Lyngdal - Kristiansand - Hirthals
Weather: cloudy, ~20°
Kilometers on bike: 12 km
I cycle to Lyngdal centre. I intend to go to the tourist information first before I go any further. The lady is quite astonished I was cycling one of the most difficult parts of the Nordsjøvei. Well, I don’t get a medal for it though. 
I inquire about alternatives about my intention to go to Kvinesdal. She is surprised that I want to take Sørlandsbanen. Busses are cheaper in Norway than trains. I more and more intend to go to Kristiansand, so she said the fastest way on bike is just follow the main road or take a bus.
The rutebilstasjon is directly on the other side of the tourist information. I suspect they get some kind of a commision when the recommend travellers to take the bus. 
An employee explains the busticket system and the prices to me and finally sells me a ticket to Kristiansand, for a bike you have to pay fifty percent of the price.
At the rutebilstsjon I meet Frank and Gabi. Frank was once a copy-writer in Germany and now works in Flekkefjord. Because we have some spare time until our busses leave, we go to Harry’s Kaffibar, have a chat and drink some coffee.
They got Illy espresso! My favourite espresso brand. I order a Latte Macchiato for 27 NOK. I got high hopes it should be ok. Well, somehow it only tastes like warm milk. Where’s the espresso? Someone should show the Norwegian how to make a good espresso. Because I didn’t hear the normal sound of espresso making, I suspect they put the espresso into a normal coffee machine.
Frank took an official retraining in Germany to get a job in Norway, he is one of two people (out of fourteen), who finally made it to Norway. We talk about his life among Norwegians. E.g. he observed that Norwegians obviously get really drunk every weekend, despite the high price for alcoholics. He tales are very interesting. I also inquire about the Norwegian company and work culture. Very, very interesting. 
11:45, I have to go to the bus. I say goodbye to Frank and Gabi and wish them well. The bus is already at the station. Opening the side-gates, putting luggage and bike inside - ready to go. The trip to Kristiansand doesn’t take long. 13:30 and I am in Kristiansand again.
I now go to the Color Line-terminal and take a passage to Hirthals. 15:30 check-in, 16:30 the ferry will leave the harbour. Because I got some time, I go to an internet café and write a few short entries on my blog. Around 15:15 I am cycling to the check-in and put myself into the first line among other motorcycle bikers. At the top of the lane I also see some other heavily packed bicycles. So I am the only tough biker here…
It takes a long time until the ferry has spewed out all the cars and caravans. I wonder with such a flood of motorised tourists if going by car/caravan is really ecologically correct. It’s a sad view to see such a solid line of cars; I wonder what the Norwegians think about it.
The three bikers I saw at the top position are Gerhard, Gerd and Maurice from Cuxhaven. Looks like only Germans are nuts enough to go to Norway on bike. Two hale and hearty penioners and a son. They flew from Cologne airport to Kirkenes, took Hurtigruta to the Lofoten and cycled through Fjordnorway back to Kristiansand. Nice! They have a lot to tell. AFAIK, they shortly talked about writing something up on teh web, so I will try to hunt down their tale later.
On the ferry I am wasting most of my Norwegian Kroner: rekesmørbrød, apple juice, cake and lots of chocolate. At 20:00 we arrive in Hirthals. I take the three to the parking lot, where their “take-away service”, stepson directly from Cuxhaven, already waits. I say goodbye and look for the camping site, which is situated diretly next to the lighthouse. Very idyllic and directly at the sea.
The reception is already closed, so I pitch my tent next to another biker’s tent. They are obviously going on a tandem. Later I get to know them, bikers from Germany. Taris and Elisabeth are going by tandem and trailer from Swabia (south Germany) to Norway. All the way. We are having dinner, drink wine (Yeah!) and I bring my chocolate. We talk a lot and then it’s time to get into the sleeping bag.
Entries (RSS)