We have a breathtaking story from Karin and Erik, who drove an American bus on Norwegian serpentine roads. In February this year, they drove a Mandalay from Bergen to Sweden, for American Motorhomes.
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ShareThe closest road to Oslo was out of the question because of the snow on the mountain, and instead it was a small road over Stavanger, down towards Kristiansand and on towards Oslo. And that road was neither wide nor straight! Here is an extract from their story.
Karin and Erik's story
The next passage, which cost a pretty penny, was a tunnel said to be one of the longest and deepest in the world, 260 metres below sea level with a length of 7800 metres. It was a long downhill and an equally long uphill, no problem for the Mandalay.
From Stavanger to Kristiansand we took the coastal road, the fog was following us. We stopped and could hear the sea and see the waves near the coast. Suddenly on the first of March at ten minutes past ten, the fog lifted and a wonderfully beautiful coastal landscape opened up with deep fjords and high mountains, absolutely enormously beautiful.
The American motorhome had to show its colours on these roads, serpentine roads à la the Alps. Luckily, I have practised on these kinds of roads before. Karin just enjoyed the view and was happy that she could concentrate on taking pictures through the windows of the car. Luckily it was not the tourist season with lots of traffic, in many places only we could fit, Karin helped me to check that it was free in curves and narrow passages.
Travelling to England
At the end of May, Karin and Erik are travelling on to England with their own motorhome, a Monaco Dynasty, to move around American motorhomes that Stingray RV rents out in Europe. Maybe we'll get more exciting reports then!
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Matts Torebring says:
I drove myself in the middle of July by motorhome from the Brenner Pass to Sölden in Austria. After two hours I gave up. By then there were seven prohibition signs. Including a ban on driving without snow chains. I had to back up to get round many bends in the road. There were crosses posted almost every kilometre on dead people, mostly in their 20s. Usually no guardrails and a 2.5 metre wide road. I was shaking so much and had to stop several times. So no more mountain climbing for me. Thanks to the "autopista"!
18 April 2012 - 20:00
s p i n d e l t j e j e n says:
Answer:
My best purchase today was probably another "SnuggleUp" (or OnePiece) or whatever you want to call it 😉 Turquoise stripes. Super lovely to walk around in here at home! Ugly, but comfortable! 😉
18 April 2012 - 20:00
Lennart says:
Drove that road in the opposite direction from Kristiansand, a number of years ago. Would rather not do it again even by car. But it was beautiful. /Lennart N.
18 April 2012 - 21:32
Karin Mikkelsen says:
For anyone wondering, YES it was a great trip and YES I would love to do it again. I am happy to drive a bus myself but on those roads I am happy to be a passenger with the camera in the highest grip because when there is sometimes a good 5 cm free on each side of the bus so ..... 🙂 Karin
18 April 2012 - 21:48
Catherine in Asia says:
How scary to drive these roads with a large vehicle like that. Well done to the driver... But a little more fun with a smaller car, perhaps. Fun to read...
Hugs
19 April 2012 - 3:27
Frankie & Co says:
Oh, immersion as if it were 3D occurred, great luck! Fantastically captivating, gave more flavour to the reading eye!
19 April 2012 - 6:49
admin says:
Matts Torebring, oh help, that sounded like a dramatic drive! More like mountain climbing than driving a car, it almost sounded like...
Karin, yes there were really dramatic passages to photograph! Good thing you didn't get to meet in some of those places!!!
19 April 2012 - 7:50
Lena & Jan says:
Very exciting, there is so little else to read about large motorhomes driving on the Nordic minor roads. Actually, I thought Norway had "width (2.38)" restrictions, do you know if it is over?
19 April 2012 - 8:44
Seniors Speculate says:
It is perhaps true that the bigger the motorhome, the more restricted the freedom becomes, which is partly what we are aiming for. But we would like to travel with such a large and advanced motorhome throughout the United States, where everything in terms of roads and traffic is so much calmer and better. It would be a great experience, even though we have travelled by car in the USA before. One must always have dreams! 3 M
19 April 2012 - 12:14
admin says:
Lena & Jan, no unfortunately... I have no idea about the rules. Karin, maybe you know what the rules are?
Seniors Speculating, we've never been to the US, but it feels like there's a little more room there....
19 April 2012 - 12:40
Karin Mikkelsen says:
According to what we understood from our Norwegian friends, 2.55 applies in Norway, but for registration in the rest of the country, 2.60 applies for a temperature-controlled cabinet, and we think we know that EU rules apply.
19 April 2012 - 19:28
Frode says:
I can't wait to see pictures of the "Freedom" on a real trip in Norway. I'm sure there will be great pictures of the motorhome on Norwegian narrow roads, high mountains, deep valleys and coastal landscapes. So head to Norway soon! 🙂
20 April 2012 - 9:54
marie ch olsson says:
Yes, it's awful, I've travelled there too.
23 April 2012 - 20:53