Like significantly extremely silly.
Even for me.
I used to be reminded of my moronity after I was telling you about my lengthy drive right into a distant a part of Iceland in my journey report in regards to the Westfjords (I’ll decide up the Iceland journey report this week btw) and I spotted I had by no means shared that full story with you.
The Starting: a piece journey in Copenhagen
My firm has a consumer in Copenhagen and I used to be visiting them for some coaching (I work in skilled companies within the fintech business). It was an ideal week with some great individuals and I even managed to sneak into the library on the College of Copenhagen to take one in every of my favourite footage (earlier than being escorted out, since solely college students had been allowed within the library at the moment).
The Library
The window of alternative for a side-trip
My work would finish on Friday roughly round lunchtime. I had booked my journey again to the USA for Monday morning, as I’m wont to do, so I had a while accessible for a aspect journey. However the place would I am going? I had been taking a look at flights all week and so they had been ridiculously costly (even by Scandinavian requirements), so I thought of a driving vacation. I requested my consumer about some good locations to go and so they gave me some great options round Denmark.
However then I used to be reminded of a highway I’d all the time needed to go to. The issue: it wasn’t in Denmark.
The vacation spot: the Atlanterhavsveien
There’s a highway in Norway referred to as the Nice Atlantic Highway (Atlanterhavsveien in Norwegian). It’s extremely distant, probably not near any distinguished cities (with no offense meant in direction of the small villages round that a part of Norway), and was really constructed solely so individuals would wish to go to it. The bridges are very exaggerated and, at sure factors, seem like automobiles are simply driving off the highway into the ocean.
Like I discussed above, the highway is in a distant a part of Norway, which is legendary for not being in Denmark, the place I used to be. I figured, to myself, that I might lease a automobile and simply make the drive. To a distant a part of Norway.
How distant? This distant.
Now a standard individual would’ve simply flown to Trondheim and nonetheless pushed fairly a couple of hours. I used to be a lot dumber than that. I used to be beginning within the backside proper of the picture above, in Copenhagen.
I instructed my consumer what I used to be considering of doing and he thought it sounded insane, like one thing a loopy individual would do, and it most likely wasn’t potential to do by the point I wanted to be again in Copenhagen for my flight residence, 62 hours later.
…problem accepted!
A safeguard
I’ve a very good buddy named Richard whose journey expertise and basic knowledge I respect significantly (in all walks of life, not simply journey). I hinted at my plan to him and he stated, “hear, I do know you’re you however that’s dumb. Cease in Gothenburg, it’s one in every of my favourite locations in Europe and I’ve mates there.” I negotiated with myself and settled on a center floor: I might plan for some Turning Again Factors throughout my journey. Mainly if I received to Gothenburg and realized I used to be too drained to soundly proceed I might keep there and have a very good time. The identical could be true for Oslo, a city I had been to earlier than and loved.
What really occurred
I went to Copenhagen’s airport and picked up my rental automobile: a Nissan somethingorother. It wasn’t good but it surely had GPS, which was tremendous necessary in that a part of the world (this was earlier than issues like Verizon’s TravelPass plan, which I exploit religiously now after I’m overseas for cell knowledge).
I drove throughout the bridge to Malmo, Sweden, and issues had been going nice. I made a decision to movie some movies for my Fb mates that I’ll use to assist illustrate this story.
(sure, it was dumb of me to movie whereas driving however I didn’t edit the movies or something whereas driving, that waited till I used to be at locations with free wifi, often McDonald’s)
The journey began off fairly nicely, however then the automobile’s GPS determined to chop out. Regardless of the place I needed to go, the route calculation would fail. Issues weren’t trying good for my journey to the Atlanterhavsveien. Possibly I really must cease in Gothenburg.
I pushed by means of and made it into Gothenburg and rapidly a stroke of luck hit me: the GPS began working once more. Regardless that I used to be a sight for sore eyes the GPS fixing itself gave me some unimaginable motivation. I wouldn’t be stopping in Gothenburg (sorry Richard), I used to be going to maintain going into Norway.
