We travelled on the train from Helsingborg south to Lund and then headed north again to Goteborg a beautiful city on the west coast of Sweden. Train is really the way to travel here in Europe - just sit back, relax and watch the beautiful countryside go by - eagle eye Pat even spotted a deer! Sweden has lots of lush, green farming land and plenty of fresh water. Our trip from Goteborg to Stockholm was by fast train across the country - noticing the large barns for housing the cattle in the winter. I have found the Swedish people to be very friendly indeed and have met some wonderful people along the way. In Stockholm we visited the Old City and checked out the harbour - somehow we are always drawn towards the sea. The Scandinavian countries are very, very expensive so it is worthwhile to plan a bit of a budget.
We travelled from Stockholm through the lovely lakes area of Sweden towards Oslo in Norway. We have both noticed a great similarity between the brilliant countryside in Scandinavia with Canada and particularly British Columbia. On a train one day we sat beside a lovely Swedish gentleman by the name of Allan - Allan is 86 years of age and looks a treat! He was handsomely dressed in a suit and was on a mission for his grandson. He was hand delivering his grandson's Russian visa application to the Russian embassy in Stockholm. This involved getting up at 3am - driving for 1 hour to the train - travelling by train for several hours to the city and walking to the embassy - of course he then reversed the trip and headed home. We had a wonderful conversation on the train - it was our absolute pleasure to meet such a gentleman.
On the train to Oslo we also met up with a Chinese gentleman from Shanghai and spent the afternoon sightseeing together. We walked around the city and up to the Palace of the Norwegian Royal Family where we saw the changing of the guard. The following day we headed out of Oslo to Bergen on the west coast of Norway. The train trip across the mountains into Bergen is nothing short of spectacular - glorious scenery and snow capped mountains. This is considered to be one of the world's best train trips. Bergen is beautifully set amongst seven mountains and seven fiords and is a major centre for visiting the fiords. On one side of the harbour in Bergen is Bryggen which is a UNESCO World Heritage attraction - the oldest buildings date back to 1702 but the building pattern is 900 years old. We walked around the fish markets at the wharf and bought smoked wild salmon and prawns for dinner back at our apartment - yummo!
The World's Longest Fiord - so what is Western Norway best know for? The dramatic fiords - and the Sognefjord is the longest of them all, 204 km, cutting inland halfway to the Swedish border. The fjords were carved by ice during a series of ice ages, the most recent of them 10,000 years ago. The deepest fjord is 1,308 metres - if the fjord were drained of water, the surrounding mountains would rise almost twice as high above us. The fjord is the soul of Western Norway, separating yet connecting, and partly explains the rich variation in dialects. Norway can thank the warm Gulf Stream for the lush green and which is roughly the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska.
Following our cruise down Sognefjord we boarded a smaller boat and headed into Naeroyfjorden which is the narrowest fiord and is also a World Heritage site. At Gudvangen at the end of the fiords we boarded a bus and headed up higher into the mountains and onto Voss - once again spectacular - it needs to be seen to be believed - this area of the world is truly magnificent. From Voss we boarded a train and headed back to Bergen. This west coast of Norway has something like 270 days a year of rain - so expect rain when you visit! We left Bergen and headed back to Oslo where we boarded a night sleeper train and headed north to Trondheim and Bodo. Once again the scenery is spectacular - beautiful lakes and waterfalls - and we have crossed into the Arctic Circle.
At Bodo we boarded a ferry and headed to Moskenes on the Lufoten Islands. We met Chan from South Korea on the ferry and also spent time sightseeing together. We took the bus to a little fishing village called Ä on the southern part of the island and checked into the Grocery Store - the village and fishermen's huts have been converted into accommodation houses. We walked out onto the jetty and behind us was the most magnificent scenery and dramatic mountains - a good location to call home and chat with all the crew!
We took the bus north to Svolvaer driving through and past these magnificent mountains which they say have been formed from glaciers and ice. All the islands in the Lufoten group are joined by bridges so it is possible to drive from one end to the other - unfortunately there were no hire cars available till the following week. Svolvaer is a great place to visit on the islands - a great place to sit in the sun and eat a great Scandinavian hot dog and an ice cream! From Svolvaer we travelled across on the ferry for four hours to Narvic which is 300 km north of the Arctic Circle which is the furtherest north we have travelled. We walked around the city and didn't get to bed until quite late at 1:15am. It is an amazing experience to see sunshine at 10 and 11:00 pm and to see a bright sky all through the night - it certainly throws any sleep pattern out the window!
We travelled from Narvic back through Sweden to Haparanda on the Finland border. We checked into a magnificent old Hotel which was built in 1898 but in wonderful condition - and it still is a flash hotel. One of the great things about travelling around is the people we meet up with. We met up with Chris who is a chef from Cambridge so we teamed up for a couple of days. The following morning we walked from Sweden to Finland! In this part of northern Finland if there is no train where there should be one, the Government provides a bus free of charge between stations - brilliant!
From Tornio on the border we headed to Kemi and Rovaniemi. A trip to Rovaniemi would not be complete without a visit to Santa Claus now would it? The bus left Rovaniemi for the trip up to Santa's village in Npapiiri which is right inside the Arctic Circle. This is the official address of all mail that is posted to Santa at the North Pole - he even has his own post office! We organised a Christmas Delivery Postcard for Flynn, Liam and the new baby (due October 21st) and our two little nieces Riley and Charli. We had some time to kill in Kemi before the train was due to depart so visited a lovely little pub in the main street. Four Finnish guys came up to ask where we came from - it's always great to say "We're from Australia". One of the guys told me he noticed what a happy person I am and that he can see I have a "laughing heart" - I guess Pat will need a bit of time to think about that one!
The trip from Rovaniemi south to Kuopio is very leisurely and winds down through more lakes than I've ever seen. I think everybody in Finland could own a waterfront block with plenty left over for the tourists. Kuopio is situated on the edge of a very large lake - tomorrow we're planning a trip on a ferry to points south on the lake where we will link up with the train once again. This evening we spent a leisurely time sipping a Finnish beer (or two) and eating a pizza on the edge of the lake - yes it is special!
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