Text and photo: Helena Bergström
We've said it many times, but this year is not really our year… not yet anyway. The setbacks and challenges come so often that we start to take them for granted. But sometimes we get a little lucky too… we can't forget that! And in the end, we actually managed to make it to Norway!
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Beautiful Värmland!
We spent a lot of time with the camper in Värmland, and we have to say that we like this part of Sweden. Värmland offers a nice mix of culture and nature. In addition, it is easy to find nice free camping sites with the camper! Here you will find reports we wrote about Värmland during this trip:
Should we go to Norway or not?
Norway is a neighboring country and considering that we have traveled to much more exotic countries with the camper (Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Switzerland, etc.), Norway should be a fairly easy adventure to take. Yet it has felt far from obvious to get away.
Earlier this year we hesitated due to finances and diesel prices. The combination of the world situation + our own financial miscalculations made the whole idea feel a bit shaky. Then we decided to go, via Värmland, towards Norway anyway…
Many setbacks… and a lot of back-and-forth
But the setbacks didn't stop! We had read a little poorly, we admit. We board We should have gotten an Autopass for Norwegian roads and ferries earlier (it still works... but it would have been cheaper!) and we should have checked out the country's rules a little more.
The rules for how much alcohol you can bring in are quite strict (Norway is not part of the EU), but it was all the more challenging for us when we heard that our Nordic neighbors can be super careful with excess weight in the motorhome.
We weighed the camper, realized we were overweight, and simply didn't dare to go over the limit... What to do? All of a sudden we started going backwards through Värmland, to visit friends and unload half of our luggage in their garage...
Our friends had limited time, so it all went a bit quickly. In half an hour we unloaded all the chairs and tables, blankets, half of all the clothes, soda and wine, all the tools, one of the gas cylinders, and half of the kitchen equipment. Then we drove. Much easier… but what would we miss?
Easier... but now we were missing things!
We drove back towards northwest Värmland again, for the seventy-first time, only to realize that we were now short of gas. To lighten the weight, we had unloaded our Swedish gas cylinder, and only had the fixed gas tank left. And now it turned out (as we saw when we got batteries) that it was soon empty … But was it possible to fill up one in northwest Värmland? No, it wasn’t possible …
… and so little luck!
We decided to go back to Karlstad (wonder how many times we've been there now?). In Karlstad there is a place that fills fixed gas tanks and they closed at 2:00 PM. We arrived at 1:58 PM... A little luck, finally!
Now we were going back to northwestern Värmland again (phew!). We were free camping and Peter decided he wanted to install something. But now we had no tools... Incredibly, we had a single tool escaped the cleanup (because it got stuck on the side of the garage) … and this tool fit!
This week: Grateful for
After being quite anxious about the border crossing, we can say that we are grateful to finally be in Norway. Has anyone checked on us? No! But we can confirm that we have an empty garage and minimal levels of alcoholic beverages …
Your turn ... What are you grateful for this week?
The week ahead
We are now in Norway and traveling around to discover this amazingly beautiful country. There will be a final report about Värmland tomorrow, and then we will start telling you about our experiences in Norway! Feel free to follow the trip here – and on Instagram at @freedomtravel.se!
Did you miss the last Friday Blog? Read it Värmland trip, birthday and free camping
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To Åland with Finnlines - on new motorhome adventures
End of the long journey: Cape Town and Victoria Falls
North through Italy - several nights of free camping
Friday blog: Three continents in one week - trying to catch up
Friday Blog: Sunny days, deliciousness (and never-ending misery)
Friday Blog: Skåne, Halland, Småland … and repeat
English (UK) 
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Jossu says:
What a pain! But in the end, after all the hassle and stress, reaching the goal and feeling ”Finally!” is a fantastic feeling. And there you are now, and hopefully you will be lucky throughout the rest of the journey.
July 10, 2026 - 6:18
Ditte says:
Breath! Yes, this with weight and import of goods is a chapter in itself. But many Norwegians shop daily at the border in Värmland, in Charlottenberg and then drive home again. Srrömstad is also popular. There they have/had an extra system company because so many Norwegians came there. (Even by boat).
Glad you've now crossed the border. I wish you a nice trip in an incredibly beautiful country.
Grateful for this week? That SL lowered the price of the monthly pass. .
July 10, 2026 - 10:22
Anki says:
Oh... you have to be a little stubborn 🙂
Good luck with your trip in our beautiful neighboring country!
July 10, 2026 - 11:30
Eval8 says:
If you hadn't secured it, the weight would have probably been checked somewhere.
Grateful for perfectly fine holiday weather, preferably the last few days.
July 10, 2026 - 14:37
bmlarsreseblogg says:
There's a lot to think about just crossing the border into Norway. We didn't previously have a clue about what you could and couldn't bring with you, but we've come to understand that it can be expensive if you get checked. However, it was probably a good idea to reduce the weight because we've only been checked once and it was far up in northern Norway.
Hope you have a really nice trip in our beautiful neighboring country!
July 10, 2026 - 21:19
Hanneles boktips says:
It was an adventure, a lot to keep track of.
July 12, 2026 - 11:09