Thursday 4th of September:

At 22:00 we gathered all people at my school to pack the busses so we could leave on time at 23:00. This night was the first one on the bus.

Friday 5th of September:

We arrive at Dovrefjäll early in the morning and we got dressed to go on a hike up a mountain to se muskoxes and other mountain animals. After 30 min of hiking we got up to the first plateau and the fog was dense. The for just a second we saw them, about 5 muskoxes 75 m away. These animals wight up to 400 kg so the safty distance is 100-200 m. We continued our hike along the valley and the fog lifted then we found the her again apparently they were 16 now. We looked at them for 15-20 min before we had to move on. Later that day the large group split up into many smaller, I joined the one that would "climb" to one of the tops. When my group was at the highest altitude we were about 1500m over the sea level. We saw one more herd on our way down to the valley again and at the bottom we found the herd we looked at in the morning. The night that waited was spent on the bus.

Saturday 6th of September:

We arrive at Fauske 2 hours earlier than expected so the bus stod and waited for the owners of the camping for about an hour until Ragnar called to wake them. After leaving all of our stuff at the camping the buses drove us to 1 of the 2 caves we got the chance to visit. I visited Svarthammar hola. This is a cave with extreme dimensions. the largest open room is 300 m long! And It has a glacier inside! But the 300m down to the road and the 7-8 km back to the camping we hade to walk but the weather was nice and we hade a shop that I bought bread and crisps at. For the first time since thursday we got the chance to shower wich was amazingly nice!

Sunday 7th of September:

This day we got on the bus and it took us to a place with the ocean on one side of a small passage and a fjord on the other. When the tide tries to move the water in or out through this passage it has to move massive amounts of water through a small area and this creates a strong current. But when we were there the water wasn't moving that fast so it wasn't so impressive. Then we got on a ferry in Bodö, so the next 3.5 hours we spent on the ferry to Moskenäs wich is the island at the tip of Lofoten.

Monday 8th of September:

The first of two lovely days at Moseknäs started  with a hike that was about 10 km and took me up into a valley with lakes and waterfalls the next hike went in the other directing from the camping and me and my friends got to see 10 sea eagles. And ended with a boat ride and aurora borealis high over the mountains.

Tuesday 9th of September:

Early in the morning we left Moskenäs to go all the way across Lofoten to arrive at Andö (Stave to be exact) in the evening but along the way we made one stop at a beach (Well the buses stopped on one side of a mountain and the beach were at the other side). After 45 min of hiking we got to the beach with was incredibly beautiful! We were there played and bathed our feet in the north atlantic for a while and then we hiked back. At about 20:10 we had arrived at Stave camping and started to eat our evening meal and when we sat and ate one of my roommates Alexandra shouts: "Something is moving in the water.. It is a whale!!!". We ran out and got our teachers and Ragnar was after a while pretty sure that it was a whale Alexandra had spotted!. That night we saw even more aurora borealis.

Wednesday 10th of September:

This day was the end of our trip at Lofoten this evening we would turn back home. But before we could turnback we went on a whale safari. We saw four large sperm whale males at a distance of about 40 m I think. They were so extreme. They were 15-18 m long and 40 m away, can you even imagine?

Thursday 11th of September:

I wake up and the bus was parked at Piteå Havsbad wich is a large adventure bath. It opened at 9:00 but it was only 6:30 so we hade to just sit tight in the bus for a long time before we could go in and jus enjoy a long day of relaxation and fun. Then we ate pizza and stopped at Max (a hamburger chain like McDonnalds), a day of crappy food! Then we would spend our last night at the bus before waking up at home in Lysekil.

Friday 12th of September:

6:45 and we passes Uddevalla, one hour to go but then we were finaly home .

This was a amazing trip and we got to se some extreme animals and some lovely nature so thank you to everyone that made this trip posible and went on this trip with me!

Bilde er lånt fra Galleri Esponi.

