Norway for the first time.

Although the trip to Norway took us 3 weeks, it can be described as a prelude to a trip to Norway 😊 . Why is that? Because in those 3 weeks, we spent more than one night in one place about 3 times.

The rest was a crazy kaleidoscope of places, moments and people.

The idea was to visit different places and choose the ones we would like to return to.

At the planning stage, we didn't know that we would want to return to almost all the places we visited 😊 . PLAN.

We plan our trips very simply.

1. Where are we going and for how long, and the basic logistics, e.g. can we get there directly by car or will we have to take a ferry?

We traveled to Norway by ferry from Poland to Sweden, then north and west to reach the Norwegian Sea on the west coast of the island of Senija.

2. What activities are we planning and what equipment are we taking with us? Equipment for long hikes in the mountains, max. 1-2 nights away from the car + bicycles.

3. Are we taking food with us or are we buying everything locally?

We are taking all the food with us, buying local delicacies and fresh vegetables.

End of plan.

Hey! What do you mean, end?

What about checking out the places you want to visit, looking for great tourist spots, or the best restaurants?

This is how we do it: we think about the general direction we want to take - in Norway, we started north of Lofoten on the island of Senija and then headed south. The rest was a complete improvisation, which was encouraged by the Norwegian law allowing us to set up camp anywhere we wanted 😊!

The trip to Norway was a two-person team – we didn't have Mrok yet.

We could describe the whole trip in great detail, but we think that might ruin it for someone else. Norway is an area where every place is interesting, and every day when you think you have seen something amazing, it is just a preview of the next day when you will see even more...

...and so on for 3 weeks.

What do we think you should see in Norway?

Everything far from the crowds and places suggested as “key/iconic”. We visited a few and after probably the third one, we made a decision: Norway only in an improvised way. We like small villages, local vibes, secretly eavesdropped places with good food at the “end of the world” - this is how we ended up at the best restaurant with dishes from a very broad range of seafood - more on that later.

We went in July, when the day lasts almost 24 hours above the Arctic Circle, and it's worth having a tent in which you can turn off the outside light to sleep well. Scandinavia, and Norway in particular, is a region where every day can be rainy, sunny, cold and hot. There are times when there are hurricane-force winds, but there are also many peaceful nights.

The optimal clothing is multi-layered outdoor clothing and stable waterproof boots.

After spending the night on the ferry, we headed north along the Swedish Baltic coast to the Gulf of Bothnia. Excellent, quiet places, a 4x4 car opens up a range of possibilities for getting to surprisingly beautiful places.

Gulf of Bothnia - definitely yes!

Then we headed west towards the Norwegian border, and just before it, we spent the night on the river, where we celebrated our anniversary 😊.

Senija - an island in the shadow of Lofoten.

Not many people, because everyone wants to see Lofoten. Wild beaches, mountains and wilderness.

Lofoten, the Norwegian pearl, or rather pearls. Despite the motorhomes that you constantly pass, you can find a quiet place surrounded by nature. For this purpose, we like to use the “Park4night” application, where, after selecting the option “surrounded by nature” and 4x4 access, we find places so amazing that a wide smile never leaves our faces.

What to see in Lofoten? Whatever you like 😊!

We focused on wild beaches with difficult access, and before the crossing to the mainland, the absolutely necessary Anita's Seafood Bar restaurant, with the absolutely best fish soup we have ever eaten.

The mainland, so what about these fjords?

It's not worth writing about because you have to see every place, every mountain, valley and fjord for yourself - preferably from different perspectives. Some really good photos can be a delicate substitute for how we perceived Norwegian nature. We wrote at the beginning that this was an introduction to Norway and that is why we invite you to look at photos of some places, wild beaches and mountain trails.

In our opinion, Norway is most beautiful where we go off the beaten track and find an almost invisible mountain path, or look at a map and see that a few dozen kilometers away there is a small, unspoiled beach. That is where Norway is at its most beautiful for us and where we will soon return with our dog Mrok and a kayak, which will open up even more interesting possibilities for us to experience the surprisingly beautiful nature of this country.

A few technical notes.

For us, Norway was a trip to test the equipment of our Land Cruiser. Today's bodywork, drawers, and clever storage compartments are largely ideas that originated in Norway.

We will describe them in more detail in the “GEAR” section.

We were worried about the availability of gas stations, especially in less visited areas of the country. We never ran out of fuel and there was no need for an emergency canister, which we always carry with us.

Water - we took 90 liters with us.

However, natural water is everywhere in Norway. In one of the coastal villages, I asked at a small gas station about drinking water. A nice lady asked if I meant bottled water. I confirmed. Are you sure you want to pay for water that is much less tasty than the water flowing at that little waterfall? We all fill our thermoses with it before going for a walk in the area because it flows in our taps. We never asked about bottled water again.

You can find water filters, how a hot shower works in the field, kitchen equipment and much more in the GEAR section – feel free to have a look.

And what is your Norway like?

Do you have any favorite places?

Maybe you don't have the opportunity to go there - write to us, maybe on your next trip we will visit them and send you photos of what they look like now 😊 .