Velkommen til Norge!
Before the tour could start there was a lot of preperation to do. Some additional motorcycles had to be brought to Ålesund, all the bikes were checked and (if neccessary) maintained and one of our vans (plus trailer) was brought to Tromsø. So a lot of work until the tour could start...
our bikes at Trollveggen on the way to Ålesund
a new tire had to be brought to the hotel... somehow. thx Chris 
Day 1 and 2 - Ålesund - Sunndalsøra - Trondheim
Riders from all over the world have just gathered in the lovely art nuveau town Ålesund to start another motorcycle adventure towards North Cape! Canada, United States, Germany, Switzerland and even Brazil are here, guided by Manuel "the Italian", Manu "the Austrian" and also Chris "the Austrian". We are gonna have lots of fun!
View of Ålesund from Aksla, just about 400 steps away from the hotel
Turf roofs are everywhere. Once a necessity to keep cold and humidity outside of the house, now they are more ornamental
inside rosenkirke
Strawberry fields forever in Valldal...
...and also the yummiest strawberry cake ever!
Descending from Trollstigen.
That police car can't chase us anymore eheh
Maurice @ Løkken Verk, trying to make a good group picture...
...and it worked. Well done!!!
Day 3 - Trondheim to Overhalla
Leaving Trondheim with a morning ferry brigs us immediately into another world: tranquil rural roads, coastal landscape mixed with pine forests, some sheep here and there, the casual seagull singing at the ocean. What a relaxing cruise we have today!
Chilling on the deck
We are following the coastline till we reach the outer side, right on the open Atlantic
Everyone's ready for lunch?
We are about to sample the best fish soup of Norway (and therefore of the world). Thank you Tone
Lots of red rorbu (fisherman's cabins) aligned on the shore
Beautiful landscape a couple of miles outside Overhalla
Arrived to the cosy Overhalla hotel, just for us!
Yes! We made it...
Full moon at midnight in Overhalla
While our ferry was arriving...
...Lee conquered Mt. Stewart. Well done paps... 
Robert admiring the next ferry and the surrounding landscape
Brian posing while Lee is taking his picture
Quite a piece or architecture structure literally cut into the landscape, the Petter Dass museum, famous priest and writer from the 17th century
Day 4 - Overhalla to Sandnessjøen
There are only two routes to enter northern Norway: the inland E6, backbone of Norway, and the magnificent coastal route 17. Of course we go for the latter... and three ferries today!
Beautiful landscapes...
...wherever you look. - That's Norway!
Every long bridge is a piece of art in Norway
Quite moody weather but at least from time to time it's not raining...
...so Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man had a good time!
Holm is not the worst place to wait...
...for a ferry... 
Sandy and George enjoying the fresh breeze before docking
Day 5 - Sandnessjøen to Bodø
Time for a milestone of the trip: crossing the Arctic Circle at 66°33' it's quite an emotional passage. When you reach the Saltfjellet plateau and the vegetation goes from pines to birches to small bushes you can truly feel the call of the North...
Spectecular bridge right after Bodø.
Lonely country road.
Group photo!
The peculiar shape of Arctic Circle visitor centre is unmistakable
A rock and some stones.
Day 6 - Bodø to Lofoten
The long awaited moment has arrived: there is a big excitement in our smiles this morning because we are about to board the ferry towards the magical archipelago of Lofoten!
We can spot them in the distance...
While the sky is surprising us with plenty of blue, despite in Bodø was rainy and terribly gray
Almost there, time to get ready
A sweet bite: the famous cinnamon roll baked in a 150 years old oven
Aren't they yummy Brian?
The picturesque red rorbu of the village Å, southernmost point of Lofoten
Postcard view over Reine
Stockfish (dired cod) ready to be shipped to Italy, the main buyer
Beach time, anyone ready for a swim? C'mon the water is about 8C!
Welcome to Henningsvær where we had...
...a lovely hotel...
...with an extraordinary dinner...
...and outstanding spots. 
