A young Irishmans view of your part of the world
Posted: 24 Nov 2009, 17:56
This is a log of my son's trip to Nordkapp as written by him and posted on http://www.vagdrivers.net. He drove his Passat 130 TDi 4motion to Nordkapp and is on his way home again to Ireland
This is what he wrote ....
Day 1; Drove to Rosslare with a proper hangover and got the boat. It was a 22-hour boat journey but there is a lot to do on the boat, a choice of restaurants and a cinema, saw The Hangover, its class!! I had never seen it before. Slept on the ground outside the cinema on the boat as the seat I booked was CRAP! And I didn’t get a cabin, as it was an extra 100 euro.
Day 2; Got off the boat at 2, got searched by the army, made my way up through France. Got to the nearest fuelling station as I was running low coming off the boat as I knew I could buy really good diesel on the mainland. Absolutely raped Shell of all their V-Power diesel, threw a bit of Dipetane in there and away I went. Toll bridges are a huge pain in the arse when you by yourself in a RHD car. Anyway, France only lasted about 3 or 4 hours (I think, from memory) so I wasn’t too bothered.
Hit up a bit of Belgium after that. The roads aren’t the best but I still put the hammer down and it only lasted about 45 mins to an hour. It was raining the whole time but I was loving it!! I just love pounding around a motorway in the pissing rain.
Then the Dutch boarder was in sight. It felt like I was making huge progress, 3 countries in 6 hours or there abouts (including piss stops). The roads in Holland are the best I have ever seen. I just kept it at a steady 90-100mph and let time and miles roll off my back, still raining. Well into the night; as close to midnight as makes no difference, I came across road works which my satnav knew nothing about so I got lost for a while. As I had been driving for about 9 hours at this stage with hardly any sleep the previous 2 nights it took longer than usual to come to a solution, but where there is a will; ingenuity prevails. This cost me about an hour, maybe less. Still in the rain I had the cabin set to 21 degrees and just let the Passat eat the miles with the engine kept at about 2500rpm it just loved ever bit of it. I started to get a bit sleepy, in fact, VERY sleepy and as I came to accept that Denmark would have to wait for another day, I was already on the exciting side of 560 miles. I pulled over for a sleep in Holten, just south of the German boarder, just me and about 60 or 70 enormous trucks and a man in a white transit.
Day 3; I awoke at about 8 or 9 in the morning to find a McDonalds about 100 yards away. Went in, took a wizz and got a coffee and some red bull, bated them down the hatch as I planned being awake for Germany.
I set the satnav, checked my fuel status. I still had over ¼ of a tank left and had averaged 48mpg which I was well chuffed about, considering I had only gone under 80mph when I was going through tolls in France and at roundabouts when lost.
I took a deep breath and joined the motorway again, waited till the engine was at 90 degrees and put the foot down. The German boarder soon came. Immediately everyone’s driving manner changed. Almost like the testing of a nuclear weapon; absolutely insane, but the most specific, controlled insanity I have ever seen. I sat back, got comfortable in my seat and thought; ‘when in Rome’. I indicated and pulled in to the outer of 4 lanes and just kept up. I did about 110-115mph for about 60 miles when I thought it best to get a drop of diesel. Pulled into a Statoil garage which I sampled some of their ‘Energy Diesel’, brimmed the tank and iced the top with some more Dipetane.
Once I hit the road again, the heaviest rain I had ever driven in had descended upon the car and me but in true road trip fashion I just put the boot down. I had put a few coats of wax on the car before I left and the rain just bounced off it. With every small pothole or patch of standing water I hit I could feel the car grow ever more planted on the ground, even at high speeds, in the worst of conditions, I could feel each wheel grip and almost weld itself to the ground and the 4motion really holding its own, and then some.
I made a detour into Emden to the VW factory where the Passat was made. It took a while to find but I got there. They wouldn’t let me into the factory but I got a few pics and snooped around the car park, nothing special, but it was nice to bring the car home, even for half an hour.
As I started into the northern parts of Germany a lot of road works had started. Contra-flow after contra-flow. Each contra-flow had 2 lanes in it, now when I say 2, it was maybe 1 and a ¼ shared with cars and trucks. I was under pressure to reach a hostel I had booked in Odense at the top of Denmark so I had no choice but to gun it, I mean, really gun it. For about 150 miles I went in convoy with a Danish C5 Estate, a 6n Polo estate and a military green Cayenne Turbo. Squeezing our way through the tiniest of gaps in the contra-flow just to grasp seconds of time. When I say squeeze, I really mean it. I can honestly say that there was about 1ft, maybe 1.5ft each side of the car when we were overtaking trucks, of which, every 2nd vehicle was. I swear guys, this is not an exaggeration I would have loved to take a picture but there was not a hope I was going to take my hand of the wheel. Hearing the roar of the wheels of the trucks and buses inches from my window at 70 mph, Rain still as heavy as ever.
Once I cleared this I was back up to about 110mph with the rest of the traffic.
Just about 40 mins from the Danish boarder I saw a 5 series saloon overtake me, still doing about 100mph. I thought it strange because since getting into Germany I hadn’t seen any saloon cars. He pulled in front of me. All of a sudden I see flashing orange and red lights in my rear-view mirror, I looked ahead and the 5 series had a huge ‘Polezie’ sign flashing in my face. We slowed to about 80 or 90mph and they cornered me and one other car into a slip road and pulled us to the side. They let the other car drive off. I was shitting a brick, thinking they were going to fine me or put me in jail for going so damn quick. They identified themselves as the German police, 2 guys got out of the BMW and 3 other guys got out of a white a3 behind me. Asked me for all my identification, checked and double-checked my passport. Searched the whole car with torches then asked me to open the boot. Because I’m going to such cold climates I have an emergency box with supplies in it. This box takes the form of a WW2 German military first aid box, which my dad bought on e Bay. They asked me if I had anything to declare such as weapons, ammunition, drugs and even bombs. I said no.
When I opened the boot they saw the military box, I saw out of the corner of my eye the biggest of the officers put his hand towards his rip-cage. They quizzed about where I got it then searched everything in the boot, even looking inside my guitar with torches. I have more of this story on a video, which I will upload soon. In the end they wanted to know what I was doing, where I was going and coming from. They turned out to be really nice guys and ended up having a joke with them.
