After 5 nights at this wonderful place at the Lapland Adventure Farm with Jenny and Basti, we decided to move on.
On the last day we had to do the laundry again. It was a good thing that I was allowed to use the dryer, otherwise the laundry would probably never have dried.
In the meantime, I enjoyed the little bit of sunshine with a book and Alex passed the time in Basti’s “sawmill”. He wants to build more kennels for his dogs.
At some point, Alex came back to me and told me to listen carefully. And yes, there were the reindeer bells, very close by. We grabbed the camera, left everything else behind and walked carefully in the direction of the bells. And sure enough, we saw a herd of reindeer.
How wonderful it is to see them so close. Great!
The next morning we said goodbye to every single dog and, of course, to Jenny and Basti, and drove almost 140 km north-west to the silver museum in Arjeblog.
Our route took us past the Continental proving ground in Arvidsjaur. Around 1200-1500 tests are carried out here every year. From SUVs to trucks, for all vehicle types for which Continental tires were developed. Here are the perfect conditions to test the tires on ice and snow for safety in terms of lateral control and braking traction.
We saw countless reindeer on the way there.
The Silver Museum in Arjeblog tells the story of life in the region in the past.
A `Wallquist, who worked as a country doctor in Arjeplog from the 1920s, collected many cultural-historical objects and when he retired, he opened this museum. He worked there as museum director until his death in 1985.
People from this period used bone and horn to make tools, jewelry, mortars, pipes, knives, musical instruments and much more. From skins, leather, clothing and bags.
They made many useful things from trees, bark and other plants. For the household as well as for hunting and medicine.
The silver that the Sami possessed was not made by them, but bought or exchanged on their trading trips. Jewelry or buttons show mainly Catholic symbols. The oldest pieces date from the Middle Ages, long before the Sami became Christian. At first, they simply found these symbols pretty without knowing their meaning.
The silver was the status symbol of the Sami and showed the success of the men in reindeer herding, hunting and fishing.
The silver pieces in the women’s collars were worn with their dresses on church visits, market days or special occasions. The collar was always passed down from mother to daughter.
There were jobs that only women did, such as housework, laundry, kitchen work and sewing.
The men were often separated from their families for days on end. They had to hunt, fish and make wood. The horse and sledges were usually their companions.
The classroom for the children. The teacher often lived in the classroom and therefore had her bed in the same room.
A very worthwhile museum to travel back in time and see how people managed their lives back then.
Afterwards, we decided to make ourselves something to eat and drive a little further. Our next destination was in exactly the opposite direction, namely the coast in the north of Sweden.
You can only ever see short sections of the botanical bay here. We were told that the sea in this area stretches out several fingers, so you can only ever see narrow and short sections of the actual sea.
We made it to our campsite for the night at around 8pm, where we once again had a very nice chat with a Belgian-born man who now lives in Sweden. He has to be at work tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. and as he lives inland and has to drive for miles to get here, he arrived in his camper today at the spot where we are staying for the night.
A French woman is staying in her camper with a goat and two chickens. What can you say about that? Simply crazy 😂 Unfortunately, she didn’t register the animals when she entered the country and keeps getting into trouble with the local authorities.
The next morning was great. It was the first time since we’ve been in Sweden that we got up in the morning, didn’t have to freeze and voluntarily opened all the windows. The wind is still a bit fresh, but the warmth and sunshine are worth their weight in gold for our zest for life.
When we got back on the road, we filled up with gas and went shopping again. Alex was delighted at the sight of the old Iron Maiden vinyl. Just his taste.
In Sweden you can’t buy alcohol, except sometimes beer, in supermarkets or similar. You have to go into so-called systembolaget. When we happened to walk past one, we couldn’t resist. I bought two tetrapacks of wine. We kept our hands off the other goodies. The crazy prices were unbelievable.
After stowing everything away just under an hour later, we continued on our way.
Storforsen (rapids) is located about 38 km northwest of Älvsbyn in the province of Norrbottens län.
With a drop height of 60 meters, an average of 250 m³ of water rolls downhill every second, making it one of the largest rapids in Scandinavia. The total length from start to finish is 5 km, with a height difference of 82 meters. The water level is at its highest during the midsummer weeks, when around 870 m³ of water per second flows into the valley.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Can you recognize the animal in the rock?
There are opportunities for swimming.
Countless places for such barbecues are offered here.
You can get the wood you need for the barbecue from this small hut free of charge.
There is a café and also toilets outside the café.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to spend the night in the rapids parking lot. So we made ourselves something to eat and started looking for a suitable place to sleep at around 6pm.
Suddenly we were confronted by a security person and, after he had photographed our license plates and passports, we were personally escorted through the area by him. He was a very friendly man and when we asked if we weren’t allowed to drive here, he just said it was okay. We now know why, but we won’t go into it any further.
