Anyone driven to the Arctic circle? (Tromso, Norway)

Anyone driven to the Arctic circle? (Tromso, Norway)

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Discussion

jontymo

810 posts

149 months

Wednesday 19th February 2020
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i know Watchman has already replied on this thread but have a look at his recent trip!

Frank7

6,619 posts

86 months

Wednesday 19th February 2020
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Watchman said:
Frank7 said:
I found it easy to drive in ice and snow, but I was always fearful of breaking down in the cold somewhere.
Both statements are interesting.

I also found it easy to drive on snow and ice up there. I believe it is because there is no water on top, making it slippery. At -13 degrees the ice is actually sticky, and I was able to proceed almost as though it was dry asphalt.

But, being miles from another soul in the Swedish mountains was something that gave me pause for consideration. I did wonder, if I broke down, whether my car and me might be uncovered in the spring, entombed in a cartoonish block of ice.
What I meant Watchman, was that I was experienced and confident enough to handle a 44 ton artic on ice and snow covered roads, I’d driven across France, into Switzerland, or from Lyon into Italy, aiming for Turin, so I’d “done” the Alps, but with Sweden, Finland, and Norway, I had this recurring nightmare of my Scania dying on a remote road, swiftly followed by the heater ceasing to blow warm air at me, then looking at Christ knows how long before a breakdown truck reached me, and found a frozen solid corpse.

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Wednesday 19th February 2020
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Frank7 said:
Watchman said:
Frank7 said:
I found it easy to drive in ice and snow, but I was always fearful of breaking down in the cold somewhere.
Both statements are interesting.

I also found it easy to drive on snow and ice up there. I believe it is because there is no water on top, making it slippery. At -13 degrees the ice is actually sticky, and I was able to proceed almost as though it was dry asphalt.

But, being miles from another soul in the Swedish mountains was something that gave me pause for consideration. I did wonder, if I broke down, whether my car and me might be uncovered in the spring, entombed in a cartoonish block of ice.
What I meant Watchman, was that I was experienced and confident enough to handle a 44 ton artic on ice and snow covered roads, I’d driven across France, into Switzerland, or from Lyon into Italy, aiming for Turin, so I’d “done” the Alps, but with Sweden, Finland, and Norway, I had this recurring nightmare of my Scania dying on a remote road, swiftly followed by the heater ceasing to blow warm air at me, then looking at Christ knows how long before a breakdown truck reached me, and found a frozen solid corpse.
I'm curious what you thought I meant in my reply, which was aimed squarely at agreeing with your previous statement.

Frank7

6,619 posts

86 months

Wednesday 19th February 2020
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Watchman said:
I'm curious what you thought I meant in my reply, which was aimed squarely at agreeing with your previous statement.
Forgive me Watchman, somehow I misinterpreted your post, but on re reading it, I can appreciate that you had the same fear of freezing your cojones off, and being stuck in the cold with no knowledge of if and when someone would come along and put you in front of a heater.

Watchman

6,391 posts

244 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
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Frank7 said:
Watchman said:
I'm curious what you thought I meant in my reply, which was aimed squarely at agreeing with your previous statement.
Forgive me Watchman, somehow I misinterpreted your post, but on re reading it, I can appreciate that you had the same fear of freezing your cojones off, and being stuck in the cold with no knowledge of if and when someone would come along and put you in front of a heater.
thumbup

Canute

566 posts

67 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
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You can also make some variations in your return trip, from Gothenburg you can take a ferry to Denmark and skip the last part of Sweden, or do it on the way up of course. But if you can, try and include the Øresund Bridge as it's spectacular.

I know some nice spots on the west coast of Sweden not far off the E6 having lived here for some years now.


Kongshavn

12 posts

217 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
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Can't help you with the Northern Norway part of your trip as not spent much time there. But have been a regular visitor to Southern Norway for decades. Was so nice with the ferry from Newcastle to Stavanger / Bergen but as said this finished many years ago.

It's possible to go from Harwich to the Hook arriving 8.00am and then make the 9pm ferry from Hirtshals to Kristiansand (if you don't hang about and manage to avoid delays in Germany). That crossing is with Color Line and arrives Norway at midnight. I find it quite a long slog from Calais on boring roads so the above is my preferred route.

There is a smaller catamaran ferry from Denmark to Norway on the same route with Fjordline. It takes 2.5 hours but is a rocky ride unless weather is perfect. Also the car deck is challenging with cars parked closer together. They are due to introduce a bigger and better ship during this year's summer season which I would be happy to use. Normally better prices than Color Line.

Fjordline also have another larger ferry that runs from Hirtshals to Stavanger. Using one of the ferries would give you the option to do more of a round trip if you took the bridge from Copenhagen to Sweden or vice versa.

That ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam would cut out quite a big segment of not very interesting driving in the UK, France etc.

I would echo what others have said about roads in Norway, although in the south they are getting better every year. Speed limits are low compared to rest of Europe and there is pretty much zero tolerance for speeding with high fines so you just have to take it easy and enjoy the scenery.

I can definitely see the appeal of a road trip to the Arctic circle. It's just a bit of a hassle getting your car over to Norway so I end up flying about 5 times a year and hiring a car (the standard of hire cars has improved too!)

Hope the info is useful and enjoy the trip!

irocfan

40,153 posts

189 months

Friday 21st February 2020
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another great thread with great pointers