Kongsberg Silver Mines - VANLIFE NORWAY

This episode was filmed 18th & 19th September 2022.
Join us as we journey 2,300m (1.4 miles) into the Kongsberg silver mine and tour the tunnels 350m (1,148ft) underground.
After our mine tour, it’s time for lunch. We try a couple of burritos but are they worth the high price?
Moving on we stop to by some honey by the roadside and find a beautiful, peaceful park up by a river.
The following day is the state funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II so we take advantage of our quiet location to watch the ceremony on TV.
Video Links:
Our Norway playlist • Norway 2022
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:49 Kongsberg Silver Mine
01:30 Into the tunnel
02:43 The mine tour
06:35 Back out of the mine
07:51 Drive into Kongsberg
09:08 Tacos for lunch
11:01 Search for a park up
11:59 Honey
13:05 Hit the road Jack
14:08 Deer
14:44 Our park up
17:09 Dinner
17:40 Lie-in
18:21 The funeral of HM the Queen
19:10 Emergency rations
20:01 Next time …
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#vanlife #lifeistooshort #relaxing

[@catherinegerdes7272]

I always admired your Queen - in a world of pure chaos she remained elegant, beautifully mannered, and demonstrated a life of dedication….many of us could learn from her excellent example!

[@RobertSmith-cv1cu]

And what a Queen she was. We could all have learnt something from her. Bless.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

RIP 👑

[@know-your-worth7641]

It was absolutely amazing. I really do not think you realise how much you bring to people. I am housebound and love your channel. Thank you both so much

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We are glad you enjoy them ❤️

[@peteracton1515]

This is not just a vlog, it’s next level broadcasting. We are lucky to have such great quality filming. 👍

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Wow, thank you!

[@collinhunter9792]

NEVER A TRUER WORD TYPED, PETER.

[@frederickmoller]

I did that mining stuff for 43 years in Timmins Ontario Canada, I sure miss it to this very day...though I worked down to 9500' for a year, it was hot, lol.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Credit to you. That must have been tough work but a great community I should imagine.

[@chrisreinert9981]

You drove right past where I worked from 7:56 to 8:14. The buildings were offices for FMC, manufacturing oil well head attachment equipment. I'm now retired.

[@poorlyboy.713]

good job only 18 mins a day.

[@feestor5660]

Ken: "Expensive here, isn't it?" Understatement when it comes to most prices in Norway!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Yes indeed!

[@markandmichele3299]

Like the meals you make with just one pan. Given us some great ideas for when we go away again in our Motorhome. Keep up the great videos it shows you put a lot of effort into them.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks Mark & Michele. Have fun on your travels 🙂

[@chris-brandt]

How nice to see Norway in summer - we are there right now in winter and experience cold and exciting days. Have still fun in this beautiful country!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Have fun! You’re braver than us going in winter 🥶

[@MarcelEling]

So nice to have a small van

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We love it 😍

[@davypeugeot]

Hey guys , Lovely video again ..only got to watch it tonight . What a lovely park up , beautiful. Drone footage was wonderful too . You have got very good with the drone. Stay safe . Thanks for sharing

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Cheers Davy 🙂👍

[@angela-ti1np]

I went on a coal mine tour here in Pennsylvania. There are videos others have taken of this tour here on KZbin - Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine - watch one for a comparison. It is much more primitive than the silver mine tour in this video. We went down in an open car and the area of the mine that we toured was not very big. We took our small children down there - what were we thinking?!! I was scared out of my wits the entire time. But many of my ancestors worked in the coal mines so I felt as if I should see what it was like.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Yes good to experience a bit of what they went through 👍

[@clareclark6535]

Watching from my phone for a change. Normally watch on my TV and been enjoying xx

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks Clare 🙂

[@sjokomelk]

The toll booth outside Kongsberg is to pay for a new massive dual carriageway and tunnels built as a bypass road below the city. The road you complained was a 40km/h road was the old main east-west highway across Norway, and part of the E134. Now all the traffic is lead past Kongsberg and you save 15-20 minutes by bypassing the city.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for the info 👍

[@adogaday]

Really effective and creative use of contrast, moving between the claustrophobic confines of the silver mine to the glorious wide open spaces of the countryside. Nice job. If we found a park up like the one by the river I don't think we'd move for the rest of the trip lol. Perfect x

[@LifeistooshortCK]

It would have been lovely to spend more time there, especially with the lovely weather 😊☀️

[@oscars4107]

That platform lift is similar to the "Man Engine* in The Laxey mine on the Isle of Man. One of my re!atives operated it back in the day, when the mine was active.