Det er så gost å vite at han trives og gleder seg for vær dag. :)

• Smaksverksted i Vesterålen (Melbu)
• Matfestivalen Lam & Laks (Stokmarknes)
• Matfestivalen Naturligvis (Leknes)

Mer nøyaktig informasjon om beliggenhet og tidspunkter legges ut i kalenderen på vårt nettforum. Vi ser frem til å treffe flere matglade og medlemmer. Velkommen!

El medio de supervivencia de las Islas Lofoten, el balacao, cuelga como los murciélagos por doquier. Julio de 2004.

Det blir Jan Rune Yanni Vikan (29) fra Trøndelag, som gå fra jobben som hotelldirektør ved Rica Svolvær. Han har reiselivsutdanning fra Skottland, hvor han fordypet seg i organisasjon- og personalfag. Tross sin relativt unge alder, har Vikan rukket å jobbe i hotellbransjen flere steder i Norge og i Tyskland.

Han har blant annet jobbet som kurs- og konferansesjef, bookingsjef, restaurantsjef og nå sist, hotelldirektør i Svolvær. Vikan starter i sin nye stilling 1. september.

Mina liggvagns medresenärer var helt okej. Ett par som skulle frilufsa och en dansk far med sin dotter som skulle vandra, med dom var väl det lite språkförbristningar men annars var det lugnt. Jag tror bl.a att han tror att jag sa att jag var gift med personen som skulle kliva på i Långsele.

Kliver av tåget kan vi göra en timme för sent efter att vi suttit fast i Gällivari och varit tacksamma. Över att viinte bodde där.

Möter upp med hyrbils tjejen och kan inte dölja upphetsningen över bilen vi fått. Så här lät det när Anna ringde och bokade.

-Ja, vi vill ha den billigaste bilen.
-Mm, den är ju väldigt liten. Man kan sitta fyra i den. Har ni mycket packning?
-Ja. Men vi vill ha den billigaste.
-Fast det är ju komforten det hänger på, ljudet blir inte så bra i en sån liten bil heller.
-Nej, men vi vill ändå ha den billigaste!

Vi fick en ny Volvo v50 kombi.

Mat skulle inhandlas, vin och öl köpas, mat ätas innan vi tar våran bil och styr mot Narvik och sedan Å i Lofoten.

Strax innan Riksgränsen plockar vi upp en tysk liten liftare med rött hår. Han var skojig men han sa inte så mycket. Jag och Anna var skojigare och jag var skojigast när jag frågade honom om han hört talas om Rohypnol när Anna bjöd honom på vatten. Ingen annan fattade det roliga.

Det tog sjukt lång tid att köra och vi kom aldrig fram men vi lekte lekar (hålla andan genom hela tunnlen) och lyssnade på bra musik så vi dog inte.

Dagen efter börjar frilufsandet. Jag och Anna fiskade medans Louise jobbade. Vi fick några fiskar men ingen stor nog att äta så vi slängde i dom igen. Det var lite läskigt men jag plockade loss den själv. Jag äter ju fisk liksom, det är så det funkar. Stackarn.

På kvällen ska vi gå upp för en kulle som hette Hoven med några av Louises vänner. Kullen är ett jävla berg när vi kommer fram. Dom är ju jävligt hardcore och springer där upp och ner dagligen. Det var jobbigt. Punkt.

Men sjukt värt det. Där uppe tittade vi på midnattssolen som inte gick ner och drack vin. Sen så tyckte jag att vi skulle tävla ner. FY FAN! Jag förlorade men gav inte upp. Det var helt livsfarligt och Anna var helt, helt, galen. Men hon ska ju också bli polis.

In Tromsoe haben wir noch einmal gute Musik und Stimmung im Blaarock genossen, bevor es fuer einige Zeit abseits von groesseren Staedten ging. Zurueck auf der Hurtigrute trafen wir Èlodie und Diego, die ebenfalls mit der NordNorge auf dem Weg nach Trondheim waren.

Dann ging es ueber die Vesteraalen zu den Lofoten. Natuerlich nicht ohne nochmal kurz durch den Trollfjord zu durchfahren. Nach kurzem Aufenthalt in Svolvaer ging's zu Fuss nach Kabelvaag. Endlich einen netten Zeltplatz gefunden; kqmen bald die Muecken ... diesmal die kleinen, fiesen, die fast unter die Haut krabbeln.

