Arctic Adventure

A couple of years ago I took it upon myself to find the time to go and explore the very far north of the European continent. The images of snowy lapland would always get me excited around Christmas and finally I decided to pull it all together.

My trip began in Oslo where I took a flight (very inexpensively!) to one of the northernmost towns in Norway called Tromso. Here you can discover a great university city (the most northerly in the world I believe), the famous Cathedral carved to look like sheets of ice and of course explore the surrounding scenery and wildlife.

As luck would have it I also learned a great deal about the indigenous Sami people through none other than their elected president who has a seat in the Parliament. If you don't know about these people, it's worth reading about as they have a truly special and unique way of life. My journey from here continued by bus to to a town called Kiruna, which is where I took a train from the worlds most northerly railways station down to the coast of Sweden. This was perhaps the most special part of my journey. Approximately five hours spent on the train rolling through truly awe inspiring landscapes that could have come straight out of a Tolkin novel, and indeed you're not to miss the 'Gate to Lapland' amongst other things such as the world famous Ice Hotel. My journey endede in Lulea which is a delightful town and a great place to experince true Swedish hospitality in a small town kind of way!

If you're lucky, you'll also get to experience the Northern Lights if you travel at the right time of year, which is a spectacle not to be missed. Otherwise enjoy the never ending sunrise for a romance that never ends or party to your heart's content with during the summer when the sun never goes sets!