It was a tough decision on whether we should drive all the way to Nordkapp or not, the most northerly place in mainland Europe. We decided that since the weather was so changeable that we would not drive the extra 600 miles north to chance it. This meant that the most northerly point of the trip would be Tromso, still well above the Arctic Circle and Europe’s most northerly University City. The first landmark you see as you enter the town is the Arctic Cathedral, shaped like an 
upturned boat. The cathedral is open for visitors and holds midnight sun concerts throughout the summer months. The midnight sun is a peculiar spectacle and it really messed with our sleep patterns. One night around 1am we went outside to see if we could see the northern lights as it was supposed to be a particularly strong forecast but instead all we saw was a light sky, light enough to even read a book! We stayed on a really nice campsite a few minutes’ walk from the cathedral but since we were now so far north not all of its facilities were operational due still to unthawed pipes from the winter.
We spent three weeks driving down the west coast of Norway taking in all the scenery and beautiful fjords from Tromso through the Lofoten Islands down to Trondheim, on to Bergen and then finally across to the capital city of Oslo. The fjords stretch all the way up to the top of the country where it meets Russia but the most dramatic section is between Trondheim and Bergen as they cut into the land so deeply and it is in this area that travel slows down a bit due to numerous ferry crossings and 
really long dark tunnels through mountain sides, some even have traffic junctions inside them! There were a fair number of things to do on our ‘hit list’ and we were able to do everything except the Trollstigen pass since it is still closed for the winter, even as I write this. During our drive south we were lucky enough to see both elk and reindeer in fields and along roadsides and we also saw a whale in one of the bays we passed through as it surfaced and watched it spray loads of water into the air.
One of the places we visited on the way down was Torghatten, a big rock with a hole through the middle that has its history based on a myth about a troll chasing a princess and shooting an arrow to kill her, the king supposedly through his hat into the path of the arrow which turned to rock as the sun came up. You can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torghatten There is a large car park about 3km walk from the rock and a well-marked path that lets you walk right up to the hole and then through it and down the other side to the sea, a nice walk that doesn’t take too long and rewards you with great views from 
the hole.
Another place that was on the list was the Jostedalsbreen Glacier. There are quite a few arms of the glacier that you can visit but most of them require guided walks where you are roped together to access. The area that we visited though is only a short walk away from a car park, the Boyabreen arm. The blue ice and snow is quite a spectacle and amazingly you can actually hear the glacier moving down the valley in creaks and groans!
The section of fjords between Bergen and Trondheim offer some fantastic driving roads with scenery that makes you want to keep stopping to take pictures of it all! One of the nicest routes is what they call the ‘Atlantic Road’ between Kristiansund and Eide. We took some advice from 
europebycamper.com and turned back when we’d driven the route to avoid the toll roads and tunnels leaving Kristiansund and we were glad we did because for us the scenery somehow seemed more spectacular going the other way!
Bergen is probably the most beautiful city in Norway with flower beds full to bursting with tulips all over the city and old shops and walkways along the harbour front alongside fishing boats and yachts. The fishing boats bring the fish in from the North Sea straight into 
the fish market for sale on the harbour wall, where you can buy all sorts freshly caught.
Oslo has a completely different feel to it than Bergen and is obviously the capital city when you arrive, with its industrial buildings, big modern shops and eastern European beggars lining the streets. We spent a day seeing all the sights and sounds of Oslo and left impressed by the Domkirche, Royal Palace and Vigeland Sculpture Park which is worth the extra effort to get to across town (tram ride or a half hour 
walk).
All in all a country well worth visiting in a motorhome, in fact I’d say that half of the vehicles on the roads are motorhomes! There are stopping areas frequently along all roads many with waste disposal facilities and toilets. The down side is the cost and distances you have to travel between places. The cost of diesel is about the same as the UK, if not a little more the further north you drive. Other costs to be taken into account are the toll roads and ferries. We took 7 ferries and they each cost us about £12. We have yet to have received a bill for the toll roads… Food is also expensive, as an example, a loaf of bread can cost around £3.60 and a litre of milk around £2.30! This is all to be expected though and shouldn’t stop anybody visiting this beautiful country.