Why haven’t I posted any footage from the highway but? I significantly didn’t cease aside from fuel and meals till simply north of Oslo close to a city referred to as Lillehammer (well-known for internet hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics). I had pushed about 12 hours thus far and wanted some sleep. I pulled over at a relaxation cease, cracked the window, and slept like a brick for about 4 hours. I awoke, feeling refreshed, and, over breakfast, realized simply how a lot I had left to drive. Driving in Norway is extremely much like driving in Iceland, you don’t actually get wherever rapidly due to the terrain. I spotted I’d be driving all day. Fueled by espresso and Purple Bull I made a decision to proceed.
It had been cloudy and dreary for many of the drive thus far however lastly the clouds broke with the morning solar and I discovered myself in probably the most stunning locations I had ever seen! I ended to take some footage even!
Fortunately the GPS was nonetheless working and I drove up and down fjords, by means of small villages, and made good progress by means of the middle of Norway. I ended up on a automobile ferry throughout a channel and thought it’d be a very good time to place all my movies collectively for an replace. (be aware: within the replace I say I’m 3 hours and an hour away from my vacation spot, that was the one poor a part of the GPS, it assumed I’d be touring at a a lot quicker pace than I might handle on the winding Norwegian roads).
Because the day unfolded the clouds departed and I received an ideal mid-day shot of the standard Norwegian surroundings I used to be driving by means of.
By the point I used to be off the automobile ferry it was moving into the center of the afternoon. I used to be drained, my physique was aching from sitting down for thus lengthy, however I knew I used to be shut. Nicely, comparatively shut. It turned out I had a couple of hours left, unbeknownst to me.
Lastly I arrived. I made preparations for driving the highway, not realizing how huge of a deal it might be. Nicely: it was a highway. Waaaaay faster than I believed it was over. It took perhaps 5 minutes for me to drive and felt, nicely, like another highway. The exaggerated structure was nice in footage however was far much less zany to drive throughout.
Right here’s the factor, although: typically it’s about attaining a purpose, not essentially the purpose dwelling as much as expectations. The views had been as epic as I believed but it surely didn’t actually matter to me. Attaining the purpose I needed made the entire journey price it, as I attempted to elucidate beneath.
Now, that stated, I did find yourself with an epic image of the sundown going over the bridge.
I used to be exhausted. Attaining my purpose was exhilerating however I needed to come to phrases with my scenario. Adrenaline had fueled me for many of my journey and that might finally run out.
The video above paints a extremely rosy image however that’s primarily as a result of I knew my mother could be watching it. I used to be exhausted. It was now Saturday at 7pm. By staying to seize the epic sundown I confronted a extremely scary scenario: I had to get on the highway again to Copenhagen and realistically most of my journey again could be on distant roads at midnight by means of the night time. After driving all night time and all day the night time earlier than.
The actually stunning and scary half
My physique knew one thing dangerous was taking place. Fortunately I had power to concentrate to the highway and drive safely. It appeared to return in stretches of about 90 minutes, after which I’d discover a car parking zone and get some sleep (sleeping on the aspect of the highway is tremendous frequent on this a part of Norway and there have been a shocking quantity of turnoffs and little parking heaps at which I might seize an hour or so nap). The fantastic thing about the world was simply how distant it was. There was no mild air pollution and the night time was clear so each time I ended for a nap I’d lookup on the stars within the frigid night time and was simply blown away on the sight earlier than me. The Milky Manner was staring again at me and I’ve by no means seen that many stars in my life, it was nearly disorienting seeing so many!
However now the scary half.
My trusty GPS, little did I do know, was making an attempt to kill me. For no matter motive there have been some roads that had been miscoded within the software program as being highways when in actuality they had been farm roads. At one level I nervously turned off the principle freeway, on the suggestion of the GPS, and was fortunately happening the highway when the pavement simply sort of stopped and it grew to become a dust highway. My progress slowed to a crawl. I had my brilliant lights on however might barely see past a couple of toes in entrance of me. I might really feel myself going up a hill…and rapidly the highway DISAPPEARED. I slammed on the brakes and noticed my life flash earlier than my eyes earlier than my automobile got here to a sudden cease. It turns on the market was an unmarked 90-degree flip alongside a small cliff. My guess is a bridge was once there, which is why my GPS despatched me that means. Had my brakes failed or my automobile slid too far I might’ve gone off the cliff. In rural Norway. In the course of the night time.
