Norway - Fjords & Mountains

After we said our goodbyes to Lennart and the Sampi Nature Camp we headed west to Abisko a small mountain town close to the Norwegian border. It was a beautiful location, on the edge of a lake surrounded by  mountains. We woke to a cloudy snowy day, with a forecast for more of the same all day. Hard to take landscape photos in a white out, so we spent the day relaxing and working on photos. Sara went for a short walk on the lake - it was beautifully quiet in the snow.

Saturday 12th of March we started the 400km drive to our next location - Lofoten Islands, Norway. It was a beautiful day, and the drive was full of stunning views. We stopped for a picnic lunch to eat the sandwiches we'd picked up at the grocery store in Sweden, right before driving into Norway. We had been advised to get groceries there because it was cheaper than Norway.  This was a common theme, apparently Norwegians who are close to the border drove to stores in both Sweden and Finland to take advantage of lower prices. After lunch we continued the drive, which was really pretty, but full of narrow, twisty roads, with the sun now low enough to blind us!  We arrived at our cottage after 8 hours, having stopped numerous times to take advantage of the great weather and take photos.

We settled into our cabin, part of an old fishing camp in the tiny village of Hamnøy. We were on one of the small islands at the tip of the Lofoten island chain. The fisherman cabins are called Robu's, and are typically red. The camp had been remodeled to accommodate guests and was very comfortable. We particularly enjoyed the heated bathroom floors that were in all our rooms in Scandinavia. When we originally booked the cabin we had called and asked for one that was north facing so we could easily see any northern lights and for a little additional cost ended up with the most perfect location - well worth the extra! Around 10pm we popped outside to the deck in case there was any aurora out and we were treated to an incredible hour of lights, with the stunning backdrop of the mountains and fjords. We hadn't expected to see any lights in Lofoten as it is often cloudy on the coast, so this was a real treat!

Sunday we had an easy day, driving about 35km to the tip of the last island and exploring the small village of Reine.  Monday the 14th we explored the small villages north of us, enjoying the stunning beaches and watching some  brave people surfing in the arctic water. We drove back to Reine after lunch to take the ferry into one of the fjords. The captain must have thought crazy tourists, cause we sat outside in the biting wind to take videos and photos while the ferry completed its one hour round trip to pick up a few people from the tiny communities on the edges of the fjord. Although it was a cloudy day the views were still stunning. 

Tuesday we explored the fishing village of Nusfjord which includes a lovely café for lunch, and renovated buildings from the 1800's when fishing was the primary activity. It was a beautiful sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering around. Nusfjord is on the east side of the island, and we next headed to the west side to check out the beaches. We visited Vikten and Utakleiv, where we stayed to enjoy a magnificent sunset. It was quite cold and windy, but the experience was too lovely to hurry, so we stayed until the light was totally gone by 7pm. By the time we got back to our cabin it was quite late, and after a quick dinner we were thinking about calling it a day. Sara popped out to the deck to check for northern lights since it was clear, and saw what looked like the beginnings of something. John hurriedly joined her and we were treated to a stunning display of lights! What a perfect end to the day, we fell into bed around 1am exhausted but very happy!

Wednesday was our last full day and we spent the time returning to a few spots for additional photos, and then drove to Samsund, about 75km north east of our location. There were some fascinating views of the rocky fjords and bays at low tide. It was a rather cloudy day with rain on and off, but we still had an enjoyable time. We had an amusing time in a grocery store after buying a few items and using the self checkout. After walking into the exit barrier which didn't open we realized the receipt needed scanning. Not speaking a word of Norwegian Sara tried to scan the receipt and promptly had hand sanitizer squirted on the paper. Blast! By the time the scanner was found the hand sanitizer had blurred the bar code, so we still couldn't get out. Luckily an employee just waved us out the other side, Sara told her we were stupid tourists, to which she replied "You are not the worst". Just one of the funny experiences from our travels. We returned to the cabin and enjoyed a lovely meal at the local restaurant, including a Lofoten beer.

Thursday 17th of March was a long day of driving. We left our comfy red fisherman's cabin before 9am and drove the 515km to Senjafjord Hotel. It was a tiring 8 hours of driving, with driving rain and snow most of the way. We were extremely glad we had the little VW Polo since the roads were so narrow, and there was frequently large trucks coming towards us. A nasty weather pattern had settled over our part of Norway and the forecast was rain and snow for the rest of the week. We had been so lucky with the few days of clear weather we had in Lofoten. Senja is Norway's second biggest island at 1,580Sq km and is an area definitely worth exploring. Sadly we only had one night, but thoroughly enjoyed the comfortable hotel.

