Start:  Holmlia

Finish:  Oslo, Norway

Distance:  8

Total:  2314

I MADE IT!  I walked the last eight miles into Oslo this morning and it felt amazing!  

With only a short distance to walk to the finish line today, it should have been a piece of cake.  Just sleep in late, have a nice breakfast, then go out and enjoy the stroll. I wish it had been that easy. But with rain forecast to begin at 10:00, I was up at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00, and on the train at 7:00 to get out to Holmlia where I stopped yesterday. The train ride was only 20 minutes, so I was on the road at 7:20. The weather was beautiful to start the day with the temp at 43. 

My route was all on sidewalks, walking through neighborhoods in the outskirts of Oslo.  I had a steep climb to start the day, and I stayed up in the hills away from the shoreline until I was a mile from downtown Oslo.  As I got close to the city, there were some clearings where I could see the port of Oslo, downtown, and the hills that surround the city. There were several cruise ships in port. Also, I could clearly see the Olympic Ski Jumping venue on a hillside north of town. Oslo hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and still hosts the World Championships in Ski Jumping on occasion. 

As I got close to the Central Train Station which marked the end of my walk, the skies turned gray and shortly after I got inside the station, it began to rain lightly. After eating a light lunch, I took a 30 train ride to the town of Gardermoen where Oslo International Airport is located. I’ll be staying here tonight and flying out early Thursday morning bound for Texas. 

I plan to post an Epilogue to capture the highlights of my walk after I’ve been home a few days. However, it goes without saying how amazing this adventure has been. From its beginning in Athens, Greece in January to the end today in Oslo, Norway, I can only say great things about my experiences with the people of Europe. They have been welcoming in every way. And the incredible scenery I’ve seen from the highest mountaintops in Italy, Austria, and Germany, to the scenic sea shores of Greece and the Scandinavian countries, I could never describe it in words. You just had to see it to believe it. But now it’s back home to see other sites that are just as amazing, like the faces of my family, who I haven’t seen in three months. I can’t wait to get home. 

So in closing, thanks to all of you for following along with me. I have tried to put a touch of realism in my posts; not to try to impress you, but to let you share some of my experiences from day-to-day. It’s been my honor to have you tag along. I have been motivated by knowing you were out there. So watch in a few days for my last post where I’ll give you a few thoughts on some of my observations over the last few months. Thanks. JB. 

PS. I posted a final video. Click on Videos to watch.

Start:  Vestby

Finish:  Holmlia

Distance:  18

Total:  2306

My plan for today was to walk to a point close enough to central Oslo that I could finish my walk Wednesday morning before the forecast rain starts. I believe I accomplished that goal. 

The day started off with a steady rain. I had some breakfast at the hotel and sat around my room until the rain stopped at 10:00. Today’s route had a little bit of everything; bike routes, highways, farm roads, logging roads, and more up and down hills than I care to remember. It was overcast most of the day but became partly cloudy mid-afternoon. 

By about 2:30, I had made it to the first train station that was a reasonable distance from Oslo.  If I had stopped there and caught the train into town, I would have 11 miles to walk tomorrow to finish. From that point, there were more train stations lines up on the same route about a mile apart. So each time I passed up a train station and walked on to the next, I was taking a mile off tomorrow’s final day. So at 3:30, I’d had as much fun as I could stand and caught the train into Oslo, leaving me eight miles to walk tomorrow. Tomorrow’s rain is forecast to be light until around 10:00.  My plan is to get on the train early tomorrow morning, ride out to the train stop where I stopped today, and walk back to the Oslo central train station to finish before the heavier rain starts.  

After I get through walking tomorrow in central Oslo, I catch a train to the airport which is 20-30 miles outside the city. I stay at an airport hotel Wednesday night and catch a 7:45 AM flight Thursday morning to come home. So this adventure is rapidly coming to an end. Thanks everyone for following along. JB. 