Chilling around the fireplace
Day 7 - Lofoten to Harstad
What a ride! With leaving the Lofoten to the North the landscape changes completely. Although its just a few kilometer away we entered a different world. White sandy beaches, deep green islands and incredible blue-green water. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. We alsmost thought we went to the Caribbean.
Another stunning fjord along Lofoten
Hopefully our ferry won't look like that... waahaaaa
Our motorbikes lined up on the ferry.
Another architectural masterpiece to pass...
Waldorf & Statler enjoying their icecream while heading towards the sunshine on the other side.
On the bridge of Finnmarken
USS Artie @ Hurtigruten museum.
Somewhere... There are so many tunnels here in Norway, impossible to remember where/what/when.
Günter & Max enjoying...
...the breathtaking landscape.
hang loose...
...Steve!!!
Adolfkanon, the biggest war gun ever built, still sits (functioning!) in Harstad
Nice view for the gun
Quite big "cannon balls": they can fly twice as fast of a pistol bullet and can cover 50km range in less than 2 minutes...
One of them can make enough damage to sink a battleship
Military police in Norway looks quite good...
Some of us was hoping to get arrested in this military base 
A short pitstop. Tires had to be changed.
2 tires, 2 mechanics, 30 minutes. Not as fast as formula 1, but quite okay. 
Chris was in the van that day - we brought some pizza for him. But a seagull was faster.
Tourguide @ work.
Midnight in Harstad.
Day 8 - Harstad to Storslett
With nice weather we left the islands and headed back to the mainland. On the longest ride so far (~400km) the landscape changed constantly and the temperatures climbed up to breathtaking 22°C - which made us sweat in our riding gears. That's the way it has to be...
Tjeldsundet between the island of Hinnøya and the mainland.
That day Karin found out that driving with the van can also be pleasant. Maybe even more...???
Lunchbreak at Målselvfossen...
...where we met some suspicious people.
The forest around Målselvfossen is so beuatiful
The "Three Magnificant Seven" right before take-off...
What the heck is goin' on...
...over there?
Magnificent Storfjorden...
...and also Kåfjorden is superb!
"mountain" pass near Storslett
More reindeer!
Batman & Catwoman
Day 9 - Storslett to Alta
Day number nine was just a relaxing ride of 180km along the E6. Easy to navigate, almost no traffic at all and comfortable waether-conditions brought us further up to the North.
Norway provides public toilets with a stunning view... 
But not only the old farts were happy.
Our bikes lined up at the "mall"...
..."next" to our destination...
...where we found spareparts for our trailer...
...and proper sanitary facilities!
Some shifty riders were stopped by the police. But Bob's sparkling personality saved us from spending the night in jail...
A little off road challange...
...with Donner and Blitzen.
At the Tirpitz museum in Kåfjord...
...we relaxed...
...and met a contemporary witness.
The movie about the Tirpitz was great, unfortunately we couldn't get popcorn... 
Dietrich was thinking about changing his 700GS for a BMW with more comfortable seats. I bet Karin would appreciate that...
As soon as you are in Alta...
...you are far from... well everywhere!!!
...but you can have a good time here. Right paps?
Day 10 - Alta to Lakselv... via NORTH CAPE
So today is the day! Adventure Northcape the tour is called. We already had adventures - and today we hit the target: 71°10'21"... STRIKE!!!
On E69 you can see the longest pedstrian crossing in the world.
On our way to the very North we stopped at Mount Flushmore
(those Norwegian toilets are awesome!)
And we enjoyed the rough landscape.
Right on the way to where we belong.
It sounds that simple - and it is so much more.
YES! WE MADE IT!
Everybody was excited beeing at the northern end of Europe. - What a place, what a group!!!
Although not everybody could see the scenery...
(You're a naughty boy, paps - go to my room!) 
Being at North Cape has always been one of me dreams! Today it came true...
Thanks to everybody for making that day one of the best in my life...
That's what we wanted to see!
mum, i'd too like to go on tour with Edelweiss. Up to Norway where it is so ******* great.
Within one minutes fog came up. And disappeared as fast.
In the background we could see the real mostnorthern point of the continent. But it would have taken a 3 hour walk to get there.