After this I hit the Danish boarder. Denmark is the most uneventful part of the journey so far. It lasted about an hour. Everyone was staring at the reg of my car and giving me strange looks. I checked into my hostel in Odense. It was SHIT! €70 and it was super crap the only good thing is that I was able to have a shower, and my god was it good!!! As I hadn’t had one since Saturday evening before I went out on the piss. It was now Tuesday.
Day 4; Like most people, I woke up the next day and hit the road straight away. Within minutes I was on the Odense Bridge, its huge. Trains going past you and everything. The wind was something else. Every time I tried to clean my window the spray just flew straight off the passenger side of the car and nowhere near the window. The bridge is split into two and the Swedish part is amazing!! It’s way bigger and longer. There are tolls on this bridge and they are pretty pricey, costs about 20 or 30 bills each end.
Once I hit Sweden I set the satnav for Malmo. Immediately noticing that Sweden is the most handsome nation ever. I just floated into the nearest VW main dealer and smacked up the retail in the form of snow tires. The guys in there were just in awe of the reg plate and the task I was taking on. Everybody spoke English to me and were more than a pleasure to be around. The guys putting on the tires were great, once the car went in, there were 5 guys. One per wheel and one extra guy talking to me and making sure everything else was good with the car for the winter. The tires cost me about 600blips (6000 Kronar) but I didn’t care cos I had to buy them anyway. I even have a receipt and the docket, which will go into the car folder, so I kind of proud of that one. They were doing a deal where they give you the snow tires and when you don’t need them anymore they give you your old ones back. When they were storing the tires they were writing codes such as A098 and things so they can file them away properly in a big warehouse, for my tires they simply wrote on them ‘IRELAND’ in big letters. Ill upload the pic later! I then hit the road and headed for Stockholm.
I arrived at about 8 or 9 in the evening and by then the temperature and dropped to 2 degrees. My hostel was made up of 2 boats. It was cool. I checked in drank a rake of beers and went for a walk, froze my nuts off cos I was raining and 2 degrees, so I went home and to bed.
Day 5; When I woke up I hit the road straight away. Set the satnav for Sundsvall after filling my tank for the 4th time. Headed up the road for a few hundred miles taking in the amazing scenery, dusted with snow. All the while keeping an eye out for moose, which everyone had been warning me about. I was sticking to the speed limits for this part of the journey, which enabled me to manage 51mpg. The highest speed limit in Sweden is 110kph and there are ample speed cameras. When I arrived in Sundsvall the temperature had plummeted to –3 by 16:00 as the sun had started to go down at 14:30 and it was almost complete darkness by 15:30. I managed to find a hostel, which turned out to be great, very nice, helpful people and it was very clean and not all shabby. That night I went out for a walk and to get a bite to eat. It was about –6 when I was walking around and when I stood in one place for too long my trousers froze to the ground. It was an amazing place and I will definitely be going back.
Day 6; when I woke up I headed on out the road towards Lulea. I wasn’t planning on spending much time there, as it was only a stop over. It was a 7-hour drive and about 300 miles. It was –3 the whole time and the coldest I saw on the way was –12 once the sun went down. Again, even the coldest of temperatures didn’t affect the car, it just kept going like clockwork and I know it was loving every minute of it. At the end of the smaller journeys, i.e.; the 300 milers, I almost felt bad for the car because I knew it wanted to be driven more and more and more. I arrived in Lulea and checked into a shitty little hostel in the ghetto. It was horrible, but warm as it was almost –10 outside at night. I went for a walk and discovered that Lulea is crap, and I’m never going back. That night the snow came down and my car was well coated by the time I tended to it in the morning.
Day7; I left Lulea with nowhere in mind to go. It was a toss-up between Kiruna, the most northerly town in Sweden and Rovaniemi in Finland. I chose Rovaniemi as I heard that Santa Clause lived there. It was –3 when I left Lulea and stayed like that throughout the journey. It was a very short drive to Rovaniemi, only about 160 miles. I didn’t know what the petrol station situation was going to be like when I was this far north so I went to the closest one and brimmed the tank and also the reserve tank that is in the spare wheel in my car (handy little number, ill show pics)
As I headed up the road the Finish boarder came very soon and with almost no warning. I passed through it and within about 15 mins I noticed an array of flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. It was Finish customs coming over for a chat. Asked the usual, had I anything to declare, and then just asked me what I was doing. I asked them if there was a problem and they said no and that they had never seen an Irish car pass through that part of the boarder before. I ended up talking to them for a while, while they waited for my passport information to clear. Very nice guys and before they send me on my way they checked to see if I had snow tires.
It wasn’t long before I hit Rovaniemi. I arrived at about 15:00 and it was –4, again, not a bother on the car. I spotted a few hostels but I decided to splash out on the 5 star Clarion for 2 nights. This is where I am at the moment. The warmest it’s been for the days is –1, this was last night, and before that it was –4., at the warmest. The first night I stayed I wound up at a house party and when I was walking home it was almost –10. There is virtually no wind here and it is a dead cold. Its really, really bizarre.
Today I don’t know where ill be going as my time in Rovaniemi as come to an end. Apparently accommodation this time of year in the very north can be quite sparse but I’m sure ill find somewhere. If not, it will be a few cold ones in the car. I hope to be in Nordkapp by tomorrow.
Thanks guys. If you have any questions gimme a shout. And I hope this was an insightful read and I apologize again for the delay.
Now, I must shower and check out, I have missed breakfast this morning also, what a pain in the ass!!
Right, so where did I leave off? Oh yeah!
Day 8; I left my hotel in Rovaniemi, put all my bags in the car and cleared the snow from my windscreen only to find a big ol’ parking ticket under my wiper, I haven’t opened yet but I’m sure its amazing!! I don’t plan to pay it. I set the satnav for Nordkapp, I knew it was going to be long one and according to the satnav it was going to be almost 13 hours before I got there. I had a quick rummage around my trousers and found a pair of balls, so I pulled out of the car park and headed on my way to the nearest filling station. The temperature at this point was relatively warm compared to the other days, +1 degree. In the very north of Scandinavia all the luxuries of fancy fuel are non-existent, so I had to settle for regular diesel. Once the tank was brimmed I hit the road for the long haul. The main roads were fairly clear, as the salt truck had been out hours previously. As I got further north I noticed that the wind was getting stronger and stronger, blowing salt and whatever snow had not frozen solid everywhere. The roads soon turned to just sheet ice, everywhere, like driving on a lake. Not to worry though, I had my tires and my 4motion. Darkness fell fairly early on, about 14:00 or 15:00. I found that this was playing tricks with my head, as I started driving when the sun was coming up and still driving when it was well gone down. I was feeling really tired as it felt like I had been driving all day and most of the night, in reality, only about 3 or 4 hours. As the ice soon turned to snow on the ground I started to see signs for Hoenningsvag/ Nordkapp. Stopped to take the appropriate pictures and headed on. A few interesting things I saw where a river with ice flowing down it and 2 men fishing on a frozen lake that seemed to be shooing away whatever stray reindeer came over to bother them.