Start:  Moss

Finish:  Vestby

Distance:  18

Total:  2288

My walk today was very enjoyable with great weather and easy terrain, but my experience with tonight’s hotel threw a damper on my enthusiasm. 

The day got started in Moss with the thermometer reading a crisp 48 degrees. There was no wind and the skies were crystal clear.  The first couple of miles were on a walking trail through the woods.  I’m always apprehensive about wandering down these trails because I never know what’s lurking around the next corner. Will the trail be under water?  Will there be a locked gate that will keep me from continuing?  This time there were no surprises and I finally made it out of the woods and out onto a main road. 

My route was off and on bike trails all day which seemed to end with no warning and no obvious reason.  When the trail ends, I have to hop onto the road and ask for a share of the pavement from the approaching traffic. It’s usually not an issue. 

Once I got to the town of Vestby, my lodging was a couple of miles past the town and across the interstate. It was advertised as a hotel and campground. I found it without a problem and walked into the office to check in. The lady said “you know the hotel is not actually at this location, right?”  I said no, I actually did not know that. She said it’s about a 7-8 minute walk back towards town where I’d just come from. I recalled seeing a hotel as I walked between the town and the hotel office, but it looked closed as there were no cars in the parking lot, etc., and it seemed like it was farther away than she said.  While she took care of registering me, I went to Google Maps and found the hotel was actually a 20 minute walk, ie, one mile.  So after getting my key, I got back on the road and backtracked to the hotel. It’s not a huge deal, just an irritant. I walked two extra miles (40 minutes) today, and I’ll walk an extra mile tomorrow as I go past the hotel office again. 

So I have 26 miles left to the finish line. My plan is to walk about 16-18 tomorrow to one of the suburbs of Oslo, take the train into town where I have a hotel reservation tomorrow night, then ride the train back out to the suburb and finish the last 8-10 miles into Oslo Wednesday morning. The weather is forecast to be rainy both of the next two days so I may be finishing, and singing, in the rain the rest of the way. Thanks for reading. JB.

Start:  Sarpsborg

Finish:  Moss

Distance:  21

Total:  2270

Today’s 21 mile walk got off to a slow start because of rain, but at the end of the day I’d turned due north and am headed straight towards Oslo now. 

After a good night’s rest and an awesome breakfast buffet, I waited until the rain stopped at 10:00 to get on the road. There were some big thunderstorms last night, but as forecast, it all moved through by mid-morning. My route was very hilly again but I had a bike trail to follow most of the day. Also, I spent the majority of the day walking west rather than north, but my route has been paralleling the freeway ever since I got into Norway and it runs through the town of Moss, which is on the west coast of Norway, so here I am. 

Tomorrow, it’s another 17 miles north.  I’m very near the coastline, but I don’t think I’ll actually see the water again until Wednesday when I finish in Oslo.  

That’s about it for Day 148. I hope everyone has a great Labor Day holiday tomorrow. JB. 

Start:  Halden

Finish:  Sarpsborg

Distance:  17

Total: 2249

After a so-so stay at last night’s hotel, which I won’t get into, today was a good walk to the very spread out city of Sarpsborg, Norway. 

With only an average distance to walk today, I didn’t start until about 9:00. The skies stayed cloudy most of the day. After leaving the hotel, I immediately found myself walking through farmland. Wheat appeared to be the crop of choice, but most of it had already been harvested. 

At lunchtime, I found a convenience store that had some fast food items. It was decent, but very expensive. After lunch, I almost immediately found myself walking through the suburbs of Sarpsborg, population 55,000. However, the town seemed to be built along only one very long Main Street.  This went on for several miles until I got close to the actual city center where there were more streets. 

My hotel is on the far north side of town. When I walked up into the parking lot, it was obvious there was a car enthusiast gathering here at the hotel. Taking a closer look, I noticed all the cars were Corvettes. After checking in, I went out onto the terrace where there were maybe a hundred men and women all wearing the same red shirts. After talking to a group of them, I learned this is the summer gathering of the Scandinavian Corvette Club. There are Corvettes and their owners here from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. They seem to be drinking their share of the beer, and having a great time showing off their cars. 

