Having made the decision to cut short our time in the Western Fjords because of bad weather, inevitably today dawned with a clear blue sky! I don’t know what the weather is like further north, but I felt a tinge of regret.
With Oslo only two hours drive away, we got out our chairs and soaked up some much needed rays until lunch and then got on the road.
Today there were no ferries but the road tolls mounted up. I’ve not said anything about Norwegian road tolls in this blog. Every foreigner driving in Norway has to register with Euro Parking Collections (EPC), a UK company who collect foreigners’ tolls on behalf of Norway. As you drive along a road you come across signs telling you the toll for that particular section. The sign is accompanied by cameras that automatically read your number plate and then you should get a bill in the post from EPC. Reading other people’s blogs it seems that the collection system is a bit haphazard, with most people waiting 6 months to receive a bill and then with many tolls missing. I hope this is the case with us, although for the route we have completed they are not too extortionate. Our total at the moment is just less than €50 and we may incur a few more between Oslo and Sweden.
The scenery remained very attractive, with huge lakes and forest covered hills, all the way to Oslo. We had a bit of a shock about 20 miles from Oslo when we hit a traffic jam!! It took me a minute or two to remember what a traffic jam is. The last one we saw was in Helsinki nearly two months ago! It’s a good job we are not going straight from Finland and Norway, the two most sparsely populated countries in Europe, back to Dover, because I think traffic in the home counties might bring a nervous breakdown upon me.
Our journey through Oslo to our campsite was problem free. No traffic jams and a 6 km tunnel built right under the centre. The campsite, Ekeberg Camping (59.897493, 10.771615), is a large campsite only 20 minutes by bus from the centre of Oslo. I had read reports that the campsite was unpleasantly crowded, but at this time of year, with the main Norwegian holiday season at an end, it it is very empty and relaxed. It is 315 NOK (€33.60) without electricity. Showers and electricity are extra. The number 34 bus runs every 15 minutes to Oslo centre, from directly outside the campsite entrance. Everyone has told us dogs are allowed on buses, but we will find out definitely tomorrow.
Prices continue to stagger me. I was trying to calculate whether the expensive 90 NOK (€9.60) day pass for public transport was worthwhile, because I suspect we will only use the bus four times tomorrow. It’s a no brainer because a single journey ticket on Oslo public transport is 55 NOK (€5.90)!!! I keep asking Norwegians why their country is so expensive and get lots of different answers. Tax is one – which explains alcohol, but with VAT at 20% on most items, does not explain the bulk of the price differences. The very articulate young man at the campsite reception came closer, I think, when he said “because we are all rich”! I suspect with many products and services Norwegians have just become used to paying high prices and it is therefore not in business’ interest to rock the boat by undercutting each other. I think many businesses must make much higher profit margins that in the rest of Europe. I would love to get the views of a Norwegian economist, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen, so I just have my unfounded suspicions!
One other matter Sarah and I have been discussing in Norway is how relatively unadventurous the British are. We saw two Brits on last night’s campsite, but before that we have seen a total of three in Norway. We have seen more caravans and motorhomes than that from just about every other European nation, including unlikely candidates such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Slovakia. We’ve seen dozens of vehicles from Italy and Spain and they have to travel a great distance just to reach the Norwegian border. By my very crude measure of “adventurousness” the top three are Germany but some margin, then probably the Netherlands followed by France. Come on Britain, extend your horizons – you have an advantage, everyone (or nearly everyone) speaks English as their second language. Everyone else has to have, at least a smattering, of a second language to travel!
Tomorrow Oslo.