Nordic Sweden - Lapland

Nordic Sweden / Lapland: We continue driving north. Wild colorful lupines grow everywhere on the roadside and you can see colorful flower meadows as far as the eye can see. (Wasn't it like that for us too in the past?) And again, flowers are blooming everywhere. Cherries and lilacs are in full bloom. Oversized primroses are growing everywhere. Nature is still intact here. It is a pleasure to see. We want to refuel and are horrified to find that we haven't thought of everything. We are missing an adapter for the gas tank (we don't have gas bottles, but a 60-liter gas tank under the car) !! So we start looking for such a 'Dish adapter'. It's harder than expected because the Swedes have all the gas bottles, but there are very few gas stations for LPG autogas, which we need. Accordingly, it is not so easy to find such an adapter. We will search for a total of 3 days, and still not have one (we just didn't know that yet). So we have to order an adapter from Germany (thanks Markus !!) and have it sent to us. In the meantime, we have fortunately found a gas station that provides such an adapter for refueling. So everything is fine again. Here we come, Nordkapp (the heating cannot fail us anymore).

SWEDISH NATIONAL DAY: June 6th is here. Swedish National Day. The Day of the Flag. In Gammelstad, a former fishing village that has now been completely converted into an open-air museum, the Sami celebrate their holiday. Great traditional costumes can be seen and the brass band plays. The houses are open and you can see the good rooms from earlier times. Everything has been left in its original inventory, as it was in the past. Great to look at. There is even a small grocery store. And behind the residential building there is an outhouse with an elevated beam with three seats on it !! You can even have a chat on the quiet toilet. In the village itself, the great rows of red houses line the entire street. A great sight. Remarkable: There is not a drop of alcohol at the festival of the year. Cakes and pastries and coffee are sold everywhere. Families come for picnics in droves. But nobody drinks alcohol here and there is nowhere to buy it from what we can see. That would be unthinkable in Germany. And yet everyone here is in a good mood (even at about 10 degrees outside temperature). We also notice that many Swedes are already walking around in shorts and t-shirts in this weather. And we spoiled southerners are wearing hats and thick jackets. We agree: Anything above 0 degrees is summer for the Swedes.

At the tip of the Gulf of Bothnia, we decide to settle down on a campsite for another 2 days before we start the last part of the journey to Nordkapp in the interior of the country. 2 days of lazing around and not driving (that was the plan). - But it turned out completely differently again. In the evening, our water pump in Knut said goodbye. That means no running water in the kitchen and bathroom. Pretty annoying. So the next day we start driving back south to Luleå to a camping shop (once again) and buy a new water pump and sealing compound. Back at the campsite, the 'man with tools' is required once again. Unloading the bus (crazy what's under the sofa). Removing the water pump. Installing the new water pump. Sealing everything. Figuring out why it still doesn't work. Swearing a few times... realizing that it's the electrical system. Suddenly the day is over, but: everything is working again.

The next morning we continue to Haparanda. The divided city. Half Swedish, half Finnish. We make a short detour into Finland (that we were inside) and then turn back. Our goal is Norway / Nordkapp for now. Finland will be next. We drive next to the official Nordkapp route E8 (because that's the highway) towards the north. We spend the night at the sandy beach at the Torne River. Finally, the luck of the angler strikes and Kilian catches a small perch (we released it again, it was still small) and then a quite large one. I (optimistic as I am) have already made a bonfire. So we finally had super delicious grilled perch (you can't get it any fresher). The next morning we are woken up by murmurs of voices. Two cars full of Swedish retirees. Armed with binoculars and super cameras. Ornithologists !! This must be a great bird watching area. Well great. And we are right in the middle with our Knut. So we get dressed and continue. (that was too many people in one place for us). It should be mentioned that other campers also stayed overnight at this great place. And in Sweden, you can do that. That's why we like it here so much.

We visit Lippioberget. This is where Santa Claus lives. We didn't find him, but we found a great mountain with unusual rock formations that you can climb on and an incredible view of the Tornedalen. Endless forests and river landscapes as far as the eye can see (and it can see far from up here).

At noon we reach the Arctic Circle. Of course, cameras and cell phones are immediately pulled out. The famous globe must be captured and celebrated. From now on, the sun no longer sets, but touches the horizon and then rises again (oh great !! We can hardly sleep like this. It's bright at night and we wake up almost every night between midnight and three and are wide awake.) - But that's how it is at Midsummer. On the other hand, the light in the (actual) night is beautiful and cannot be captured with the camera. You have to see it with your own eyes. We realize that the names of the places are becoming increasingly unpronounceable. Ä's and Ö's and K's are thrown around here.

Our sleeping place today is something very famous. A bifurcation namely. Huh? Yes exactly !! A bifurcation. what is that? We wondered too and looked it up. A bifurcation is a confluence of two parallel-flowing rivers. Like here the Holmen and the Tärendöälv. Two become one. Well? We have learned something there, haven't we ?! There is only one other place in the world like this in South America. And in the middle of this whole spectacle is a small island. We take a closer look at it and get a little creeped out. Here, without changing anything, you could shoot a horror film by Stephen King. An abandoned little village on this island between the two rivers in the middle of the forest. People used to dance and barbecue here, there is a lookout tower in the middle (now overgrown with spruces), and there is a huge dance hall and a huge dining hall. Everything is empty and decaying. A playground with rusty swings and a slide. And you can go inside everywhere. You can really get scared here. We walk back over the bridge, which has also seen better days, and spend the night at the confluence of the two rivers in our Knut. Distance to Nordkapp: still 620 km. Kilometers driven so far: 5500.

We continue cruising towards Norway. More and more marshes and swamps appear. The spruce forests become sparser. You can see more rocks, stones, mosses, and lichens. Reindeer herds (by now completely normal for us) cross the road. The road goes straight north and we are completely alone on the road. Rarely does a car come towards us or do we pass a few lonely houses. In Abisko, THE traveler meeting point (here the famous Kungsleden - King's Trail starts, 459 km down to central Sweden) in the north, we visit the Abisko National Park. We are already very high in the mountains, it is cold. We want to hike the canyon and go a bit higher into the mountains. The weather is not ideal. we have 6 degrees and drizzling rain. Our Greek fur nose gets her sweater on (yes!! who would have thought that we would have a dog that needs a sweater - but unfortunately she is cold - we can't ignore that). So we set off happily and in a good mood despite the bad weather... - and: it was worth it. A great area. Above the tree line. Not much grows here anymore except blueberries, cloudberries, birch trees, and heather. Snow remnants lie around. What a magnificent area with great views of the other high snow-covered mountains, in front of that the clear mountain lake, and countless waterfalls flowing into it. Huge herds of reindeer with many young ones cross our path. Amy whimpers on the leash. The hunting instinct would be awakened... if we let her go. The way down into the canyon is also great. Almost nothing is secured (not like in Germany), you have to take care of yourself. It is impressive to see with what force the water rushes down here.

Northern Sweden shows itself (despite the bad weather) one more time from its most beautiful side.

With heavy sadness in our hearts, we embark on the last few kilometers towards Norway. Sweden is soon coming to an end and once again it has completely captivated us. We have fallen in love with this unique country with its magnificent, ever-changing landscape and its friendly inhabitants. We agree: Sweden - we will be back. SWEDEN - OPEN YOUR MIND :)