North-Scandinavia Trip 2021

[bvddobb]

@Amarillo, you must have been here:



Nuorgam, the northernmost part of Finland, and thereby of the EU.

 

[Amarillo]

@Amarillo, you must have been here:

View attachment 83729

Nuorgam, the northernmost part of Finland, and thereby of the EU.

Yeah been there, stopped at the next “campsite”, drove in, saw half a dozen fully naked men sitting around huts, and drove back out.

We stopped at a mosquito infested site about five miles down the road.

The Easternmost point of Finland (and the EU mainland) is far more interesting.

 

[bvddobb]

Monday, August 23

Tonight we arrived back in Finland, at Rovaniemi airport. Luckily, our van was still there, in the parking lot! Changing from the international to the local terminal at Helsinki airport there was again an extensive Covid-check, like in Helsinki harbour, last week.

We did a few shoppings (shops are open till 22:00), and then went to the same campsite we were before. Then a good sleep. The late-season must have started this weekend: the campsite was € 7 less than last Friday!

Tuesday, August 24

Waking up, we had a nice early morning atmosphere over the river:

Today, we wil visit Santa Claus in Santa Park, and then Arktikum, a natural and cultural history museum here in Rovaniemi about life in the Arctic region.

We had hoped for too much: Santa Park was closed, due to Covid... Retrospectively, it looked like we went to the wrong place, Rovaniemi also houses Santa Claus Village, another Santa theme park, that was open these days... We just followed the big signs 'Santa Park'... Wrong! Who would have thought there is a Lego Land AND a Lego World in Windsor...

Arktikum was open:

We visited exhibitions on the changes in Arctic life, due to the ongoing climate change, and an exhibition on traditional Sámi life. There, we 'scored' our bear and our wolverine:

From there we drove to Sodankylä, to the oldest church in Finland. Again: closed, due to Covid. Expected to re-open in Summer 2022. We were able to look through a crack in the door:

Now, North of Rovaniemi, we spot a lot more possible wild camping spots, far more than in the South and the Finnish Lake District, especially along the backroads.

Wednesday, August 25

Today, we want to drive to Inari, where they have a big Sámi museum we want to visit. We take the 'quick' route, up north along the E75.

On our way, we find a birding hike path through a moor, that we can't ignore. It is a 'wooden' path across the peat (the characteristic soil here, the never ending woods of the South are thinning, now), to a viewing post on a lake:

Oddly enough we do not spot a single water bird. We had noticed before, on the lakes, how few we saw. In The Netherlands every polder is full of geese, swans, ducks, what have you, in all varieties, here: almost nothing.

A bit further down the road we have a coffee break on one of the many possible wild camp spots:

And then we reach the Gold Museum of Tankavaara. An interesting place. Late 19th century, when Finland was still a part of the Russian empire, there was a real little gold rush in this area. Nowadays there are still some hobby prospectors active. A nice exhibition gives an idea of the discovery of the gold there and the developments during and after the gold rush. There is an open air museum showing prospectors' life, working methods, etc. And there is the 'saloon': in those days, this was the northernmost place with a license to sell spirits...

Shortly before Inari we find a camping spot on Lake Inari:

Thursday, August 26

Today we visit Siida, the Sámi museum. Again, Covid plays its role: because of the forced closure of the museum last year, they started a reconstruction... To be finished in 2022! Only the open air part of the museum is open.

(Marga hasn't edited her photo's yet, so they may still follow. Otherwise, see her Facebook album (link a few posts earlier in this thread)).

Now we want to reach Norway. Driving further up the E75, one sees Russia is near:

Eventually, we cross the border at Nuargam (see above). Even on this small border crossing into Norway there is a road closure and Covid check with test container (we have our EU DCC's ready for scanning) before we can enter. We are just in time: we are there at 16:45 Finnish time, the checkpoint closes at 17:00!

From there it is just a short spell to Varangerbotn, where we find a camping spot on the Varangerfjord.

We came way East, today, yet it is an hour earlier than before! We our now in the Oslo and no longer in the Helsinki time zone!

 

[bvddobb]

We visited another extreme border these days, the Norwegian-Russian border. The yellow pole is the Norwegian border marker, if you look carefully, you can see the Russian red border marker across the river:

A lot of things are not allowed in the border region:

 

[bvddobb]

In this stage of our journey we reach the extreme North of Norway, our ultimate goal this trip. Re. our inspiration map, we have had to make some tough choices: we simply have no time to do it all! We decide to forget Varanger completely and visit Grense Jakobselv, Slettnes Fyr and the various North Capes, incl. Knivskjelodden.

