A northern Scandinavian church; with a long, sharp-angled roof to keep the snow off.
There have been a few countries that, for timing reasons usually, we really didn’t give much of a chance. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria. Most of Europe to be honest. These countries were rushed through, and it meant that we could only get a brief glimpse of them. I’d really like to have been able to properly take our time getting to know them, but the trip is up to about three months now, and we just couldn’t afford to dedicate the time to them.
Usually the glimpse that we got didn’t entice me to want to see much more of the countries. It isn’t until I’ve been there for a little while and can get under the skin of a place a little more that I start to really rate it. The three examples above, for example, I have no real desire to return to.
Sweden was different.
I think it gets pretty snowy in winter
We passed through quickly, spending just one night in the country, but that was enough for me to see the stunning natural beauty of the far north of the country, and realise that this was a country I’ll have to return to at some point.
We drove north from the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, heading into higher and higher latitudes. Crossing the Finnish-Swedish border was a non-event, a simple sign was all that alerted us to the change of countries as we crossed a bridge over a wide river. Certainly a relief after the bureaucratic pain we’d had to endure for the last dozen or so crossings. The countryside was dominated by conifer forests and flat plains, rivers meandering through them. As we headed north, the landscape became more mountainous and rocky; more obviously glacial.
This is where we stopped for dinner; pasta and pesto on a deserted lake beach.
Myke and Vard preparing dinner. I have hundreds of photos of Vard from this trip, but only a handful where he isn’t pulling a stupid face!
Our destination for the night was the Abisco National Park, a stunning area of wilderness on a mountainside, overlooking a glacial lake. This being Scandinavia, the hostel turned out to be extremely expensive. We pleaded a lack of money and managed to negotiate camping around the side and use of the showers and kitchen for a fraction of the price. Which was completely worth it for the showers alone; we had been washing in lakes for far longer than we were entirely comfortable with.
After pitching the tent and having showers we still had hours before sunset. It was only 8pm. So we went on a quick walk down to the local waterfall.
The path down was extremely safe…
… but the views were totally worth it.
It felt a little bit like cheating not camping in the national park itself, but we decided to take advantage of the available amenities while we could.
Five and a half hours later, the sun had set, but it still hadn’t gotten dark. We were too late in the year to see the midnight sun, but even during the middle of the night it was still really light. Too dark to be able to read unaided, but light enough that you thought you probably could. It was surreal.
This was taken at 1:30 in the morning. Night mode was on, which lightens the shot a little, but this is how it looked to the naked eye.
Another shot taken shortly beforehand. The light in the sky has silhouetted the trees and buildings, but you can see how light the sky was even then.
After a slightly unsettled sleep through the bright night, Vard wasn’t feeling too hot, so elected to stay at the hostel and break camp, as well as giving Harrison a much needed clean out. Meanwhile I went up the mountainside with Myke in search of an alpine lake that we had been told was particularly pretty.
We were rewarded with this view of the main lake below us, and the surrounding mountains. Note the skis on the hut, for when it snows over winter.
We followed these markers up. Apparently they’re for cross-country skiers and snowmobiles.
The same view from higher up. It just kept getting better.
This was the alpine, arctic lake that we found at the top.
After some hesitation (on my part) and persuasion (by Myke), we decided to go for a swim. Or rather, a dip. It looked very appealing, but we lasted less than a minute before hastily scrambling back out. I don’t think I’ve ever swum anywhere colder.
Proof!
Once we were back it was time to head into Norway. Shortly after the border (another barely noticeable international crossing), we arrived at an unremarkable roadside turning on a small lake as the road curved left. Curved South. This was the most northerly point on our journey, and by far the furthest North any of us had ever been. Further north than most of Russia, virtually all of Canada- bar the islands, even Iceland, this small lay-by will probably be the furthest north we ever go, unless one of us decides to go off hunting the northern lights or looking for polar bears. We celebrated with high fives and meat doughnuts (which are exactly what they sound like – doughnuts with meat instead of jam; a delicious Nordic speciality).
As far north as we (and Harrison) made it!
As we pulled Harrison back onto the road, we were in an upbeat mood. We were definitely on the homeward leg now, but we had achieved things we didn’t really expect to when setting out. From deep in the Arctic Circle we were now on our way down Norway’s beautiful coast – fjords, porpoises, amazing roads, ferries, and dozens of rainbows. But all that will have to wait for the next update.
Three Unwise Men 