The temperature at this point was about –4 with a wind chill bringing far below that. The car kept on trucking as if nothing out of the ordinary. I made my way through the darkness with an overcast sky for many more hours kept awake simply by this phenomenal fear of moose, which I was given by almost every hostel attendant and local I spoke to. I have only seen one so far the whole trip. Big fuckers!! Their front shoulders easily 6ft from the ground. This means that their second point of contact if I hit them, apart from my bumper on their legs, is their antlers on my dashboard.
It was getting darker and colder and still with no place to stay, I gave in and Hoenningsvag would have to wait for tomorrow. I called my father and had him check out a few places to stay. He found 2, both in a fishing village called Inari. The first place was a hostel, which was closed, dreading a night in the car in near fatal temperatures I tried; Hotelli Inari, which had rooms available. 60 of my finest euro later I was in the shower loosening my shoulders muscles from the drive previous. I headed down to the bar where I was greeted by the most intense stares from the majority of the villages 50 residents. I had a beer or two and before I trotted up to bed I had a last glance at the car only to find that during its well-deserved rest there were 2 or 3 men looking at the reg and scratching their heads. Watched a bit of Pineapple Express on the laptop and drifted off for a bit of dreamy sleepy nighty snoozy snooze.
Day 9; Woke up, showered, packed up all my stuff and went down to check out, with the owner staring at me with a big smile on his face. He opened with ‘you didn’t make it down for breakfast.’ I hadn’t as I was fully knackered for all the driving I just needed a lie in. I felt kind of bad as I got the impression I was the only guest in the hotel, it being the time of year and all, he had prepared all the breakfast for me and I hadn’t bothered to get up early enough to get it. He did however get me a cup of tea.
I loaded the bags into the car set the satnav and slapped up a few tunes on the iPod. It was the warmest part of the day apparently and it was –2.5 according to the car. The roads for this part of trip were surprisingly clear and there weren’t any troubles or hairy moments. As I got more and more north, the scenery became more and more impressive. With a place to stay in Hoenningsvag lined up and just let the car eat the miles, not a bother on it again. As darkness fell, I could see out of the corner of my headlights my surroundings were getting very baron and with no moon in this part of the world it was black, just complete black darkness. I was the only car on the road for about 60 miles of weaving my way through the fjords, not knowing if I was driving on the coast or over bridges. Every time I looked to my left I knew that there was nothing else out there, at least not until the south of Africa, truly the abyss. A feeling I had never before felt and will never forget. On my own, 100% on my own. I was the only human life. I drove for mile after mile, tunnels going through the mountains, the walls still bearing the gouge marks from the machines that bore them and very, very dim orange lights illuminating them as if to keep them as discrete as possible.
This continued for a while when I came to a clearing, again, dim lights illuminating it with emergency signals standing dormant. I couldn’t help but notice a very intense high-pitched siren going off every few seconds inside the tunnel, which opened just north of the clearing. I headed in very gingerly, not knowing if it was a good or bad siren, at the end of the day, what sirens are good?? I headed in and let the car float down the steep decline ahead. I glanced at the sat nav and realized that this was my last tunnel as it was going under the sea to the island of Magyora, on which the almost religious (at this stage) Nordkapp was at the tip of. Plenty of speed cameras in here and it went on for a long time. Amazing! At the end I was greeted by a man sitting in a dark little box who demanded 145 Kroner for the pleasure of driving at 50kph for the past 6 miles. I still have no idea what the siren was, I can only assume its to keep reindeer and moose out.
My hostel for the night was about 5 mins past this box and is the first thing you see coming onto the island. Checked in, to my delight, a washer and dryer. Fresh clothes at last. Put all my bags down, put my photos on my laptop, got bored, went for a drive. The hostel was located right on a fishing harbour and it was quite warm here, about +2 degrees.
I hopped into the car with nothing with me. Left the wallet, phone, satnav all in the hostel. Wasn’t going to let anything interrupt what I was about to do. In the darkest, blackest of nights I headed off the pier, turned right and followed the signs for Nordkapp. Followed the road up the steepest hills I have ever seen. The only thing I could see was the road, everything else was black, I had no idea if I was driving on the side of a cliff or just a small ditch. I drove past barriers, which lay dormant which are obviously there to close the road when the weather gets really bad. Mile after mile I watched the temperature drop from +2 to about –3. It was about 19:00. I started to get a small bit disorientated the further I went. With no light whatsoever and the lights of the small town which holds the warm doors of my bed nowhere to be seen in the distance, I had no idea how high I was up or how far I was from the holy grail, I began to feel really uneasy, I turned around on the narrow road with only a ditch I could see on my right side as comfort I wasn’t going over the edge, the other side was complete darkness. I headed back to the hostel, checked my washing, threw on a few episodes of ‘the Inbetweeners’ and slept as best I could; knowing tomorrow was the day I have been looking forward to for more than 10 years.
Day 10; I woke up for breakfast, had a shower and put on my favourite shirt, packed up my stuff and headed up. Again a fairly warm morning but the temperature was dropping steadily the higher I got. As I made my way I was looking out and trying to guess where I had turned around the night before. I was getting really high up now, driving along snow and ice covered roads far above any other mountaintops I could see for miles. I arrived at the car park after about a 30min drive, walked up to the door of the centre where you pay in only to see a sign saying ‘opens at 12:30’, I was 2 and a half hours early, but I didn’t care. Perfectly happy to hang out with my big blue travel partner knowing we were the most northerly people in Europe at that moment, and many more to follow. When the centre opened I was the first one in and the last one out. Headed straight for the gift shop, smacked up the retail before there was anybody to get in my way. A nice lady told me that they were showing movies about Nordkapp in the basement. I waited until the first one was showing, went in and sat in the middle. 3 big screens, all shot with a panoramic cameras and split lenses with shots that make Top Gear look like some dumbass with a handy cam. The movie went on for about half an hour, maybe less and lads, I had the biggest lump in my throat I have ever had. This was it! Only by watching the video it all really sank in. I had driven over 2500 miles, from Ireland, BY MYSELF! to fulfil a dream I’ve had for so long. Nothing can feel like this, nothing! When it ended I stoop up, walked up the stairs and looked outside. Towards the back of the centre where the globe stood, I put on my gloves and hat and walked out, not taking my eyes off it. Before taking any pictures I stood underneath for a few moments and took it all in. 71 10’ 21’’ N.