Am naechsten Morgen waren die Muecken weg und wir haben im Zentrum in Kabelvaag nen Eis gegessen. Da unser Gas langsam zuneige ging stiefelten wir zum naechsten Camping Platz, in der Hoffnung die haetten welches. Hatten sie auch, dazu noch gratis, weils Urlauber dagelassen hatten. Subber!

Dann gings tramenderweise nach Leknes. Wo wir nah am Meer kurzerhand entschieden den naechsten Tag (ein Sonntag) auch noch zu bleiben und in der Sonne zu liegen.

Dann gings nach kurzer Shopping Tour weiter nach Ramberg mit vielleicht dem schoensten Sandstrand der Lofoten. Gezeltet wurde hier etwas ausserhalb der Stadt wieder am Meer. Den Plan die fruehe Faehre am naechsten Morgen zu nehmen wurde wegen leichtem Regen gegen 7 Uhr morgens verworfen ... Aber die naechste Faehre um 14 Uhr haben wir dann von Moskenes nach Bodoe genommen.

Kurze Orientierung in Bodoe und weiter gings bis nach Fauske (teilweise im Rema-1000-Lkw). Der "Camping Platz Fauske" entpuppte sich als "Camping Platz gefuehlte-50km-hinter-Fauske",dazu kamdann noch eine sehr umstaendliche Duschvorrichtung die einige Nerven gekostet hat.

Am naechsten Morgen/Mittag gings dann ueber den Polarkreis nach Mo i Rana. Von Rognan bis zum Polarkreis hat uns ein netter Rentiertreiber mitgenommen (bzw. die lezten Paar km sein Onkel) und gegen Abend dann ein Autohaendler aus Mo i Rana. Die Zeltplatzsuche gestaltete sich wegen steiler Fjordhaenge und dichter Bebauung allerdings etwas schwierig.

Tags drquf gings dann erst bis Korgen (nur einige km suedl. von Mo i Rana) von dort aber dann Non-Stop nach Trondheim (kurze Kaffeepause war schon drin).

In Trondheim haben wir unsere Sqchen im Bahnhof eingeschlossen und sind durch die Stadt getigert. Prinzipiell bis der Bqhnhof wieder aufgemacht hat (um 6 Uhr). Dann gab's ein Nickerchen auf Bahnhofsbaenken und dann Stadtrundgang, inkl. diverser Café-Aufenthalte und Touristen-Beobachtungen am Nidaros-Dom. Um 20 Uhr haben wir dann den Ueber-Nacht-Bus nach Bergen genommen. Mit 7 Faehren und noch mehr Tunneln zwischen Trondhei, und Bergen schien uns das relativ vernuenftig.

Am 19. morgens in Bergen angekommen gings auch direkt in Marions Wohnheim. Natuerlich erstmal ne Runde aufs Ohr gehauen!
Morgen geht's dann auch schon weiter nach Stockholm ... davon dann spaeter mehr.

Beste Gruesse aus dem SONNIGEN Bergen!

Vi grävde i Slöinge under åren 1992-1995 fram grunden till en stor gård som en gång bestod av 250 kvm stora ceremoniella hus (hallar), spår efter guld- och silversmide, avancerat glas- och textilhantverk. En sorts offerbleck av guld visar på religionens betydelse i dessa rika miljöer. Många av de föremål som vi sållade fram är importföremål och kommer från både syd- och västeuropa. Fynden och husgrunderna är typiska för norra Europas aristokrati under yngre järnålderns (AD 400 - 1000), avfall från tillverkning av dyrbara hantverksföremål, importföremål, stora byggnader etc.

Under 600 år varade platsens storhetstid. Men så packade storgårdens innevånare ihop sitt pick och pack och flyttade. Ett nytt sätt att organisera maktutövningen infördes i Sydskandinavien. Sedan föll den i glömska. Så pass bortglömd att ingen vet vad bygdens folk kallade gården. Och idag finns inget på ytan som påminner om Slöingeboplatsen och dess storhetstid. Den hade bokstavligt talat helt raderats ut från historien. Med undantag av de slumrande arkeologiska spåren som Dennis väckte till liv...

