Day 36 - Honningsvag - Nordkapp - Honningsvag

Arriving at North Cape...
Today I completed my journey to Europe's northernmost point after 36 days and 3117km. It was of course a great moment to reach the famous Globe on top of the 309m high cliff! Again I was really lucky with the weather and as well with the surprisingly low number of tourists, which allowed me to take some nice pictures and to enjoy the moment to its full extend. This lasted 6 hrs :-)! During that time I met quite a few people who, like myself, were completing their journey: 2 young guys travelling on their "Samson" motorbikes, one lady arriving on a 55 years old tractor (11hp, 20kmh max), another cyclist... So I chatted a lot, had coffee and cake and enjoyed the tourist entertainment. North Cape is really an impressive place and it was definitively worth the trip. In the coming days I will drastically reduce cycling and enjoy northern Norway before I will return home via ship and train.

Day 34/35 - Alta - Olderfjord - Honningsvag

Snow, mountains and the sea...
Since yesterday the weather has changed from bright sunshine to cold, windy and cloudy. Fortunately I had no rain and the forecast is better for the coming days. The ride from Alta to Olderfjord yesterday was reminding me of some winter roads in the Alps: long steep hills and snow and fog around. Today at least visibility was much better and even the sun appeared for some moments. This was really good as the ride on the E69 to Honningsvag is leading directly along the coastline separating snow covered mountains from the fjord. The scenery in the changing light was absolutely impressive! The wind is very strong now, but according to the lady in the Honningsvag hostel it is still calm compared to "normal" days... So I guess I'm lucky to be able to maintain a speed of 12kmh on flat ground... I was not in the wind all day, partially because of the numerous bends, but also because I spend over 14km in tunnels. The most impressive one being the "North Cape Tunnel" linking the mainland with Mageroya, the island on which the Cape is located. This tunnel is 7km long and goes down to -212m unter the sea (!) with an average slope of 7% to get down and up again (the Elbtunnel is for whimps ;-)). Tomorrow will be the great day: 30km to North Cape and back to Honningsvag on a light bike as I can leave all my stuff in the Hostel!