The arctic circle and Reindeer!

As we departed Stockholm we knew we had some long driving days ahead; we’d made a rough plan of where we wanted to get to; It was over 900 KM away! So off we went..

Driving up through Sweden the scenery rapidly changed. The roads became clearer and we saw fewer towns.

We stopped overnight in a village called Skatan in the middle of nowhere that had provided a free motorhome stop with the cleanest toilet and shower we have ever seen, together with a wastewater disposal site and a place to fill up with fresh water. We left a small donation (luckily they took Euro as well as  Swedish Krone) . The UK has a lot to learn about how to welcome visitors! As usual we were the only UK van, but were joined by two local vans (one whose driver managed to struggle to park in an empty car park, reversing so far into the ditch he got a bit stuck!!). It’s always good to be entertained over morning coffee!

Heading off, we drove through beautiful scenery on empty roads arriving at Umeå late afternoon. We had 2 choices of free park ups here, a camping store, or Our favourite Willies! Willies it was. In fact this park up - with designated caravan and motorhome parking has loads of shops including IKEA and a Swedish liquor store (shops can only sell alcohol that is under 3% outside a Government liquor store). It was tea time, we hadn’t eaten anything more than breakfast biscuits on route, so what else was there to do! Meatballs, in IKEA, in Sweden - of course!

We were fascinated by the liquor store too. Everyone had told us how expensive alcohol was in Scandinavia, but unless you were going for specific named imported brands, it really wasn’t any more than we would pay so we stocked up. There were some very amusing local brand names too!

Our next destination was taking us to one of our milestones on route, one of those places few people drive to, and even fewer stay at. The arctic circle line!

The scenery kept changing as we travelled, as did the condition of the roads!! Sadly I didn’t get a shot of this, but believe me, Agy has been off road! Now, Google maps is very good and has guided us along our way well. Wherever we can we use major roads as we wanted to travel quickly to beat the weather. I always look at the satellite image of the route to try and spot dodgy options (we have all had them, and in a van they can be more frequent than in a car!) However, on this stretch I failed to spot the problem (eek). We turned onto a road that didn’t look great, but was beautiful - this is how it started, it’s blurry (because we were bouncing around) but believe me it got worse! 10 kilometres of craters, gravel and occasionally something resembling a road. Poor Ian was exhausted, but Agy held up well, as did our belongings!

As we left the gravel track and hit normal roads again we spotted our first reindeer! The first one I saw was away in the trees, can you see him?

but the next few were just wandering along in the road! Just next to us, as if it was perfectly normal to spot a reindeer on your journey.

A friend from my last job, Emma, had recently done a similar trip (I know, we couldn’t believe it!) and had told me that if someone comes towards you flashing their lights, it’s likely there are reindeer in the road - so slow down… now, you hear this and think, OK.. but then it happens, and they are everywhere. 

Each reindeer is owned, they are livestock, so as you will see they have a collar, and  are so relaxed with the traffic. They won’t run away, you just have to patiently wait till they decide it is time to move on… just magical! Sorry for the photo overload but it is hard to describe my joy at seeing them.

We began to see more of the traditional red houses (is that so you can see them in the snow??) and once again the landscape changed, fewer trees, more scrubland..

By evening we had reached our destination. The Arctic circle line (with a campsite next door). At 7pm, the sun was still high in the sky (in fact it didn’t get dusky till about midnight, and was broad daylight again by 2am - I’ll tell you how I know that in the next blog!).

This campsite is used all year round, mainly by local people with caravans who come for the winter sports including ice fishing on the lake. Instead of an awning, they have a shed and the caravan attaches to the shed so they can stay warm and safe. Snow poles mark out the front of the vans so they don't get bumped by cars and snowmobiles arriving. A beautiful campsite like no other.  

Stockholm

We’d been looking forward to Stockholm for a long time, for years now; Ian had told me about the amazing Vasa and I was keen to see it.

We struggled to find a campsite in Stockholm, but eventually after much hunting found one in Uppsala, a university town with great transport links. we got the train (a commuter train) in; it wasn’t great, but it did the job, and on arrival we easily found a tram to the Vasa. Thank goodness for Google maps!

The Vasa is the world's only 17th century preserved ship. It sank in 1682. If you have been to see the remains of the Mary Rose, you have seen nothing compared to this. 

She is magnificent. Stunning. 

69 metres long and 50 metres tall with 64 cannons on board.

On 10 August 1628 the Vasa set sail on her maiden voyage, despite warnings and deep concern from the men who built her, she sailed on the King’s orders. Just 1.3 kilometres later, she heeled over and sank; witnessed by thousands of Stockholm's inhabitants who came out to see the incredible ship off on its journey. Not the glorious sight the king was aiming for - basically she was top heavy. A slight gust toppled her, and the open cannon hatches let in the sea water, sending her to the depths.

In 1956 the Vasa was rediscovered on the sea bed, and by August she had been freed from the sea bed awaiting the final lift; which came in April 1961 when the job of preserving her began.

Through the 1970’s and 80’s she was gradually dried out and preserved. In 1990 she got a new home, the current museum building. But the drama didn’t end there! In the summer of 2000 the ship was developing spots! White and yellow spots. The cause - a very damp summer in combination with thousands of wet visitors. A humidity controlled environment was needed - and that was soon incorporated into the building.

In 2018 her failing iron bolts were replaced with modern steel, and that is the ship you see today. Enormous, magnificent, decorated with amazing carvings that were once intricately painted in garish colours. 

Work continues on her restoration, and artefacts are displayed throughout the museum. It's fascinating. Nothing can prepare you for the sight as you enter the room she is in. I was speechless, and as you know, that’s a rare thing!

Leaving the Vasa museum  we headed out to explore. The museum sits on an island filled with museums. The Viking history museum took our fancy, and I discovered the goddess Freja. I like the sound of her, and somehow a few friends came to mind as I read about her!

As we left the Viking museum the weather turned so we sought shelter in a bar; partaking of a rather fabulous beer before catching the water bus over to the old town.

We meandered our way back through the streets to the station, where we booked a posh train home, first class (at very little extra cost). It was totally worth it!

Returning to the campsite we found Agy had a new neighbour, an absolute beast of a vehicle, parked in the pitch above us. I thought to myself, I hope they have strong brakes!    

Sweeping into Sweden

As we left our campsite we were almost immediately heading down the tunnel of the Öresund Bridge. If you have watch The Bridge Nordic Noir drama, you will know this bridge very well.. If you haven’t, why not? it is spectacular! 

This is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Copenhagen in  Denmark and Malmo in Sweden. It is the longest in Europe, the bridge is nearly 8 km (5.0 miles) long connecting on the island Peberholm in the middle of the strait to the 4-km (2.5 mile) long Drogden Tunnel. 

We were fortunate to have a beautiful clear sunny day to cross, and it didn’t disappoint. The views were incredible! Well worth the cost of the crossing (just don’t ask!!)

Our next destination was Stockholm, but that was too far to drive in one go, so we picked a random spot about half way to stop over and found ourselves in Vättern a huge lake with a beautiful little harbour with bars and restaurants at the waters edge. We stayed in a car park (the community encourages motorhomes to stay), and had a lovely evening drinking in the views, together with a beer and a meal.

Next day we pointed Agy towards Stockholm, but got distracted on the way! We’d heard about Willy’s supermarkets from van life Vloggers CamperVibe and they had thoroughly recommended it! (with a twinkle in their eyes) .

Turns out they were right. Willy’s are now a firm favourite!