Lysebotn

Slowly waking up on the DFDS ferry around 6:30, I got ready for the backcountry roads of southwest Norway. It was a cloudy morning in the Oslo Fjord, and after getting off the ferry, I ended up in the classic Oslo traffic redirections in the central part of the capital, before eventually reaching the road heading southwest towards Drammen. The first almost two hours were boring—avoiding too much attention from traffic cameras 👮and following the electrified train of cars going 75 km/h south, with a few drops of rain in the otherwise grey weather—but then things really changed!

My first stop was the “Stavkirke in Heddal,” the largest wooden church in Norway, still in active use today, more than 800 years after its construction. It’s an impressive building, made even more impressive by the fact that parts of the wooden construction date back to the Viking era in the year 900.

Standing by the church, the sun started to shine ☀️ (no, I didn’t turn religious ;)), and the roads I came for began: small, beautiful roads with endless twists and turns. I rode for a few hours, had a coffee stop, but stayed focused since I had my mind set on reaching Lysefjorden and specifically Lysebotn before the sun disappeared.

The roads around the mountains just kept getting better and better ⛰️🤩, and both the motorbike and I loved every second of it. I stopped for a few pictures, ending with the final road of the day—the one featured in the cover picture of this Penguin Trip. The road had twists and turns galore, taking me down to a beautiful sunny afternoon in the small village of Lysebotn, just in time for coffee and to order ferry tickets for tomorrow’s journey from here onwards.

I camped by the water at the local campground and enjoyed a stunning sunset. Now it’s time for sleep in what is probably the smallest tent in the world. ⛺️

Disclaimer: No pictures I add to this can do justice to the actual landscape of this part of Norway—it’s just incredibly beautiful. 🇳🇴🙏🏻Read more