Tomorrow I get one more day closer to Oslo with a walk of 20 miles. JB. 

Start:  Strömstad, Sweden

Finish:  Halden, Norway

Distance:  19

Total:  2232

Today I hit another milestone; I crossed the Swedish/Norwegian border and am now walking in my last country for this trip. 

The day got started with a good breakfast at the hotel in Tanumshede followed by a 30 minute bus ride back to Strömstad where I stopped walking yesterday. Today was cloudy and winds gusting to 40 mph. Fortunately for me, the wind was at my back. The terrain today was very hilly so I spent the going up and down rolling hills on backroads. 

As I neared the border between Sweden and Norway, but still on the Swedish side, there were several retailers selling tobacco and alcohol.  The stores looked very crowded with shoppers, so there must be some advantage for people from Norway to come into Sweden to shop. 

Once I reached the border, the two countries were separated by a deep gorge and an inlet from the sea. The bridge was clearly marked half way across with a sign and lines painted on the pavement designating the border. The old border checkpoint stations are still in place, but are abandoned now due to the open borders. 

Once I crossed into Norway, it was about two miles downhill to my hotel. Unfortunately, the symbol on Google Maps for the hotel is not in the right location so I walked an extra mile trying to find the place. I finally saw a truck driver walking toward a restaurant and asked him if he knew where the missing hotel was located. He did and I finally found it. 

Sweden was a beautiful country.  It’s shoreline on the North Sea is rocky and there are hundreds of islands and inlets that form the coast. Also, I didn’t meet a single person in Sweden who didn’t speak English. And just like Denmark, cash is almost nonexistent in Sweden. I talked to one gentleman who said he hadn’t spent any cash in three years. No matter how small the purchase, Swedes use a card. I’m assuming Norway will be the same way and since I’m only spending five days here, I don’t plan to get any of their currency. 

So tomorrow I set out on my brief walk through southern Norway. It’s about 80 miles from here to the finish line in Oslo.  I have five days to get there. I’m still one day ahead. If the weather forecast stays good, I plan to take a 23 mile day that’s in my walking plan next Monday and split it into two shorter days. Then I’ll arrive in Oslo right on time next Wednesday, 4 Sept.  

That’s it for today.  Have a great three day weekend everybody!  JB. 

PS:  I posted a new video. Click on the video tab to watch it. 

Start:  Tanumshede 

Finish:  Strömstad 

Distance:  19

Total:  2213

Today’s walk was a real grind. Narrow roads, rain, and not even a place to take a break and get some lunch were the order of the day. 

I knew there was a strong possibility (90%) that I would be walking in the rain today. Unfortunately, the strongest chance of rain was from 11:00-2:00; right in the middle of the day; so I really couldn’t start early enough or late enough to avoid the wet stuff. So I got started walking at 8:00 and got as far down the road as I could before the rains came. There was no bike trail, but the road had a nice shoulder for the first few miles. Then, just as predicted, it started raining at 11:00. At the same time, the road shoulder went away. I stopped and put on my parka at a bus stop and headed out, sharing the road with oncoming traffic. The traffic wasn’t too heavy, and everyone seemed to be going a little slower because of the rain and wet roads. When I got about two miles from Strömstad, the rain stopped and a bike trail started. 

My destination today was the main bus stop in the coastal town of Strömstad.  Because I was unable to get a hotel room in that town, I took the bus back to Tanumshede to spend another night. Taking the bus was easy, even though I had to do a bus change along the way. Tomorrow, I’ll take the bus back to Strömstad and walk 18 miles to Halden, my first town in Norway. 

That’s all for today. Most of my peeps are going to the Texas A&M football game tonight in College Station. I’ll wake up at 2:30 AM tomorrow morning and see if I can watch it on my iPad. Unfortunately, the WatchESPN app doesn’t work in Europe. JB. 

