We got a slightly later start – thankfully. A dorm bed never felt so good.

First stop was a walk to ‘The church of the resurrection’ also known as ‘The church of the saviour on spilled blood’ and a dozen other variations. Our first encounter with whacky Russian churches with domes that look like flavoured soft-serves. Impressive outside, grand inside (typical).

I convinced V to give my feet a break and we got on the city tour (hop-on/hop-off) bus. We passed a few sights while listening to an audio-tour and jumped off at the Peter & Paul Fortress.

The main cathederal houses the remains of all but one the Russian Tsars from Peter the Great (who truly was) to the Romanov’s (the last ones). Morbid, but interesting. We spent hours walking around the fort and it’s museums (unfortunately not much info in English). My best part was the Space History exhibit. Very “Soviet”. Big rocket motors and the re-entry pod from the Soyuz-Apollo mission. Wicked Cool !!

We hopped back on the bus and did 1.5 loops of the tour. Just watching the city go by and trying not to doze off – museums are taking a lot out of us. Too tired to hunt for a good meal we chickened out and opted for a MacDonalds. Think we will need a full ‘off’ day soon.

The dorm had been overrun by a hoard of Russian school kids so we upgraded to the penthouse (well a double room across the hall) and sipped a scotch to celebrate my V’s impending birthday while enjoying another ep. of Dr Who.

– Posted from my iPhone

What a day! More than 12 hours on our feet checking out the Hermitage museum (one of the largest in the world). Weather is still no good. 1 hr 45 mins in the rain (getting to the museum and standing in the queue) and no sign of a leak in our snazzy jackets. The Russian behaviour of just pushing into or jumping queues is really annoying but we knew about, it so just need to accept it or do the same (not really our style).

The section of the Musuem we visited (housed partly in the Winter Palace) was immense beyond anything we have seen. The collections go on forever in the most lavishly decorated rooms and halls (Gold leaf was the paint dujour) The first hour in was frustrating. It’s too big and confusing with a really bad free map. There seemed to be little or no structure to the layout – it’s as if everything that the Russians have ever collected has been distributed randomly with no info on the displays (I guess they want you to pay for a tour or audioguide).

If you every want to see my V annoyed, give her a bad map 🙂 she’s my navigator – I have a defective compass gene (tks Mom) After a guided tour of the Gold Treasure Room (not really worth the price tag) we had a better idea of now to navigate. Oddly, the highlight for me was the art ! I think I’m a Monet fan, but there was plenty to see from Da Vinci to Piccasso.

Dodging the vast tour groups wasn’t easy and we did overhear at least one other Safa. Most unusual are the hundreds of soviet era grannies dotted around and watching your every move. I assume they have had trouble in the past or it’s just job creation. I doubt that even deep brain stimulation would illicit a smile. Sitting on a chair all day and barking at the odd tourist must be a terrible job.

By the end of the day our feet were killing us and with a 3km walk home we decided to sit for a bit on a 2hour boat cruise around some of the islands. Unfortunately they have ‘forgotten’ to tell us that the commenary was in Russian only so we just watched the sights go by. I dozed of a couple of times woken only by the blarring Russian guide.

Then just to nail us to the proverbial X we decided to visit St Isaacs Cathederal and pay an overpriced fee to hike to the top of the dome (250 plus steps – the cities highest official viewing platform). The views were panoramic (no kidding) but not the best weather for photos.

A little bad news: Our tour of Star City (Russia’s NASA and one of the highlights for us) has been cancelled because there are not enough people on the tour. This means that all our rushing to get to Moscow has been in vain. Annoying Ruskies! We’ll just have to go to the real NASA one day.

Photos will be in the gallery (soon)

Travel Tip

For the Hermitage
– You need at least a full day in the main section.
– Get to the ticket office early. Beware – they don’t seem to understand English at all.
– Get on a guided tour or you will get lost, if your go yourself maybe a guide book or audioguide.
– We had to pay an extra 200p for a ticket that allows you to take photos. Nobody was checking – don’t bother.
– Flash photography is not allowed, but everyone still uses a flash (we didn’t).
– The cafes inside are a rip-off and you cannot go out and back in on the standard ticket so prepare to starve or pay.
For Channel Cruizes
Check if the commentary is in English before getting on !

– Posted from my iPhone

Another long day. Up at 5:30 to catch the tram into Helsinki train station, then onto the SPB train.