I got back into the car and reluctantly headed south, I could have stayed there all day. I set the satnav for Tromso, it was a huge drive, almost 8 hours, which was easy in Europe, not easy when you’re navigating you way though fjords in the worst of conditions. I passed the hostel I stayed in the previous night and with the sun already down I paid my toll and went under the sea once again.
The temperature tonight was far lower than previous. Stayed at a constant –3. The roads were the worst I have ever driven on. The first part of the journey I was doubling back on myself. But when I turned onto the E6 I started going over mountain passes. The roads had not been salted and I knew I was going to be by myself for a long time. I noticed in the distance there were red lights from a car about 2 or 3 miles ahead. I knew that if anything happened on the mountain passes I was in trouble, a lot of trouble as there was poor phone signal. I put the foot down as best I could, the max speed I was willing to do was about 40mph but I knew I had to do more to catch the car in front. The roads were a thick layer of muddy grease with a nice coat of ice on top. Really, really slippery. Every time I accelerated out of a corner I could feel the back end try and step out. I ploughed on.
I came to a sharp right hand bend on an incline, hugged my side of the road very close to the barrier. All of sudden the whole car started to slide towards a jagged rocky bank about 20 ft high on the left of the road. Flukey I managed to find enough grip to pitch the front drivers side wheel into where the tarmac had stopped and there was about 2inches of curb on the side of the road. This brought my front end around the bend as best it could, then I started to feel the back swing, I knew that if I tried to correct it, my front end would catapult out of the position I had it in. I just kept the foot very easy and then the traction control chimed in. I could feel it stab away at the back drivers side wheel pulling the back of the car down into a squat and allowing the tiny sipes on the other wheel search for as much grip as possible. The whole car just sat down as I felt it shuffle the power around to bring me out safely. Honestly, without snow tires and 4wd I reckon I would have binned it.
The temperature had now dropped to a cool –8 on the top of the passes and I couldn’t help but regret that I had done this drive at night, as I knew I was missing some of the best scenery this world has to offer. I eventually caught up with the car in front, which turned out to be a truck and we continued from there together.
It was getting late and progress was slow. My father rang me and reminded me that I had to get 2 ferries to Tromso, both of which we presumed were not running at night. We decided to get me to a place called Kvenvik. A very small town between Nordkapp and Tromso. There was one hostel available. I arrived at it only to find a note on the door saying they were closed for the season. Nowhere to stay, freezing cold. Then, a red Hilux pulled up outside the hostel, I went over to the man and asked if he owned the place and if there was anywhere to stay. He didn’t own it and didn’t know where else there would be. The only reason he was there was so he could check on his team of husky dogs which were being kept in a stable there. I ended up talking to him for a while; he was a retired army general who spends a lot of time in Limerick of all places. I said I was going to try and get to Tromso the long way around (almost back to Sweden on the E6). He advised me to be very, very careful and to fill my tank, as there wasn’t a filling station for about 200 miles. I went to the nearest petrol station, just outside Kvenvik, filled up, bought a sandwich and grabbed 10 min shut-eye.
I hit the road at about 22:30 and headed towards the next mountain pass. This was longer and colder than the last but I’m glad to report, no hairy moments. Coming close to midnight I found a tiny little town just north of Tromso. I have no idea what it was called but according to the satnav there were 2 places to stay here. The first was closed for the season and the second was a hotel on the shores of the village. I checked in here just after midnight. It turned out to be 140 euro but I didn’t care, I was broken and I needed to get sleep and a shower. This is where I uploaded the photos.
Day 11; Today I woke up to find it had rained and frozen during the night and the car was covered in ice. I went downstairs, had an awful breakfast and hit the road. The car was reading a –3.5 but even still, started with no hesitation and in no time we were on our way again. After about an hour or slippery roads I came to the first car ferry, waited for it to come back and then boarded. It was about 14 quid. Once this docked at the end of the half hour sail everyone was in a rush to catch the next one. I was behind a B6 Passat estate, same colour as mine and everything. He, about 5 other cars and I pounded down the coast to get the next car ferry. At this point the temperature was down below –5 and everything I could see was frozen. The roads were slippery and some driving talent was used in the appropriate situations. I noticed here that everyone apart from me had studded tires. So they were fairly planted, I on the other-hand was having a great time!
We all made the ferry, just under a tenner, and we embarked on a short trip, about 15 mins. When we got off I was third in line, behind two caddy vans with trailers. They didn’t waist any time and as not to annoy the people behind me on this small country road I kept up with them. As we carried along I noticed that the temperature of my engine was dropping quite quickly unless there was a significant load on it, about 2000rpm. So I stuck it in 6th and kept up with the lads. It was dusk at this stage, just gone 14:00 and everything was still frozen. All the leaves and grass in the ditch and trees twinkling like thousands of flashes from thousands of tiny cameras. The roads were well salted but still proper slippery with grease and whatever ice had formed in the mean time. After taking this in for a while and while going over another mountain pass I heard a bong from my dashboard. As I’m sure some of you know, it will bong when the temperature drops below 4 degrees. It then does another bong to let you know its gone past –5, this particular bong was at –10 and soon afterwards it dropped to –13, still no bother on the car and it was truly amazing, feeling more like a war horse than a 'dadmobile', honestly, I got up to 80mph on a straight but of road at –12 and it didn’t miss a beat. VW got it right while making this one. I set my satnav for a place called Narvik as I was making good time I decided to head past Tromso. My dad had given me the name of a place to stay here but after the long drive when I arrived, I found only a building site and that address was no longer there. After scrambling around Narvik for about an hour I found a place. This is where I’m writing this.
It’s a nice place over looking the whole city. I can’t remember what its called but ill find out as I do recommend it. Norway is very expensive. I paid 8 quid for a bottle of Corona earlier. Fuck that!
