Motorhome News from Europe 31. Norway 10th August 2005 The beautiful Lofoten Islands - and back to the mainland Above the Arctic Circle and heading south. Fiskebol, Svolvaer, Lofotr, Å, Flakstad, Bodo, Svartisen Glacier, Lovund, Trondheim The Viking Gods were against us as we arrived by ferry on the island of Lofoten. Our dreams of dazzling fjords and sunlit dramatic scenery vanished in a haze of damp mist and drizzle as soon as we landed at the dock in Fiskebol. But we have never let a small thing like rain spoil our day. The outline of grey mountains rising at 60 degrees from windswept fjords and dark clouds masking a determined sun were still dramatic and exciting. That day was also a day of magnificent rainbows; great arches of brilliant colour casting pots of gold on ... read more

Motorhome News from Europe 29 Norway July 2005 Europe - from the top down. Northern Norway Nordkapp. The most northerly point of Europe, on the island of Magoya. Picture a magnificent cliff, ragged peaks and tiny dark islands. Picture a knot of people bent into the wind at a lookout point high above a raging sea, gazing north to the distant horizon, dreaming of snow and ice, polar bears, brave explorers, and the North Pole, just 1,100Km distant. Then, dream on. As David, a young Polish hitch-hiker plucked from the roadside in the bitter arctic wind and rain described it, ‘The Visitor Centre was a bit like MacDonalds.’ We had already put the 1989 built Visitor Centre at Nordkapp in the Mickey Mouse category of Disney, but it serves its purpose well, bringing tourists and their ... read more

Motorhome News from Europe 27. Finland. 12th July 2005 Kussamo, Oulanka National Park, The Arctic Circle and the Midnight Sun, Santa at Rovaniemi, Talvascero and Inari, Lapland. A visit to Santa, north into Finnish Lapland - and snowchains It’s my birthday on Thursday and we have a wager. Janice says I’ll get 3 emails-worth of greetings and I reckon I’ll get about 15! Meanwhile, we’ve been researching the birding hereabouts. Page 77. Where to watch Birds in Scandinavia. ‘Valtavaara. This 10Km sq area of taiga is world famous as a site for red flanked bluetail’. Page 281 Lonely Planet Finland. ‘Valtavaara Hill is the best place in the region for birding: some 100 species nest here’. Now, is that tempting, or what? After a successful 6am start at the hides in Kussamo town, we set off ... read more

Motorhome News from Europe 25. Sweden 28th June 2005 Heading north along the Baltic coast The eight hotels in the small town of Tallberg (pop 400) on Lake Siljan fill up with tourists each year for the few weeks of summer. Even the Japanese come here on their four day tour of Europe we’re told! Hans Christian Andersen came here once too, in 1850 (did he come by horse-drawn carriage?). It was his record of the beautiful hilltop views across the lake and the charismatic traditional dwellings that put the village on the map - though it’s my belief that it comes nowhere near Stow-on-the Wold or Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds! Nice though, and the craft workshops were fascinating. They were busy cutting the grass and dressing the Mid-Summer pole for this weekend’s celebrations. Bright red ... read more

Motorhome News from Europe 23. Norway/Sweden June 2005 Oslo, Norway, and on into Sweden To the best of my knowledge, I have never seen a photograph of Oslo, so I had little by way of expectations when we arrived at the campsite overlooking the city, mid-morning. The E18 motorway runs straight into the City, through the tunnel under the centre and out the other side. Consequently, there is little traffic in the centre and it has a peaceful air, with wide streets and green parks everywhere. The pedestrianised main street, Carl Johans Gate, runs straight as an arrow about one and a half km from the railway station to the Palace, between smart shops, cafes and restaurants. Nothing like our chaotic Oxford Street! We left Smiley at the campsite and took the bus into town, planning ... read more