Far From The Madding Crowd... Sometimes

It's hard to put into words just how frantic the last few weeks have been. Since the last blog instalment, I've been:

From Ålesund, across via Molde to Kristiansund, 
down past Åndalsnes to Lillehammer,
back to Trondheim through Oppdal, 
on into Røros before heading west to Fagernes,
continuing to Flåm and Voss
before reaching Bergen.
Just in time to drive down to the Oslofjord,

If you don't know Norway then that's just a list of Norwegian place names. To put it in perspective, I've put nearly 3000 miles on the car.

I've driven on mountain roads, gravel roads, fast A roads, toll roads, through the world's longest road tunnel (twice), along the Atlantic Road, I've even driven the road to Hell:

I can confirm that while there is a shopping centre in Hell, there was no sign of Chris Rea. Although the man in the photo seems to have parked in Limbo.

Anyway the point I'm getting to is that I'm seeing a lot of Norway - albeit at a very fast pace as I charge from meeting to meeting. I've got some cool pictures of the usual picture-postcard spots, so I'll make some use of Flickr and the Facebook page, and share them with the world.

The pictures that will carry more meaning for me, are the ones of places that I didn't see coming. The places that aren't on "In A Nutshell" coach trips, that aren't plastered all over the destination company product manuals. I'm sure there's something for everyone here - for me, it's the hidden Norway that I'll be searching out again:

Finding these places is what makes Norway interesting for me. The four pictures above are all within a 30 minute drive of an Airport with direct flights from the UK. Well, one involves a rock climb but you get the idea. I've been here for months, driving all over the place, and I've barely scratched Norway's surface - and I think that's a good thing.

Over the last month I've been reminded that I don't like sitting in traffic behind caravans, that I don't want to share view with bus-loads of other visitors, and that I despise zoned parking restrictions.

It just took longer for me to realise that this place has so many hidden treasures, none of those things matter. 

Safe travels, wherever you're off to this weekend.