When Wessel suggested we do our annual cycling tour in Lofoten, I had to answer, Lo-what? Where the heck is that? That was a couple years ago, and while I can't say that all roads now lead to Lofoten (pronounced LOO-foo-ten there), a Norwegian archipelago above the arctic circle, I have noticed the name a few times. For instance, National Geographic Traveler last year ranked it as one of the world's best (and best-preserved) island destinations. Still, not one American I mentioned our trip to had heard of Lofoten, and I noticed only a few Yanks during our weeklong visit there in June. (Not that I'm complaining!) On the other hand, there was a steady stream of folks from Germany, the Netherlands, and France. Vacationing Norwegians were mostly due to arrive in July, when school is out and most folks go on holiday. If you want to catch the Midnight Sun, you'll need to go from late May to late July.

I'm writing a travel piece on our cycling trip for August publication in the Boston Globe, so here's a little preview.

The words that kept going through my mind the first few days of cycling were: "impossibly beautiful." Really, it was crazy gorgeous, and now, when I look at our photos, I'm again amazed by the scenery. Jagged snow-capped mountains rise from a clear blue sea, roads wind along rocky coasts, and red fishing shacks dot the land. I've never seen anything quite like it. We were blessed with several days of bright sun, which made the raw, damp, and cloudy days a bit less painful. Different parts of the island were quite varied, from farmland to woods, mountains to sea. The water was so clear it reminded me of the Caribbean. I wonder how the growing cruise industry here will affect that.

There are a few cities here, but mostly tiny to small fishing villages and farm communities, some without any services. The most characteristic building is the rorbu, a fishing shack usually painted brick red. Some stand alone, while others are clustered together to form a village of "rorbuer." They are picturesque and fairly scream "Norway." Many have been updated as mid-range or upscale lodging, and some have been built as new, which means they're kind of fake, but they're still lovely and comfortable, so unless you're a rorbu purist, they're fine. Some are on hills overlooking the water, some are just back from the water, and others are on stilts right over the water. Some rooms over the water have a hole in the floor for in-room fishing!

The craziest sights were the wooden racks of drying cod all over the island. Cod is the biggest export business here and it is huge. Most of the dried cod (sans heads) is exported to Italy, Spain, and Portugal, where it is a kitchen staple. (I lived in Portugal and know this to be true!) The cod heads are sent to Nigeria, where they're used in a spicy soup. It's common to see a few fish hanging from a house (sometimes just for decoration) but the wildest sights are the humongous racks you'll encounter in a town, with hundreds, no, thousands, of fish hanging to dry. We were at the tail end of the drying season (cod fishing is done from January to April) and were lucky to see so many. Wessel could not stop photographing them -- every single day in every conceivable way.

While there are more cars than bicycles here, Lofoten is a very popular place for self-contained cycling, meaning you carry your own gear. The four islands that make up the archipelago are connected by bridges, and all of Lofoten is only about 110 miles from end to end. Of course your mileage will grow considerably when you zigzag from town to town. We saw only a couple cyclists the first few days, but just before we left, in late June, they started pouring in. As for the cycling itself, in some places the roads are narrow and curvy, without shoulders and with traffic. For the most part drivers were incredibly polite, but tour buses, of which there are many, sometimes got waaaaay too close for comfort. There also are a few tunnels, but most can be bypassed using the "old road" (in various states of repair) outside the tunnels. I can see how beginner cyclists might find the main road rather nerve-wracking. There are great side roads, but they all have to be reached from the main road. So if you're comfortable riding in some traffic, cycling around Lofoten is, for the most part, two-wheeled nirvana.

My dearest friends,

I was wondering in what way I could write some nice lines.
First I tried to rewrite every day of our trip, but then I thought it would only bore you.
So I decided to tag every picture in the gallery with some nice comments.

