The Scandinavian Road Trip, Part I

[robertandjean]

An excellent report of your trip, really enjoying reading it. It is almost making us think of doing another trip to Scandinavia again, instead of France!! Whilst think that another visit to Nordkap would be a bit too far for us, we may think again about returning to Sweden, particularly around the Gotha canal or Stockholm whilst Helsinki would also be nice to return to. Thanks again for such an interesting read.

[Robinhood]

.....continued

 

Driving to Tornio would give us an afternoon and evening to look around, complete with a look at the Santa Claus village (I wouldn't have diverted for this if we hadn't been passing), and a chance to see whether choosing Kemijärvi over Rovaniemi was the correct choice that it currently seemed to be.

 

First of all, the Santa Claus village. ...well...... I'd like to reassure you that Santa and some of his little helpers were busily preparing next Christmas's presents for all the good little boys and girls (you have all been good, haven't you? (all you over in Chatterbox can forget it!)). Unfortunately, the remainder of the little helpers were doing their best to part all the visitors from their money in return for any old (remotely) Christmas-themed tat that they could.

 

Having approached from the North, we noted the number of motorhomes at the South end that seemed to be there for the duration. With apologies to Bounty Hunter who posted above, I'd rather stick forks in my eyes, and to paraphrase The News of the World (remember?) we rapidly made our excuses and left.

 

Rovaniemi didn't leave a much better impression. We left the by-pass to try to get a look at the centre, but rapidly realised that we were likely to be underwhelmed, so retraced our steps, and did exactly that (by-passed it). I have to admit, we may be doing it an uninformed injustice, but I don't think so.

 

Tornio, on the other hand, was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. The campsite was on the edge of town, a good way out (and surprisingly, not immediately adjacent to a lake!). It provided pleasant enough surroundings and facilities, but looked as though it could be outstanding with a little more TLC applied. The nightly cost with electric, and a €2 discount, was €24.

 

Tornio is right on the border with Sweden, faced by the Swedish town of Haparanda (though, in fact, the two towns have declared themselves to be a single cross-border Eurocity). The setting is delightfully strange; since there is a major river, one might expect the border to be along that, but no.....it runs down the back of the strategically placed new Tornio shopping mall (Haparanda only got a new IKEA), and leads to such strange facts as the local golf course allowing you to play a round which starts in one country, and ends in another!

 

We walked into Tornio, and did the local sightseeing. The Rough Guide was very dismissive of an observation tower, which we would not have recognised from the description (and weren't planning to visit), and once we'd realised it wasn't the water tower, it turned out to be a real gem!. For €1 each we could take the lift to the top, where there was a magnificent viewing platform, accompanied by a basic and cheap café. A good find.

 

....and Tornio was the place where the easy opportunity for a sauna came to pass. As already highlighted, almost all of the sites we used had (privately hireable) sauna facilities, and a good few had use inclusive in the price, but to date, where this was so the sessions had been early morning, neither fitting our recreational or constitutional requirements. Here, though, the free session was mid-evening, allowing for a sauna after our exercise, and the evening's shower afterwards. Perfick!

 

The sauna facilities were first class (gender segregated), and I was initially by myself, but shortly joined by a Dutch guy from one of the small cabins. He had excellent English (they do put us to shame, don't they?), and having struck up a conversation, and with the odd cooling shower, time passed pretty quickly, and via the judicious addition of water the temperature had got to quite a level. This was to stand as good grounding for our next destination! Mrs H, meanwhile, having her sauna to herself, had got bored more quickly and returned to the 'van.

 

Interestingly enough, and reinforcing what I've posted earlier, the long days make even a 1 night stop eminently viable, with 10 hours or so useable daylight for exploring, even after spending the morning driving (relaxedly). With 2 1-nighters under our belt (and rain forecast for the next day, so travel being sensible) we were now back on schedule for our next stop at Arvidsjaur, in Sweden.

 

So, filled to the brim with cheaper Finnish diesel, and much cheaper Finnish beer (the 'van, not me, silly!), setting our clocks back 1 hour (remember) the next morning off we went to Sweden.

 

.....to be continued (with a victory for the Brits in the silly sauna contest. Oh.....and an (the) elk!).

