Alta

Sleeping by the roadside and encountering locals and reindeer have slowly become part of our everyday life. A completely different fascinating encounter of this kind awaited us in the last 'big city' before the northern end of Europe. Here in Alta, like in several places in Lapland, 5000 to 6000-year-old rock carvings of the prehistoric indigenous people were found in large numbers and impressive beauty, inviting us to marvel and interpret them for hours. Surprising realization for us: we have already seen photos of these 'carvings' in a Sami museum in Umeå (northern Sweden). Reindeer, bears, fish, and birds seemed to have unquestionably held great significance at that time; however, many symbols offer ample room for speculation. An adjacent UNESCO World Heritage museum provided information about the history of the region and the city. In the subsequent visit to the 5000-inhabitant 'metropolis' (without washing and showering facilities for us), we were able to see the modern Northern Lights Cathedral.