Anyways, try to do it briefly ;).
We were keen on planning everything very well and properly, although we had enough space to be spontaneous and flexible. The route we took was fixed and the transportation as well.
In the south of Norway and Sweden we used to travel by busses, trains, ferrys and one time we took the plane. In the far north above the arctice circle we rent a car in Finland (Oulu).
We departured on wednesday by Viking Line ferry from Turku to Stockholm the 21st of May at 9 p.m.

But there was something missing, right? Exactly, the accomodation. Almost every day was an adventure trying to find a place to stay and to sleep.
We used to camp on camping sights, in the wild, at couchsurfers floors and sometimes in little cabins far north were the weather was as cold as expected.

The weather was amazingly good. 90% of our trip was covered by sunshine. The far north of Europe was stil fresh and sometimes unpleasant but worth a visit and hike to the most
northest point of Europe (Knivskjelloden).

Our Route:

Sweden:
21.05 - 24.05 Stockholm (ferry)

Norway:
25.05 - 27.05 Oslo (bus)
28.05 - 30.05 Stavanger (train)
31.05 - 02.06 Bergen (expressboat)
03.06 - 04.06 Trondheim (plane)

Finland:
05.06 - 06.06 Oulu (night train)

Norway: (4000km by car)
07.06 - 11.06 Lofoten
12.06          Tromso
13.06 - 16.06 Alta - Knviskjelloden (the real northcape) - Karasjoki

Finland:
16.06 - 17.06 Lemminjoki (national park)
18.06 - 19.06 Rovaniemi

I´m still wondering how we managed to survive this trip so well. Looking back it was one of my best trips I did on my own and while watching the pictures I´m still dreaming about all
that beautiful places and people we met on our way. We had a great time and lots of fun. Yeah and of course we had sometimes little fights and many communication problems due to we are no
English native speakers, but we always found a way to manage it.

I have to say that I´m really proud of Joleth that she survived the trip together with 2 guys and Tom who has been a great companion and organizer.

Well, I will come to an end and would like to mention one last think:

Thank you Joleth and Tom for the great time, all good and bad moments and for all experiences I could collect.

And now no more boring words and enjoy the pictures...

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Joleth, Tom, Kamil, Zelt, Ruck- und Schlafsäcke sowie leere Geldbeutel :D)

Hej alle zusammen,

Zuerst wollte ich einen langen Bericht schreiben, indem ich jeden einzelnen Tag unserer langen Reise detailliert ausformuliere,
aber nach kurzer Überlegung kam ich zum Entschluss das es euch nur langweilen würde.
In der Galerie findet ihr eine Menge Bilder, die ich alle mit Kommentaren beschrieben habe.

Wie auch immer, einige wenige Sätze muss ich dann doch schreiben ;):
Wir wollten die Tour nicht zu sehr verplanen, um flexibel zu bleiben und spontane Aktionen wahrzunehmen. Die ungefähre Route war festgelegt und mit welchen Transportmitteln ebenso.
Im Süden Norwegens und Schwedens sind wir mit Bussen, Zügen, Fähren und einmal sogar mit dem Flugzeug ausgekommen. Für den hohen Norden hatten wir ein Auto in Finnland (Oulu) gebucht.

Am 21. Mai um 21.00 Uhr finnischer Ortszeit sollte es mit der Fähre von Turku nach Stockholm losgehen.

Da fehlt doch was? Ganz genau, die Unterkünfte. Irgendwie haben wir es total verplant nach Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten zu suchen. Darum ist es auch fast jeden Tag ein Abenteuer gewesen etwas zu finden.
Letztenendes haben wir auf Campingplätzen, in der wilden, freien Natur, auf Fußböden von Couchsurfern und manchmal sogar in kleinen Schlafkabinen im hohen Norden übernachtet.

Das Wetter war erstaunlich spitze und zu 90% hatten wir Sonnenschein und für 2 Wochen im Süden Skandinaviens sogar Temperaturen um die 30°. Dagegen war der hohe Norden wie erwartet frisch und macnhmal ungemütlich gewesen.

