Day 36 - Honningsvag - Nordkapp - Honningsvag

Arriving at North Cape...
Today I completed my journey to Europe's northernmost point after 36 days and 3117km. It was of course a great moment to reach the famous Globe on top of the 309m high cliff! Again I was really lucky with the weather and as well with the surprisingly low number of tourists, which allowed me to take some nice pictures and to enjoy the moment to its full extend. This lasted 6 hrs :-)! During that time I met quite a few people who, like myself, were completing their journey: 2 young guys travelling on their "Samson" motorbikes, one lady arriving on a 55 years old tractor (11hp, 20kmh max), another cyclist... So I chatted a lot, had coffee and cake and enjoyed the tourist entertainment. North Cape is really an impressive place and it was definitively worth the trip. In the coming days I will drastically reduce cycling and enjoy northern Norway before I will return home via ship and train.

Day 34/35 - Alta - Olderfjord - Honningsvag

Snow, mountains and the sea...
Since yesterday the weather has changed from bright sunshine to cold, windy and cloudy. Fortunately I had no rain and the forecast is better for the coming days. The ride from Alta to Olderfjord yesterday was reminding me of some winter roads in the Alps: long steep hills and snow and fog around. Today at least visibility was much better and even the sun appeared for some moments. This was really good as the ride on the E69 to Honningsvag is leading directly along the coastline separating snow covered mountains from the fjord. The scenery in the changing light was absolutely impressive! The wind is very strong now, but according to the lady in the Honningsvag hostel it is still calm compared to "normal" days... So I guess I'm lucky to be able to maintain a speed of 12kmh on flat ground... I was not in the wind all day, partially because of the numerous bends, but also because I spend over 14km in tunnels. The most impressive one being the "North Cape Tunnel" linking the mainland with Mageroya, the island on which the Cape is located. This tunnel is 7km long and goes down to -212m unter the sea (!) with an average slope of 7% to get down and up again (the Elbtunnel is for whimps ;-)). Tomorrow will be the great day: 30km to North Cape and back to Honningsvag on a light bike as I can leave all my stuff in the Hostel!

Day 32/33 - Kautokeino - Alta

Reaching the Fjords...
After a "surprisingly" cold and short night in my tent, I started yesterday morning at 6 my ride to Alta along the Altaelv, one of the best salmon fishing spots in Europe. I quickly realized that flat roads belong to the past and that from now on it will be a constant up and down. In order to get some rest and "refuel" for the final step to North Cape, I decided to spend 2 nights in Alta. So today I started with an excellent and relaxed breakfast before I went for a sightseeing-WALK. First I climbed the roughly 200m hill "Komsa" from which I enjoyed a breathtaking view over the Alta Fjord and the city. In the afternoon I visited the Alta Museum, which is mainly about the famous pre-historic rock carvings which are more than 6000 years old and UNESCO World Heritage, but also about local history, Sami culture, Salmon fishing,... Tonight I will have a good meal and prepare for the next 3 days which will hopefully lead me to North Cape.

Day 30/31 - Muonio - Enontekioe - Kautokeino

Out of the forest...
I really like forest and trees, but after 4 weeks of endless forest, it was a relief to have a change in scenery. However the change was really quick! Landscape completely switched from dense forest in northern Finland to Tundra within less than 100km. Furthermore I have caught up with Winter. There is still some snow and most of the lakes are frozen. On the road 93 which I'm currently taking, camping cars are my main company: Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, German, Belge, Italians... even 1 French :-)
As the weather is absolutely perfect, I decided to camp "in the wild" today. Hope the night will not be too cold... By the way, I have now reached 69 northern latitude and the sun will not set anymore, so there is no night and no cold (hopefully :-)). Tomorrow I will reach Alta on the Atlantic coast and sleep in a real bed...

Day 28/29 - Oeverkalix - Pajala - Muonio

Goodbye Sweden, hello Finland...
The last 2 days were really exhausting. The towns are quite far apart which leads to long daytrips and on top I have strong wind from north. Sometimes it slowed me down to 10/12kmh on flat ground... But despite wind and cold, yesterday and today were really good: I crossed the Arctic Circle and left Sweden behind after cycling swedish roads for roughly 2000km. Tomorrow I will spenden one more night in Finland before arriving in Norway.

Day 26/27 - Pitea - Boden - Oeverkalix

Big rivers, hot weather...
Yesterday was for sure the hottest day of the journey in Sweden: 28 degrees and bright sunshine. Riding through pine forest growing on sandy ground, seeing people in swim suits at the lakes and smelling the hot air of the forest made me wonder if I'm really close to the Arctic Circle or rather in southern France. Anyway it was a great cycling day. In the evening I arrived at Boden, a rather big town with a very strong military presence. Apparently it played an important role as line of defence during the cold war. Today I left the Baltic Sea behind and followed the E10 to Oeverkalix I crossed the Lule river and the Kalix river which are both quite impressive fast flowing rivers in their natural beds. Tomorrow will be an important milestone: I will cross the Arctic Circle about 30km from here!

Day 24/25 - Norsjoe - Boliden - Pitea

Arriving in Norrbottens Laen...
Yesterday was a bit strange as I ended the day further south than I started it. The reason was that the Sverigeleden makes a slope to the Baltic Sea before continuing north. I decided to follow this route as it uses really nice little streets and avoids main roads as much as possible. The traffic up here is really low. Almost no private cars and only a few trucks transporting wood or stones (forest and mining industries). Today I reached Pitea on the shore of the Baltic Sea. There is not much to visit so I will take the opportunity to go to the cinema and whatch "Gozilla" :-)

Day 22/23 - Asele - Lycksele - Norsjoe

Cycling Laponia...
The last 2 days led me through "Lappland", and I was immediately welcome by some Reindeers with which I had a short race on the street. Unfortunately I had no chance to take pictures to post on the blog... The wildlife is becoming much richer in the last days:  Foxes, Mooses and Deers are frequently close to the street but not yet patient enough for extensive photoshootings... Today again I found myself infront of a closed Camping, but fortunately  the next one was not far. I will now plan in more detail the next steps.

Day 20/21 - Sundsvall - Langsele - Asele

Taking benefit of good conditions...
Yesterday and today I made a big step north. The cycling conditions were absolutely perfect: sunshine and wind from south. Yesterday was rather "boring" as I followed a main road through endless forest. Today in return was great: wonderful landscape, rich wildlife (If you are good you can spot the Reindeers on one of the pictures :-)) and great weather. Nevertheless I had my first bad surprise: The place where I wanted to sleep was still closed weich costed me an additional 52 km. It could have been worse... in the rain for example :-). Lessons learnt: Start early to look for a place to sleep!