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Published: April 22nd 2019
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As soon as we crossed the Arctic Circle going towards Nordkapp, we started seeing reindeer. It was very cool. Someone had painted a red nose on a reindeer crossing sign, so Rudolph is known even in Norway.
Nordkapp (North Cape) is the northernmost point in continental Europe (71*10'21"N); the sun doesn’t set here from mid-May until the end of July. We were there in mid-August, and we were very lucky to see a beautiful sunset, considering how rainy it had been on our drive to get here - it was actually clear that whole day. It was touristy, but also fun. On our previous trip in 2005, we met some motorcyclists who had driven more than seven days from Italy, only to be socked in by clouds and they could barely see 50 feet in front of them. This trip, we saw a parked motorcycle with a Chilean license plate. We even saw a recently-married couple having their wedding photos taken there. “Yes, it’s a rip-off, but Nordkapp is a stunningly, hauntingly, beautiful place. Even after the novelty has worn off, it’s the view that thrills the most. In reasonable weather you can gaze down at the wild surf more
than 300 m below, watch the mists roll in and simply enjoy the moment” (LP, p. 360). And even though the sun set (around 10:00 pm), it never got totally dark, just a bit of twilight before the sun rose again (around 2:30 am). On the other hand, the sun set last November 19th and didn’t come up again until January 23 for only about an hour and ten minutes (sunrise at 10:54 am and sunset at 12:04 pm).
We took the main road south from Nordkapp through Finland, and crossed back over the Arctic Circle, but this time in Rovaniemi, Finland. The city was destroyed in World War II but was rebuilt so that the major streets are in the shape of a reindeer’s head and antlers. It's hard to tell as you’re driving, but supposedly you can see the design on a map. Outside Rovaniemi is Santa Claus Village - the “official terrestrial home” of Santa Claus. This is a whole Santa Claus Village with souvenir shops, cafes, and most importantly, adults and kids alike can get their pictures taken with Santa Claus, the whole year round, even in August. If you’re a plan-ahead kind of person,
you can buy and address your Christmas cards at Santa Claus Village, even in January, and the post office will hold them until December, when they’re mailed with a special Santa Claus/Arctic Circle postmark. Another kitschy, touristy place, but fun. There is a line painted across Santa Claus Village designating the Arctic Circle.
We got back on the freeway, and continued south; from Nordkapp; it took us almost five days, driving about eight hours every day, to get from Nordkapp to Stockholm, with our short stop to visit Santa Claus. Since the headquarters of IKEA are in Sweden, there are IKEAs all over Scandinavia and we did our share of IKEA restaurants (we actually went into the stores to look for a blanket, which we found eventually). There is even an IKEA museum and hotel that we wanted to stay at; unfortunately the hotel was fully booked the night we would have been there.
We spent a night in Oland, a “weekend getaway” for Stockholmers. “Like a deranged Don Quixote, Oland is covered in old wooden windmills. Symbols of power and wealth in the mid-18th century, they were a must-have for every social climber and a
death knell for many of the oak forests. Today 400 or more remain, many lovingly restored by local windmill associations” (LP, p. 441).
Our last stop in Scandinavia was in Denmark. According to Rick Steves (Scandinavia, p. 114), Scandinavia is “Western Europe’s least populated, most literate, most prosperous, demographically homogenous, most highly taxed, most socialistic, and least churchgoing corner.” Denmark is one of the most environmentally conscious countries in Europe; it’s a front-runner in renewable energy, recycling and organic farming. Wind power accounts for about 30 percent of Denmark’s energy supply and its long-term goal is to “have its energy supply - electricity, heating, industry and transport - to be covered by renewable energy by 2050” (LP, p. 113) and “to be a low-carbon society independent of fossil fuels” (https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/state-of-green/news/iea-report-denmark-on-track-to-become-independent-of-fossil-fuels-by-2050/). 52%!o(MISSING)f all Copenhageners cycle to work or school every day (LP p. 113). In addition, Denmark has ranked among the top three happiest countries of 155 surveyed for the last seven years for its “subjective well-being” (https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/why-denmark-dominates-the-world-happiness-report-rankings-year-after-year-93542). Yes, high taxes, but clean energy and subjective well-being (“objective: data on crime, income, civic engagement and health; subjective: how frequently people experience positive and negative
emotions”). Something to think about.
We headed for Aero, a “iny, sleepy island ... the perfect time-passed world in which to wind down, enjoy the seagulls and take a day off … fairytale villages, dreamy seascapes and simple country meals” (ricksteves.com). The island is 30 km long and 9 km wide and is “a front runner for the title of Denmark’s friendliest - and loveliest - island. Country roads roll through countryside peppered with thatched roof, half-timbered houses and old windmills … rich maritime history beaches with photogenic bathing huts and the little town of Aeroskobing is a picture-book beauty” (RS, p. 142). Aeroskobing is simply a pleasant place to wander. The oldest houses on the island date back to the 1600’s. “Stubby-little porthole-type houses … lean on each other like drunk, sleeping sailors.” Besides the thatched-roof and half-timbered houses, there are also brightly colored houses and some are even tilted, with some cobblestoned streets. One street has “snooping mirrors” on the windows so that the locals can watch what’s going on outside (RS, p. 144). As the sun starts going down, the colors are amazing. According to Rick Steves, it's perfectly acceptable to sit on one of the
beach house porches and watch the sun set (p. 156).
We drove back to Switzerland through Germany, and stopped by some Sri Lankan friends of ours.
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