Die Route:

Schweden:
21.05 - 24.05 Stockholm (Fähre)

Norwegen:
25.05 - 27.05 Oslo (Bus)
28.05 - 30.05 Stavanger (Zug)
31.05 - 02.06 Bergen (Fähre)
03.06 - 04.06 Trondheim (Flugzeug)

Finnland:
05.06 - 06.06 Oulu (Nachtzug)

Norwegen: (4000km Auto)
07.06 - 11.06 Lofoten
12.06          Tromso
13.06 - 16.06 Alta - Knviskjelloden (das wahre Nordkapp) - Karasjoki

Finnland:
16.06 - 17.06 Lemminjoki (Nationalpark)
18.06 - 19.06 Rovaniemi

Ich bin noch immer erstaunt wie heil und mühelos wir diese 4 Wochen überlebt haben. Wenn ich zurückblicke war es bis dato die wohl beste und abenteuerlustigste Reise die ich auf eigene Faust zusammen mit 2 Freunden unternommen habe.
Wir haben soviele wundervolle Orte und Menschen kennengelernt und hatten eine großartige Zeit und viel Spaß. Natürlich gab es manchmal Zoff und viele Kommunikationsprobleme wo wir doch alle drei English nicht als unsere Muttersprache angeben können.
Aber letztenendes haben wir es doch immer wieder irgendwie geschafft unsere Probleme zu lösen.

Ich muss hinzufügen, dass ich wirklich auf Joleth Stolz bin, die es 4 Wochen mit 2 Jungs ausgehalten hat und Tom der mir immer ein guter Freund und Planer gewesen ist.

Ich möchte auch nicht mehr lange umherreden, doch mit folgenden Worten beenden:

Ich danke euch, Joleth und Tom für eine großartige Zeit, mit all den herrlichen sowie weniger guten Momenten und für alle Erfahrungen die ich während dieser Zeit sammeln konnte.

Und jetzt schluss mit dem Gelaber und viel Spaß mit den Fotos...

We were flying with Norwegian airline Widerøe, on a 10-row, 40-seater puddle-jumper. No one was allowed to sit in the front two rows. After everyone was on board, a group of official-looking men and women arrived. One man was wearing a secret-service type earpiece. I asked the Norwegian woman next to me who the VIPs were but she didn't have a clue.

After the pilot made an announcement in Norwegian, she turned to me and said, "It's Sonja, the Queen of Norway." I thought she was pulling a naive tourist's leg, but she assured me it was no joke. Earlier, I was told by many Norwegians that the royal family uses public transportation and likes to hobnob with the common folk.

The pilot then made an announcement in English about our late takeoff, starting with "Her majesty, ladies and gentlemen, we have a few minutes delay." This cracked me up.

I was tempted to ask for an autograph, but not knowing how crass this would appear, I restrained myself. The passengers were acting nonchalant -- until we landed. We weren't allowed to disembark until Sonja was whisked away, so everyone watched, leaning over the aisles to peer through the little windows.

First, a guy on the ground walked up with a red carpet, which he unfurled onto the runway at the bottom of the airplane stairs. Unfortunately for him it was a very windy day and the carpet kept flapping up. Very embarrassing! Finally Sonja stepped onto it and walked a few feet next to a waiting car.

For you fashion mavens, she was wearing a proper-looking beige pantsuit with subdued scarf, overcoat and large sunglasses. Her entourage left in an Audi sedan led by police with a small motorcade following. According to our taxi driver, she was staying right there in town. "Everyone knows she is here," he said. Apparently she visits Lofoten occasionally for hiking and the great outdoors.

In case you're wondering, though King Harald V was not with Sonja, he did meet up with her a few days later for a tour in the far north, which was extensively covered on Norwegian television. The royals might mingle with the masses, but they also create quite a stir everywhere they go. Count me among the stirred.

