Sunday 20th October

The sun was out again, albeit with some fluffy clouds, and forecast for rain this evening.  Our plan was to drive the Atlantic Ocean Road, which is about 2.5 hrs north from here. It is known for a series of bridges connecting little islands across an archipelago for for about 8 km.  Given I have been developing the impression that some of the ‘tourist’ sites in Norway are a little oversold, I decided to do some more last minute research, with a focus on reviews.

I am glad I did, as 8 out of 10 commented that either they were underwhelmed or don’t make a special trip.  We discussed it, and as it would have taken 5 hours drive return trip, and there was a likelihood that we would also be underwhelmed we would instead stay in Alesund and enjoy the pretty city in the sunshine and go up the lookout point.

That was the next point of discussion and research – how to get up there. There are steps, but no gondola. The steps are very steep 440 plus some flatter bits with a good incline.  I felt that it would be too much for my knee, especially the return down. So we drove up instead.

The nav on our little Yaris is not that great, and we did not have any more iPad data, and of course the iPhone was in Bergen. The Samsung phone has ability and we had roaming, however neither of us are that familiar with the android and it is not intuitive to us having used Apple so long.

So we used both the car nav and our old fashioned sense of direction. We made it up the hill, by going around the opposite side to the steps and found a parking lot at what looked very near to the lookout. We prepared for the short walk from there.

BARP – You guessed it. It was not a short walk. Nearly 3 km later, including some steps and steep bits we arrived at the top, which was higher than the viewing area. The plus side is that we got to see 360 degree views from the top and walk through the Norwegian ‘nature’ for a bit.

While we were catching our breath (mainly me) the phone rung with Brigit from Wideroe baggage advising me she had sent a link for payment.  I needed to pay then so she could send the phone on the plane today, for our pick up in the morning. No problem we thought.

I clicked the link from the text on Verns phone, and we put in the card details for payment – 400NOK. The Westpac card required two factor authentication, and Verns card was not set up for that, so we tried my Visa. It also wanted the authentication, and the number to send it to was my mobile. Now that was not going to work was it?

Some quick thinking on my part, I logged onto Westpac, changed the mobile number authentication for my card to Verns phone and then away we went. Next problem when I went to read the number from the text, I lost the screen for payment – unlike my iPhone that would have grabbed it automatically to paste. Bloody hell, second time we tried it we managed to get back to the screen and get it to accept payment.

A few more texts and phone calls with Brigit who could not see the payment her end. So we had to take a photo of the receipt (follow the link again) and text it to her. Jeepers, she still struggled to see it – she was lovely and obliging but I do not think tech savvy. Anyway, as I write this in the evening and checked ‘find my phone’ I see it is back in Alesund airport! Yippee! First job tomorrow after breakfast will be to pick it up.

So onward to the viewing platform where we managed to get free access by chance, but the toilets were locked…. We got some lovely views and settled down to make the most of the rest of the day, returning back to the car park via a road way we had missed in the first instance. It was gentler on the knees thankfully.  A note of clarification, we knew you could drive up to the viewing platform and cafe, however they noted that there was very limited parking. We chose the car park where we saw lots of cars near a sports field-stadium, but did not realise it was the entry point also for numerous walking tracks around the hill.  

Along the tracks there are German bunkers and ruins from war time occupation, some little ponds/dams, and children’s play areas. There were quite a few locals and families of all ages and makeups, including pets exercising and enjoying the unseasonably warm and good weather 12-14 degrees!  Apparently it was 16 the day we arrived, following an 18 and 20 degree respectively. The bus driver told us it is normally cold and raining.

We returned to the hotel for a quick cuppa, parked the car free near the hotel as it is Sunday and then set off for a leisurely stroll before dinner.  There was a Havilla boat in, and the look lovely and compact.  

We enjoyed perfect reflections as we walked around the little harbour basin looking for a place to eat and taking in the neat and clean old town.  Vern is taken with the city as a whole, as it reminds him of a colder version of the Bay of Islands – with lots of islands and water. It gives me a little bit of an Amsterdam or Bruges vibe, however, not as interesting and picturesque architecture, gardens, or depth of history.

I too am enjoying our stay, and our hotel is really nice by the water and in the midst of old town.  I like the city, so far as a Norwegian one, however, the dining is pretty basic, though to be fair we are avoiding the more expensive places so it is probably not an accurate  assessment. We have been to both Oslo and Bergen on our last visit, and of all of them Oslo was the most interesting.

Tonight we had ‘authentic’ Italian;  a white Mortadella pizza and Carbonara.  The pizza had a lovely base, but some errors on the topping, and the Carbonara delicious crispy bacon on top, but was dry and sauce overcooked as it was scrambled egg, not a creamy coating. It cost us 60nzd for the two dishes and one small glass of red wine. That is quite reasonable for here, and overall it was nice, we have had worse, and a lot better.