We were so close to Lillehammer that it would be a sin not to see ski jumps, where Winter Olympics in 1994 took place. However, sightseeing was very fast. Morning routine took us a long time (repackage, preparing food and then cleaning after it) so before we reach ski jumps, Tomek fell asleep. I went out from the car to take a quick look and afterwards Jurek took a few photos. He was lucky enough to watch two ski jumpers in action.
We headed towards scenic route PEER GYNT VEGEN
A handful of information
It is 60 km drive from Skei to Espedalen. You need to pay 80 Norwegian crowns in order to cross the gate. It rises to 1053 m above sea level.
Impressions
It is indeed a beautiful drive. Cows welcomed us at the beginning and flocks of sheep accompanied along the way. Here we saw numerous grass-roofed huts, which are very popular in Norway, as we later noticed.
Extensive grassland, low vegetation, mountains in the distance and the road curving in the midst of nature. It must be terrific! But… It did not delight me as much as it does now when I view photos. First of all, I was waiting for the vastness of mountains, bare rocks, and height. Peer Gynt Vegen was none of this. Second, my mind was most of the time occupied with planning how to coordinate naps with stops, where to prepare food and play. So I could only relax when Tomek was deep asleep and I moved to the front seat, from which also views were much better.
We hoped we would eat lunch in a striking scenery of Peer Gynt Vegen, however, we did not want to disrupt Tomek’s sleep. He just woke up at the end of the route with nowhere to stop. So we drove a little bit further and turn to a sideroad which led us to the square with a hydro-technical construction of some kind. The place was by the lake, however, without access to the water. We ate dinner and our son had some real fun there. 😉
Not far from our stop the next scenic route begins. JOTUNHEIMVEGEN.
Info
Jotunheimvegen winds 45 km between Skåbu and Bygdin lake. It costs 100 NOK to drive through. The road is usually open from June til October, depends on the weather.
Impressions
The spectacular road rises and falls partly in the midst of the murky forests, partly in the vast space. From the turns, mountains and lakes emerged. I love expanse and nature. I wanted just sit there and admire. Follow the road up to the very visible end and forget that somewhere beyond civilization exists.
The night was falling what meant we should find a place to overnight. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to find such along the final part of Jotunheimevegen. So we left the area and started the quest. Most of the parkings were paid or occupied. We found one free of charge lot with only two campers but the area was open so it would be a problem to find a place to take a pee. Besides, it was already -3 degrees! We drove in Lom direction looking around. Most car parks were marked with “no camping” signs. It was really late when we turned to the forest path and hide among the trees.
The night was quite warm there. And bright. Yes, it was the time of white nights. It was helpful when we were searching camping late, like that day. But the brain gets too much light and thinks it is still daytime. So it is difficult to fall asleep. And that is why we went to sleep around midnight (Tomek around 22:00) and woke up at 9:00.
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