Friday was our last day on Norway. We spent the morning packing our bags trying to ensure each bag weighed less than the required 23kg (50lbs). It is very tough to pack light when you are spending three weeks in the arctic circle! We drove 235km to the town of Tromso. Weather was still terrible with driving rain and quite a bit of snowy roads in one area - good thing we still had our trusty VW Polo with the ice studs. We enjoyed a really fabulous meal at a restaurant just 3 minutes walk from our hotel -  Mathallen in case you are ever in the area!

Saturday 19th of March we flew to England to spend the week with Sara's mum and sister (Christine and Emma). We had an incredible time in Scandinavia - the whole trip exceeded our expectations and we have so many unforgettable memories. 

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Sweden - Sámi & Reindeer

Saturday 5th of March was our travel day to Sweden. Europcar luckily had the car ready for us by 3pm. Originally we were told 7pm, and we really didn't want to drive 270km in the dark and snowy conditions. We picked up our little VW Polo and managed to stuff all our bags into the back and set off. The roads were covered in hard packed snow most of the way, but it was surprisingly easy driving. We arrived at the Reindeer Lodge in Jukkasjärvi, near Karuna just after dark. 

We were staying in one of five idyllic cottage with a wood stove to keep warm, and access to a log cabin for food preparation and separate buildings for showers and bathrooms. The facilities are run by Nutti Sámi Siida, a family run Sami company who organize experiences based on Sámi culture. They offer this special lodging close to reindeer so there are opportunities to interact with these lovely animals. We fell asleep to the crackling of the wood fire, just delightful. 

The next morning we started the day learning about the relationship between the reindeer and the Sámi people who are an indigenous people who inhabit Sápmi, the areas of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. We learned the term Lapland is regarded as offensive and often used as an insult by others, so we will use Sápmi going forward. Sadly the story of their treatment, including loss of land, culture, language and overall way of life is very similar to Native Americans and other indigenous people. Traditionally the Sámi were semi-nomadic reindeer herders, following the reindeer as they migrated during different season. Climate change is significant enough even this far north that the reindeer's winter food source is impacted, and the reindeer were starving so the reindeer encounter and the lodging is source of income used to provide supplemental food for the family's reindeer herd. 

After fun feeding the reindeer, with promises for more interactions later we headed out to visit the Ice Hotel. Since 1989 the ice hotel has been creating an entire ice structure with rooms and hallways for people to use overnight. There are rooms with the standard bed of ice and deluxe rooms magnificent sculptures made by artists from all round the world. We had a wonderful few hours looking at all of the rooms, now minus the people who had spent the night sleeping on a bed of ice! We had considered this option, but decided the cost of $500/night too much for a cold night! We did finish off the visit with a drink at the ice bar, including glasses made totally of ice.

We returned to the cabin for a quick lunch, then started our reindeer encounter. Our guide, a young Sámi lady also called Sara picked us up along with several other guests from the Ice Hotel. We enjoyed a 30 minute snow mobile ride through the snow covered forest - and then realized we were back at the Reindeer lodge! As promised we were able to feed the reindeer again - that experience never gets old - and had the opportunity of reindeer sledding. This was a bit different to the dogs, we knelt or sat on a sled, and then with much whooping and hollering, ran round a large circular track. The reindeer started out fast and then slowed to walk which is more their natural pace. We finished up sitting in the lávvu (a tent structure similar to a teepee) with a large fire, and Sara talked about Sámi life while she prepared a traditional meal of flat bread, fried reindeer meet and lingon berries. It was a fun experience and we really enjoyed getting to know Sara and hearing her stories. 

Sadly we left the reindeer on Monday the 7th and headed 120km to the town of Gällivare to meet Lennart owner of the Sápmi Nature Camp where we were staying for the next three nights. Lennart grew up in a reindeer herding family, and wanted to to create sustainable tourism that doesn't threaten the reindeer and the herding, but instead shares knowledge about Sami life – both past and present. Little did we know what an amazing experience we would have over the next three days. We drove 70km to the camp, which offers a personal off the grid glamping experience for a few guests. Our lávvu had a full size bed, a wood burning stove for the day and automatic heater for night and solar powered lights. It was incredibly comfortable experience and we loved getting the fire going in the morning and nights and just sitting there together.  