[@ftkinsella]

She was definitely a special lady. She was good for the UK. So it's taste first and then read the label? Lol. I just loved the trip down into the mine. I was down 2km and under the ocean while I visited the coal mine in Cape Breton Nova Scotia. It was incredible. Thanks guys for the video. Cheers 😘🥂😘

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Wow, 2kms down, that’s deep! Thanks for watching 🙂👍

[@itrecinque9022]

Thanks for all your wonderful videos....I hope to do the Scantriangle soon....Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen..happy travels!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for watching. Enjoy your trip 🙂👍

[@Anita-rq9ev]

Another good episode👌. I like the fact that the seller trusts people and pay for the honey. Thank you 😊

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for watching!

[@ninakjrland9397]

We are still a country that trust each other, hounestry boxes are found all over the country.

[@Anita-rq9ev]

@@ninakjrland9397 it's nice. I've been twice to Norway and I love it 😊

[@todnpeg]

@15:12 tears welled in my eyes…the music, the scenery is “perfect” as “Charlie” says….When my “caregiver “ gig is through, I hope to be able to travel again. There are still some beautiful places to see…till then, thanks for sharing.

[@linkpsto123]

You passed my house just before the narrow bridge. I also tried out that burrito last summer when i moved to Kongsberg. I have to say i was quite disappointed. i had high hopes when talking to the nice lady in the restaurant. She migrated from Mexico so i was expecting real Mexican food. The quesadillas was also horrible..

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Such a shame. The Mexican lady was very friendly 😀

[@willitrelstad595]

What a great journey you've had. Thanks for taking us along.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

You’re welcome ☺️

[@leenewcome85]

Great video thanks for sharing ........

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for watching!

[@Sushi2735]

So many reasons I could not do this. the first claustrophobia and many more! 😅

[@sarran1955]

HaHa...1st.. I've been following you for quite a while, At 67 I consider myself an 'elder' camper in my VW T3 aircooled 1981, same size..same fun.. Cordialement,

[@LifeistooshortCK]

67 years young. Happy camping 😀👍

[@bolleolympus]

❤❤

[@Dan-fo9dk]

Kongsberg is really the place for high tech. There is a variety of education in tech and engineering. What they develop and produce there are in extreme high demand worldwide. In Kongsberg they produce parts for the automotive industry, for space/aerospace/weapon, tech and maintenance for fighter jets, renewable energy, tech for maritime industry including navigation systems, systems for offshore oil- and gas industry. Most "famous" (sadly) is Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace where they develop and produce missiles for defence: Ground to air, air to air and naval surface (cruise) missiles ...and are named NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) and NSM (Naval Strike Missile). They are sold through the US company Raytheon so they could be "acceptable" to USA military. ....and yeah the US preferred them over other systems. So today NASAMS are for example protecting the air space over Washington DC. But they renamed the system by changing the N (for Norwegian) to stand for National. It's all about being patriotic and telling everybody (in US) that see what USA can produce..!!! Since US wanted them there are a lot of countries who want them and the list is becoming longer and longer. They have now proven their capabilities with 100 % accuracy in Ukraine and ....of course Ukraine want more of those systems. Ukraine also want the NSM (the naval) missile but so far they haven't got them. USA has chosen the NSM missiles both for their navy ships and for their coastal defence. They have placed large orders. There are a lot of countries that has ordered that defence system and the last one on the list is Australia. So there are many people on Kongsberg that can say ...yeah...I'm a rocket scientist.... Kongsberg also has a yearly jazz festival. Top stars worldwide within jazz come and take part in the event. Among the guests there ( for several years) has been the Norwegian (from Oslo) teen star Angelina Jordan. She is already called the queen of jazz. Quincy Jones call her the biggest talent since Micheal Jackson. She was specially invited to his 85th birthday celebration in Royal Albert Hall. She has highest priority and free to do whatever contract with Republic Records and she has over 3,5 billion views on social media. There are a lot of YT-videos with her singing. Don't even try to listen to her since there are big risk that you will become hooked on her. There are millions worldwide who can't get enough of her. I have heard that to her concerts in Kongsberg last summer did there come people from far and wide, places like New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii ....and they were not teens ...nope....rather men 60-70 years old.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

