LeeRaewyn

Tuesday 22nd August Our train didn’t leave until 1.30pm so we spent the morning relaxing in our hotel room until we had to leave. We had aisle seats next to an Iranian/American father and daughter who were on a whistle-stop tour of Scandinavian capitals. We had an interesting conversation about the USA and its current political situation. The scenery was the same all the way – trees, lakes, farms, villages and towns – all fairly flat. The train went north-east to Kongsvinger and crossed the border into Sweden around 3pm. The rest of the journey was uneventful and we arrived in Stockholm at 18.54, found our way to the T-bana (underground) and arrived at the apartment at 19.30. I enjoyed 3 cups of tea !!! Wednesday 23rd August Up at 8.30, breakfast and then to the ... read more

Friday 18th August - Sunny Bergen !!! We decided to make the most of the outdoors and go up Mt Floyen, in the funicular. It took us an hour in the queue, as everyone else had the same idea, and a 6 minute ride to the top. The view was over the city was amazing - 2 cruise ships in port. We had a bite of lunch, then walked around in the forest at the top, to the lake and back in time to see the Hurtigruten ship arrive in port (2.30pm). We enjoyed just sitting in the sun people-watching for a while, then went down and walked to Bergenhus Fortress - one of the oldest and best preserved in Norway. From there we walked along the foreshore - the old area of Bryggen - and ... read more

Sat 12 August...A Very Looong Day in Tromso... We slept in a bit as yesterday was a busy day and a late night, with interrupted sleep the night before. After breakfast we packed up and left our bags at the hotel, then walked to the Hurtigruten Terminal to check it out. Well there isn't one at Tromso - only a cargo shed. From there it was a short walk to Polaria, where we watched bearded and harbur seals being fed and doing their tricks, as well as a slideshow about Svalbard. The polar ice melting is of concern to people in this part of the world. We found a shopping centre and had a big lunch, before walking over the bridge again. This time we went up in the cablecar to a peak (Fjellheisen) above the ... read more

On to Abisko....a slower start today as our train didn't leave until 1.25pm. We caught up with emails and blog then left the hotel at 11am. We walked up to the Information Centre (Folkets Hus) and waited around until 12.30. It was warm inside and there were plenty of displays of the mine and town to look at as well as information boards to read. A bus took us to the railway station (no longer in the centre of town because of the mine subsidence) and our train arrived on time. The ride to Abisko was just over an hour and the train (night one from Stockholm) was full of hikers with large backpacks, all going to the same place as us... Abisko National Park. The scenery was mainly birch trees, later mountains with snow on ... read more

Saturday 5th August. ... a day in Jokkmokk. Cloudy and a bit cooler today. We bought apples and nectarines from the supermarket before setting off on a walk up a nearby hill. It was not well signposted and we ended up on the wrong track. A man out walking his dog put us right. He was from South Germany and had moved to Sweden for a quieter life. He loved being in Lapland and was very interested in the Sami people. We chatted to him for about half an hour and learned a lot about living in this area and the difficulties of winter with temperatures of -40 degrees. Even his dog didn't want to go out for a walk then !!! The view from the top was a bit disappointing as the tall fir trees ... read more