This evening we took a stroll around to get our bearings and find some food. The options in the shop across the road are extremely Russian and limited (some look familiar). For sups we found a local cafe/deli/canteen and had a typical meal. Mash with meat and cabbage, V had some sort of quiche. Not good by any means, but compared to Norway, dirt cheap. So cheap that my stomach is vocalizing its discontent and plotting its revenge as I type this post.

The weather for tomorrow looks miserable but the forecasts have not been accurate yet. We intend to spend the whole day at and around the Hermitage. By all accouts it will be awesome.

– Posted from my iPhone

St Petersburg. Made it. Raining. Did not get searched by customs for a change. As friendly as you would expect. You have NO idea how dodge the entrance to the hostel looks and how tricky it was to find. More later.

– Posted from my iPhone

Ok. Maybe not EVERYTHING. But we had quite a day.

Up at 5am (we are really bad at early mornings) to catch the train from Vaasa. We got the ‘Pendolino’ – A pendulum train that goes 200km/h – Helsinki in 3.5 hrs. Slept most of the way though.

All in all we walked about 6km around Helsinki with our packs (9kgs feels like a lot more after 6hrs of sightseeing). It’s a vibrant city – we took in the sights and atmosphere (usual balance of oxygen and other gasses);
~ The Temple Church. An odd, almost subterranian modern (1969) church blasted out of the ground. Love the ‘No climbing’ signs on the rock walls. If they had bouldering comps after Sunday services I would consider joining the cult.
~ Helsinki Cathederal. More impressive from the outside than inside. I guess they ran out of budget for the interior decorator.
~ The Design District. Shops selling cool looking stuff from furniture to tools. Cashing in on Alvar Aalto’s legacy.
~ The Design Museum. Partially closed (unfortunately) and the first time we have not been allowed to take photos.
~ The National Museum. Excellent pre-history section.
~ Senate Square and surrounds (designed by some famous German architect – Engel – who was called in to make Helsinki look good).
~ Market area. Empty when we got there.
We also took an open top tour bus around town. The audio guide was good and commical – Finn with a strong Aussie accent. Chilled out in the park and watch the locals go by – perfect sunny day.

Found Chakalaka chips (world cup advertising) and headed to the EuroHostel. Biggest one we have been in and we had no problems – besides having to pay for wifi access. The tweeting bird sounds in the toilets are an odd touch.

We spent the evening repacking our gear and checking our security. Tomorrow we enter Russia and things become more interesting (difficult). I’m apprehensive.

We have managed Scandanavia on budget and on time. It has been a little rushed in some parts but that has helped keep the costs down. We are restricted with time by a fixed date in Moscow. After that it’s total freedom. We’ll be back – if only to visit Nico and Nordkapp.

P.S. My V turns the big ‘Three-Oh’ on the 29th. Will have to celebrate with a double portion of 2 minute noodles 😉

– Posted from my iPhone

Danger: Long post with no pictures.

Yes we’ve been a bit slack with posts. We have just had 2 fantastic days with Nico and his family in Vaasa and have just been too busy to post. I have uploaded photos – but only sorted some of them. Have a look under Gallery > Denmark and Norway. Will sort and tag the rest up to Finland asap. Was a mission to upload so in future we will try to choose the best shots and keep the numbers of boing snaps down.

Finland is flat and green with vast waterways and more trees than I have ever seen. It was great to spend time with some ‘locals’ and learn a bit about life there. 5 months of devastating winter sounds harsh (to -25C), but everything is built for it (cars are plugged in to an extension cord and timer to start warming before you get in). Sounds like the ultimate place to have kids with excellent state medical and education. How safe is Finland ? So safe you don’t need to lock your house and can leave your keys in your car!

Nico has an amazing house (that he finished / is finishing) himself. Wood everywhere. Open, warm and inviting. Tech specs: 24mbps Internet (yea please) and cable TV, LAN and video in every room (including the garage/workshop) oodles of decking with more on the way and of course a sauna. Nico has gone ballistic with the best new tech – I love it. The back garden is a forest. No fences just trees for miles. What an amazing place for his girls to grow up!

Sunday we went for a bit of a cruise with the VW’s around town and the island with short browse around an improv garage sale in the neighbourhood. Another public holiday LOL. Nico lives on the edge of an impact crater which just very cool to see from Google Earth and by driving around. His girls (apart from being little angles) are growing up speaking Finnish, Swedish (Finland’s 2nd official language), English & Afrikaans. My brain would pop.