As soon as we were back on “neutral ground”, a cow moose and her young ran across our path.
cAround 9 p.m. we found a nice place to sleep right by the lake and were able to watch the odd reindeer from the camper.
The 66th northern latitude is located near Jokkmokk. This is also known as the Arctic Circle.
At this location, it is marked with stones and a sign. It is nothing special. But knowing that you are now in the polar region is kind of great.
From Laxforsen in Sweden we went to Abisko, the northernmost place in Sweden for us. For just under 1.80/liter of diesel, Abisko was the most expensive and last filling station in Sweden before heading to Norway.
The last few kilometers in Sweden with fog, rain and wind.
After 4 weeks and 5 days in Sweden, we arrived in Norway.
Although the weather is not really great with 9° and rain, we are thrilled by the landscape that greets us.
The drive the next day was a bit exhausting as it consisted almost exclusively (approx. 100 km) of roadworks.
When we drive back towards Lofoten, we will unfortunately have to drive this part of the route again, as there is no other road. Yay 😉
After a 3-hour drive, we found this great spot and took a lunch break. It was not suitable for an overnight stay.
We take you with us on our journey to the northernmost place in Norway.
It wasn’t long before we saw our first Norwegian reindeer. And sheep just wander around freely here too.
So the Norwegians have already shown good taste in cars 🙂
We reached Andenes in the late afternoon. A town in Norway at the northern end of the island of Andøya in Vesterålen. The town is the administrative center of the municipality of Andøy and has about 2499 inhabitants.
For us, this was the most northerly place we visited in Norway.
We watched the sunset at just under 23:00. In other words, the sun didn’t actually set at all that night. It moved a little and sank a little before rising again.
The Andenes fry is a lighthouse that was built in 1859. With its height of 40 meters, it is the tallest in Norway.
Around midnight, we went sightseeing around the town.
A small harbor. In the background, however, there is a small ferry port that takes you to the island of Senja.
You can buy all kinds of things in this small town. From groceries to clothes, household goods, bicycles, everything for the car and souvenir stores. From cinemas, restaurants, cafés and discos to hotels and B&Bs. Some of the houses are really well renovated and some are almost falling apart.
The witching hour at the cemetery takes on a completely different meaning here.
Don’t forget, when you look at the pictures it’s already after midnight 🙂
I would like to tell you about our impressions of Sweden.
When we arrived at the beginning of June, we were very impressed by the architecture and the landscape.
We experienced the 24-hour brightness, which fascinated us on the one hand, but on the other hand we also noticed how our bodies first had to get used to it.
The landscape changes more and more the further north we go. From fields and wide open spaces to dense forests, there were lakes and rivers everywhere and the population density decreased.
The villages consisted of just a few houses and towns were “German villages” for us.
From the south to the west and part of the east, up to the northernmost part for us, we are amazed by the landscape, the fauna and flora.
The people are incredibly friendly and helpful.
We had an incredible number of “wow” effects and learned an incredible amount through our contact with the people. About the different regions, the difference between summer and winter, the wild animals and the sled dogs.
We got to know different lifestyles of different people. Both locals and emigrants. It’s interesting how differently people see it, how they experience Sweden, how they love it, how they deal with summer and winter.
For us, it was an unforgettable adventure that we won’t be repeating any time soon due to the weather. We are and will remain children of the sun. All the rain, wind and cold summers are not great for us. Due to the coolness and humidity, we repeatedly had slight health problems, which doesn’t motivate us to travel as far north as Sweden again in the foreseeable future.
However, we can imagine visiting the south again at some point, up to around the Dalarna region.
Our impressions of the cost of living for us as campers are positive. Yes, there are very expensive groceries, but there are also cheaper ones. Even if you make sure you buy cheaply, it is a bit more expensive compared to Germany. For us, however, the everyday food was acceptable. We simply did without the overpriced alcohol and other luxury foods, so we managed quite well with our budget. The fuel costs were also ok. Except in the north, just before Norway. They were more expensive there.
It was unusual for us that there was almost nowhere to buy drinking water. And if there was, it was only carbonated. They say that all water in Sweden is of drinking quality. No matter whether it comes from the lake, the river or from the tap, which is usually connected to a well. So they don’t buy Swedish water to drink.
All in all, it was a non-binding adventure with breathtaking scenery and great people.
At the end of our Scandinavia tour, we return to Sweden at the height of Gothenburg. We will be visiting a friend and will most likely take the ferry from Gothenburg to Kiel.
Here are a few more impressions of Lapland and Jämtland:
This is what larger cities look like in the north of Sweden.
Once again you have had a lot to read. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have and still enjoy our posts, even if they’ve been a bit longer lately.
Thank you for your interest in our lives and adventures.
Without you, this blog probably wouldn’t exist. But thanks to your interest and your numerous comments, it really is a lot of fun, even if it sometimes means putting in a night shift.
We wish you a good time, enjoy your life and have fun in everything you do.
Yours, Iris & Alex