By the way, on our royal-free flight back to Bodø the next week, nary a white glove was in sight.

sekarang untuk menuju ke Lofoten sudah ada jalan tembus yang bener bener jalan tembus, karena jalan ini menembus gunung dan lautan. Lofast kepanjangan dari Lofoten fastlandsforbindelse yang berarti penghubung lofoten dengan kota kota utama, Lofoten' s connection to the mainland yang mulai di bangun pada musim gugur tahun 1993, dan berhenti sementara pembangunannya pada tahun 1998, ketika bagian pertama pembangunan jalan ini selesai. Kemudian di Lanjutkan lagi pada tahun 2003, dan Lofast di buka secara resmi unutk umum pada 1 Desember 2007.

Perjalanan dari Lodingen menuju Lofoten sekarnag bisa di tempuh dalam 1,5 jam perjalanan dengan menggunakan mobil pribadi atau sekitar 3 jam dengan bus. Sebagaimana daratan Norway yang bergunung geranit dan berteluk, perjalanan ini terasa begitu indahnya, kanan kiri gunung dan laut nan indah.

Selain pemandangan indah seperti ini, kita juga akan melalui banyak terowongan atau tunnels yang tidak hanya panjang berkilo kilo meter tapi juga dibawah laut, juga jembatan diatas laut yang bikin deg degan.

Dalam perjalanan ini juga melewati lebih dari 10 terowongan atau tunnels. Terowongan terpanjang adalah Sordalstunnelen sepanjang 6.4km. Selain panjang dan berbelok belok terowongan ini juga dilengkapi dengan peralatan keselamatan yang lengkap, termasuk sinyal radio dan ponsel juga tetep bisa di terima d dalam terowongan ini. Ngeri juga ketika mengetahui terowongan ini sepanjang 6,4 km dan kita berada di dalam nya..uh....(see i tunnelen)

Terowongan terpanjang ke dua adalah Sloverfjordtunnelen, sepanjang 3340 m dan 200 meter di bawah air laut. Deg degan...sampe sampe tanpa sadar berdoa..bismillahirrohmanirohim....berasa dingin dan senyap....

Selain kedua terowongan tadi, masih ada sekita 7 terowongan lagi yang juga menembus gunung geranit.

Selain terowongan kita juga melewati jembatan yang sangat panjang, Raftsund Bridge, sepanjang 700 m. Jembatan ini berada di atas laut dan saat saat tertentu ketika angin kencnag jembatan ini di tutup demi keselamatan.

Although as of a few hours ago we returned to Oslo, in the south (we fly home tomorrow!), we were indeed above the arctic circle last week during our cycle trip on Lofoten (photos and a few highlights to come). Not only did the sun never go down, it truly shined all night. I'd expected "light" not "bright." I even wore eyeshades to sleep a couple nights when we didn't have proper curtains. Some nights were cloudy and the sun was hidden. But on one of the clearest nights, we had an oceanfront cabin in the small town of Ramberg on Flakstadøya and could watch the midnight sun out our living-room window. At exactly midnight, about two dozen tourists, including us and a lot of Germans, poured out of their cabins and campers to see the show. It was a crazy scene!

"Are you really Canadian or Americans posing as Canadians?" I asked Janne. "I'm really Canadian, eh," he answered in that unmistakable accent. Janne's family is Finnish and he has dual citizenship. He and his girlfriend, Barb, who live in Calgary, are on a five-week holiday, cycling in Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Like us, they're headed for Lofoten, so perhaps we'll see them there. They're taking three night trains to get there, while we, on a much-shorter holiday, are flying. (By the time you read this time-released blog entry, we should be on Lofoten, without email, freezing and enjoying the amazing beauty that the chain of islands above the Arctic Circle has to offer under the light of the Midnight Sun. That was a long sentence, wasn't it?)

Interestingly, Janne told me, they couldn't put their bikes on trains or buses in Sweden and had to box them up like freight and "ship" them on the same train they were on. For such a forward-thinking country, that is pathetic.

In other cycling news, we spied a pink Lancôme bike in Bergen. Funny, I thought the French cosmetics company made only makeup. Must have been for a promotion. If they gave away pink bikes instead of little "makeup gift bags" with a $50 purchase, I'd be first in line to buy a tube of overpriced lipstick. I'd love to post a photo of the bike on a website I found featuring only pink bicycles, but now I can't locate it. Perhaps a loyal reader can. My friend Alice is good at that. Al, you there?