All very interesting stuff Dan. I hope they have plenty of capacity to make those missiles as demand will remain high. We might risk a listen to Angelina, if it draws us back to Kongsberg that would be fine with us 😁👍

[@Wizardinthewild]

Loved the silver mine tour. Those tiny platforms 😬looked well worth it. Burritos nearly as bad as hotdogs! Loved the deer. Such a peaceful place to watch the state funeral. See you next time

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks guys. Take care 🙂👍

[@mmwaashumslowww7167]

Looking at the very tiny gap between the carriage and rocks, makes me think that the air you breathe is what you take with you. Very brave of you to travel in that, I would have walked away me thinks. Fantastic mine and it looked like you stepped back into the past.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We were fine and loved the experience 🙂👍

[@sebastianflesjandersen939]

You should try what's known as "Norsk husmannskost" it's basically Norwegian traditional food 😉

[@akwamarsunzal]

All that water! Looks very fishy 🙂 You should get yourselves a little fishing set up and have a try!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Would love to give it a try 🙂👍

[@MrJckDoo]

@Life is too short Great to see the workings of the mines. Loved the drone shots at your parkup. Getting close to the end of a lovely tour around Norway.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

A couple more videos still to come ☺️

[@DivineFalcon]

If you liked this mine, I highly recommend you visit the Wieliczka salt mine in Poland some day. It's quite spectacular.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out!

[@christopherbutler7588]

A very interesting video thanks for showing. Have a great week 😀

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thank you! You too!

[@jcnredpizzawindow2219]

You know it carol what a burrito is. You’re right a burrito has to has rice and beans. And maybe some yummy cheese! JCnRed

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Too right 😊👍

[@goingmouch3753]

Oh wow 24 quid…blimey .. they must be on good dough out there

[@tessab2800]

Another wonderful video! 😊

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thank you 🙏

[@lindahiggins7744]

Great episode always thoroughly enjoy watching you both, the silver mine was very interesting.many thanks. Really love the hat Carol 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👍

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks Linda 😀

[@mobile_noble4026]

What a lovely park up. Looked peaceful.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

It was so peaceful, such a lucky find ☺️

[@joelfrombethlehem]

Thank you for this nice tour of the silver mine. Yes, these older deep mines are small and noisy, and cold. That was a dreamy ideal spot where you camped and also watched the State Funeral for the Queen.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Glad you enjoyed the mine tour 🙂

[@mkeizer8134]

Hej you two, hope you're feeling better soon Ken. It's nice you do the history tours, thanks again.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@MarcelEling]

Imagine how it was to be digging this

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Very tough and dangerous work for sure.

[@steinarbrevikknudsen1546]

Hello! Nice to accompany you and especially when you visit Norway, which is my home country. I now live in Spain. Norway has high wages and therefore high prices...I notice that you are quite English in your diet...and very "proper" when it comes to parking. Have a nice evening!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thank you ☺️

[@susanbrown2909]

Great video ..Carol n Ken .thanks .

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Our pleasure!

[@JINNYJANNY]

Really enjoying your vlogs x thank you x Norway seems so quiet x

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Glad you like them!