 

[Robinhood]

.....continued

 

We headed for our target, Arvidsjaur, in somewhat more mixed weather, with the odd shower, and considerably more cloud than we'd become accustomed to. On the way, we spied our one and only Elk, on the side of the main road. Mrs H thought it was a model until we got close, at which point, it turned and looked at the 'van, and ambled away into the trees at the side of the road (avoiding its photo-opportunity). No doubt if we had been in a Merc A-class (car, not motorhome) it would have run into the middle of the road, just to see................ ;-)

 

Now, having watched them run, I'm convinced that both Elks and Reindeer are double-jointed, and it became apparent that some of the road signs (they use both on the wildlife warning signs) had exaggerated version of the gait on the images - spot on! (and incidentally, very funny to watch).

 

Apparently, Arvidsjaur is the accommodation centre in winter for major car manufacturers testing their new models on the surrounding frozen lakes. It can be difficult to get any accommodation at all in the area at these times, but we weren't anticipating such difficulty, heading for the local campsite, Camp Gielas.

 

This had good facilities (reception was in the associated sports centre, complete with gym, sports hall, café, etc.) and very pleasant staff. The camping area itself was, however, less than impressive; years of hard use and bad winters had removed most of the grass, and left an area which resembled a large, rectangular gravel car park. Neither did it have any redeeming views, since the site's own lake was some way away, and they'd decided to give the views to the cabins!. Cost with elec was S Kr 210 per night. (£21.50)

 

As I've already pointed out, I bought a Key Camp Europe card (temporary version, since in Finland the credit-card style is posted to you later) at our first stop in Finland, and though its use there wasn't mandatory, the discounts it attracted more than covered the €16 cost. In Sweden, however, the sites in the Swedish Camping guide treat the card as mandatory (...though there are other sites, that aren't in the guide, and therefore don't mandate the use of the card). I handed my (temporary, cardboard) card to the receptionist, who viewed it with horror, saying "where did you get this?". When I explained, she pulled a credit card style blank, from under the desk, and said "In Sweden, we use this. I can change it for you if you wish" - Which she did (at no charge, and retaining the original) whilst we went looking for a pitch. To be fair, since the new type had my details encoded on it, it made it easier to book in at future sites (or at least it would have done if most of them didn't have the appropriate systems, so we had to revert to paper anyway :-)).

 

.....and, in Sweden, though (perhaps the correct phraseology is "because") the card was "mandatory", it no longer attracted any discounts.

 

The major sight in Arvidsjaur is the Lapp village (and the associated church) built by the Sami people who would seasonally and nomadically visit prescribed church services. It was OK as a tourist attraction, I suppose, but the most remarkable thing was that it is still in use today for the same purpose, so, not so much a monument, more a way of life! (Everyone was out when we visited ;-))

 

The other thing we visited was the station for the "Inlandsbanen", a remarkable railway undertaking consisting of some 1300km of railway running down the spine of Sweden, operated in a few summer months only as a tourist attraction in several section (the longest a 14 hour journey), and with only one train a day in each direction (with a timetable that contained, say, "40 minutes refreshment stop", "10 minutes sightseeing", and, you'd better believe it "stops for swimming when the weather permits"!! (Eat your heart out, Virgin Trains)).

 

As the timetable confirmed the season had started, and we would be following the line for a good portion of the coming journey, we resolved to see if we could catch a look at the train in the coming days.

 

Anyway, back to the site for the evening, as this was another one with an evening, free sauna session (as it happened, in the sports facilities). Again, I was by myself at first, but soon joined by two youngish Swedish guys. Both, like me, occupied a space on the "upper deck", and were chatting away in Swedish, before turning to talk to me, at which point I volunteered that I was English, and didn't understand. So, they continued chatting, but a look passed between them, and one started to regularly throw water on the stones.

 

Now, the temperature rose quite a bit, but it actually still wasn't as hot as the previous session at Tornio had ended up, so I was reasonably comfortable. The guy who hadn't thrown the water on, broke first and moved to the lower level, at which point, the other guy turned to me, and said (in English, and with a grin) "you can put some more water on if you want".

 

...well, I wasn't going to resist such a challenge. "Why not!" I said, and took a deep sweep with the scoop, and inundated the stones. The temperature shot up dramatically, and there were soon two Swedes on the lower deck, with me blissfully still upstairs (though, frankly, now feeling "rather warm"). Two more minutes, and they cracked! (not literally - out for a shower and away). I stuck it until they were round the corner, and then disappeared furtively into the other set of showers. One up for the Brits.

