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Nordkap - Day 57

Ferry to Stockholm

Today we spent a lot of time in the park of Espoo where we cooked lunch as well as prepared dinner for the ferry as the food on there is so expensive. Today there is not that much to talk about as we were at the same place all the time.

Around 4PM we had to drive to Helsinki where we then could board the ferry to Stockholm. Around an hour later the trip began and as we were drinking some beer at the bar Helsinki got smaller and smaller.

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Nordkap - Day 56

Helsinki II

Today the weather is not as nice as yesterday. Nevertheless we went to Helsinki again. This time instead of taking our bikes we tried the electric scooters for 5€. After having a good look around the city again we decided to do some shopping. To sum up our shopping tour: we spent around 3 hours in Stockmann a huge store with all the different brands.

Another nice stop today was the Helsinki coffee roastery where you can look how coffee is roasted and then try all kinds of different coffee. It was a nice place to visit and they have delicious coffee there.

All in all, Helsinki is a beautiful city which is surprisingly small for a captial city. But exactly that is what we love about it. Everything is easily accessible by foot or bicycle and the people there are less in a rush. Definitely a must see in Finland and a great destination for a short city trip.

We spent the rest of the evening as well as the night in the same park in Espoo.

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Nordkap - Day 55

Helsinki I

Today we went to Helsinki for the first time. In the internet we figured out that we were allowed to drive into the city with our van and that there are free parking lots down at the port. Some people even spent the night there.

From here it was only a 15min bicycle ride into the city center. During our first visit we had a look at the senate square with its astonishing building. Another building that we had a look at was the Russian-orthodox church with its golden roofs.

In the later evening we went back to the port to pick up our van. From here we drove out of Helsinki into Espoo where we found a nice little park to spend a night.

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Nordkap - Day 54

Driving towards Helsinki

This morning we woke up to the sound of heavy traffic. With our hunger taken care of we started driving towards Helsinki. Today the roads were very crowded which was quite unusual here. Maybe this was due to it being sunday or maybe today was a national holiday.

Half way to Helsinki we stopped in a city called Lahti to try and wash our dirty clothes. On the internet we found out that they have this big washing saloon where you can do your laundry for a few bucks. Unfortunately, the washing machines didn't work today as they had problems with the water piping.

This meant that we had to wash by hand again... (which is time consuming)

With this in mind we didn't drive all the way to Helsinki that day. We made halt in a forest where we were all by our own. Here we were able to cook dinner and also hang up the laundry to dry.

It was also the day when we decided to look for ferry connections to Stockholm. First we wanted to visit Turku after Helsinki and then take the ferry from there. As it turns out this ferry trip takes you around 11 hours. We were quite surprised by that. And as we knew we didn't have that much time anymore until we have to be at home this was quite the shock.

In the end we decided to take the Ferry directly from Helsinki. Although this connection takes even longer with a 18 hours trip it is stil less time consuming as the trip is done during nighttime.

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Nordkap - Day 53

Jyväskylä

Today we woke up quite late and then started driving towards Jyväskylä. From our current location it was another 4h drive. Therefore, it was already evening when we arrived at Jyväskylä.

Jyväskylä is a nice little city located in the middle of Finland. Luckily we found a free parking spot in the middle of the town. In the evening there was a festival going on in the center of the city. Although it was already sold out we were able to enjoy some music from the outside of the festival. It was quite interesting listening to Finish rap. After several hours in Jyväskylä we hopped back into our van and left the city to look for a place to spend the night. We found a empty reststop next to the main road towards Helsinki.

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Nordkap - Day 50

Rovaniemi/Santa Claus

Today we decided to give Rovaniemi a visit. To be more precisely we want to visit the Santa Claus village where you can meet Santa Claus himself. It might seem a bit weird to give the Santa Claus village a visit in June but in Rovaniemi it is Christmas all year round. But one thing we definitely have to say is that it is quite weird visiting a place where Christmas decoration is hung up all year long.

