Scandinavia
Some pictures and notes from traveling two weeks in Scandinavia in October 2001.
Day 1
Bus from Arlanda airport to Uppsala (30 min). Train to Gävle (45 min), then another train to Mora (3.5 h).
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| The gothic cathedral in Uppsala. |
One of the rune stones next to the cathedral. |
Uppsala University. |
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| View from the university towards the cathedral. |
House in Uppsala with real and fake windows. |
A street near the center of Uppsala. |
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| Uppsala’s Linnaeus Garden. |
At the railway Station in Uppsala. |
The X2000 train from Uppsala to Gävle. |
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| Residential area in Gävle. |
Day 2
Bus from Mora to Östersund (5 h).
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| Sunrise in Mora. |
Street in Östersund. |
Day 3
Bus from Östersund to Gällivare; this was the longest bus trip (11 h).
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| The well equipped bus to Gällivare. |
A supermarket on the way. |
A typical swedish house, properly colored. |
Day 4
Train from Gällivare across the border to Narvik in Norway. Boat to Svolvær on the Lofoten islands.
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| The railway station in Gällivare. |
A wagon for transporting trees. |
Trees waiting to be transported. |
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| Somewhere near Abisko national park. |
One of the really tiny villages along the way. |
At the highest point of the journey. |
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| Now we’re definitely in Norway. |
First view of the Lofotfjord. |
A bridge over the fjord. |
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| Narvik from the east. |
Narvik from the sea. |
Iron ore transshipment facility in Narvik, the main reason for this town. |
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| A ship leaving Narvik. |
On the way to Svolvær… |
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| Yet another small village on the way. |
Sunset in the Lofoten islands. |
Svolvær by night. Note all the activity. |
Day 5
Bus from Svolvær to Å (5 h), a small village at the very end of the Lofoten islands.
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| Svolvær by day. |
Racks for drying fish, fortunately empty. |
Fishing boats. |
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| A lake on the way to Å. |
The E10 route which crosses the entire Lofoten islands. |
Some place in the middle of the island. |
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| A village dwarfed by the mountains behind. |
Two of the many bridges linking the islands. |
A village just before Å. |
Day 6
The Ferry from Å to Bodø doesn’t leave till in the evening, so there’s lots of time to go walking…
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| Å, village entrance. |
Å from the sea. |
Å from the neighboring village. |
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| Letter boxes in Å. |
Strange geology. |
View to the south. |
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| Reine, 10 km from Å. |
View from Reine. |
The ferry to Bodø in Moskenes, 5 km from Å. |
Day 7
Train from Bodø to Trondheim; this is the longest trip by train (10 h).
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Day 8
“Hurtigruten” boat from Trondheim to Bergen (28 h).
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| The MS Midnatsol. |
A monastery, later converted to a prison and then to a tourist attraction. |
One of the main agricultural regions in Norway. |
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| A fishing boat on its way home. |
Kristiansund, a town on the way. |
A mountain hiding in the clouds. |
Day 9
Bergen: The first and only place during this trip where I have to use my umbrella…
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| View on the old part of Bergen. |
The Grieghallen concert hall. |
Inside the old part of the town. |
Day 10
Along the “Norway in a Nutshell” route: Train from Bergen to Voss (1 h), bus to Gudvangen (1 h) and finally a boat to Flåm (2 h).
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| The boat from Gudvangen to Flåm. |
View on the Nærøyfjord from Gudvangen. |
Several waterfalls near Gudvangen. |
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| A boat heading in the opposite direction. |
One of the larger waterfalls in the region. |
One of the larger villages in the region. |
Day 11
Train from Flåm to Myrdal (1 h), then to Oslo (5 h).
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| The “Flåmsbana”. |
A distant waterfall. |
The road zig-zagging up to Myrdal. |
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| Another waterfall, this time right next to the railway track. |
A rainbow hiding behind a few leafless trees. |
On the way to Oslo. |
Day 12
A day in Oslo…
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| Oslo as seen from Bygdøy. |
Edvard Munch’s “The day after” at the National Gallery. (Postcard) |
One of the three ships at the viking ship museum. (Postcard) |
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| The Ra II at the Kon-Tiki Museum. 1970 Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic with this boat. (Postcard) |
The Fram polar expedition ship in its own museum. Used by explorers such as Nansen and Amundsen. |
Medical equipment abord the Fram. |
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| The 13th century Akershus fortress. |
A guard at the Akershus fortress. |
Oslo by night. |
Day 13
Train from Oslo to Stockholm (6 h).
Day 14
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| Stockholm skyline. |
People fishing in the middle of the town. |
One of the modern buildings in the Sergels Torg area. |
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| The Skeppsholmen island. The ship to the right is a hostel. |
The royal palace. |
Palace entrance. |
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| Street in Gamla Stan, the old town. |
Narrow street in Gamla Stan. |
Small café in Gamla Stan. |
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| Church in Gamla Stan. |
At the center of Gamla Stan. |
Art shop in Gamla Stan. |
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| Big brother is watching you, especially in Sweden. |
Tower on top of the Kastellholmen island. |
The amusement park in Djurgården. |
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| The Nordiska museum in Djurgården. |
The Södermalm island. |
Sunset over Stockholm. |
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| The Stadsholmen island. |
The town hall. |
The place in the town hall where the banquet after the nobel price ceremony is held. |
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| The Vasa museum with its salvaged 17th century ship. |
One of the dozens of reconstructed houses at the Skansen open air museum in Djurgården. |
Another house… |
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| …and a more modern one. |
View from Skansen. |
View from the Kaknästornet TV tower. |
Day 15
Visit to the historical museum in Stockholm, then I catch the bus to the airport (30 min).