 

Arvidsjaur being an unexceptional town, the campsite being, all-in-all, the least attractive we had been on, and the weather still being mixed, we resolved to move on after one night, and head for Vilhelmina, the description of which left us with anticipation of something better. We weren't to be disappointed.

 

....to be continued (and most of the "teasers" have now been used up, but there is a "mad" cyclist to describe ;-) )

[Guest JudgeMental]

back in my comfort zone now..Vastergotland is as far North as we have travelled. and the wilderness way a good route that loops into Norway..(snow on the ground in August) well worth the effort. Sorry but still of the opinion that Finland not worth the effort...but hey ho! :-D

 

http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/sweden/swedish-lapland/str%C3%B6msund-routes-north/vildmarksv%C3%A4gen-wilderness-way/

 

Bear park (at feeding time) also worth a visit

 

http://www.orsabjornpark.se/about-the-park__353

[Caroline]

Brilliant, thank you so much to taking the time and trouble, wish there were more like this.

 

(lol) :-> :-) ;-)

[Robinhood]

...continued

 

Research had led us to expect both Vilhelmina, and its campsite (Saiva Camping), to be attractive and welcoming places, and so it proved.

 

In reality, Saiva was probably the site we warmed to most, the location, pitches, personnel and facilities all being well up to scratch (helped somewhat by one absolutely glorious day of weather).

 

Located, once again, on the shores of a lake, to the Southern end of the town, we had a choice of one of 8 or 9 vacant waterside hardstandings (only 2 others being occupied when we arrived) in front of the obligatory cabins (which, strangely, faced away from the lake). Cost, with elec, was S Kr 200 per night (£20). These pitches were superb (ours especially so when we had snaffled an adjacent picnic table B-) ), and the gentle breeze from the lake kept the great majority of the beasties away.

 

What we couldn't understand was why the majority of the new arrivals chose to set up pitch in the centre of the site, on grass, and well away from the lakeside and views (after all, I'd had both a sauna AND several showers the evening before). With the orientation of the cabins we began to think we were missing something!

 

There was still a bit of rain around, so we spent the afternoon shopping and "doing" the town, and then headed off to the Inlandsbanen station for the daily Southbound train. ......Well, it arrived on time (eat your heart out again, Virgin Trains!); a single car, with almost as many staff as passengers. The staff were most disappointed when they realised I was only at the station to take a photograph; they were desperate for us to join the train.

 

All that effort keeping 1300 miles of track open for just that! (It did look a splendid way of seeing Northern Sweden, though, and I was quite envious!)

 

By that time, we had encountered the "mad" cyclist. As I booked in, someone behind me said "Are you English? I haven't spoken to an English person for ages!" (TBH, it IS hard to be sure, since I'm not always coherent, and in Scandinavia English tends to be the Lingua Franca (sic), anyway).

 

The guy behind turned out to be cycling from Sagres to Nordkapp (the (not-quite) most-Southerly point of Europe to the (not-quite) most-Northerly point) for charity, camping on the way! In the usual spirit of friendliness of us Brits abroad, I offered him one of my diminishing supply of Finnish beer, but he declined. (Oddly, I didn't feel offended - though it WAS chilled!). We spent a bit of time talking to him over the afternoon and evening, it becoming obvious that he was somewhat handicapped by a substantially built up shoe, with one leg quite a bit shorter than the other.

 

I've subsequently made a (small, about the price of a Finnish beer ;-) ) donation via his JustGiving page.

 

All power to your elbow, Bob (or should that more appropriately be knees), and for anyone mildly interested in such an epic journey, his blog (currently still ongoing) can be viewed at:

 

http://bandgtshirts.wordpress.com/

 

The next day dawned (actually in writing that I've just realised it didn't, because it never really went away) bright and sunny, and we decided a bike ride was in order. I'd managed to pick up a free hunting map (of all things) in the Tourist Office, which had the local roads on, with a key that implied which were surfaced and which were not. There was also a walking/cycling track going Northwards on the other (i.e. not the one the campsite was on) lakeside, and a choice of this and surfaced roads rather set our direction. So, in a 40 mile round trip we had a marvellous day out, along the lakeside, with snow on the mountains in the far distance, then slowly and inevitably rising (ah, the joys of long-distance e-bikes) past other lakes with well-hidden swimming places to a surprisingly large community at the end of the surfaced road. The views here were panoramic and spectacular, and the day was almost perfect (spoilt only by the fact that the return journey wasn't anywhere near as much downhill as it seemed it must be when we were on the way out - don't you just hate it when that, inevitably, happens?)