To be actually sincere with you I had just a little cry. I considered my mother and the way horrible I might’ve felt for her to seek out out that one thing like that had occurred to me. I didn’t wish to drive anymore, I needed to be residence. However I knew I used to be nowhere shut. I didn’t know what to do, whether or not I ought to’ve circled to move again or simply maintain pushing on the loopy highway I used to be on. I flipped a coin I had in my pocket, made the 90-degree flip and saved going, and significantly lower than a kilometer later discovered the principle freeway once more.
I didn’t have just a little cry this time, I ugly-cried for a couple of minutes. I shouldn’t have the phrases to precisely describe to you the quantity of aid I felt. I used to be (comparatively) protected, the highway was paved, and my adrenaline ranges had been well beyond most. I had a drive in entrance of me and a mother to see again within the USA.
I drove for hours straight by means of the night time and finally began seeing indicators for Lillehammer. Though it was nonetheless a methods away, Lillehammer was necessary for an enormous motive: at that time I might now not be touring on distant highways barely wider than the width of my automobile, I might be on main highways all the best way again to Copenhagen.
As I ventured additional south I began seeing indicators of a dawn and realized my night time was nearly over. Because the solar crept its means greater the autumn colours appeared much more vibrant than the day earlier than. I pulled over at an ideal spot for a fast image.
Simply south (I feel) of Lillehammer the clouds broke and there was an unimaginable dawn. There was a bridge traversing an expanse of water (I feel it was a fjord however it could have been a river) and it made for the proper topic towards the epic dawn.
A detour on the journey again
As soon as it was daylight the drive grew to become a lot simpler. I used to be heading south and remembered a spot my consumer had instructed me about: Helsingor, in Denmark. It was a coastal village with a well-known fort. I had been driving all day however, throughout a relaxation cease at McDonald’s, discovered that the Swedish city of Helsingborg was simply throughout the Oresund from Helsingor and there have been ferries a couple of instances an hour. I discovered the ferry cease, drove onto the ferry, and through the fast journey throughout the Oresund made my closing video, which I’ll share in a second.
Helsingor was necessary to me due to the fort there. For a whole bunch of years the boat site visitors between the 2 nations was extremely regulated and extremely tolled, making the fortifications in every city important relying on the ruling crown of the day. The Danish fort, referred to as Kronborg Fortress, nonetheless stands to at the present time whereas the fort on the Swedish aspect was destroyed a few years in the past.
Kronborg was important to me due to a professor I had at college. He was the most effective professor I ever had. His title is Douglas Brooks, probably the most distinguished Shakespeare students on the planet. I can’t put into phrases the enjoyment I had from studying about Shakespeare’s works and their impression on tradition, the world, and even the very language I converse right this moment. Dr. Brooks’s favourite Shakesperean work was Hamlet. He spoke about it in reverent tones and his lectures in regards to the play had been unimaginable. All of us knew we had been within the presence of brilliance and an incredible man who was sharing his life’s ardour with us.
Kronborg Fortress is Elsinore Fortress in Hamlet. It’s the fort that Shakespeare had in thoughts when creating his masterful play. I hadn’t thought of Hamlet in a couple of years however as quickly as I discovered that out I needed to go, for an important motive: Dr. Brooks had handed away a couple of years earlier from most cancers. He was the one professor I had saved up with after college and we had quite a few conversations till his dying. I used to be so glad I received to see his fort, despite the fact that it was darkish (and the fort closed) by the point I arrived.
So I’ll go away you with the ultimate video I made: from the ferry going throughout the Oresund to Helsingor and Kronborg Fortress, with a tribute to Dr. Brooks on the finish.
The top of my journey
Nicely, from Helsingor I solely had a couple of hours drive till Copenhagen so I made a decision to push by means of. I booked a room on the Copenhagen Airport Hilton (didn’t have the factors so simply paid for a room, I actually didn’t care what it price at that time), turned my automobile in early, and slept onerous. The following morning I casually boarded my flight to London after which onward to Dallas, grateful for the loopy concept that I needed to drive from Copenhagen to the Atlanterhavsveien, despite the fact that it practically killed me.
I’m sorry it took me this lengthy to share this story with you however I hope it’s been price it, I’ve cherished typing this all out once more and reliving it!