We quickly learned Lennart is an incredible chef, and he provided three fabulous meals every day. The meals included fish, moose or reindeer, all caught and prepared by Lennart. Even Sara eat a little of the moose and reindeer, instead of staying strictly vegetarian. Meals were cooked and eaten in the log cabin, all very cozy along with fascinating conversation with Lennart. After a walk down to the lake for some sunset photos we enjoyed a very comfortable first night, and determined the lávvu stayed warmer in 24F temperatures than our house in Dallas!

Tuesday we drive about an hour west to Stora Sjofallet national park. The views were incredible, and we were lucky enough to see a moose mother and calf on the lake. We learned that the hydro electric dam built starting in the 1970's destroyed a large area of the reindeers traditional summer grazing - sadly even a renewable energy has impact. We returned to camp late afternoon and met James (UK) and Anna (Czech Republic) who were the other guests for the next two nights. After another fabulous meal and more great conversation we all rolled into our lávvus for the night - we could get used to this level of luxury, and very impressive given the whole camp is off grid!

Wednesday the 9th of March was an incredible day. We started off with the unbelievable experience of spending time with the reindeer herd belonging to Kenneth who is Lennart's brother. The reindeer need to be kept in pastures and fed supplemental food to ensure they survive the winter. Traditionally the reindeer would dig in the snow to find lichen, but climate change has caused warmer temperatures that melt the snow during the day and then freezes into ice at night. The reindeer can't smell the lichen through the ice so can't get enough food. It is very expensive to feed the reindeer all winter, and visits like ours helps provide income for the feed. Sara helped Kenneth feed the 300 reindeer. The bucket of feed was much heaver than it looked, and Kenneth said he uses about a ton of food with the two daily feedings. It was a magical experience just to stand and watch the reindeer, as well as listen to the musical sound their hooves made in the snow. 

After our unforgettable experience, Lennart had one more treat in store for us - a wood sauna and wash. First he showed us how to drill a hole in the ice and pump the water. Next the water had to be carried to the sauna and the hot water tank filled, and the wood fire lit. Two hours later we were ready! We sat in the sauna for a while enjoying the view of the lake, then it was time to jump and roll in the snow - we were threatened with a restricted breakfast if we didn't try this Sámi tradition. No pictures of this cause we held hands and ran out, rolled and ran back inside - plus we were naked!  It was surprisingly refreshing, enough that Sara who typically doesn't enjoy sauna's did it twice! After the snow jumping we washed up in the sauna, using the very hot water now heated by the wood fire. It was a perfect way to end an amazing day.

Thursday morning we sadly said our good byes and headed to our next location. More about that in the next post!

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Finland - Northern Lights and Huskies

We headed north on Monday Feb 28th, taking a short flight from Helsinki to Ivalo where we were met by our guide from Aurora Service Tours. Canice (from Ireland), picked up the other guests and we stopped at the grocery store to get food for the next four days. After a 2 1/2 hr drive mostly on hard packed snow roads we arrived in Utsjoki, right on the Norwegian border. We settled into our very comfortable cottages - complete with wood stoves and personal saunas! Later when it was dark we climbed up the viewing tower  hoping to see the aurora, but it was too cloudy so we called it an early night.

The next three nights we met every evening at 8pm in the Kota - a round wooden hut with a very large fire in the middle. We discussed the nights plans with Canice and the other guests, Heather from Wales, and Lena and Noveta from Indonesia. The weather at camp was cloudy every night, but Canice knew locations typically within an hour drive that potentially had clear weather. We found the Aurora is not guaranteed and requires a lot of luck, driving and standing in the cold hoping for the clouds to clear and lights to appear. Luckily Canice took good care of everyone, including providing hot juice and cookies after a few hours of standing in the cold windy night! The first two nights we went south to a parking pull off and did see some good lights.

Our last night the Aurora forecast wasn't very encouraging, but Canice suggested we went north to the top of a pass that might have clear skies and we could hope to see some lights. So off we went in the minibus on roads that are all covered in hard packed snow. Every vehicle this far north has snow tires with ice studs which is critical to drive in these conditions. We arrived at the top of the pass and were met with a brutally cold wind - and also an incredible display of northern lights which Canice said were the best he had seen all year! Lesson learned, you can't rely on the forecast! After several hours of photography we started to head back to the camp, and saw another display of incredible lights that required another stop on the side of the road! We finally got back around midnight after a wonderful experience!