 

We'd been keeping an eye on the weather forecast, and bad weather was approaching slowly from the South, which would have meant our next planned stop (at Sveg) would have put us right in it at the wrong time. Accordingly, and having had a series of three one-nighters previously, we decided we were comfortable and deserved the chill-out of a third night.

 

The following day was spent simply bumbling around the local area, repeating much of the lakeside track on foot, further investigating the wooden "old" town, and then completing several kilometres of track deep in the undergrowth around the church hill (where the bl**dy mozzies got us again - it being a somewhat muggy and overcast day by then).

 

The next day saw us heading for our next target, Sveg, and hoping to drive through the rain, and hit the (forecast) better weather following on behind.

 

....to be continued (and I've run out of teasers, with the possible exception of the naturist bathers ;-) )

[Robinhood]

....continued.

 

Well, as expected, we did drive through the rain, and by the time we reached Sveg, everything had cleared.

 

Unfortunately, whilst the campsite, right next to a river and the (small) town centre, had ground in a somewhat better maintained state than that at Arvidsjaur, and the facilities were fine, we somehow didn't really "connect" with Sveg at all.

 

Maybe it was the effects of one of our longer day's drives, and it was certainly compounded by the fact that the Tourist Office (which was next door) closed at 16:00 (on a Friday night?), 2 minutes before we got there, and didn't reopen until Monday (thereby rather limiting our ability to research any local activities).

 

So, we did our usual comprehensive tour of the town, but found little of interest (other than a rather splendid combined single-track road and rail bridge over the river, supporting the Inlandsbanen, and operated rather like a long level-crossing).

 

In retrospect, all the foregoing probably accounts for the fact that we have not one picture of Sveg between us.

 

We resolved to move on the next day, and our decision was supported by the "night" being disturbed at both ends. At a municipal venue directly across the river, some event, with repetitive deep bass riffs, was active until well after midnight. (We're pretty sure that it was an end of school leaving party, but judging by the number of "bouncers" at the gates, it must have been a rougher than usual intake that year!). We had noted that the majority of the small cabins on the site seemed to be occupied by artisans (not an uncommon occurrence since it is reasonable, cheap accommodation for people working away, but not normally seen in such proportions). At around 06:00, they all set off for work (even though it was Saturday) with much sound of engines and car/van doors.

 

We thus got an early start, heading off South to Orsa and its lake.

 

We'd visited Orsa on our previous sojourn in Sweden, and didn't really want to repeat our stay at the town's campsite (which has got bigger and more "corporate" since then). Research showed that there was a small and more remote site, Våmåbadets Camping, at Våmhus, round the lake, which looked just our style. It's website implied that it was very much out of season, but that camping might be possible by 'phoning ahead.

 

As we had a shortish journey, and thus time in hand, we decided to go and look. As we passed through Orsa, en route we called at the Tourist Office to pick up maps, etc, and on enquiring there, even after referencing the same website, they were dismissive about the chances of it being open.

It was only a short drive, however, so we went anyway.

 

As we approached, we could see that there were two caravans on site (and we subsequently found a German Motorhome behind the service buildings and on the lake shore, but ready to leave after overnighting). A notice at reception invited one to pitch, and gave a contact phone number if you required electricity (the hook-up points were each individually locked). So, we picked a prime spot on the edge of the lake, and I phoned, to be informed by the lady at the other end where the keys to the electricity were hidden, and to find one that fitted our outlet - someone would be round later in the day for payment, which was S Kr 210 per night (£21) plus S Kr5 for a shower token.)

 

What a cracking spot! Facilities were good and spotless, and the location was excellent. We were prepared to compromise our future plans and stay 2 nights, but expected we wouldn't because the following day's forecast was poor.

 

So, it being only lunchtime, we had time to have a couple of hours walk around the local area, a relax by the lake, and a 20 mile return bike ride to Mora (mainly on the round-lake cycle track). All in excellent warm, sunny weather. In the interim, at tea-time we paid for one night, hoping against hope that the forecast was wrong.

 

....It wasn't, so next day became a designated travel day, heading South to find somewhere we liked on the East shore of Lake Vänern (the Western shore having been visited on our previous visit).

 

....to be continued (though you'll have to wait for the naturists!).