Found Rudolph ! Not in the forest, but on my plate for sups along with some other local specialties. Real food again. I gouged myself. Monday Nico took us around town to do some shopping and show us his favorite toy shops. We have replaced V’s camera with an entry level Canon (IXUS 100 IS) anything is better than Nikon 😉 Also replaced our missing sunglasses with some cheapies and did some other shopping.
(BTW. Found V’s sunnies in my pack LOL ! So it’s 2-1 to V again).

Finished the afternoon off by driving past the Ski Slopes (about twice the size of Tiffindell and 400m from Nico’s back door) and taking a short spin in his boat (unfortunately the weather was not good enough to cruize the waterways.) They have to pull all the boats out of the water before winter sets in as the sea freezes. Apparently you were once able to drive to Sweden across the ice !

Our final experience was to test Nics sauna. After what seemed like an eternity (probably 20mins) of up to 70 deg heat I could feel my pulse in my eyeballs and my skin was leaking like a sieve. A quick cold shower and then to the deck outside and an ice cold cider. We declined beating ourselves with birch branches, assuming it is somthing the locals tell tourists to do, then laugh at them. I was lobster pink but survived about 5mins longer than V. Hard core… maybe not… the locals go up to 100C!

Thank you Nico and Jannika (and Liina and Viivi) for such a wonderful time – we’ll be back 🙂

– Posted from my iPhone

At Nico’s place in Vaasa. Recharging our batteries and absing the washing machine. More soon.

We’re in Finland 🙂 Walked across the border from Haparandan (Sweden, not Mexico) to Tornio. Barely any indication that there is a border ! Turns out we could have taken a direct bus from Haparanda to Kemi, but was still fun to cross a border on foot. From Kemi we’ll take some trains to get to Nic in Vaasa.

[Update: looks like we have broken the ticket machine at Kemi train station. Hope we don’t end up paying twice for the tickets. V found her headphones – 2 all again]

– Posted from my iPhone

Norway bit us farewell this morning (my first encounter with what I can only assume was a bed bug) followed by the realization that V has lost her snazzy new sunglasses and her earphones – that’s ‘2 all’ by my reckoning 🙂

[Update: by the end of the day V has also lost her beanie. That’s 3-2 to me – we’ll get our brains around this nonsense soon – hopefully before we get to Russia. We are also considering replacing V’s camera. It now has 3 large specs on the sensor]

We took a walk around the Ofoten Museum – one of the worst exhibitions we have ever experienced. Time to bail.

The skies started turning blue just after we crossed the border into Sweden. Spectacular train ride – better than Flåm in some parts.

We are only going to be one night in Sweden (Luleå) before a full day of travel to get to a friend in Vaasa (Finland).

Luleå is charming enough. Clean and very tidy. New currency, different food lables – took another few mins to work our which is full cream milk. Cheaper than Norway, but all we have seen is lots of trees and a blurry reindeer. Apparently was 26C here today. Put my toe in the gulf of Bothnia.

– Posted from my iPhone

Our first day of miserable weather making the bus trip from Svolvaer to Narvik less scenic than it should have been, but still good.

Narvik looks like a dreary mining town. It’s main purpose is as a sea port for the ore from the Kiruna mine in Sweden.

Our hostel (Spor 1) alongside the ore railway looked questionable from the outside, but inside the converted rail station was better than any other place we have been in. We took a stroll around the town – absolutely nothing to do. Pity the ski slopes around the town are melting – could have been fun.

Free highspeed net at the hostel meant I could download some more podcasts and the latest eps of ‘House’ and ‘Dr Who’ – my phone is now full and happy 🙂

Tonight is our last night in Norway and we’ll just miss a midnight sunset by a couple of days (15 mins). It’s been a wonderful start to our adventure and we’re excited to be moving on.

– Posted from my iPhone

We found an open museum, and what a find! If you are ever in Svolvaer you must see the Lofoten Krigsminnemuseum. It’s a private collection of WWII memorabilia created and run by one seriously passionate Norwegian (William Hakvaag). It’s taken him over 30 years and is obviously a labour of love.

Everything from uniforms to Hermann Goering’s ceremonial revolver. The highlights for me were a 1kg Nazi gold bar, Eva Braun’s purse and Hitler’s magnifying loupe. The watercolour and sketches he has by Adolf have raised authenticity questions around the world.

Just INCREDIBLE !