In our opinion, the village would probably be very nice during winter season as you have the chance to ride husky and reindeer sleds as well as snowmobiles. During summer it’s definitely not worth the visit because there is nothing to do and one picture with Santa costs you 40€. What a ripp of.

After returning to the van we then cooked some lunch and then started driving towards our next stop: Jyväskylä. After a long drive we stopped at a small boat dock at a big lake. Here we took some nice pictures and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

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Nodkap - Day 52

Ranua Zoo

Today the weather wasn‘t as nice as the days before. Although it was not very cold it was quite foggy. Yesterday we decided to visit the Zoo in Ranua which is home to many different species that live in Finland. The drive from Autiköngäs to Ranua took us around one hour.

The Zoo itself was almost empty. We were able to enjoy the animals all by ourselves.

We have seen the first moose on our trip, unfortunately only in the zoo.

We liked the pallas's cat best, which resembles a very fat domestic cat. We took from the information board that the cat is not fat, but that its fur is, because it lives in polar regions.

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Nordkap - Day 51

Autiköngäs

Good morning. This night we slept extremely well. Before heading southwards we ate breakfast and enjoyed the sunny weather for a while. From here on it again was a rather long driving day with a few stops here and there to fill up on gas and stock up on groceries.

Later that day we arrived at our destination: Autiköngäs, a small canyon with a manmade waterfall where they used to send down the logs that they cut down. Around the area of Autiköngäs is a beautiful walking route which is fairly easy for everyone and also meant for dogs as well. Along the way you will pass the canyon, a small bridge and a wooded tower in the style of a firewatch tower. From here you have a great view over the forests of Finland. I was astonished by the endless nature that Finland has to offer and by the fact that there are way less people living here than in Switzerland. This meant that sometimes you can drive for an hour and not see one person.

When we returned from the walk we then made dinner and long after went to bed.

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Nordkap - Day 49

Washday

Today the weather was beautiful. The temperatures almost hit the 20 degrees mark and we were able to walk around in our t-shirts. Despite the good weather we didn’t do a lot. After driving through the endless forests of Lapland we decided that it was time to stop for lunch. We found a small dirt road right next to the main road where we were able to park our van. It is a nice little spot where we could stay on our own. As we we started running out of fresh clothes we decided that it would be a good idea to wash our laundry. Because of the sun and a slight wind the laundry dried in only a couple of hours. Later that day we went for a short walk to a nearby pond where we not only took great pictures but also relaxed for a while.

As it was getting late we decided to stay here for tonight.

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Nordkap - Day 48

Arrival in Finland Today we made an important decision. Namely the decision to not go all the way up to the Nordkap. I know this seems very odd with the name of this blog being „Journey to Nordkap“ but hear me out. Our journey will have to end in the middle of June due to my military command. Unfortunately, I wasn‘t able to move this around and this is why our time is limited to a bit more than 2 months. As we are already on day 48 of our journey this means that we have a bit more than 15 days left until I have to attend the military. From here on it is another 8-9h drive to the Nordkap and on this way we didn‘t mark anything else to look at. Meaning we would drive 8h up and 8h down just to visit this one spot which would cost us another two days at least. In our opinion this is not worth the stress but we‘ll come back during a winter season for sure and then try to reach the Nordkap. You can still follow our journey back down through beautiful Finland.

After making the last purchases and spending the Norwegian crowns left we then headed towards the Finish border at Kilpsjärvi. On the way we were stopped twice. Once by a traffic control who wanted to see that all our lights work and that our bikes are safely secured. And the other time at the border where they wanted to know if we are smuggling any fish. As we didn‘t smuggle anything we were let through and we continued driving for an extra hour until we found a nice spot to sleep right next to the river. Already the first mosquitos started showing up but it didn‘t bother us as we were so tired we instantly fell asleep.

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Nordkap - Day 47

Segla, Hesten This morning the sky was clear and after breakfast we made our way up the mountains to reach our destination for today: the Hesten. The Hesten is a mountain peak on the outer part of Senja from where you have a great view on to the Segla, a very well known and steep peak. The hike turned out to be more difficult then expected as there was still snow lying on the trail. Therefore it wasn‘t as easy to make out where you have to walk on. After around 1 1/2h we finally made it and were able to enjoy the beauty of Segla. 

