Day 20: Hatteng to Storslett

Distance: 136km

Elevation: 1.530m

I had some bad dreams that had to do with guilt and not being wanted here. It seems that the conversation yesterday evening with this somewhat wicked lady has had some effect on me after all.

Nonetheless, I was looking really very much forward to today, since I would cycle alongside the Olden Fjord which is embedded into snow-covered mountains on both sides. After 50km I would take a ferry across the Fjord to meet the E6 again.

I started in the saddle by 8:30am and followed the Fjord. I had not checked if the ferry is running at all and what the schedule might be. I just started cycling and trusted that everything would work out fine. Once I realized this I had to laugh about myself. Last year, on my tour around east Germany, I was still way more careful. On the other hand, a 100km detour was at stake, so I finally asked an elderly Norwegian couple if the ferry was running at all. I asked in English, they answered in Norwegian. But somehow it worked and I got a thumbs up.

After 3 hours, I arrived at the ferry port and who else arrived at the same time? The ferry itself. I did not wait longer than 10 minutes before I could get aboard. And ferries are for free for cyclists here. Go with the flow.

On the ferry, a sentence got into my head. I don’t really know what it means. It goes: „I have arrived in my tour”. Maybe it has to do with less pain. My “seating area” is much better after I changed the tilt of the saddle one more time. But maybe it also means something else.

After the transfer to the other side of the fjord and some jaw-dropping views, I got back onto the E6. Traffic was quite ok today.

Did I mention already that I absolutely love Northern Norway? I have to stop so many times each day just to stare at the magnificent scenery.

Even the people who operate road construction sites are nice and friendly here. One gave me a head start so that I could cycle before the cars and trucks. That never happened to me elsewhere so far.

Today I met two cyclists, both Norwegians, who were cycling south from the North Cape. Eric around noon and Edwin around 5pm. With both I had a bit of a chat which was fun. Edwin comes from the Oslo region, has a dark skin and speaks fluent German because his mother is German. He has studied Physics and is now doing a two year engagement at “Teach First”. Here professionals in the MINT space spent the first years of their careers as teachers. A great initiative.

By the way, do you know why it makes sense for cyclists to wear a helmet in Norway (and Sweden)? To protect yourself against attacks of breeding seagulls. I kid you not, I was attacked full contact on the head three times so far.

I found a nice camping ground between E6 and a lake. Since the weather will get colder tomorrow, I figured it might be the last opportunity for a swim in the lake. I should say that in contrast to Sweden the lakes here are mostly made up of melting water from the mountains. The water was so cold, it physically hurt at certain parts. But it was great nonetheless and I am glad I did it.

Learning of the day: Trust the process.