In Stockholm i bumped into the Pride Parade unexpectedly. I spent long time to watch them passing by and photographing. Watch the photos from that event, which i posted earlier:
But of course i visited also the world famous Vasa Museum and the old town of Stockholm.
It was on a random chat with another tourist, when i heard about that wooden Borgund Stave Church. Let’s go there i thought, followed the rainbow and found my way via the fantastic Vindahellvegen to that awesome wooden church.
I was expecting a crowd in Trondheim, but little knew about the Olavsfest, what was held on that particular weekend. The famous Nidaros Cathedral was overrun by spectators and entry tickets were sold out for the day. But there was still a lively market place to visit.
Not far from the cathedral flows the river Nidelva, which divides the city in two parts. The old city bridge ‚Gamle Bybro‘ connects them and leads to the neighborhood Bakklandet, what’s certainly worth a visit.
After a long day strolling around, enjoying street life and drinking coffee with sweets, i was longing for a calm place again. Luckily i found a nice hike in the hilly forest just outside of the city. The gentle rain that started to fall didn’t even bother me, but it also gave me a beautiful rainbow.
Another calm night drive with the chance to see wildlife along the road, or even crossing it.
Early in the morning I crossed the Arctic Circle again. This time southbound.
Short time later the barren landscape changed to forest. I decided to look out for a quite place to camp. A small forest road brought me to an old path in the wood. This wonderful lonely spot next to a small stream was just perfect to rest for awhile.
With lots of sunshine the Lofoten was pure bliss.
Pure? Almost, if there wasn’t those dirty people using the bushes as camping toilet. It makes me angry to see how some tourists pollute the nature, while posting about the their passion for outdoor activities. I guess there will be consequences for other tourists and traveler sooner or later. I wonder how much longer wild camping will be tolerated.
Back on the road i noticed wooden frames with left overs of dry fishes. Stockfish is an important good in Norway and its export was recorded back to the medieval times. Although it’s originally not salted, i found some salt on the bottom of these frames.
There are quite a few villages. Most are suited themselves best for tourism. They’re pretty, some have also museums and other information centre. Probably most important are the restaurants and cafes settled on beautiful places.
After a couple beautiful days on the archipelagos i reached the village of Å , where i had a last hike before boarding the ferry to south at midnight.
Alta is not only a pleasant town in northern Norway, but also has some prehistoric rock carvings to offer. A nice walk at the shore lead me to impressive prehistoric art. But before i was visiting the Alta Museum for more information about the history on this UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After the endless ways inland in the past days, i enjoyed the roads along the fjords very much. Many times i felt to stop for the view or having a coffee break in a breathtaking landscape. So i arrived Tromsø too late for visiting any museum or the famous Arctic Cathedral. However, there was enough light to stroll trough the town and get an impression before leaving for the fjords again.
Another long drive trough beautiful landscape of northern Norway. Even the sun comes out for awhile, just when i was on a hike at Silfar Canyon. Another traveler approached me for a chat. So we went together along the the canyon, shared travel stories and enjoyed the nature around.
Due maintenance the North Cape Tunnel was closed for a couple hours. This roughly 6.9 kilometer long tunnel dives 212 meter underneath the sea and connect the mainland with the island Mageroya.
Just to make it clear: The North Cape is not the most northern spot, neither from mainland Europe (what is at Sletness Fyr), nor from Europe as in general (what is on Svalbard ). It’s simply the most northern point one can reach on road from mainland Europe. When i arrived there unfortunately strong winds brought dense fog too. With that the midnight sun was hidden behind clouds. Just for a minute there was some sun rays pushing through the thick mist, slittering over the surface of the Barents Sea and reached the foot of the cliffs.
A nice surprise to meet my old traveler friend Paolo, who i met before in Africa. He’s traveling for years around the world with his motorcycle. There’s a lot to catch up, and so we spent hours in the cold to share stories.
Who was expecting to see now the famous North Cape will be disappointed, because I was talking about the most northern point on mainland Europe. And this is in fact at the lighthouse Sletness Fyr, which also is the northernmost mainland lighthouse on Earth!
It’s situated outside the small fisher village Gamvik. What is now a fairly busy tourist region, the village was only accessible by boat until they build a road in the 1980’s. But nowadays it’s a long, but easy drive trough stunning, barren landscape. Especially in summer time, when i was traveling there. To my surprise my weather app told me, the sun still won’t set for the next few days up there, and this was end of July. No hurry to find a place for overnight, since there won’t be a ’night‘ anyway.
Once reached the town, i found also an abandoned fortification from World War II. This region near the Russian border had a strategical importance. From there it was only a couple kilometers to get to the lighthouse, and get a coffee at the busy, but cosy restaurant.
A walk along the windy coast brought me finally to the most northern point of mainland Europe, since the Northern Cape is actually on a island, but read more about it in my next post.
Long way up north. The weather wasn’t really welcoming, but this way I just cruised across Finland from south up to Rovaniemi.
The Arktikum in Rovaniemi is a museum which explains life and culture on the arctic circle in a interesting and wonderful way. One shouldn’t miss it when up here.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Santa Claus Village just bit north of the town. It’s a tourist trap, no question about that. Next to restaurants, hotel and souvenir shop, there’s also to meet Santa Claus himself. ‚Free Entrance!‘ a sign told me. I found it ridiculous to queue up for a photo with the white bearded, old man in red dress. So I skipped the line and went straight to the souvenir shop, located just after the room where Santa Claus awaited his visitors. There, the young cashier explained me, I wouldn’t be allowed to make a selfie with him anyway, but could buy a photo from the shop, starting prices from €30.
I stepped out from Santa Claus house, passed the famous Santa Claus Post Office and just stepped over the line of the Arctic Circle. Finally i made it to the ‚real north‘!
And with this i made it definitely also to Lapland, the land of reindeers. Along the way i spotted some of these majestic, but shy animals. Still mid-summer, the long daylight allowed me to drive till late, stopping for observing some reindeers and to cook a midnight meal before finally get some rest.
rene bauer photography 