2026 North to the Nordics and Nordkapp, Sat June 27, 2026

Langenuen Camping, Stord → Florø, Norway

The morning looked pretty fine belying the weather forecast. Good for me! I made coffee in a cup using a coffee filter I took from Flørli, but it tore in the cup dumping out the grounds. I let them settle and drank it anyway. Better than no coffee at all.

Today my route has lots of ferries and I would learn something about scheduling ferries. The first ferry Sandvik to Halhjem was a short wait, and I paid on board using my phone. I was also able to buy a coffee from a machine and warm up on board.

From the ferry disembarcation, it was only about 30 km into Bergen. I parked the scooter and looked for some good coffee. The first coffee shop goal was Vågal, but I swear it doesn't exist near where Google Maps says it is. I gave up and went to another shop called kaffemisjonen and had a great latte and a spicy tuna melt with a bit of salad. Expensive, but good. It was getting close to 11:00am when UFF 2nd Hand opens, so I went back to the scooter and rode across the small city to wait at the shop. Inside, I asked the person who opened the door and she directed me downstairs where I found a rack of sports pants. I found a perfect, elastic waist, double layer wind and waterproof overpant that fit nicely over my jeans. I checked out maybe 5 minutes after entering the store with just the bit of gear I needed to complete my cold weather kit.

Out of Bergen, I got back into the terrain I love, forest with ferns and lakes and streams and waterfalls.

I got to the next ferry right after one departed. This would add an hour off wait time and cause me to miss the 3rd ferry adding up to 3 hours more wait time. When you have a string of several ferries, it is important to be schedule aware and not take extra time for pictures where the timing is tight. Live and learn.

Anyway, at this ferry I would spend close to an hour in conversation with a big crane driver (company: Voss Kran). I forget where he was from, but I don't think it was Norway. His machine was very impressive — a Tadano AC 5.250L-2 with the long boom supported by a 6-wheel trailer. Lifting capacity 250 tonnes and boom length up to 79 meters. Bitchin machine. Despite the enormity of this mobile crane, it fit easily on the electric ferry.

Then more lovely scenery along route 57 North through Dalsøyra and Nordgulen to my 3rd ferry crossing. But here it looks like I missed the 12:10pm ferry and the next one isn't until 4:00pm. I got to the queue at 12:20pm. If I knew better, I would have hustled and made it, but now I have over 3 hours to wait. I spent part of the time talking to some other folks, then I figured out the schedule and realized how much more time I would be waiting and decided (with the help of the Swiss guys) to reroute east to E39 and a more frequent ferry. It would be less scenic, but I would get to my hotel much earlier and I was getting tired. The reroute along Fv1 was really nice. And I got to see Laukelandsfossen, a 100 meter wide, 134 meter tall waterfall with an impressive flow rate. "Best time to visit the waterfall (regarding its volume) is early summer or after heavy rainfall." Yep, it's early summer.

I took a nice detour/shortcut off 610 along Fv422 towards Hejelmeland, Bygstad, Norway. It crossed the Gaula river where it pours into the Dalsfjorden fjord near Osen. I was standing on a very narrow road taking pictures of the falls when I had a moment as a large logging truck negotiated the narrow road with me standing behind the guard rail. Then a peaceful 60 km ride along highway 5 to Florø.

I bought groceries, got fuel, and checked into my rather expensive €121, tiny room, in the OK Scandic Victoria Florø hotel. Neither Florø, nor Scandic Victoria Florø made much of a positive impression on me. I should have stayed back in Eikefjord. Small villages are better than middlin cities.

I went out to walk around and talked with a crew member on a big ambulance ship that serves as a sort of mobile hospital and transport for medical patients on these many, many islands. Yay for national health care.

How am I doing relative to the plan?

My original plan was Bergen to Ålesund, so now I'm 215km short of the plan. I've lost 160km of ground relative to the plan since yesterday. Damn, this is starting to bug me.

Battery Electric Ferries in Norway

MV Ampere is the world's first battery-electric car ferry, developed and built in Norway. Its development was the result of a competition, launched by the country's Ministry of Transport and Communications in 2011, to develop an environmentally friendly ferry service. MV Ampere was launched in May 2015. Just one year later, most of the 19 ferries I will ride are electric. Even the 120 km ride from Vaasa to Umeå was fully electric. In addition to the eliminatino of fossil fuel usage, these ferries are much quieter than conventional ferries. The electric propulsion lowers cabin and underwater noise, protecting local fjord wildlife and improving passenger experience.

Some of these ferries are recharged from large fixed batteries on the ports so they can fast-charge between passages. The plugs are *big*.


Langenuen Camping, Stord → Florø, Norway

Langenuen Camping, Stord → Scandic Hotel Victoria in Florø, Norway

Ride Log