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Day 1. Utrecht to Bergen.

Eventually Damae wandered into a kebab shop to discover that since the map had been published the designation of the E39 had changed and it was now a bigger main road to the west of the old E39.

The second problem was the map that Damae had printed off to enable us to find the hostel. This was to say the least minimalist in nature. We came very close to the desired location but Damae decided we needed to go in the opposite direction.....

Finally a half hour later we found our destination and after a welcoming chat with the owner got the keys to the yellow room (the window to the right of Damae).

The location of No 17 Grønnestølen Gaard is wonderful however has a gotcha for a novice touring cyclists. The buildings sit on the side of a hill just off the E39 which surprisingly shields the area from almost all of the traffic noise making it a peaceful place to stay. The same hill makes it a challenge to cycle up with a fully loaded touring bike being rather steep.

The set up was bed but make your own food. Rather like a cross between a youth hostel and a hotel proper. Our shower was across the hallway, the kitchen round the corner. All clean and fully functional, just what we needed.

On arrival we needed to buy food and fortunately arrived in time to visit the local supermarket. This was about 10 mins walk away allowing us to dwadle looking at the small wooden houses that reminded me of the houses that litter coastal British Columbia. However great excitement awaited us at the REMI 1000 as we stepped into a world where there were virtually no recognisable brands, vegetables looking incredibly fresh and cheese was brown. Bliss!

After more than half an hour of disorganized buying we went to the till to pay tendering the large notes that the cash machine had disgorged earlier at the airport. Mental note take a course in Norwegian before the next big trip!

Returning to the hostel we made dinner and as it was still wonderfully warm sat in the sun outside the kitchen enjoying being able to look at the sky, hills and wooden houses. A wonderful contrast to the beautiful but pancake flat Dutch landscape

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