Dad – you MUST look at the website www.lofotenkrigmus.no

– Posted from my iPhone

The 4 hour bus ride up the E10 was magnificent. Perfect sunny skies, clear seas, huge rockfaces and lunatic tunnels. It’s the kind of trip that would be perfect with your own car so you could stop to take photos or pause at some of the old fishing towns to absorb the ambience (and smell). We passed Arne on his bike. I have to admit that I was a little jealous.

Svolvaer is again tiny and quite with almost everything closed, which suited us. The town has an excellent outdoor shop with lots of climbing gear to drool over. The area is well known for climbing. Made me wish I had brought my gear !

V is feeling a little fluey, so we bought some supplies and opted for an afternoon at our ‘hostel’. Great views of the surrounding mountains and the harbour. A pefect spot for a nap after some tea and choc chip cookies.

Sunset 23:41, Sunrise 2:12

Travel Tip

According to LP the Sjøhuscamp is the cheapest accomodation in Svolvaer (still not cheap to us). They also charge Kr50 extra for internet access. The public library is just up the road with free access but it closed at 15h00. If you stand across the road from the library you will find an open access point “dlink” that will give you access as of 19 May 2010 (not sure if it is the libraries AP). It’s a little slow but seems fine.

– Posted from my iPhone

So after a late start (local shop only opens at 10) we started up the road on our hike. 2 kms along the coastal road before heading inland. An easy climb with spectacular views of the ocean, lakes and waterfalls cascading down practically every rockface. One of the lakes was still completely frozen though to get there we had to walk through melting snow and cross some pretty soggy ground. Gore Tex lined takkies worked well keeping our feet dry, though mine seemed to have sprung a leak somewhere and my socks were decidedly damp by the time we returned to the coastal road. It was a lovely day out.

We spent the evening plotting an alternative route to Finland. We had got hold of a Hurtigruten (fast ferry) timetable and pricelist and had come of with the idea of taking the boat to either Kirkenes or to Nordkapp. Alas after hours of planning and trying to find prices for buses etc. we came to the sad conclusion that it would completely blow our budget for the Scandinavian leg of our trip. We decided to go back to our original travel plan and leave Nordkapp for a trip in itself one day in the future.

– Posted from my iPhone

On the 4 hour ferry crossing we met a German (Arne) who is riding sections and camping all the way to Nordkapp (northern most tip of Europe). Really intersting guy who works in TV and has interviewed people from the Queen to Harrison Ford.

We were planning to walk the 5km from the ferry at Moskenes (Lofoten) to the hostel at Å but the rain convinced us to take a taxi. We dumped our packs at the Stockfish museum (our ‘hostel’) and took a stroll around town. We were supposed to have had a room to ourselves with a sea view but another traveller had taken our room so we had to settle for sticking our head out the window to get our sea view.

Å (pronounced “Or” ) is a tiny old fishing village turned tourist attraction. Countless rows of drying cod provide the occasional fishy wiff. Most are exported to Italy. It took 15mins to wander around ‘town’ and of course – the general store, resturant and fishing museums were closed.

Arne was planning to camp in Å but ended up at the Stockfish Museum with us as the campground was not open (thankfully). He was kind enough to invite us for sups. Two huge bowls of soup and pasta never tasted so good. We would have been feasting on half a packet of peanuts without him. We are eternally grateful.

BTW. The sun sets around 23h30 now. So there is no ‘night’, just dusk and dawn for a few hours. Freaky !

Travel Tip

There are NO cash machines in Å. The closest is 10km away in Reins. Everyone takes cards, but will not let you draw cash. This was a problem for us because the hostel’s card machine was not working so the owner had wiped us out of all our cash. Thankfully the Nor-express bus to Svolvaer takes cards.

– Posted from my iPhone

I was greeted with a sunrise and street sweeping truck at 3:30. Our plan was to head out to the worlds most powerful maelstrom (whirlpool) some 30km outside town… But… Today is the Norwegian eqvalent of the US 4th of July (without the fireworks) so again, everything was closed along with the busses and car rental agencies. The only option was an insanely expensive taxi. A brief consultation with my boet (a more experienced traveller) and we decided to skip it and take in the pomp and ceremony of the national day parade in Bodø. When I say parade; The entire town got dressed up in traditional clothing or their smartest spring outfits and marched into town mixed with marching bands and drummies of varying degrees of competance.

We had our first bit of rain as we headed for the ferry to Moskenes. Our mood was sinking and the thought of peanuts and 3 cups of tea (without milk) for supper was not helping.

– Posted from my iPhone