Over the course of midsummer 2013, I had the opportunity to take a road trip from Northern Finland to Northern Sweden, then Northern Norway, and back to Finland. Here are some splendid shots of the tour. The goal is to give you an idea of what to expect in taking a road trip way up north!
We took the train from Jämsä, Finland until Tampere. From there, another train to Rovaniemi where our car rental from Hertz is parked. Next we set off for Sweden but with a short coffee stop at Pello.
On the way to Kiruna, but still in Finland area, I spotted my first ever reindeer!!!
Reaching Kiruna, Sweden, we went off to take the tour of the mining museum!
We spent an overnight at Kiruna in a very lovely lakehouse called Camp Alta.
Address: Jullebovägen, 2, 982 92 Kiruna Sweden
Phone: +46(0)706529374
email: campalta@campalta.net
website: www.campalta.net
Facebook: campalta (https://www.facebook.com/campalta.kiruna?fref=ts)
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| Barbecue area by the lake...lovely! |
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| Sauna Area which may be reserved by a group of 4-6, there is a bigger Sauna area too |
The following day, we were back on the road to see more of swedish laplands
And then finally, reaching Lofoten area of Norway!!!
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| Svolvær has a really nice sweet and laid-back appeal..The kind of place that is not too crowded yet modern.. It is one of my memorable places in this trip, next to our stay in Camp Alta, Kiruna. |
We stayed for about 3 days in Lofoten area, taking the cruise tour and checking out some museums. Do not dare miss Magic Ice! Even if it means you can only stay for 30 minutes inside, it is still an experience!
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| Svolvær |
That's it for the LofotFjord Cruise, moving on to other sites near and around Svolvaer area:
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| Oldest Church in Lofotn |
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| Viking Museum |
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| Boats of the Vikings |
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| Having dinner at Henningsvær fishing village |
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| Inside Magic Ice, they serve you cocktails and shots in ice glasses! |
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| Magic Ice |
We left Svolvær after 3 days and headed back to Finland..but making a quick stop over at Bardu in Troms county, Norway to get into the Polar Zoo.
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| That's salt the albino bear! She's a darling, although my Finn friends beg to disagree! :-P |
Then I needed to prove that I have reached the tip and took a photo of this spot in Skibotn...
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| Skibotn |
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| Stepping on Skibotn, the most northern part of the world that I will ever be! |
So on the way back, we are heading on to the connection of Norway and Finland in the North where we where able to skip driving along Sweden's road. We stopped over Kilpisjärvi and Sodankyla and there I found more reindeer!!! You know guys, a reindeer is a mythical creature to me (or maybe to most people from South East Asia) so I am so delighted to find them all over Northern Finland :)
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| Sodankyla Finland |
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| On our way to Kulta Museo,in Tankavaara , Sodankyla. |
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| Suunto watch inside Kulta Museo Tankavaara |
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| Ready to do some gold panning??? :) |
The kid in me was delighted to see Santa is celebrated here, despite the European movies showing Santa as a wicked monster who steals (and eats?) naughty children.
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| I crossed the Arctic Circle!!!! |
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| Inside Santa Village |
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| And we are back to Rovaniemi, the official hometown of Santa... |
At this point, we are returning the Hertz car at the parking lot of Rovaniemi train station, taking the train back to Tampere then to Jämsä, Finland.
This was a wonderful road trip and the longest I have ever had in my life! We traveled from July 1-9, 2013. It was a great experience and I am very thankful to my sponsors (friends) who have made this happen! :)
My most memorable parts of this tour:
1. Camp Alta Lakehouse - get lost in the view. They gave us the most wonderful cottage beside the lake!
2. Svolvaer - short drinks and walking around the plaza, plus the Lofoten ferry tour was very nice for photography!
3. Kilpisjärvi - we stayed at Hotel Kilpis and had an awesome time having licorice drinks and more
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