 

[Robinhood]

....continued

 

With only three nights left before the ferry, our holiday was slowly coming to an end (and so, albeit also slowly, is my magnum opus!). Were they muted cries of "shame!", I heard, or simply cheers?

 

The last night was always intended to be a "transit" stop, somewhere close to the bridge to Denmark, allowing a day to get to Esbjerg for the 18:45 ferry. We really wanted an intermediate two-night stopover, and though the weather was rather mixed driving South, the forecast for the morrow was good, so it looked possible.

 

After visiting the Göta Canal (along the length of which there are "aires" advertised, though the one at otherwise attractive Sjötorp, where we briefly stopped, was full to busting and surrounded by tourists) we resolved to look at several sites further down the East side of Vänern. These looked like they were quite restricted in terms of any outdoor activity, being both remote from anywhere to walk round, and straight out onto the (now rather busier) main road for any cycling. And so it proved, and we found ourselves using our fall-back of Camping Ekudden at Mariestad (a town which had a good write-up in the Rough Guide).

 

The campsite was large, and a little more "corporate" than we would naturally choose. Being less than busy, it was quite acceptable, and we got a very nice, grassed pitch with a view of the lake. (There were a good number of concreted - well I suspect it was grascrete, without the grass! - hardstandings for motorhomes just inside the entrance. Each was raised on its own hill, and I mean, a HILL. I got hours (well, a good 10 minutes really!) of entertainment watching someone reverse a large tag-axle A-class off one the next morning. In reality, their position wasn't attractive, and though the ground was damp, there were many much more attractive grass pitches available with firm enough ground. The hardstandings were, however, still very-well populated both the nights we were there.

 

The facilities were good, (though the controls on everything, doors, taps, toilets, showers, etc. were electronic, and when used did almost exactly not what you wanted them to!) and the site, surrounded by a nature reserve, was 20 minutes (pedestrianised) walk away from the harbour and town centre. This was the point, however, that we got caught out by the Scandinavian seasons. We arrived on a Sunday, and in booking in asked the nightly rate. When we left on Tuesday morning, we were charged S Kr 535 (nearly £54!) for two nights, more than we expected, and a figure not divisible by 2. It soon dawned on us that we had straddled seasons, and the price for the second night had gone up........a lot! (This seasonal "hike" was apparent at our next, and final site, and gives one reason to consider that visiting early in the summer has one more advantage over those already listed).

 

Though there had been some heavy rain, and the clouds were spectacularly threatening at times, we had a walk into Mariestad, with its attractive harbour and interesting architecture in the dry with largely good evening light.

 

The next day brought the fine weather, as promised, so we set out on another 40 mile cycle trip, heading North on cycle tracks and lightly-trafficked roads over the bridge and onto the islands we could see from our pitch. This was another splendid day out, and we got as far as the chain-ferry to the last of the islands (which does not allow motor vehicles), and, unfortunately, had a very restricted timetable which precluded us crossing and going further. En route, near Nolby, we passed a beautiful and isolated lake-shore campsite that we've mentally filed away for the future.

 

We spent the evening wandering round the nature reserve, bird spotting.

 

And so, the following morning we set off towards Malmö and the bridges, to find a site for our last night in Scandinavia.

 

....to be continued (with the promised naturists 8-), and as a special treat for those of you with the stamina to have got this far, a cute, albeit fleeting, glimpse of reindeer!).

[Caroline]

I'm here and waiting.........................

(lol)

[gocro]

Bring em on- and they better be good!

[Guest JudgeMental]

The ferry from Helsingborg to Denmark an alternative to the Bridge, it used to be cheaper then bridge..The east coast including Gothenburg worthwhile and coast above it very picturesque....Eating out not that bad if you have your main meal at lunchtime. lunchtime specials (dagens rätt) are widespread and tend to be good value.

 

http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/sweden/food-drink/

[Robinhood]

....continued

 

Having had a look at the main campsite at Malmö for a potential first-night stay on the way out, and rejected it as not really what we wanted, I wished to avoid this on the way back (especially as we wouldn't have enough time to visit the city and do it justice). Accordingly, we selected three sites just (only) to the North, and our first try (Habo Ljung camping, just outside the small town of Lomma) was good enough to get our business (and, as it happens, we later found the next one down the road no longer existed, and appeared to be being built upon).

 

Habo Ljung had a panoramic view of the Oresund bridge and it's own beach, that shelved so little that people running in the water several hundred yards out clearly looked like they were running ON the water.