After a longer photo session we then sat down and ate our lunch. The way down turned out to be even more difficult because it was so slippery. We slid down half the mountain when suddenly water started entering our shoes. From here on it was quite nasty with these wet shoes. But soon we arrived back at the van. Although we were hungry we decided to leave Senja as we needed some groceries. This night we will spend the night at a big gravel parking lot out in  nowhere. It seems pretty quiet here.

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Nordkap - Day 46

Driving day to Senja

Today the weather was very foggy again which is unfortunate because we wanted to hike up to the Fløya. The hike to the Fløya is a very beautiful one with its amazing looking ridge therefore it was a bummer that the weather didn‘t play along. As we didn‘t want to do nothing for a whole day we decided to continue to our next destination which is around 7 hours away: Senja. Senja is a half island located north of the Lofoten Islands. During our drive we were one again stunned by the Norwegian beauty while listening to some music. When we arrived on Senja it was already quite late and therefore we went to bed soon.

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Nordkap - Day 45

Wikingermuseeum Todays plan is to visit our first museum so far: the viking museum in Bøstad. The museum is an hour drive from our current location. The day is also perfect for a visit at the museum: fog everywhere and light rain. The entrance fee to the museum is quite high with 18 CHF per ticket. The museums main attraction is the big viking house which had been rebuilt right next to the ruins where it was found. In here you can have a look at how these vikings lived with various exhibits. Additionally, there are real people walking around in the building which are reenacting the life of these vikings.

Unfortunately, many things weren‘t open yet. For example the axe throwing, bow shooting and the ride in a typical viking boat. In our opinion this museum is only worth the money during high season and it is also made more towards children then adults.

Henningsvaer  Afterwards we first had to go and buy some food so that we can have dinner later that day. In the evening we then drove to Henningsvær as the weather opened up. Henningsvær is a small village which is well known for its football field which is directly surrounded by the ocean on 3 sides. Here we sat a while and had a beautiful and romantic evening while also starting the drone. Right before Henningsvær there is a small parking place where we are going to spend the night.

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Nordkap - Day 44

Kvalvika Beach Unfortunately, we had the same problem again this night: it was way too bright in our room. The weather today is also not as good: you can‘t see much as there is so much fog everywhere. Nevertheless we decided to stick to our plan to visit the Kvalvika Beach. Before we were able to leave we first had to tidy the hotel room and pack all the laundry we had hung up in the whole room. Our first short stop was at Hamnøy which is a tiny village on the outer parts of the Lofoten Islands. This place is well known for its typical red wood houses. With the photos taken we continued driving towards Fredvang. Upon arrival we first cooked lunch and then made ourselves ready for the hike to Kvalvika Beach. The hike to the beach itself does only take you about an hour. The view you get over the bay is simply stunning and also one of the best photo motive so far. During our hike it started raining and the whole trail became muddy. We decided to take back the longer route to enjoy the bay from another angle as well. Although this was the right decision it also had some downsides to it.

One of the big ones being the mud. On out way down we sank into the mud multiple times and therefore had very dirty jeans and shoes when we arrived back at the car park. With our energy drained we decided to stay here for the night and after a short meal we went to bed.

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Nordkap - Day 43

Reinebringen

When we woke up this morning we were still tired as we didn‘t sleep very well. Despite the bed being quite comfortable the problem was that there are no usable blinds in our apartment and the sun doesn‘t set anymore up here in the north (midnight sun). Nevertheless, we ate breakfast and then packed some lunch. Our goal today is to hike up the Reinebringen, a 666m high mountain peak right next to Reine. From our apartment one way up to the Reinebringen takes around 1.5h to walk. On the way up you will have to climb over 1‘600 steps which will at some point make your legs sore. But the effort is definitely worth it. Up here you have a beautiful view over the Lofoten Islands and therefore the possibility to take stunning pictures. 

