Today we visited Rjukan, a former industrial town that sits in a steep sided gorge. It is most famous for the saboteur activities against the German held Vemork heavy water factory during World War II, by The Heroes Of Telemark.
During the months of September to March the town receives no direct sunlight so they have constructed three mirrors that track the Sun and reflect light into the market square.
Continue reading Rjukan
Neset Camping had served its’ purpose in giving us a week off of travelling, spending, getting the blog back on track, and taking time to relax. It is a very nice site to stay on. Nice position, good, clean facilities and friendly.
The only fly in the ointment has been the weather. The last three nights we have been kept awake by torrential rain and very high winds. We noticed that the level of the Byglandsfjorden had risen by about a foot during our stay.
We had spent a large amount of money lately. New tyres for the car, brake parts for the caravan and car, expensive sites, diesel covering countless kilometres down this huge country, and essentials like wine, gin & beer, it had all mounted up 🙂
In an effort to reduce expenditure for a while, we perused the Camping Card app and found the nearest site offering an off peak discount was near Byglandsfjord, Neset Camping. The site would be 190NOK per night instead of 300 odd in most places, and, as a bonus, didn’t charge extra for a shower.
I had spent most of Thursday morning replacing the caravan brakes and the friction pads in the hitch stabiliser. The caravan was serviceable again 🙂 We were ready to roll.
In the afternoon we had driven out sightseeing and to spend some, unsuccessful, time fishing for tea in the Sorfjorden. The road was bordered by the fjord on one side and countless kilometres of fruit trees on the other. Every now and again there were fruit stalls with honesty boxes.
On paper the plan for the next two or three days was simple. We’d amble down toward Preikestolen Camping to hike up to Pulpit Rock. We’d avoid tolls and ferries, and wild camp to save some cash. Rather than backtrack all of the tunnels on the E16 we’d take the FV7, part of the Hardanger Tourist Route, which climbs over the mountains and then meanders its’ way along the north shore of Hardangerfjord before joining the 13 road south.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 134 Cumulative: 22,843