North Cape- it's worth going there!!!
Manu & the gang heading to the South, approaching a photo-stop.
The outcoming sun coloured the landscape very strong...
...which let some of us going a little bit jaunty.
What a fantastic day!
Isn't it Lino?
Hey lonesome rider, where is your steel horse?
Another reindeer troting along the road.
Lovely stay in a lovely hotel in Lakselv...
WiFi works. Great!
Day 11 - Lakselv to Karesuando
After a relaxed daily briefing we startet our motorcycles and headed further to the South. Leaving Norway and entering Finland. Known as the land of 1.000 lakes, 10.000 islands and 100.000 billions mosquitos... The landscape became differnt again, no more fjords and mountains. But therefore a lot of soft rounded hills and endless forests of small sized trees...
Manuel and his new bike.
Right before takeoff...
Steve & Sally arriving in Karasjok...
...where we visited a Sami museum.
Katrina guided us through the building and the Sami history.
Sami shaman drum.
Contemporary Sami art was exhibited as well.
The Sami of the past must have been very small people. Right Robert?
Getting into the rain gear isn't always that easy.
Brian with his proper class-A-rain-gloves.
Lee "Paps" Stewart. Passionate cyclist since WW I. And still on duty... GREAT 
"Flying Oktela"
Visiting the silver shop in Kautokeino.
Oh no! Where are going to...
At the end of the rainbow we didn't find a pot of gold. But at least a nice little hotel...
Day 12 - Karesuando to Tromø
The last riding day brought us back to the west. Back to Norway and the lovely fjords...
Coffe stop near Kilpisväri and having some fun on a teeter-tooter. But be careful Paps, what goes around comes around... 
Photo stop in Lyngen fjord. Lucky us we had one small sunspot.
Oh look! There's a bear in the forest...
Lunch break in Nordkjosbotn. Everything startet so cute. We were looking forward to having something to eat, we took photos of a bear on a pet... And then "John Smith" entered the stage and the scenery became a disaster...
BEST RIDE THERE IS!!!
In Tromsø we had the opportunity to visit the awesome Arctic Cathedral.
Last supper on tour! Some of us passed the tour in review. What was very emotional before we went...
...to Rorbua Pub to have a brilliant good-bye-party...
...with a live performer!
At 1:30 a.m. Steve and Sally left Tromsø with Hurtigruten.
Tromsø at 2 o'clock in the morning... THE END!
Adventure North Cape
This tour was not just a tour. It was and outstanding experience for all of us. We visited one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, we had great ridings, we've seen breathtaking landscapes and visited the most northern point of Europe. This roadtripwas was very emotional und unforgettable. We've not just been a great team - we have become friends!!! And that's the way it should be...
We say: Thank YOU...
Chris, Manu and Manuel
Epilog
After the tour has ended all our equipment (including our bikes of course) had be brought back to Ålesund. With our additional driver Gerhard we headed to the "South". 1.500km country roads and 27 hours later we arrived at midnight in the hotel. Great ride...
Gerhard and Manuel waiting at a construction site
our baggage train in the middle of nowhere
In Skarberget we were just in time for the ferry. The only problem: there was no space for our vans and trailer left. So we had to wait 90(!!!)min in the "city center" - no restaurant, no nothing. Time to fool around with the camera...
There was one ferry, but it was not on duty. And the Norwegian guys didn't handout the keys to us... 
Nivigation on E6 is not that hard. Next roundabout in 205km... waaahaaa...
.. so time for co-pilot's favourite sport.
Visiting arctic circle right after sunset
driving through Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park can be quite delightful...
Checking the trailer's weight at Trollveggen. Everything's allright!
"express-laundry"
Tuesday afer work we took a walk through Ålesund...
...and the jury proved...
...they really might be the best fish & chips in the world...
(the second best can be found in Geiranger → see blog CVE1502)
we figured out that the new hotel in Ålesund actually...
...was a cruise liner!!!
Wanna know how things are going for our "leftovers"
Lee, Steve & Sally, Manuel, Chris and Manu?
→ take a look @ our new blog: Viking Experience (CVE1502)
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