Anyway, I don’t know when ill get to upload this but it’s the 18/11/19 now and I hope to get this to you shortly.
This is what he wrote ....
Day 1; Drove to Rosslare with a proper hangover and got the boat. It was a 22-hour boat journey but there is a lot to do on the boat, a choice of restaurants and a cinema, saw The Hangover, its class!! I had never seen it before. Slept on the ground outside the cinema on the boat as the seat I booked was CRAP! And I didn’t get a cabin, as it was an extra 100 euro.
Day 2; Got off the boat at 2, got searched by the army, made my way up through France. Got to the nearest fuelling station as I was running low coming off the boat as I knew I could buy really good diesel on the mainland. Absolutely raped Shell of all their V-Power diesel, threw a bit of Dipetane in there and away I went. Toll bridges are a huge pain in the arse when you by yourself in a RHD car. Anyway, France only lasted about 3 or 4 hours (I think, from memory) so I wasn’t too bothered.
Hit up a bit of Belgium after that. The roads aren’t the best but I still put the hammer down and it only lasted about 45 mins to an hour. It was raining the whole time but I was loving it!! I just love pounding around a motorway in the pissing rain.
Then the Dutch boarder was in sight. It felt like I was making huge progress, 3 countries in 6 hours or there abouts (including piss stops). The roads in Holland are the best I have ever seen. I just kept it at a steady 90-100mph and let time and miles roll off my back, still raining. Well into the night; as close to midnight as makes no difference, I came across road works which my satnav knew nothing about so I got lost for a while. As I had been driving for about 9 hours at this stage with hardly any sleep the previous 2 nights it took longer than usual to come to a solution, but where there is a will; ingenuity prevails. This cost me about an hour, maybe less. Still in the rain I had the cabin set to 21 degrees and just let the Passat eat the miles with the engine kept at about 2500rpm it just loved ever bit of it. I started to get a bit sleepy, in fact, VERY sleepy and as I came to accept that Denmark would have to wait for another day, I was already on the exciting side of 560 miles. I pulled over for a sleep in Holten, just south of the German boarder, just me and about 60 or 70 enormous trucks and a man in a white transit.
Day 3; I awoke at about 8 or 9 in the morning to find a McDonalds about 100 yards away. Went in, took a wizz and got a coffee and some red bull, bated them down the hatch as I planned being awake for Germany.
I set the satnav, checked my fuel status. I still had over ¼ of a tank left and had averaged 48mpg which I was well chuffed about, considering I had only gone under 80mph when I was going through tolls in France and at roundabouts when lost.
I took a deep breath and joined the motorway again, waited till the engine was at 90 degrees and put the foot down. The German boarder soon came. Immediately everyone’s driving manner changed. Almost like the testing of a nuclear weapon; absolutely insane, but the most specific, controlled insanity I have ever seen. I sat back, got comfortable in my seat and thought; ‘when in Rome’. I indicated and pulled in to the outer of 4 lanes and just kept up. I did about 110-115mph for about 60 miles when I thought it best to get a drop of diesel. Pulled into a Statoil garage which I sampled some of their ‘Energy Diesel’, brimmed the tank and iced the top with some more Dipetane.
Once I hit the road again, the heaviest rain I had ever driven in had descended upon the car and me but in true road trip fashion I just put the boot down. I had put a few coats of wax on the car before I left and the rain just bounced off it. With every small pothole or patch of standing water I hit I could feel the car grow ever more planted on the ground, even at high speeds, in the worst of conditions, I could feel each wheel grip and almost weld itself to the ground and the 4motion really holding its own, and then some.
I made a detour into Emden to the VW factory where the Passat was made. It took a while to find but I got there. They wouldn’t let me into the factory but I got a few pics and snooped around the car park, nothing special, but it was nice to bring the car home, even for half an hour.
As I started into the northern parts of Germany a lot of road works had started. Contra-flow after contra-flow. Each contra-flow had 2 lanes in it, now when I say 2, it was maybe 1 and a ¼ shared with cars and trucks. I was under pressure to reach a hostel I had booked in Odense at the top of Denmark so I had no choice but to gun it, I mean, really gun it. For about 150 miles I went in convoy with a Danish C5 Estate, a 6n Polo estate and a military green Cayenne Turbo. Squeezing our way through the tiniest of gaps in the contra-flow just to grasp seconds of time. When I say squeeze, I really mean it. I can honestly say that there was about 1ft, maybe 1.5ft each side of the car when we were overtaking trucks, of which, every 2nd vehicle was. I swear guys, this is not an exaggeration I would have loved to take a picture but there was not a hope I was going to take my hand of the wheel. Hearing the roar of the wheels of the trucks and buses inches from my window at 70 mph, Rain still as heavy as ever.
Once I cleared this I was back up to about 110mph with the rest of the traffic.
Just about 40 mins from the Danish boarder I saw a 5 series saloon overtake me, still doing about 100mph. I thought it strange because since getting into Germany I hadn’t seen any saloon cars. He pulled in front of me. All of a sudden I see flashing orange and red lights in my rear-view mirror, I looked ahead and the 5 series had a huge ‘Polezie’ sign flashing in my face. We slowed to about 80 or 90mph and they cornered me and one other car into a slip road and pulled us to the side. They let the other car drive off. I was shitting a brick, thinking they were going to fine me or put me in jail for going so damn quick. They identified themselves as the German police, 2 guys got out of the BMW and 3 other guys got out of a white a3 behind me. Asked me for all my identification, checked and double-checked my passport. Searched the whole car with torches then asked me to open the boot. Because I’m going to such cold climates I have an emergency box with supplies in it. This box takes the form of a WW2 German military first aid box, which my dad bought on e Bay. They asked me if I had anything to declare such as weapons, ammunition, drugs and even bombs. I said no.
When I opened the boot they saw the military box, I saw out of the corner of my eye the biggest of the officers put his hand towards his rip-cage. They quizzed about where I got it then searched everything in the boot, even looking inside my guitar with torches. I have more of this story on a video, which I will upload soon. In the end they wanted to know what I was doing, where I was going and coming from. They turned out to be really nice guys and ended up having a joke with them.
After this I hit the Danish boarder. Denmark is the most uneventful part of the journey so far. It lasted about an hour. Everyone was staring at the reg of my car and giving me strange looks. I checked into my hostel in Odense. It was SHIT! €70 and it was super crap the only good thing is that I was able to have a shower, and my god was it good!!! As I hadn’t had one since Saturday evening before I went out on the piss. It was now Tuesday.
