Remember last night when I said we had an easy, short, 3-hour drive to our next destination? Boy, was I wrong! We left our hotel at 10:30 am as Jason wanted to catch up on the blog. I took the time to walk around the breathtaking grounds of our motel and sit and relax at our outdoor table. We had about 200 km to travel today—not far by Alberta standards, but it’s a day’s journey in Norway. Not if you are driving from point A to B with no stops, of course, but the awe-inspiring scenery they have here makes it impossible not to stop and enjoy it. 

We had been on the road for about 2 1/2 hours, and I asked Jason how long it would be until we got to our final stop for the day. He laughed and said about 150 km. Yup, we had gone only 50 km. In 2 1/2 hours! Unbelievable!!

We decided to put on the blinders and not stop as much. That lasted a few km when I told Jason he needed to pull over and see what I saw on my side of the road. He probably rolled his eyes but pulled over, got out his camera and got some of the most unexpected pictures he’d taken to date. He said he got the shot of the day here–another crystal clear lake with the snow-covered mountains reflecting in the calm waters. It never gets old. That’s how our whole day went today—stopping and starting, stopping and starting.

I found a thrift store in one of the towns we drove through, so we had to stop. Jason walked up the street to a cafe while I purchased a few things. My best buy was a lovely glass beaded bracelet, which would be worth around $100. As there was no price on it and it was just in a bowl with bits and pieces of jewellery, I had to ask how much it was. The man at the counter had no idea, so he said probably 5 NOK, which is 65 cents Canadian. I also got a lovely plate from Bergen, some napkins and a surprise for someone back home. I spent $8 or so. We were off again after a quick lunch stop in a cute little town.  

Jason had been telling me about a tunnel we would be going through today and built up the anticipation. He told me it was the something “est” in the world, so I was guessing all day. The steepest? The scariest? Curviest? Darkest? Narrowest? What? He wouldn’t tell me. We finally got there, and the sign before entering said it was 24.5 km long. So, it turns out it’s the longest road tunnel in the world!  He set up his camera in the windshield to capture the journey through. He used a time-lapse setting to show the entire 20-minute drive in only a minute. I was disappointed that it wasn’t something more impressive. Still, it was pretty remarkable. Imagine driving from Spruce Grove to Edmonton entirely inside a tunnel. Every few kilometres, there was a pull-out where we could take a little break, and they had bright coloured lights shining off the rocks to add some interest to a long, boring tunnel. I think I saw the next turn and fell asleep. I wished we had kept track of how many tunnels we had gone through—probably 30 or more in a week and a half. We’ve been on four ferries in that time.

We are now in our hotel, and tomorrow, we have a train trip planned. It’s another thrilling day we have been eagerly anticipating.