Back
We left Copenhagen on Monday 19 June for faraway exotic Sweden, via the
Elsinore-Helsingborg ferry.
To Kristian's extreme delight, we managed to restrict our visit to Sweden
to a mere 24 hours, and it would have been a lot less if only
the bastards hadn't refused to give us a ride (never attempt hitchhiking
in Sweden!). Anyway, we managed to get a ride with a Norwegian all the way to
the Norwegian-Swedish border. From there, we progressed northwards in
leaps and bounds via Lillehammer to the western fjords,on a road called the E6 than snakes its way past the Arctic cicle to the northern extremities of
Norway. Whatever pictures you may have seen of the fjords, cannot describe their
beauty. Cascading waterfalls, thundering all the way to
the sea from a height of 500 m, birds flying just above the water,
snow-capped peaks in the distance.
St. John Eve, June 23, is time for celebration in Scandinavia, coinciding
more or less with the summer solstice- we were invited to spent the
evening at a collective called "Ulvehuset" - the Wolfhouse- in Trondheim, populated by real trolls, or as close as you could get to the real thing. As we found out the parties in this house are legendary in all of Trondheim, so we didn't get to bed until 5am (yes, the sun was up, but then it always is).
We somehow underestimated the length of Norway - it goes on for ever!!! We did 2000 km more or less northwards, and there were still 600 km to go. There is something to be said about the Arctic landscape: desolate, bleak, stark. One
crosses the Arctic circle at 700 m altitude, on a deserted plateau still
covered with snow in mid-June. Quite appropriate!. As for the midnight sun, well what can we say: the sun disc hovers around the horizon at midnight, never
being able to go below it, and gets your mind all crazy (especially if you come from a land where there is usually a day and a night) ; you never know what time is whe: we are having breakfast at noon, starting the morning at 1pm, having dinner at 3am and the sun is always there.
The first time we saw the midnight sun was on the 25th, sailing from Bodo
to Lofoten islands in the North-west of Norway. The normal weather for Lofoten is rain and fog, so we count ourselves quite lucky, for being there on a sunny, glorious day.
We decided to splash out, and sailed from the lively town of Tromso to
Hammerfest on the coastal steamer, known as the Hurtigruten up here
(Norwegian names are impossible to remember if you are Greek, it must be
some sort of genetic syndrome, whereby one immediately forgets a Norwegian
place name 2 seconds after one's read it). Claims are made
that it's the most beautiful cruise in the world. Not having been on many
cruises, I can't really comment on the claim, but our stretch certainly was spectacular (and the sun was up for all of it).
When we got to Hammerfest (the northernmost settlement in Europe)
there was snow in people's back gardens and the tulips where only just
coming out (in mid-June!!!!). This is the one place that really tested the
gear that we have brought with us, as we are really better prepared for
warmer places. At one point we were wondering why our rucksacks felt so
light, but that was because we were wearing most of their contents.
Anyway, now we are in the 'Deep south', the town of Oulu in Finland, just
south of the Arctic circle, where we are visiting Atte, a Finnish friend
(the sun is still up for most of the day and there is no real night). One of
the weirdest experiences last night: we had a sauna (all Finns have one
built into their houses), and as if 80o heat wasn't punishment enough, we
got whipped with bunches of birch twigs, because apparently they enhance
all sensations and smell nice. Anyway Markella pretended that Atte was Rodney
(Markella's boss for those of you who don't know) when whipping him, so he
has come up with red and black blisters all over his back this morning.
She feel much better for it though.
We are now heading south, and eventually we'll get to a place where there
is a night, so Markella can get some sleep!!!
Lots of love
Markella & Kristian
Back