Day 4; Like most people, I woke up the next day and hit the road straight away. Within minutes I was on the Odense Bridge, its huge. Trains going past you and everything. The wind was something else. Every time I tried to clean my window the spray just flew straight off the passenger side of the car and nowhere near the window. The bridge is split into two and the Swedish part is amazing!! It’s way bigger and longer. There are tolls on this bridge and they are pretty pricey, costs about 20 or 30 bills each end.
Once I hit Sweden I set the satnav for Malmo. Immediately noticing that Sweden is the most handsome nation ever. I just floated into the nearest VW main dealer and smacked up the retail in the form of snow tires. The guys in there were just in awe of the reg plate and the task I was taking on. Everybody spoke English to me and were more than a pleasure to be around. The guys putting on the tires were great, once the car went in, there were 5 guys. One per wheel and one extra guy talking to me and making sure everything else was good with the car for the winter. The tires cost me about 600blips (6000 Kronar) but I didn’t care cos I had to buy them anyway. I even have a receipt and the docket, which will go into the car folder, so I kind of proud of that one. They were doing a deal where they give you the snow tires and when you don’t need them anymore they give you your old ones back. When they were storing the tires they were writing codes such as A098 and things so they can file them away properly in a big warehouse, for my tires they simply wrote on them ‘IRELAND’ in big letters. Ill upload the pic later! I then hit the road and headed for Stockholm.
I arrived at about 8 or 9 in the evening and by then the temperature and dropped to 2 degrees. My hostel was made up of 2 boats. It was cool. I checked in drank a rake of beers and went for a walk, froze my nuts off cos I was raining and 2 degrees, so I went home and to bed.
Day 5; When I woke up I hit the road straight away. Set the satnav for Sundsvall after filling my tank for the 4th time. Headed up the road for a few hundred miles taking in the amazing scenery, dusted with snow. All the while keeping an eye out for moose, which everyone had been warning me about. I was sticking to the speed limits for this part of the journey, which enabled me to manage 51mpg. The highest speed limit in Sweden is 110kph and there are ample speed cameras. When I arrived in Sundsvall the temperature had plummeted to –3 by 16:00 as the sun had started to go down at 14:30 and it was almost complete darkness by 15:30. I managed to find a hostel, which turned out to be great, very nice, helpful people and it was very clean and not all shabby. That night I went out for a walk and to get a bite to eat. It was about –6 when I was walking around and when I stood in one place for too long my trousers froze to the ground. It was an amazing place and I will definitely be going back.
Day 6; when I woke up I headed on out the road towards Lulea. I wasn’t planning on spending much time there, as it was only a stop over. It was a 7-hour drive and about 300 miles. It was –3 the whole time and the coldest I saw on the way was –12 once the sun went down. Again, even the coldest of temperatures didn’t affect the car, it just kept going like clockwork and I know it was loving every minute of it. At the end of the smaller journeys, i.e.; the 300 milers, I almost felt bad for the car because I knew it wanted to be driven more and more and more. I arrived in Lulea and checked into a shitty little hostel in the ghetto. It was horrible, but warm as it was almost –10 outside at night. I went for a walk and discovered that Lulea is crap, and I’m never going back. That night the snow came down and my car was well coated by the time I tended to it in the morning.
Day7; I left Lulea with nowhere in mind to go. It was a toss-up between Kiruna, the most northerly town in Sweden and Rovaniemi in Finland. I chose Rovaniemi as I heard that Santa Clause lived there. It was –3 when I left Lulea and stayed like that throughout the journey. It was a very short drive to Rovaniemi, only about 160 miles. I didn’t know what the petrol station situation was going to be like when I was this far north so I went to the closest one and brimmed the tank and also the reserve tank that is in the spare wheel in my car (handy little number, ill show pics)
As I headed up the road the Finish boarder came very soon and with almost no warning. I passed through it and within about 15 mins I noticed an array of flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. It was Finish customs coming over for a chat. Asked the usual, had I anything to declare, and then just asked me what I was doing. I asked them if there was a problem and they said no and that they had never seen an Irish car pass through that part of the boarder before. I ended up talking to them for a while, while they waited for my passport information to clear. Very nice guys and before they send me on my way they checked to see if I had snow tires.
It wasn’t long before I hit Rovaniemi. I arrived at about 15:00 and it was –4, again, not a bother on the car. I spotted a few hostels but I decided to splash out on the 5 star Clarion for 2 nights. This is where I am at the moment. The warmest it’s been for the days is –1, this was last night, and before that it was –4., at the warmest. The first night I stayed I wound up at a house party and when I was walking home it was almost –10. There is virtually no wind here and it is a dead cold. Its really, really bizarre.
Today I don’t know where ill be going as my time in Rovaniemi as come to an end. Apparently accommodation this time of year in the very north can be quite sparse but I’m sure ill find somewhere. If not, it will be a few cold ones in the car. I hope to be in Nordkapp by tomorrow.
Thanks guys. If you have any questions gimme a shout. And I hope this was an insightful read and I apologize again for the delay.
Now, I must shower and check out, I have missed breakfast this morning also, what a pain in the ass!!
Right, so where did I leave off? Oh yeah!
Day 8; I left my hotel in Rovaniemi, put all my bags in the car and cleared the snow from my windscreen only to find a big ol’ parking ticket under my wiper, I haven’t opened yet but I’m sure its amazing!! I don’t plan to pay it. I set the satnav for Nordkapp, I knew it was going to be long one and according to the satnav it was going to be almost 13 hours before I got there. I had a quick rummage around my trousers and found a pair of balls, so I pulled out of the car park and headed on my way to the nearest filling station. The temperature at this point was relatively warm compared to the other days, +1 degree. In the very north of Scandinavia all the luxuries of fancy fuel are non-existent, so I had to settle for regular diesel. Once the tank was brimmed I hit the road for the long haul. The main roads were fairly clear, as the salt truck had been out hours previously. As I got further north I noticed that the wind was getting stronger and stronger, blowing salt and whatever snow had not frozen solid everywhere. The roads soon turned to just sheet ice, everywhere, like driving on a lake. Not to worry though, I had my tires and my 4motion. Darkness fell fairly early on, about 14:00 or 15:00. I found that this was playing tricks with my head, as I started driving when the sun was coming up and still driving when it was well gone down. I was feeling really tired as it felt like I had been driving all day and most of the night, in reality, only about 3 or 4 hours. As the ice soon turned to snow on the ground I started to see signs for Hoenningsvag/ Nordkapp. Stopped to take the appropriate pictures and headed on. A few interesting things I saw where a river with ice flowing down it and 2 men fishing on a frozen lake that seemed to be shooing away whatever stray reindeer came over to bother them.