Friday, August 27

Today we want to reach Grense Jakobselv. For players of 'Risk' a well know spot: a small spot where Norway borders on Russia directly. The road there ends at the end of the world, on the Barentsz Sea.

The route there has some hilarious moments, with lots of military presence and all sorts of prohibitions (see earlier post). The last few miles are on a dirt road, and then, at the end: the Barentsz Sea and a simple building belonging to the local boat club (?? Who? How??). It's a point for silent, philosophical contemplation.

But we have hardly arrived, in this complete stillness and emptiness, and then the following happens:

Two coaches come swerving around the corner to disembark a large group of students/youngsters on tour, who come here to lunch and swim! We flee on a walk towards the close by Oscar II Chapel:

Upon our return they have all left and we have this place to our own again. We put our van a bit higher up the rock, and have lunch ourselves:

On our way back, just outside the military zone, we find ourselves a nice wild camp spot on a small lake, that just begs for a swim and a hair wash (with environmentally OK shampoo!!):

Saturday, August 28

From here we want to drive to Nordkyn, a half island, where Slettnes Fyr (Lighthouse) is. Many deem this the real North Cape: this is on the mainland (just!), where the 'commercial' North Cape is on an island. The purists say that if islands count, the real North Cape should be on Svallbard! On the road, we swerve towards Kirkeness. A dump, don't go there, ever. Waste of time. All we can say is that there was a Hurtigruten vessel moored there: Kirkeness is formally the end point of this line:

We see a few Hurtigruten tourists wander through this completely deserted little town. That it (and many other small places in Finnmark) is such a completely characterless concrete waste, is not their fault, really. In 1944, upon their retreat, the German forces burnt down everything in this province as part of their scorched earth tactic. So, everything here has this 'reconstruction' style: cheap concrete.

Slettnes is too far, we end up in Mehamn. We have another extreme here: the northernmost airport on the mainland. One can fly here from Amsterdam: 19 hours, 5 transfers, € 695 for a single trip, economy…

Sunday, August 29

We reach Slettnes Fyr, the northernmost lighthouse in Norway, on the Barentsz Sea again, and according to many the real North Cape:

We love Nordkyn, the half island the lighthouse is on! It is very rough terrain, the three little hamlets on it (Mehamn, Kjöllefjord and Gamvik) were not reachable by road until 1989, and now in winter still only through a system of column driving across the plateau. The landscape is barren, treeless, and reminds us of Iceland, with its ice rounded mountains.

We end up in Ifjord, where we set up camp and have dinner in the local trading post:

Monday, August 30

Now we're on the road to the 'commercial' North Cape. It's quite a drive, and we won't make it in one day. We aim for Lakselv.
On the road we see signs for a beautiful canyon, Silfar Canyon, where we make a short hike to visit it:

Tuesday, August 31

Last stretch towards the North Cape. Today we aim to go to the 'commercial' North Cape, visit and explore everything there, set up camp close by, and then the next day hike towards Knivskjelodden, a stretch of land that reaches some 1600 m further North than the commercial North Cape but can't be reached by car or coach, only by foot, and therefore never made is as commercial hot spot.

An there, in the background: the ridge of Knivskjelodden!

We set up camp in Skarsvåg, on the same island:

 

[bvddobb]

Wednesday, September 1

The weather has changed for the worse. 5 degrees Centigrade, winds of Beaufort 5-6, cold rain, limited visibility... No way we will do the 4 hour hike on an unsheltered ridge under these circumstances. It will be miserable and cold, and you won't see a thing once you reach the end... It puts us down a bit.

We look for an alternative, and stumble on a new, recently opened national tourist route towards Havøysund and back. A beautiful route, and very quiet!

Thursday, September 1

Today we'll do our last stretch of North Norway: we want to reach Øksfjord, via Alta. Marga's brother lives in Øksfjord. Her parents are on the Hurtigruten currently, and will arrive there tonight at 02:00 (Øksfjord is one of the Hurtigruten stops). So, we will have a rest day there tomorrow and see family we haven't seen for a long time since Covid, and then move on on Saturday.

On the road we visit the Alta museum, where in an open air part one can see thousands of years' old rock carvings and paintings. A beautiful museum, where we have lunch:

During part of WW2, the Tirpitz, a German battle ship, lay hidden in one of the side fjords of the Alta fjord. There is a little museum dedicated to that period, but unfortunately also closed because of Covid.