When we did this hike the weather played along and we were even able to fly our drone. Up here we ate our lunch and then headed back down again. As usual this way was much easier. It was already quite late when we arrived back at the apartment and we were hungry again. On todays menu was Chinese food.

Reine Later that evening we took a short walk around Reine and sat down next to the sea to enjoy some mindful moments.

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Nordkap - Day 42

Today we are going to reach the Lofoten islands. Because of the stressful day before we didn‘t sleep well. Tired but knowing that we had to continue we stood up and immediately started driving. After an hour we then stopped at a picnic place where we then ate our breakfast in the now warm van. During breakfast I had a look outside and wow there they stood. Not far away from our van a group of reindeers stopped to eat the grass there. We had the opportunity to take some pictures but unfortunately our camera doesn’t have the ability to zoom and it was therefore quite difficult to take good photos of the animals. Nevertheless, it was stunning seeing them from such a close distance.

Saltstraumen

The next stop was at Saltstraumen where the biggest tide-current of Norway is located. In six hours more then 400mio cubic meter of water are pressed through a small 150m wide canal. The strong water currents are good visible by eye and it is also an interesting act to look at. If you are on the way to Bodo it is worth a visit as it is located on the way there anyway. Would I recommend going there only to see this strong tide? No way! Although it is nice to see it with your own eyes it is not worth any extra travel time and also no must see in Norway. So I would only recommend this for people traveling to the Lofoten anyway.

Ferry ride and Reine

The next stop was Bodo. Here we didn‘t have any time left to look at the city as we had to be on time at the ferry port so we can‘t tell if it would be worth a visit. The ferry leaving from Bodo to Moskenes takes 3.5 hours and during May travels this route twice a day. During high season (from June to August) they recommend to make a reservation in advance as there is the chance that you can‘t get on the ferry if there are too many people there. During the other time of the year most of the time a reservation isn‘t necessary. We had a reservation as we have also booked a B&B on the Lofoten islands. (Another tip: if you don‘t have a reservation arrive a bit earlier to ensure you have a spot.) As we have read that this ferry ride can be quite rough sometimes we took a pill against sea sickness in advance as we didn‘t want this boat trip to become a bad one. Luckily the ride wasn‘t as shaky as expected and we arrived in Moskenes on time. From here we had to drive for another five minutes to Reine. Reine is a small village on the outer part of the Lofoten. Here we had booked a B&B apartment for two nights. It was nice to once again shower and have your own toilet. After eating some delicious tacos we then went to bed.

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Nordkap - Day 41

The morning

Surprisingly the temperature in our van wasn‘t low at all this morning. Despite it being -2°C during the night the bus had been warmed up quite a bit by the sun which already came up at 3AM this morning. Therefore, we didn‘t even need the heater this morning. After a tasteful breakfast we left the spot and continued driving on the E6. There is still quite a distance ahead of us until we will reach Bodo. Because of that today is going to be another driving day.

Today is also the national day of Norway which means everything is closed. We expected that they might celebrate this day with fireworks and a nice steak on the grill like we do in Switzerland but surprisingly we didn‘t see any fireworks at all. At least what we saw was completely different: all men were wearing suits and the women wore traditional looking dresses decorated with flowers. And when I say all men and women I mean it. Even the youngest of the young wore such dresses and suits which was quite surprising. When we stopped at a gas station we even saw a parade going on in one of the villages. While all the people there wore these nice things I felt quite underdressed with only wearing sport clothes. But in the end it still is our driving day so who cares ;)

Our next stop was right before entering the polar circle. Here near the Svartisen glacier snow was still piled up right next to the road. At some spots the snow still was over a meter high. At the picnic place where we stopped we cooked dinner and also relaxed for a while. After a short briefing about what we would like to do the following day we decided to book the ferry to the Lofoten islands for tomorrow as well as a bed and breakfast for the night because we really need to shower and are also looking forward to have some more space for once. With this decision made we had to continue driving northwards. After another hour of driving we then found a suitable sleeping spot.