Around midday on Sunday, we took the last ferry for the time being and drove just a few kilometers further to rest.
We arrived in the Nord-Trøndelag region.
It’s almost 30 degrees and it’s humid.
While Alex decided to take a nap, I used the picnic bench to summarize the last post for our blog.
The last few days were exhausting as we did a lot of driving and the last few nights weren’t really restful either.
Some people told us that you do kilometers in Sweden and short stages in Norway.
Somehow it’s the other way around for us.
In the two years we’ve been traveling, Norway is the country where we drive the most kilometers per day.
This is mainly because we find it difficult to find places to stay overnight.
On the one hand, it is always said that everyone’s rights apply in Norway, but the reality now looks different, as there are many signs indicating that you are not allowed to camp or stay overnight.
The paid sites are very expensive, with prices ranging from €25 to €45 for an overnight stay.
And when you finally find somewhere suitable after driving for miles, these places are usually already occupied.
So we often find really nice places for lunch where you’re not allowed to stay overnight and then often drive on late into the night.
Driving in Norway on this coastal road is a bit exhausting because there is a lot going on and it is quite narrow and bumpy in places. The steep uphill and steep downhill sections are not so easy even for WENNE and many motorhome drivers think the road belongs to them alone.
A few impressions.
It’s about time we did the big wash again. There are probably no laundromats in the north, so we took the opportunity to spend a few days at a campsite, wash up and give ourselves and our WENNE a longer break from driving.
The campsite was beautiful. It is located on a peninsula in the province of Trøndelag. There are pitches for motorhomes right by the sea, in the second or third row by the sea or on a high plateau.
Everyone wants to be by the water. There wasn’t much going on up there and we had our peace and quiet.
And we actually had a slightly darker night here in Frosta for the first time again, although not long and not completely dark.
Although we actually thought that we didn’t necessarily sleep badly on the light nights either, we realized that we sleep more restfully in the dark.
On our first day at this campsite near Frosta, we went for a long walk after breakfast.
At this site in a forest grove on the edge of Frosta near Evenhus, there are six rock surfaces with petroglyphs from the Early Bronze Age.
There are numerous motifs of boat motifs, deer, whales, two fringe figures and some drawings showing bowl-shaped pits.
They could just be stones with carved motifs, but when you think about the age of these drawings, it’s incredible.
We were able to observe porpoises. How beautiful 😍
Did you know that porpoises are a dolphin species?
Back at the campsite, we made ourselves comfortable and enjoyed the sun in the shade and a cold footbath at just over
30 degrees.
The second day was washing day. The weather was great and so we saved the cost of the dryer.
While I was hanging up the washing and Alex was looking after WENNE, a woman came up to us who came to Norway as a 10-year-old and now lives here. Among other things, she told us that since yesterday (15.07.25), there has been a new heat record here in the Trøndelag region.
On Friday, we continued our journey south of Norway.
The drive wasn’t quite as long and we found a cozy spot where we could make ourselves comfortable at the picnic tables and I was able to give my body some flexibility outdoors again.
We really want to drive the famous Atlantic Road, which is frequented by tourists.
To get directly onto this Atlantic Road, we would have to pass through the Freifjord Tunnel. At its deepest point, it is 130 below sea level and 5086 meters long. And has a gradient of 8.5%.
Firstly, our brakes are no longer the best and would like to be replaced. (But we won’t do that until we get to Germany). And driving under water in the tunnel also means that there is another 8.5% gradient. Our WENNE is already snorting quite a bit even on lower gradients and is now also losing a bit of oil during the effort. (A seal is probably no longer completely tight) So we’re not entirely comfortable driving through a tunnel like this with our WENNE.
We found a way to drive around it and arrived at this beautiful stretch of road.
In the evening, as we went through the route for the next day, we realized that there is another tunnel on the route to the Atlantic Road that you definitely can’t drive around.
The Atlantic Tunnel has a length of 5779 meters. The deepest point is around 250 meters below the surface of the sea. And a 10% gradient and 10% slope.
Driving uphill and downhill with such steep gradients is nothing unusual in Norway and is fine for us outside of tunnels. But when we see how our WENNE struggles, we have absolutely no good feeling about driving through a tunnel with such differences in altitude and certainly not under water. Even on hills with gradients of up to 8%, from 3 km in length, our WENNE drives at the limit. Uphill at 30 km/h and it huffs and puffs. Downhill at 40/50 km/h, the brakes run hot.
We agreed that we really wanted to drive this Atlantic road and that we definitely wouldn’t be driving through either of these tunnels.
So you may think we are completely crazy, oversensitive, crazy or afraid of tunnels and gradients, but for us there is only one option.
So we took a detour and drove around the Freifjord Tunnel. However, we had to take a ferry three times. Sometimes it can get pretty tight just before the ferry arrives.
When the time came, we drove along the beautiful Atlantic Road, turned around before the second tunnel and drove back along the Atlantic Road.
And you can actually say that it is one of the most beautiful roads.
The Atlantic Road is a section of the Norwegian National Road 64 in the province of Møre og Romsdal between Molde and Kristiansund and is 8274 meters long.
There are eight bridges on this route.
The Storseisund Bridge is the longest at 260 meters. A total of 891 meters are driven on bridges.
They say that as the road is right at the exit of a fjord and the currents can be quite strong when the tide changes, the viewing platforms and fishing spots are often closed.
However, the weather was excellent, but for us personally it was not interesting to stop. Can you see the other side of this great road in the next picture? So many vehicles and too many people for us in one place.
Here are a few Atlantic Road impressions:
Our next destination is about 600 km away. A visit to Iris’ friend from Germany.
Almost at the end of our Norway tour.
Until then, we let ourselves drift along the coastal road and live into the day. No further destinations, no planned sightseeing. Just enjoy and see what comes next.
We are well aware of this luxury, time and freedom. We enjoy every day and are incredibly grateful that we are currently able to lead such a life.
Everyone should pursue their dreams and never stop believing that they can come true one day. Have courage, the best stories start with courage. If you have the courage to make your dream come true, you will certainly not regret it. Just keep time in mind: because our time is running out and at some point it will be too late!