So, we drive on towards Øksfjord, we see many reindeer on the road there, end we end up parking our van on Marga's brother's drive way.

That night the Hurtigruten with their parents arrives, and moors right in front of Marga's brother's house:

Friday, August 3

We have a rest day in Øksfjord, together with the family. We camp in Marga's brother's garden and make a short hike along the fjord. The weather is still awful: rain, wind, cold...

 

[NessL]

We visited another extreme border these days, the Norwegian-Russian border. The yellow pole is the Norwegian border marker, if you look carefully, you can see the Russian red border marker across the river:

A lot of things are not allowed in the border region:

How do you have take a photo in an ‘aggressive manner’?

 

[kurienp]

Wednesday, September 1

The weather has changed for the worse. 5 degrees Centigrade, winds of Beaufort 5-6, cold rain, limited visibility... No way we will do the 4 hour hike on an unsheltered ridge under these circumstances. It will be miserable and cold, and you won't see a thing once you reach the end... It puts us down a bit.

We look for an alternative, and stumble on a new, recently opened national tourist route towards Havøysund and back. A beautiful route, and very quiet!

Thursday, September 1

Today we'll do our last stretch of North Norway: we want to reach Øksfjord, via Alta. Marga's brother lives in Øksfjord. Her parents are on the Hurtigruten currently, and will arrive there tonight at 02:00 (Øksfjord is one of the Hurtigruten stops). So, we will have a rest day there tomorrow and see family we haven't seen for a long time since Covid, and then move on on Saturday.

On the road we visit the Alta museum, where in an open air part one can see thousands of years' old rock carvings and paintings. A beautiful museum, where we have lunch:

During part of WW2, the Tirpitz, a German battle ship, lay hidden in one of the side fjords of the Alta fjord. There is a little museum dedicated to that period, but unfortunately also closed because of Covid.

So, we drive on towards Øksfjord, we see many reindeer on the road there, end we end up parking our van on Marga's brother's drive way.

That night the Hurtigruten with their parents arrives, and moors right in front of Marga's brother's house:

Friday, August 3

We have a rest day in Øksfjord, together with the family. We camp in Marga's brother's garden and make a short hike along the fjord. The weather is still awful: rain, wind, cold...

... and here we were wondering where you were - without any updates.

Some really nice pictures there and you also seem to have been blessed with good weather.

Waiting for more updates. Enjoying the trip along with you from the armchair.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[bvddobb]

... and here we were wondering where you were - without any updates.

You may follow us on Polarsteps, see earlier in this thread.

 

[kurienp]

You may follow us on Polarsteps, see earlier in this thread.

Yes, I do - but don't use the app often. Now I shall

 

[bvddobb]

Oh, oh! During our ‘race to the South’, suddenly: limp mode! No indicator lights, no strange noises from under the bonnet, the simple stop-key out-start reset didn’t solve it…

It is far too busy on the E6 to limp on, so we are being hauled to the next VW dealer on the route:

 

[kurienp]

Oh, oh! During our ‘race to the South’, suddenly: limp mode! No indicator lights, no strange noises from under the bonnet, the simple stop-key out-start reset dodn’t solve it…

It is far too busy on the E6 to limp on, so we are being hauled to the next VW dealer on the route:

Oh boy! that looks like a bummer ... but you seem to be enjoying the ride on the truck - in the van. Interesting that they allow that in Norway. Hope it is something minor.

 

[pcevanrulo]

Ai, hopefully just a faulty sensor or something like that.

Interesting that they allow that in Norway.

not only Norway, but also in France, Germany, Belgium, etc...

 

[kurienp]

Ai, hopefully just a faulty sensor or something like that.


not only Norway, France, Germany, Belgium, etc...

Duh! UK is so boring

 

[ThomasHJ]

Oh no! Hope it'll turn out to be something that's easily solved.

 

[bvddobb]

So, they checked the log, and lo: the (in)famous N75...! They checked the valve physically, and it turns out it is not just the sensor, but the actual valve that is broken. Therefore the key reset method didn't work, the car will go into limp mode over and over again...

Part was not in stock, will be shipped there overnight, they expect they can put it in around 09:00 tomorrow morning. We may still catch our booked ferry!

The dealer offered we could camp on their site, with EHU and all, but the weather is so bad, we decided to take the hotel across the street...

 

[WelshGas]

So, they checked the log, and lo: the (in)famous N75...! They checked the valve physically, and it turns out it is not just the sensor, but the actual valve that is broken. Therefore the key reset method didn't work, the car will go into limp mode over and over again...

