Hello, friends, travellers, and community members. Today, I will share my experience of a road trip from Vestfold in South Norway to Hadeland in North Norway. We embarked on this journey in August, a perfect time to travel north. However, heavy rain caused flooding in the area, leading to a two-day delay in our plans and a change of the route due to flooded roads. In this post the most interesting attraction is the big silvery moose on the highway and a few beautiful towns with nice landscapes. If it is via Trondheim, it could be a very special road trip. But still, we were satisfied.
When we finally set out, we started early in the morning following the national highway E18. After crossing Oslo, we connected to E6. However, we encountered a road closure on E6 towards Trondheim due to a damaged bridge caused by the flood. As a result, we had to take a long diversion on Route No. 3. Despite the inconvenience, we appreciated the beautiful inland nature along the way. However, heavy traffic prevented us from making frequent stops for photos. Nevertheless, whenever possible, we managed to pull over for quick snapshots.
The first stop we made was at Evenstad Bru, a wooden bridge that crosses the Glomma River. The bridge is constructed from pressure-impregnated pine, measuring 180 meters in length with five spans of 36 meters each. The clearance height is between 4 and 5 meters. However, there were some repairs underway, so we weren’t allowed to cross it. Instead, they provided an alternative temporary crossing for traffic.
One particularly memorable spot was the enormous moose statue made of rust-free steel, which, at one point, held the title of the world's largest statue until 2019. It now holds the second position, with a slightly larger statue built in Canada.
The large moose sculpture, known as Stor Elgen made of polished stainless steel. It is located at the Bjøråa rest area in the Stor-Elvdal municipality of Østerdalen. The statue stands ten meters tall and measures twelve to fourteen meters in length. Designed by Linda Bakke, it was unveiled on October 15, 2015, and cost two million kroner.
The forest was full of lichen, and some people were harvesting it for Christmas.
After a short break and having our lunch, we continued our journey. We had to take a detour because the Trondheim Bridge was damaged and was not available for traffic. The road was new for my husband and our friend Anni, even though she travels north regularly to visit her family.
For me, just to enjoy and take photos. After this stop the road was very quiet. very little traffic. Both drivers were in a hurry to arrive at the destination as quickly as possible. When they stopped to change the driving wheel, I had the chance to take photos, even though it was normal scenery and simple landscapes. Until we reached Sandenessjøen, it was a normal trip as usual.
But some places are very beautiful, full of nature's beauty and landscapes that must be something special to share here.
We were driving on Road No. 3 along the Trondheim Fjord, looking out the window, the late summer scenery was very nice.
the evening sun behind the clouds reflects in the fjord and making an idyllic scene.
Here we were back on NH E6 driving outside Trondheim.. After a few kilometers, we will turn onto that road heading towards Namsos.
The real moose with Baby far, far distance.
It was almost midnight. Around 3 am, we arrived at Anni's house and just jumped into bed. Her sister prepared for us.
When I awoke, I saw this beautiful front of Anni's house. I couldn't stop myself from taking a panorama from the bedroom window.
Thank you:)
More about Sandnessjønn coming in the next posts.