Start:  Dingle

Finish:  Tanumshede

Distance:  18

Total:  2194

Today got started with an early breakfast and a train ride from Uddevalla where I spent the night to Dingle where I stopped walking yesterday. The train left at 8:00 and got me to Dingle at 8:30. The weather forecast said rain all morning and thunderstorms this afternoon. When I got off the train it was raining lightly so I covered up with my poncho. The rain only lasted about an hour. When I got to within a couple of hours of my hotel, it started to look like thunderstorms could be forming, so I hustled up and knocked 20 minutes off the last two hours of walking and made it before the rain started. 

Tomorrow will be my last full day in Sweden. I walk 19 miles to the seaside town of Strömstad. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a hotel room there, so I’ve got to take the bus or train back here to Tanumshede and spend another night after tomorrow’s walk. Friday morning, it’s back to Strömstad and an 18 mile walk across the Swedish/Norwegian border to Halden, Norway. Today I saw my first highway sign for Oslo, but it was too far away to get a good picture. But I’m definitely going in the right direction to find it one week from today. JB. 

Start:  Uddevalla 

Finish:  Dingle

Distance:  21

Total:  2176

Today I had a good day walking to the very small town of Dingle (pronounced Ding-Lay). It was another hot one but I was able to slack pack because I’m back in Uddevalla to spend another night. 

I got started early this morning because I needed to get to Dingle, 21 miles north, by 3:18 to catch the train back to Uddevalla. If I was late and missed the train, the next one didn’t come for two hours. So I got out the door at 7:30, giving myself an extra hour just in case. My route was very walking friendly with either a bike trail or wide highway shoulder. 

At about 11:30, I happened upon a Circle K and got some lunch, then pressed on, getting to Dingle about an hour before the train. There was an old abandoned train station building that appeared to have been closed for some time. So unfortunately, there was no place to sit down and get out of the sun so I parked myself on a large trash can and waited for the train. By the time the train came, there were several people there to catch a ride. The train ride back to Uddevalla took 25 minutes. 

Tomorrow morning, I’ll catch an 8:10 train back to Dingle to pick up my walk. Tomorrow’s weather calls for rain showers all day until 3:00, then thunderstorms. With 18 miles to walk, I should be able to beat the thunderstorms but I might get wet tomorrow with the showers. 

In closing, I want to say hello to granddaughters Bailey and Ava. They started back to school yesterday; Bailey in 3rd grade and Ava in Kindergarten. They are the sweetest things and I know they’ll have a great school year. I can’t wait to get home next week to see them. JB. 

Start:  Stenungsund 

Finish:  Uddevalla

Distance:  23

Total:  2155

Today I had a long, hot, but productive 23 mile walk through the countryside to the beautiful  seaport of Uddevalla, population 31,000+. 

I started the day early due to the distance I needed to walk. So I ate an early breakfast and was on the road at 7:15. The skies were clear and the air cool, but that didn’t last long. By noon, it was 80 and no breeze. My route today took me through some beautiful backroads.  Today also took me a short distance away from the coastline and in doing so,I was going up and down hills all day. None were higher than 250 feet, but I would no sooner get up a hill than I’d go right back down. This lasted all day. Once I got within a couple of miles of my hotel, there was one more hill in front of me. Google Maps gave me two choices; use the walking trail and go over the top of the hill and down the other side into town, or walk an extra 15 minutes and follow the road around the hill. After 21 miles I was tired of climbing, so I took the long way around. 

Tonight I’m in Uddevalla. It is a small port city that sits on one of the hundreds of inlets from the North Sea. There’s a vibrant city center with lots of sidewalk cafes, etc. I’ll be here for two nights because tomorrow’s destination doesn’t have a hotel. I’ll be walking 21 miles, then take the train back here to spend the night. 

That about wraps up Day 142. I’ve got nine more days, but who’s counting?  JB.