Part was not in stock, will be shipped there overnight, they expect they can put it in around 09:00 tomorrow morning. We may still catch our booked ferry!

The dealer offered we could camp on their site, with EHU and all, but the weather is so bad, we decided to take the hotel across the street...

Seems like a helpful Dealership. Hope everything is sorted and you catch the ferry.

 

[BrugseB]

Wow, what a service! Wished we encountered that some years ago when broken down in Bretagne. Hope things work out for the best and you'll be able to sail on time!

 

[bvddobb]

The part is due to arrive any minute, now. We have been able to push out our Bergen-Hirtshals ferry booking to a day later, that will make our drive there much more relaxed. The dealer printed out our new tickets for us. We should be OK!

 

[kurienp]

The part is due to arrive any minute, now. We have been able to push out our Bergen-Hirtshals ferry booking to a day later, that will make our drive there much more relaxed. The dealer printed out our new tickets for us. We should be OK!

That definitely sounds like a very good dealer. glad to know things are progressing well.

 

[ThomasHJ]

Yes, sounds like decent service. Hope the situation hasn't impacted the trip for you guys too much.

 

[bvddobb]

The part is due to arrive any minute, now. We have been able to push out our Bergen-Hirtshals ferry booking to a day later, that will make our drive there much more relaxed. The dealer printed out our new tickets for us. We should be OK!

Well, we cheered too early… The N75 fault is gone, so far so good, but the permanent limp mode is still there. Check, check, double check: no other fault codes, no warning lights, nothing. The only thing is that the system says the DPF is loaded beyond the threshold value and the standard operation then is to replace it. There are other methods (e.g. cleaning, a method not available here, spoofing the system, which the official dealer won’t do), but not available right now.

A replacement part is not currently available in Norway, has to come from Germany, takes at least 5 working days and is terribly expensive here, the dealer warns us. He reckons it will be much cheaper in NL.

We have a discussion with our dutch dealer on the line and we decide to try adding a regenerative agent to the fuel and driviy around for 2 hours at very high revs, to see of we can auto-regenerate the DPF this.
No avail.

So, now we have arranged with our insurance that the van will be repatriated, we cancelled the Bergen ferry and have claimed that back, and Friday they fly us back from Trondheim to Amsterdam.

End of trip.

 

[kurienp]

Well, we cheered too early… The N75 fault is gone, so far so good, but the permanent limp mode is still there. Check, check, double check: no other fault codes, no warning lights, nothing. The only thing is that the system says the DPF is loaded beyond the threshold value and the standard operation then is to replace it. There are other methods (e.g. cleaning, a method not available here, spoofing the system, which the official dealer won’t do), but not available right now.

A replacement part is not currently available in Norway, has to come from Germany, takes at least 5 working days and is terribly expensive here, the dealer warns us. He reckons it will be much cheaper in NL.

We have a discussion with our dutch dealer on the line and we decide to try adding a regenerative agent to the fuel and driviy around for 2 hours at very high revs, to see of we can auto-regenerate the DPF this.
No avail.

So, now we have arranged with our insurance that the van will be repatriated, we cancelled the Bergen ferry and have claimed that back, and Friday they fly us back from Trondheim to Amsterdam.

End of trip.

Oh boy, that is definitely not a happy ending ... but knowing of your travels, the van has taken you to many places without any issues ... so, well, I am sure it will be fixed and take you along on more adventures.

Stay safe ... and more adventures await you ...

 

[BrugseB]

Well, this starts to feel like a "third time good time" story. Sorry to hear about ending the trip, happy you have a good insurance (elk nadeel hep z'n voordeel?). Convinced that you"ll be back next year

 

[Kjetil]

Wednesday 18 - Thursday 19 August

After our first few days of wandering through the Finnish lake district, we decide to make some miles up North. We plan an 'adventurous' route (TomTom option) on back and dirt roads to Rovaniemi, via Oulu on the Botnic Gulf.

Driving is a bit slower than TomTom calculated, so we don't make Oulu on Wednesday. We end up on an activity campsite (kayaking, swimming, climbing. cycling, a beautiful open air theatre on the river) near Muhos.
The next morning we drive to Oulu, where we do a city walk, guided by this website.

We visit the old market hall for a coffee:

That afternoon we drive to Rovaniemi on the Polar Circle. WE meet our first free running reindeer (see above) and end up at Napapiiri Campsite near Rovaniemi. Beautiful spot, excellent facilities, but very expensive, in our opinion: obviously one pays a premium for Santa's proximity...

Is that a raincover you have over the top?