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.

Lyngdal

Weather: heavy rain, ~18°

Kilometers on bike: 0 km

After an inspection of my tent, the whole “floor” of the inner tent is wet. Even with the extra tarp my matress and some other things I had inside the tent are wet. At least the sleeping bag is dry. Well, first some breakfast: crispbread with strawberry jam, biscuits and tea. After wards I move a few things around and hope my belonging will dry up during the day.

It’s raining cats and dogs; everything’s grey outside. Hmmmh, not the best weather to travel, so I decide to stay here for another night. Later on, I stroll around the beach… a rain walk. But still it’s nice to have that much fresh and good air.

I decide to go to Kvinesdal alongside the mainroad tomorrow and take Sørlandsbanen, either to Egersund or in worst case to Kristiansand to return to Denmark.

Around 15:30 the rain stops and the sun tries to get through the heavy clouds. Well, at least she’s trying. I thoroughly walk around the fjord and enjoy the nature. Some showers and sun. I hope the weather stays somewhat dry over night. So I can at least pack a partly dried tent.

Mandal - Sjølingstad - Vigeland - Reme - Spangereid - Gitlevåg - Lyngdal

Weather: warm, sunny, ~25°; a bit hotter later; thunderstorm in the evening/night and colder

Kilometers on bike: 55 km

Very quick packaging in the morning, last talks to the dudes and dudettes from Gelsenkirchen and I am on my way to the city centre. Nice town, but is it really worth a side-trip? Sunday morning - and Norway seems to be dead. No people on the street. I head to the house of Gustav and Emanuel Vigeland, now a museum, but I intend to follow my route again and go on.

I come to a supermarket, which is open on sundays. Nice! I fill up my stock on biscuits, chocolate and juice. Hmmmh, I wonder if all Norwegians are late risers. Obviosuly not. My route heads straight through a golf course. Plenty of older people here. Well, suits the normal tourist in Sørland.

I arrive at a junction, I now can decide to take Gamle Postveien (the Old Postway), a gravel road, or an ordinary road up to Sjølingstad. I take the latter. According to the map it should be less hilly. You can visit an old woolmanufacture complete with school etc. in Sjølingstad - from the old times when entrepreneurs still got a social conscience. A lot of car and caravan tourists are already swarming around the houses, so I just have a break and decide to save myself the visit.

I am cycling along some nice lakes and in Tredal I am joining the main road E39 and follow it to Vigeland. The first thing I see is a statue of a cleric (forgot to note the name), according to the statue, his motto is or better has been “Ora et Labora”. Well, to each it’s own.

I go through the town, pushing my bike and enjoy the silence. Another dead town on a Sunday (if you don’t count the cars on the main road). In a small street behind the church I see a Norsk Skogkatt sitting near a blue door. She’s obviously waiting to get inside, but I guess her human family is not there. She looks a bit pissed and when I try to make some photographs, she is hissing and behaving not like a lady. Finally I get my pictures, but she’s still not in the mood for stroking.

I am following the regional route out of town to Snik. Needless to say, heavy traffic. Obviously half of Norway uses the good weather to get into the wilds. Along the road there are small beaches for bathing in the “fjord”. Despite the gear problem, I fight myself over a lot of climbs to Reme. I really miss the nine middle gears, would make things a lot easier. It’s exhausting, so I sometimes decide to push the bike uphill. Well, exhausting, too.

No real outdoor holidays without a Stöngifoss. In Reme, some houses, moles for fishers and a nice beach, I take the opportunity for having a longer break and take a swim in the North Sea. The water is crystal clear and warm, really warm. Somehow I am feeling I am at the beach in Spain. I am swimming and enjoying the water for half an hour and then I ride into the direction of Spangereid.

There should be a viking grave (and a viking information centre) in Spangereid, but cannot find it. I think about going further south (10 to 12km) and visit the Lindesnes Lighthouse (which would mean, I have to return the same way later), but somehow I got a bad feeling about it. I trust my gut feelings and continue on my route to Lyngdal. Later on, I am glad I did this.

Uphill horror! That’s really hard with my broken gear. After I reach the bridge over the Lenefjord at Jåsund, I should have reached the first “peak”. But after Gitlevåg it’s getting worse. I push my bike uphill for four kilometres. It’s hard work, but could at least be a bit easier with a nice sideway along the road. Every 30 seconds a car drives by. Very annoying. After a long while, I reach the top. And now down again! I put on my helmet, check the luggage and ride down on a crazy wind. 50 km/h and more again, and this for a distance of five kilometres down to Lyngdal.

I pass by a camping site, which looks tremendously crowded, and another one, which name doesn’t appeal to me (Lyngalbibelcamp) before I reach the campsite in Kvavik, right before a small forest at the shore of the Lyngdalsfjord. A bit less then thirty minutes after my tent is pitched, a big thunderstorm announces its coming with loud thunderclap and flashes. I go down to the beach (roughly 150m behind my tent) and I see a big black cloudformation come into the fjord, flashes flashing, loud thunder rolling in from the sea. What a view! The Darkness is coming!

Back at the tent and despite heavy rain, I prepare a tea, this time well deserved enriched with some ten year old Ardbeg. I also cook: basmati rice with onions, raisins and almonds, spiced with Marroccan tajine spices. The tea and the meal do me well. After extensive listening to Svartsot and Cultus Ferox, I finally slumber away.

In the mid of the night, the rain is still heavily pelting down on my tent, I awake because my arms feel wet. Ok, obviously the sandy ground cannot cope with all the water coming down from above. Part of it flows between the floor(?) of the inner tent and the protective tarp on the ground. Well, I am now glad I took the Tarp’n’Travel with me, I get it out and place it into the inner tent. At least somewhat dry for the rest of the night.