does not do cold & snow so I'm grounded for the warmer places But then if it were just a 'mates' do........ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 good write up Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Nice write up Stu, I enjoyed reading through that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Really enjoyed reading that thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zedd Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Thanks for sharing your exploits......enjoyable read and great pics. The driving sounds a bit naff though, 50mph and no-one overtaking. Is it really as bad as it sounds?.....might try a fjord/boat trip instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 What an awesome trip and some stunning scenery. Pity about the speed limits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Stu, glad you enjoyed it, I love the northern Countries, especially for the winter toys, sports and food. That was alot of driving.......... you must be shattered now. As said before shame about the speed limits Suggest you look at Iceland next - the toys are even bigger !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Thanks for the positive comments gang Wendy - I think the next trip will be somewhere warm, I need to thaw out (from the UK, not Scandinavia ) Norway's national speed limits are 50mph/80kmh on the "A roads" which represented about 90% of our sightseeing driving. Motorways are quicker TBF. The 10mph less than the UK doesn't seem like much difference, but it was painful at times as the roads have to meander round the fjords and mountains, it can take time to get places. Sweden has, to my eyes, more reasonable limits, more like the UK. We made much better progress there, though it's a slightly unfair comparison as that was 90% "motorway" driving, albeit two lane, running at either 110/120kmh, Either way, don't let the speeds put you off, the countries are both very beautiful and the lower speeds can make it a bit easier to take it all in when you're driving. Obviously, if the weather goes mental, 50 is way too fast anyway without studded tyres. There's no limit on ice lakes as far as I could tell PS - We only saw one patrol car on the whole trip (outside Oslo and Stockholm) and that was the one that the trucker tipped off, so you can make of that what you will... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Miester Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Went on a short trip to Sweden some years ago now and found to be a lovley country,sounds as though you enjoyed yourself . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Looks like a great trip, some pics are amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Having ploughed through the camera's 20gb of photos I've now started on the GoPro. If I get anthing even vaguely exciting I'll post up a quick vid. Hunting through GP footage is a PITA though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 (edited) Looks amazing!! Shame to hear the Atlantic road is not all that amazing...Given Norway's love of EVs, I've already penciled in our Norway road trip for summer 2017....To help break in the Tesla The Atlantic road was a big part of it, if it's not all that amazing may have to change plans....Life is full of hard decisions sometimes Edited May 7, 2015 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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