 

This was a site that was clearly beginning to get busy, but we easily found a very pleasant, grassed pitch, which, with elec cost SKr 300 (£31). Again, we had fallen foul of the main season starting. Facilities were OK, with one amenities block being newly refurbished, whilst the other would probably have benefitted from the same.

 

The weather was very pleasant, and as we sat taking refreshment before heading off exploring in in the direction of Lomma, a black Volvo with very dark windows cruised slowly past, reversed, and out got a tall thin man in a very dark suit, with very dark glasses, and asked us how long we expected to stay on our pitch. I thought he was going to make us an offer we couldn't refuse! When we said we were only staying one night, he said "That's a really nice pitch, we like it and we are coming tomorrow". Bizarre! .....and I spent the rest of the day looking over my shoulder 8-).

 

So, we walked off to Lomma along the coast, and immediately onto the naturist beach. Now in Britain, this would be tucked away somewhere out of sight, but in liberated Sweden, not a bit of it; it was part of the main beach, right next to the family campsite, with the footpath going straight through. I care not one jot, (I'm not averse to "skinny dipping" myself, so this is not a "disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" moment, simply an observation. .....and is it just me, but is it mandatory for such beaches to be in the dunes, and populated exclusively by later middle-aged to elderly "gentlemen" (I use the last word under advice ;-) ) standing prominently on top of said dunes, looking extremely bored?

 

Lomma was one of those places that will be "nice when it is finished". It is being "gentrified". (In fact it looks like many of the "beautiful people" from Malmö have moved in, and the regeneration certainly has an attractive air to it). The promenade and beach were very busy, even on a Tuesday evening.

 

So, this was our last night in Scandinavia. The next day we set off back over the bridges (the sneaky Swedes had put the price on the Oresund bridge up by €4 for the Summer season), and into thunder and torrential rain. We stopped for a refreshment break in the viewing area at the Western end of the Storebaelt bridge, at which point the heavens opened, Thor got his big hammer out, and we suffered all the way to Esbjerg (where magically, 1 mile before the ferry terminal, everything stopped). With time in hand, diesel to buy, and a meal break required, we'd planned on diverting off the motorway anyway, and it was bad enough driving on the side roads, heaven knows how bad it was on the motorway.

 

So, the return trip to Harwich on the Sirena Seaways was again as smooth as the proverbial millpond, and passed without incident, other than the captain's retirement party, where he announced he was to be replaced in time for the next voyage (coincidentally by the captain that docked the submarine in Helsinki harbour that's pictured in part IV of this story ;-) ).

 

Within minutes of docking at Harwich (which you could see as we approached from only about 3 inches away) Thor got out his hammer and turned on his sprinklers again, and I can honestly say that, despite now being on the right side of the road, the drive from Harwich to home was the most scary in almost 4 weeks.

 

....to be concluded (well, we've still got to get the reindeer in - they aren't particularly impressive (but they are cute!))

[Guest pelmetman]

Still waiting for a photo of the naturist beach Robin? ;-).........................I like a nice beach :D

[Robinhood]

pelmetman - 2013-06-25 6:50 PM

 

Still waiting for a photo of the naturist beach Robin? ;-).........................I like a nice beach :D

 

.......and that "still" would be after I've posted these exact words........

 

and populated exclusively by later middle-aged to elderly "gentlemen"

 

would it, Dave?

 

(Strange tastes,indeed!) :-S

 

;-)

[Guest pelmetman]

Robinhood - 2013-06-25 6:56 PM

 

pelmetman - 2013-06-25 6:50 PM

 

Still waiting for a photo of the naturist beach Robin? ;-).........................I like a nice beach :D

 

.......and that "still" would be after I've posted these exact words........

 

and populated exclusively by later middle-aged to elderly "gentlemen"

 

would it, Dave?

 

(Strange tastes,indeed!) :-S

 

;-)

 

I'm far to immature to qualify as middle aged Robin ;-)...................last time I happened upon such a beach with my mac and binoculars :$....................We was doing a bit of twitching :D..................and I saw some very strange birds indeed (lol) (lol)

 

BTW excellent read Robin ;-)................

[graham]

Great read. I must speak up in defence of Sveg though. In the 80's I spent 7 winters working in Sweden based in Sveg. It might take a bit of time but once you know your way around its quite a nice place. Even took my wife there some years later when we were touring Norway/Sweden.