The temperature at this point was about –4 with a wind chill bringing far below that. The car kept on trucking as if nothing out of the ordinary. I made my way through the darkness with an overcast sky for many more hours kept awake simply by this phenomenal fear of moose, which I was given by almost every hostel attendant and local I spoke to. I have only seen one so far the whole trip. Big fuckers!! Their front shoulders easily 6ft from the ground. This means that their second point of contact if I hit them, apart from my bumper on their legs, is their antlers on my dashboard.
It was getting darker and colder and still with no place to stay, I gave in and Hoenningsvag would have to wait for tomorrow. I called my father and had him check out a few places to stay. He found 2, both in a fishing village called Inari. The first place was a hostel, which was closed, dreading a night in the car in near fatal temperatures I tried; Hotelli Inari, which had rooms available. 60 of my finest euro later I was in the shower loosening my shoulders muscles from the drive previous. I headed down to the bar where I was greeted by the most intense stares from the majority of the villages 50 residents. I had a beer or two and before I trotted up to bed I had a last glance at the car only to find that during its well-deserved rest there were 2 or 3 men looking at the reg and scratching their heads. Watched a bit of Pineapple Express on the laptop and drifted off for a bit of dreamy sleepy nighty snoozy snooze.
Day 9; Woke up, showered, packed up all my stuff and went down to check out, with the owner staring at me with a big smile on his face. He opened with ‘you didn’t make it down for breakfast.’ I hadn’t as I was fully knackered for all the driving I just needed a lie in. I felt kind of bad as I got the impression I was the only guest in the hotel, it being the time of year and all, he had prepared all the breakfast for me and I hadn’t bothered to get up early enough to get it. He did however get me a cup of tea.
I loaded the bags into the car set the satnav and slapped up a few tunes on the iPod. It was the warmest part of the day apparently and it was –2.5 according to the car. The roads for this part of trip were surprisingly clear and there weren’t any troubles or hairy moments. As I got more and more north, the scenery became more and more impressive. With a place to stay in Hoenningsvag lined up and just let the car eat the miles, not a bother on it again. As darkness fell, I could see out of the corner of my headlights my surroundings were getting very baron and with no moon in this part of the world it was black, just complete black darkness. I was the only car on the road for about 60 miles of weaving my way through the fjords, not knowing if I was driving on the coast or over bridges. Every time I looked to my left I knew that there was nothing else out there, at least not until the south of Africa, truly the abyss. A feeling I had never before felt and will never forget. On my own, 100% on my own. I was the only human life. I drove for mile after mile, tunnels going through the mountains, the walls still bearing the gouge marks from the machines that bore them and very, very dim orange lights illuminating them as if to keep them as discrete as possible.
This continued for a while when I came to a clearing, again, dim lights illuminating it with emergency signals standing dormant. I couldn’t help but notice a very intense high-pitched siren going off every few seconds inside the tunnel, which opened just north of the clearing. I headed in very gingerly, not knowing if it was a good or bad siren, at the end of the day, what sirens are good?? I headed in and let the car float down the steep decline ahead. I glanced at the sat nav and realized that this was my last tunnel as it was going under the sea to the island of Magyora, on which the almost religious (at this stage) Nordkapp was at the tip of. Plenty of speed cameras in here and it went on for a long time. Amazing! At the end I was greeted by a man sitting in a dark little box who demanded 145 Kroner for the pleasure of driving at 50kph for the past 6 miles. I still have no idea what the siren was, I can only assume its to keep reindeer and moose out.
My hostel for the night was about 5 mins past this box and is the first thing you see coming onto the island. Checked in, to my delight, a washer and dryer. Fresh clothes at last. Put all my bags down, put my photos on my laptop, got bored, went for a drive. The hostel was located right on a fishing harbour and it was quite warm here, about +2 degrees.
I hopped into the car with nothing with me. Left the wallet, phone, satnav all in the hostel. Wasn’t going to let anything interrupt what I was about to do. In the darkest, blackest of nights I headed off the pier, turned right and followed the signs for Nordkapp. Followed the road up the steepest hills I have ever seen. The only thing I could see was the road, everything else was black, I had no idea if I was driving on the side of a cliff or just a small ditch. I drove past barriers, which lay dormant which are obviously there to close the road when the weather gets really bad. Mile after mile I watched the temperature drop from +2 to about –3. It was about 19:00. I started to get a small bit disorientated the further I went. With no light whatsoever and the lights of the small town which holds the warm doors of my bed nowhere to be seen in the distance, I had no idea how high I was up or how far I was from the holy grail, I began to feel really uneasy, I turned around on the narrow road with only a ditch I could see on my right side as comfort I wasn’t going over the edge, the other side was complete darkness. I headed back to the hostel, checked my washing, threw on a few episodes of ‘the Inbetweeners’ and slept as best I could; knowing tomorrow was the day I have been looking forward to for more than 10 years.
Day 10; I woke up for breakfast, had a shower and put on my favourite shirt, packed up my stuff and headed up. Again a fairly warm morning but the temperature was dropping steadily the higher I got. As I made my way I was looking out and trying to guess where I had turned around the night before. I was getting really high up now, driving along snow and ice covered roads far above any other mountaintops I could see for miles. I arrived at the car park after about a 30min drive, walked up to the door of the centre where you pay in only to see a sign saying ‘opens at 12:30’, I was 2 and a half hours early, but I didn’t care. Perfectly happy to hang out with my big blue travel partner knowing we were the most northerly people in Europe at that moment, and many more to follow. When the centre opened I was the first one in and the last one out. Headed straight for the gift shop, smacked up the retail before there was anybody to get in my way. A nice lady told me that they were showing movies about Nordkapp in the basement. I waited until the first one was showing, went in and sat in the middle. 3 big screens, all shot with a panoramic cameras and split lenses with shots that make Top Gear look like some dumbass with a handy cam. The movie went on for about half an hour, maybe less and lads, I had the biggest lump in my throat I have ever had. This was it! Only by watching the video it all really sank in. I had driven over 2500 miles, from Ireland, BY MYSELF! to fulfil a dream I’ve had for so long. Nothing can feel like this, nothing! When it ended I stoop up, walked up the stairs and looked outside. Towards the back of the centre where the globe stood, I put on my gloves and hat and walked out, not taking my eyes off it. Before taking any pictures I stood underneath for a few moments and took it all in. 71 10’ 21’’ N.
