Alla inlägg den 23 juni 2015

TUESDAY EVENING IN BACK SWEDEN

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 23 juni 2015 20:31

Here we go again, several days went by without me having a chance to tell my story. I can’t really blame Mom tough, because the connection in Norway has been really lousy. It may have something to do about the tall mountains surrounding us.

The boat rides are not my favorite, but absolutely necessary if we want to continue to the tail of Norway, called Lofoten.

Finally.............. I’ve been waiting forever for Mom to take down that bicycle she bought. But what the heck ? again a boat ?, the bike went on a boat and I was shaking like a leaf, the entire way across the lake. ............at shore Lotta too got a bike, and off we went to a glacier...............Svartisen is Norway’s second to highest glacier and has an area of 370 square kilometers. It is the lowest positioned glacier on the European mainland, just about 20m above the ocean. This makes it easily accessible for glacier trips and other adventures.

do you see the solid block of ice behind me ?

After that adventure we were all pretty pooped, but next stop were supposed to be the Saltstraumen..............a place Mom had read about, and wanted to see.

The Saltstraumen has the strongest tidal current in the world. Up to 400,000,000 cubic metres (520,000,000 cu yd) of sea water forces its way through a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) long and 150-metre (490 ft) wide st every six hours, with water speeds reaching 22 knots (25 mph). Vortices known as whirlpools or maelstroms up to 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter and 5 metres (16 ft) in depth are formed when the current is at its strongest. The Saltstraumen has existed for about two to three thousand years. Before that, the area was different due to post-glacial rebound.................most definitley not a place to go swimming............

Unfortunately we couldn’t find a decent campground, so once again we wild camped in a parking lot.

Following day we kept going on yet another ferry, this one was 3 hours long, and it was no fun at all as I had to stay in Lucy the entire trip

Finally we arrived at the destination that was supposed to be THE place to visit....................LOFOTEN

Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Northern Norway, mountains and peaks, Though lying within the Artic circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude. Lofoten is known for a distinctive scenery with mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands.

It was so beautiful, so I have no words, pictures have to speak for them selves

This is a favorite spot for fishing, and the men looked quite happy when they returned with their catch.

After Lofoten, we continued to Narvik, where we had planned to spend a little time, but their campground was closed, and weather was getting crappy, no WIFI, we left after one nights sleep in a parking lot...................It's a place with a lot of war history, but since Dad isn't with us this time, we skipped that stuff.

Narvik is the third-largest city in Northern Norway by population which was 18 473 in 2012.
Narvik – 2,407 km (1,496 mi) from North Pole
The history of Narvik as a settlement began in the Stone Age. Not very much is known about these people, but the Vikings lived in this area.
The history of modern Narvik begins in the 1870s, when the Swedish government began to understand the potential of the iron ore mines in Kiruna, Sweden. Obtaining iron ore from Kiruna had one significant problem in that there was no suitable Swedish port, since the Baltic sea ports will freeze in winter.Swedish company built a railway to Narvik, as the port there is ice-free thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, and is naturally large, allowing boats of virtually any size to anchor, up to 208 metres (682 ft) long and 27 metres (89 ft) deep.
The Swedish mining corporation, still ships the majority of its ore from Narvik (a total 25 million tons a year) and the corporation is still important in the area, both as an employer and landowner, although its influence is not as prominent now as it has been in previous years.
The port of Narvik proved to be strategically valuable in the early years of World War II and the town became a focal point of the Norwegian Campaign. In 1939, Germany's war industry depended upon iron ore mined in Kiruna and Malmberget in Sweden.
Winston Churchill realized that the control of Narvik meant stopping most German imports of iron ore during the winter of 1940. This would be advantageous to the Allies, and it might help shorten the war. Equally as important, later in the war, German submarines and warships based there threatened the allied supply line to the Soviet Union.
Churchill proposed laying a naval minefield in Norwegian territorial waters around Narvik, and that met with debate within the British government – since the plan would mean a violation of Norway's neutrality and sovereignty.

We kept on driving towards the Swedish border and continue to go OH and AHh at great looking places.

Somewhere on the road there was a Viking museum, where Mom tried to get hired as a warrier.

there was some good looking meatball factories outside, but I never gor to meet them

When we finally crossed the border back to Sweden , there was still ice on the lakes, and the trees had no leaves yet..............boring rain and more rain again