[Robinhood]

.....concluded.

 

All good things must come to an end, and even mediocre ones like this account eventually die off. ;-)

 

I'll conclude by returning to the very start.

 

3150 miles in 25 days (and at a staggering 35.7mpg indicated, 34+ actual).

 

Was it all worth it?

 

An unreserved and resounding yes!!.

 

I understand that some readers may still have doubts, but we would (and will) quite happily return. Finland, being rather different from the other Scandinavian countries would certainly attract us back again, perhaps via Estonia next time?.

 

For those Philistines among you who think that Scandinavia is all the same (trees, lakes, trees, lakes,tr.........., etc.), where is your soul? In all our travels, we never once grew tired of the scenery; the subtle changes as we progressed from South to North and back again providing a variety that is all too obvious to those who have the wit and vision to see it.

 

A great holiday (and road trip), and one that will be remembered for a long time.

 

In response to a few posts, the following is provided for info (e&oe).

 

For those who have gained some vicarious pleasure from the thread, the following Google Maps link (give it time to load), may, via zoom and/or Streetview, augment the experience somewhat. It shows our approximate route from Esbjerg and back (subject to the vagaries of Google maps, and ignoring some of our forays parallel to the motorways or main routes).

 

http://tinyurl.com/roadtriprh

 

And, whilst I'm neither budget-conscious or anally retentive (really!) enough to keep a full check on all the expenditure, for those who expressed an interest, the approximate breakdown is:

 

£603 Ferry Harwich - Esbjerg and rtn 7m x 3m 'van, 2 berth outside cabin

 

£195 Ferry Stockholm - Turku ditto

 

£236 Storebaelt/Oresund bridge tolls (out and back)

 

£477 Fuel (ignoring full tank on departure as 3/4 tank on return)

 

£429 Campsite fees (incl Key Camp Europe purchase)

 

£474 Food and Miscellaneous daily expenditure.

 

So, that's all folks!

 

Edit.

 

I nearly forgot the bl**dy reindeer.

 

You must admit that they're really cute........

 

.............(and the little one we knocked down was really tender and tasty once barbecued. ;-)

 

RH

[silverback]

great read robin h :-D

its on my tick list :-D

jon

[Delfin Driver]

Thank-you Robin. We thoroughly enjoyed your account of your trip and the beautiful photographs.. We are heading to Norway on the 20th July- on the Harwich to Esbjerg ferry, so it had better be fixed- for a six week tour of Norway , up to the Lofoten islands and Tromso, before coming down the middle of Sweden to Mora then heading for Stockholm. From there we will follow the coast to Kalmar and have a couple of days on Oland, before heading for Ystad- to do the Wallander trail- and then back to the ferry via Copenhagen. A long way but doable! You have really whetted out appetite so many thanks again.

Susan

 

[Robinhood]

Thank you for your, and other's, kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

It started as a bit of self-indulgence, but became relatively easy to continue in a sort of "stream of consciousness" manner. (and it was nice to continue a thread that attracted little if any of the customary "squabbling").

 

I think (and hope), you'll be lucky with the ferry. Rumours are that it will shortly be back in service, and indeed, it was whisked off to dry-dock in Bremerhaven pdq, where it has been for a good few days now.

 

It looks like it needs a "nose job", and a bit of cosmetic work.

 

 

You can just imagine the 'phone call, cant you........

 

"Hello, Lloydwerft Lackierbetrieb, Bremen.

 

......

 

"Ah, hello, Gert, wie gehts? ....... You've done what??? (sounds of muffled laughter)

 

....

 

Well. OE parts for that year are difficult to get, but we can probably knock something up.......and the paint match could be a problem - we could blow it in and try to feather it, but it's not likely to look good - a full panel respray would be better"

 

........

 

"It's how big?? Scheiße, that's about 2000 litres of Danish Blue! (note to oneself, be careful when ordering that).

 

Now, will you need a courtesy ship, because I can't do you one before December (and it'll have to go on your insurance)."

 

....

 

"No? OK then, bring it round tomorrow and we'll see what we can do. Will it be an insurance job, or is it cash in hand?"

 

;-)

 

 

[gwyn]

Thanks so much for this account by instalments. I would look at the forum more often if there were more postings like this

[Guest pelmetman]

Judging by the weather MelB encountered Robin..................going North was a good call ;-)