I got back into the car and reluctantly headed south, I could have stayed there all day. I set the satnav for Tromso, it was a huge drive, almost 8 hours, which was easy in Europe, not easy when you’re navigating you way though fjords in the worst of conditions. I passed the hostel I stayed in the previous night and with the sun already down I paid my toll and went under the sea once again.
The temperature tonight was far lower than previous. Stayed at a constant –3. The roads were the worst I have ever driven on. The first part of the journey I was doubling back on myself. But when I turned onto the E6 I started going over mountain passes. The roads had not been salted and I knew I was going to be by myself for a long time. I noticed in the distance there were red lights from a car about 2 or 3 miles ahead. I knew that if anything happened on the mountain passes I was in trouble, a lot of trouble as there was poor phone signal. I put the foot down as best I could, the max speed I was willing to do was about 40mph but I knew I had to do more to catch the car in front. The roads were a thick layer of muddy grease with a nice coat of ice on top. Really, really slippery. Every time I accelerated out of a corner I could feel the back end try and step out. I ploughed on.
I came to a sharp right hand bend on an incline, hugged my side of the road very close to the barrier. All of sudden the whole car started to slide towards a jagged rocky bank about 20 ft high on the left of the road. Flukey I managed to find enough grip to pitch the front drivers side wheel into where the tarmac had stopped and there was about 2inches of curb on the side of the road. This brought my front end around the bend as best it could, then I started to feel the back swing, I knew that if I tried to correct it, my front end would catapult out of the position I had it in. I just kept the foot very easy and then the traction control chimed in. I could feel it stab away at the back drivers side wheel pulling the back of the car down into a squat and allowing the tiny sipes on the other wheel search for as much grip as possible. The whole car just sat down as I felt it shuffle the power around to bring me out safely. Honestly, without snow tires and 4wd I reckon I would have binned it.
The temperature had now dropped to a cool –8 on the top of the passes and I couldn’t help but regret that I had done this drive at night, as I knew I was missing some of the best scenery this world has to offer. I eventually caught up with the car in front, which turned out to be a truck and we continued from there together.
It was getting late and progress was slow. My father rang me and reminded me that I had to get 2 ferries to Tromso, both of which we presumed were not running at night. We decided to get me to a place called Kvenvik. A very small town between Nordkapp and Tromso. There was one hostel available. I arrived at it only to find a note on the door saying they were closed for the season. Nowhere to stay, freezing cold. Then, a red Hilux pulled up outside the hostel, I went over to the man and asked if he owned the place and if there was anywhere to stay. He didn’t own it and didn’t know where else there would be. The only reason he was there was so he could check on his team of husky dogs which were being kept in a stable there. I ended up talking to him for a while; he was a retired army general who spends a lot of time in Limerick of all places. I said I was going to try and get to Tromso the long way around (almost back to Sweden on the E6). He advised me to be very, very careful and to fill my tank, as there wasn’t a filling station for about 200 miles. I went to the nearest petrol station, just outside Kvenvik, filled up, bought a sandwich and grabbed 10 min shut-eye.
I hit the road at about 22:30 and headed towards the next mountain pass. This was longer and colder than the last but I’m glad to report, no hairy moments. Coming close to midnight I found a tiny little town just north of Tromso. I have no idea what it was called but according to the satnav there were 2 places to stay here. The first was closed for the season and the second was a hotel on the shores of the village. I checked in here just after midnight. It turned out to be 140 euro but I didn’t care, I was broken and I needed to get sleep and a shower. This is where I uploaded the photos.
Day 11; Today I woke up to find it had rained and frozen during the night and the car was covered in ice. I went downstairs, had an awful breakfast and hit the road. The car was reading a –3.5 but even still, started with no hesitation and in no time we were on our way again. After about an hour or slippery roads I came to the first car ferry, waited for it to come back and then boarded. It was about 14 quid. Once this docked at the end of the half hour sail everyone was in a rush to catch the next one. I was behind a B6 Passat estate, same colour as mine and everything. He, about 5 other cars and I pounded down the coast to get the next car ferry. At this point the temperature was down below –5 and everything I could see was frozen. The roads were slippery and some driving talent was used in the appropriate situations. I noticed here that everyone apart from me had studded tires. So they were fairly planted, I on the other-hand was having a great time!
We all made the ferry, just under a tenner, and we embarked on a short trip, about 15 mins. When we got off I was third in line, behind two caddy vans with trailers. They didn’t waist any time and as not to annoy the people behind me on this small country road I kept up with them. As we carried along I noticed that the temperature of my engine was dropping quite quickly unless there was a significant load on it, about 2000rpm. So I stuck it in 6th and kept up with the lads. It was dusk at this stage, just gone 14:00 and everything was still frozen. All the leaves and grass in the ditch and trees twinkling like thousands of flashes from thousands of tiny cameras. The roads were well salted but still proper slippery with grease and whatever ice had formed in the mean time. After taking this in for a while and while going over another mountain pass I heard a bong from my dashboard. As I’m sure some of you know, it will bong when the temperature drops below 4 degrees. It then does another bong to let you know its gone past –5, this particular bong was at –10 and soon afterwards it dropped to –13, still no bother on the car and it was truly amazing, feeling more like a war horse than a 'dadmobile', honestly, I got up to 80mph on a straight but of road at –12 and it didn’t miss a beat. VW got it right while making this one. I set my satnav for a place called Narvik as I was making good time I decided to head past Tromso. My dad had given me the name of a place to stay here but after the long drive when I arrived, I found only a building site and that address was no longer there. After scrambling around Narvik for about an hour I found a place. This is where I’m writing this.
It’s a nice place over looking the whole city. I can’t remember what its called but ill find out as I do recommend it. Norway is very expensive. I paid 8 quid for a bottle of Corona earlier. Fuck that!
Anyway, I don’t know when ill get to upload this but it’s the 18/11/19 now and I hope to get this to you shortly.
tell him to take the same tour in mars/april when you have 24/7 sun 
I do have some hopes they will accept Stadt (westernmost point in Norway).