[@lindao1327]

As usual, great video! Lovely park up at the end. Your food always looks good!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks Linda 🙂

[@lcook0825]

Very interesting video of the silver mine.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@karenchapman2561]

Great trip down the mine 😁

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We enjoyed it 🙂

[@lilianakubecek6612]

Omg anxiety plus being in that train carriage 😩😂 even the mine looked cramped 🤦 great video all round and beautiful scenery once again, the meals you prepared looked so yummy 😋 thanks again for the journey 👌

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for watching 🙂

[@grumpybear3229]

Nice vlog Ken and Carol. Great parkup. Thanks for sharing.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

You’re welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@Luredreier]

I'm glad you enjoyed that spot, you guys deserve that. Also, my condolances yet again.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thank you 🙂

[@bobmalibaliyahmarley1551]

You should stop and eat some meals at Gas Stations in Norway. Gas Station food in Norway is really high standard comparred to other countries, they are like diners. You can get burgers, fries, warm baguettes with cheese and ham, kebab and pizza, big size hot dogs and alot more. Honestly, check out the Gas Station food in Norway.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Wish we had known that at the time. Will check it out next time we are there 🙂👍

[@bobmalibaliyahmarley1551]

​@@LifeistooshortCK I know in other countries ''gas station food'' is something people avoid, but in Norway all gas stations are like diners more or less, where you can order something and sit down inside and eat. Or take with you in your car, of course. Big size bacon cheese hot dog is what I usually get at a gas station, and honest to god: The BEST burger I have ever eaten, was a gas station burger from a gas station not far from me in Norway, I've even had Americans over who tried it and confessed that it was like a little piece of heaven. xD

[@LifeistooshortCK]

@@bobmalibaliyahmarley1551 that’s good to know 🙂

[@glenysperry3421]

Anouther good episode, your meals look better than the recent restaurant ones.

[@davidmarshall5596]

Lovely place for a park up..the mine tour looks very interesting but not for the claustrophobic...the Queen set an example to all how to be in charge with such dignity..pity some of her family don't follow suit..no names ..bo pack drill.!! Another excellent vlog from the little Red camper 😀👌

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Cheers David 🙂👍

[@maryg.249]

Ah i survived the mine shaft trip. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I was thinking it would be. It was very interesting too. It’s good to have a down day, a day to catch up and relax. An entertaining and informative video. Hope your voice is back to normal by now. Mary

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Ken is feeling a lot better now, thanks Mary 🙏

[@getawaygeese]

Well done Ken for rear gunner on mine tour … they had a similar lift in Ireland in the copper mines - I guess there is only so many ways to go up and down 😂 Mine tour looked great Thanks for sharing a great paced video 😊

[@LifeistooshortCK]

The mine tour was great and good to experience something a bit different. Thanks for watching 🙂👍

[@jayoneill1533]

I couldn’t do this tour, too claustrophobic for me but a very interesting episode. I’m glad you did it so I don’t have to! 😊

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Glad you found it interesting 🙂

[@sam28600]

Hey, you are coming to my area now! Welcome 🙂 My be you will pass my house in the next episode....

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Who knows! Keep watching 😊👍

[@TiredOfAllOfThis]

Great. Another interesting video that tempts me to one day take the trip to Norway… let’s hope world events don’t preclude the possibility of that…?

[@LifeistooshortCK]

I hope so too! We want to keep travelling as long as we can ☺️

[@yaminthegrey]

Hari OM OOOoohhh, that last dish looked lush... I have to admit I didn't watch the first bit; horror movie to this one. I did listen though, because the history and industry is fascinating. Definitely one of the best bits of your trip - though thinking back, I really enjoyed the gun emplacement bit near the start... YAM xx

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Yes we like hearing about the history and that Cannon Museum was very impressive too!

[@eidiohir4948]

Do you think that you could do a video on planning a trip? I think that must be a very important part of ensuring that things go as well as possible.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We will bear that in mind 🙂👍

[@tiddlywinks456]

Great video as usual Ken and Carol. I love the food you cook, real comfort food and I absolutely love how appreciative you both are of each other’s cooking, it’s a joy to watch. The silver mines looked very interesting and a bit scary too. It was gorgeous scenery where you stopped off to sleep. Regarding the honey, honey can cause infant botulism so shouldn’t be given to any baby under 12 months, not just the variety you bought. Thought that was very honest of the sellers and buyers just leaving the honey and money there, it would be gone in a second here in Dublin, although maybe not deep in the countryside. Keep up the great work. 👍

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Thanks for the lovely comment. We did wonder that about the honey. You do still see people selling home grown food and plants outside their houses with honesty boxes in rural UK.

