Norway
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North to South – Narvik to Stockholm
Narvik is Norway’s northernmost railway station, and only exists because of the country’s vast reserves of iron ore. Produced in abundance, Norway had a problem; how to export the stuff, and so the Ofotban railway was constructed. Today, Narvik is the starting point for the touristy Arctic Train, which takes passengers around 50 kilometres just…
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North to South – Narvik
Sunday morning in Bodo and I am among the first people on the street for the 0715 bus to Narvik. It’s 300 kilometres further North, and will mark the true starting point for the journey in the opposite direction towards Barcelona. It’s an oddity that while Bodo marks the official northernmost part of the Nordland…
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North to South – Bodo
The flight from Oslo to Bodo – in Norway’s far north – takes a little over an hour. The pilots of the SAS (that’s the Scandinavian Air Services airline as opposed to the British special forces) are highly experienced in navigating this region, but tonight’s strong winds prove to be a challenge. The aircraft is…
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North to South – Introduction
In recent years a lot of my traveling has been around Europe. Some routes were more ambitious than others. The Baltics and Scandinavia trip was especially memorable because of the variety between Eastern and Western Europe. So, having traversed the continent sideways, I’ve decided this time to do it lengthways – a North to South…
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Baltics and Scandinavia – Part 8
It’s a Saturday morning, and an historic day. On this day fifty years ago, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. As I had seen in Stockholm, the group is right recognised as one of Sweden’s greatest exports. So it seemed appropriate to be travelling today to the city that hosted the following year’s…
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Baltics and Scandinavia – Part 7
Bergen had provided a feast of delights in just 24 hours, and it felt like a city worth sticking around for. However, I needed to head East in order to start heading South and back towards home. The train journey to Oslo takes nearly seven hours. Usually, that would be an opportunity to rest, and…
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Baltics and Scandinavia – Part 6
Stockholm’s central station is a vast complex, combining international, national and suburban trains with the city’s Metro. And, if arriving here for the first time, it’s worth noting there ae many different entrances and exits. All point towards the Centralum, but each can leave you in an timely different place. The striking main hall provides…
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