Wednesday morning we spent a delightful two hours snow shoeing in the forest and were lucky enough to see a few reindeer and of course plenty of beautiful snow covered trees.

Thursday 3rd we drove about an hour north east to Tana, Norway for the dog sledding adventure. After a very quick 10-minute briefing on how to control the dogs and the sled we set off with the other people, about 8 sleds. John was sitting on a reindeer hide on the sled, trying not to slide off and Sara was standing up driving, also trying not to fall off. The dogs were really excited and seemed to only know full speed ahead. Luckily, we were the last sled in the group, which meant no one ran up behind us when everyone had to stop suddenly the many times a sled ahead of us turned over.

We had the unbelievable experience of hurtling around the beautiful countryside for two hours. There was one bit of excitement when Sara fell off the back and was dragged about 200 yrds trying to desperately work out how to stop the sled. Good thing she remembered to hang on to the bar, otherwise John could be at the North pole by now! Eventually she managed to use one hand on the foot break and yelled stop with enough urgency the dogs stopped and looked back as if to say, “What’s up back there”. Unbelievably John caught the whole thing on video which we will edit and share later! Overall it was an exhilarating experience with beauty and a sprinkling of terror and we enjoyed every moment!

Friday was sadly our day to move on. We had found out Thursday that Avis had canceled our car reservation back in November. Who knew that a confirmation email actually meant the request was denied? This meant the rest of our trip was potentially ruined as we needed a one-way rental from Finland to Norway from a remote part of the country in the middle of the school break. After a lot of stress calling every car rental company and asking for any size car in a 200 km radius, we were saved by EuropCar, who had a small VW Polo at Kittila airport available late Saturday.

We had already planned to spend Friday night in Kittila, just needed to work out how to travel the 200km without a car. Bus was the cheapest option, but would take 8 hours, and required an overnight stop. Flying back to Helsinki and then north again to Kittila would work at $750, but tough to get last minute flights. What about a taxi? I randomly called a taxi company in Inari, a small village with a population of under 600 people. A delightful lady quoted me 350 euro, and then recommended a cheaper bus/taxi combination. We decided the money was well spent and took her additional advice to visit and eat lunch at the Sami museum, which has been on our wish list anyway. Inari is the center of Sami culture in Finland and also the location of the Finnish Sami parliament. After a fascinating wander around the outside museum, showing traditional Sami buildings and a lunch we were driven the 2 ½ hours to our Kittila hotel. I am still moved by how kind and helpful both the lady and her husband (who drove us) were.  The drive was beautiful, and we were happy to settle in our room – so celebrated with a beer!

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Scandinavian Expedition 2022

We are really excited to set out on a five week expedition to the far north of Finland, Sweden and Norway, plus some time in England and Portugal! The primary goal is to explore Lapland as the north of the Scandinavian countries is called, and view the Aurora - Northern lights. 

We left Dallas on Wednesday 23rd Feb, a day early as our flight to New York for Thursday was canceled, seemed getting out and spending a night in NY was better than missing our flight to Helsinki. I'll spare you the details of waiting endlessly for a plane in Dallas that was stuck in a maintenance hanger, or waiting for the JFK Finnair counter to open so we could check our four very large bags. Needless to say we were very happy to reach our hotel in Helsinki Friday afternoon.

Saturday we met a friend of Sara's for lunch and had a tour of the area. Tavi used to work in Dallas with Sara and it was great to see him and get updated on his new life in Finland. We spent the afternoon wandering around the city center taking photos and enjoying the coffee and pastry shops that are everywhere. The paths are really icy even in the city and we carefully walked around - didn't want to slip and break something at the start of the trip!

Sunday the 27th we got a transport pass and used the trams to check out some cool streets and a park/marina that was full of people - even a cross country skier. It was a beautiful sunny day and we took the ferry to Suomenlinna Island which has a fortress and buildings built in the mid-18th century and is now a World Heritage site. The fortress has been part of both Sweden and Russia before finally transferring to Finland when the country gained independence in 1917. We had a lovely time exploring the island, glad we had added ice grippers to our boots and warm coats to block the biting wind!

We are now in Utsjoki which is about a mile from the Norwegian border and less than 200KM from Russia.  We are staying in a delightful cottage with heated floors and a personal sauna!  The next three days we will be up late hoping to see and photograph the northern lights. It's been snowing all day today so not sure how lucky we will be, but regardless we are having a wonderful time!

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