Day 10 - Lofoten Islands, Norway

Day 10 - Thursday 1 September

It was 5C when we woke this morning so we put on the gas heater for the first time. Seems hard to remember how hot we were in Germany. We left soon after 9 - a young couple had slept in their car and were out getting all their warm clothes on. We noticed fresh snow on the tops across the lake. The scenery was stunning all the way to the Norwegian border which didn’t take long to reach. It was totally painless to get over - we saw no one as we drove through.

The scenery till we approached Narvik was unspectacular. We didn’t go into the town as we stayed on E10 to head north towards the Lofoten Islands. From being a bit showery and cloudy between bright sun, it changed to stunning sunshine though only 12C with a chill wind from the north. We stopped to look at an information board telling the story of the first Allied defeats of the Nazis near Narvik in 1940. However, due to critical developments in the war elsewhere, the Allied forces had to withdraw from Norway, Norwegian troops were stood down, and the king and government left for Britain in June.

Passing through spectacular scenery, we crossed the bridge near Evenskjer from where every bend in the road brought yet another stunning view. The E10 must be one of the most beautiful roads to drive down, and I’m sure we’ll have treats in store tomorrow. We have parked in the sun by a lake, there are a few peaky mountains beyond - why not just stop here for the night we thought.

On looking though the dozens of photos I took today, I realise many of them could have been Scotland - I hope this one is Norwegian looking.

We did 120 miles today.