[@xhogun8578]

I am in rural England and it's quite common to see produce for sale with an honesty box. In my village depending on the season veg, fruit, eggs, plants, flowers and honey are available. A table is set up by people's gates or just inside their gardens.

[@lcook0825]

Hi Carol and Ken.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Hi Larry 👋

[@paulineclarke5388]

I have two fears one is heights the other is going down a mine so that trip would not be for me but nice to watch from my armchair

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Definitely not for you, Pauline. Going up the spiral staircase to the higher level was pretty scary!

[@innok5032]

20:10 In Rukan now are ya!

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We are indeed. Check out the next episode 😉

[@grayug3762]

In 2026 there should be a new Ferry service from the U k to Stavanger and Bergen

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We look forward the that 🙂👍

[@moonmother.]

🥰🌹❤

[@syphnxfv8145]

i was there and holy shit the train shaked so bad

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Yes. A real bone shaker 👍

[@johnbastien3872]

Sew and pasta both looked yummy. How as the beer? RIP E II R.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

It was a lager we had bought in Belgium as we didn’t want to pay Norwegian prices for alcohol. Tasted good 🙂👍

[@MichaelEricMenk]

4:09: it's running at half speed. When I was there the guide demonstrated the "escalator".

[@britl.1822]

Sounds like they have an Eastern European tourist guide at those mines... 🙃 That's a little bit strange... 🤣

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We thought he was Norwegian 🤷🏻‍♀️☺️

[@OldBaron5664]

It is great to see the places you visit and see your opinions, sadly my vehicle would struggle with the lower speed limit (cruise control does not work below a set gear ratio) plus the width of that bridge would stop me my vehicle is six foot five wing mirror to mirror plus my turning circle leaves a lot to be desired, you have to pay a toll on their road so why don't they fit traffic lights on the narrow bridges something we do in this country a lot of narrow bridges near me have this idea. You said that someone had driven on too the beach they must have been local as rule one when going off road pre-walk your route before you go down with the vehicle even 4x4s get stuck if a person starts to sink a heavy 4x4 will get stuck shingle is the worst. So far the twenty four pounds for those burritos only to find poor quality is a joke I paid two in my local Aldi might not have been as big but it was better quality. Ken I find Jakemans cough sweets work for me

[@LifeistooshortCK]

I think the people on the beach were visiting the area and not local so took a risk driving onto the shingle. We like Aldi, they do some good quality food at reasonable prices 🙂👍

[@eckligt]

Did you tell the Kongsberg tour guide you were a cop to get that blue hat?

[@LifeistooshortCK]

No one else wanted the job ☺️

[@eckligt]

@@LifeistooshortCK You're a trooper 👍

[@elspeth8876]

Enjoyable day out as always. Carol can I ask what app you are using to translate? Do you just photograph the text and it translates for you?

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Google Translate. You can type or scan the text with your phone camera.

[@stefansoder6903]

That mine guy doesn't have a Norwegian accent. Polish?

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We just assumed he was Norwegian ☺️

[@McBiker69]

How many countries have u been in and is there any country/place u want to revisit?

[@LifeistooshortCK]

We have visited 45 different countries (not all in the campervan ☺️). We think it might be time to revisit Iceland or New Zealand.

[@jollygoodmeals5813]

What Violin Concerto was the song at 15:05 ? Perhaps something from TCHAIKOVSKY.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

It is a track called A Song Worth Singing by Patrick Ussher.

[@jollygoodmeals5813]

@@LifeistooshortCK 👍

[@bobmalibaliyahmarley1551]

Norwegians don't use beans or rice on/in their tacos, by the way. It's not at all the norm, however: Norwegians love tacos, but it's definately different than the Mexican one.

[@LifeistooshortCK]

Good to know, thanks ☺️

[@chrisdaniel338]

wow those wooden walkways in the mine looked a bit non Health and safety, one step to the right and your foot would be off.