Lapland!

---

OK, so my plan was to get the train here, to Narvik yesterday, then get a bus down to Fauske and a night train to Trondheim. So how have I ended up further north than I was yesterday, with plans to stay for a few days?! Hmmm...well the train ride here was pretty spectacular, and I saw my first fjord right outside Narvik. There was an announcement on the train when we crossed the border, and we were in a tunnel, and when we came out the other side in Norway, the scenery had completely changed! So I got off the train here and I had absolutely no idea what to do! I bumped into a group of Irish guys and found a hostel. And the breakfast this morning made my mind up- I´m definitely staying! I haven´t seen so much food in a while!! Plus the showers are great!

If you´re wondering what I´ve been doing for the last few days apart from eating dessert and breakfast: my last day in Stockholm, I got my hair cut and my ears pierced! The weather was kind of rubbish so I didn´t have a whole lot to do, and my hair had got annoyingly long anyway! Then I got a night train up to Umea, and spent the day there. It´s very weird up here, because there are hardly any trains. There is only really one route, from Stockholm, up the coast of Sweden, and across the top to Narvik, on the coast of Norway. So a lot of people go straight from Stockholm to here and it´s a 21 hour journey, but I just jumped on and off the train a couple of times in Umea and Kiruna. Umea is quite a big city, but when I went to get my train to Kiruna, this is pretty much what the departures board looked like:

8.44 Narvik
13.44 Stockholm

And that´s it! 2 trains in the whole day, one going north, one going south! Very strange for someone who lives near London! So I spent the day in Umea, and got the train to Kiruna the next day. et an English guy at the station wondering around looking lost, and we went for dessert, which was great! The waitress who served us said it was a lot colder than normal for the time of year and it doesn´t normally snow til November! I stayed 1 night there and now I´m here!

Most of the people I´m meeting here are serious hikers, and it´s very surprising because a lot of them are on their own. So far, everywhere I´ve been, I´ve noticed that there are a lot of girls travelling alone, but the guys seem to be in pairs or groups. Last night I met a Dutch girl who is 22 and has studied in the US and South Africa, and is now doing a Masters in Trondheim (Norway) and Linkoping (Sweden)! And the other girl here (the hostel is a bit quiet this time of year!) is German and about my age, and she´s been travelling for 2 months just in Lapland, and she´s hiking and camping on her own!! Don´t think I could do that, but I have a lot of respect for her (and not only because she´s hiking with a 20 kilo bag!!)

I´m off to discover Norway!

---