Le 7 et 8 juin 2008. Température: 15 degrés.

Nous vous recommandons de passer par Kræmmervika rorbuer pour la générosité et l'accueil d' Harald, le propriétaire, et l'authenticité du lieu, avec dépaysement garanti!

Se rendre aux Lofoten:

Avion d'Oslo à Bodø: 2h, puis avion de Bodø à Leknes: 20 min

Sommerferien står for tur og det ligger ann til å bli en fantastisk sommer.Førstkommende lørdag legger vi ut på seiltur fra Trondheim til Lofoten. (mer om dette på: www.lofoten08.wordpress.com. Seilturen varer i nærmere 4 uker, og jeg er ikke tilbake i Stavanger/Haugesund før rundt 10. Juli. Da blir det litt jobbing som miljøterapeut på institusjonen, og mye fri innimellom. Satser på et par tre-fire dagers seilturer i nærområdet. Jeg flytter inn i ny leilighet 1. august, så slutten at juli går nok med til flytting. 31. Juli til 3. august skal  jeg være med å arrangere 18:30 som er en sommerfestival på Åpta for ungdom mellom 18 og 30 år. (mer om dette på: www.1830sommer.wordpress.com). Hva som skjer til høsten er det ingen som vet egentlig, men akkurat nå står det mellom Nordisk grunnfag på universtitetet eller å fortsette å jobbe. Jeg satser på å oppdatere bloggen gjennom sommeren, men dette er i korte trekk det jeg har tenkt å bruke sommeren på. Satser også på en utenlandstur til høsten. Er det noen som har lyst til å bli med så er det bare å skrike ut! 

I'm glad I crack myself up, because I've been having a lot of laughs at my expense over the past couple days. After planning a trip to Norway for more than a year, Wessel and I are finally on our way! As always, the last few days before leaving on a longish journey (18 days) are the craziest. I understand how the anxiety of leaving home for several weeks is enough to inspire the now-trendy "staycation."

The location was Wessel's idea, the highlight being a bicycle tour on Lofoten, an archipelago above the Arctic Circle that I'd never even heard of. Now that's exciting! Since then, it was ranked in the top five of best-preserved islands by National Geographic Traveler.

We "bought" tickets with Delta Sky Miles almost a year ago, always an ordeal. Although we knew Norway was expensive, with the dollar so low and the Norwegian Krone strong, sticker shock got the better of us. So what began as a vacation with a travel story thrown in is now a working vacation, with three alternative-energy stories planned for Ode Magazine and two travel stories planned for the Boston Globe.

So, back to packing. Despite my frequent travels, I've never learned to pack light. I've taken classes, bought books, written stories on how to do it, but I seem to be a lost cause. This is a trip with work, play, warm weather, cold weather, outdoor, indoor activities. The usual. I put way too much thought into everything, trying to predict my every need. Then there was the choice of reading material. I changed books three times (settled on "What is the What") before chucking the whole idea and going with four unread issues of The Sun Magazine.

Here's the part that really cracks me up, and I wonder if others do the same thing. Suddenly, two days before leaving, I had to finish everything I had put off for the past three months. Filing, sending long overdue emails, cleaning a room. Meanwhile, I wrote a small book for our house/dog sitters Paul and Michelle, with about 12 headings. They came over twice for tutorials. I was very relieved that they scored well on last night's pop quiz.

But the final hour today was the most outrageous. Even though people will be staying at the house, I ended up in the kitchen finishing every half-eaten thing in the refrigerator, things that had gone untouched for a week. When it was the agreed-upon time to leave for the airport, Wessel found me standing over the kitchen sink frantically eating half a leftover orange, juice dripping all over. "OK, hon," he said gently, placing his hand on my shoulder as if I were a mental patient, "we really need to go now." First, I had to put the peels in the compost. And then, finally, we were off!

Die geplante Route sieht wie folgt aus.

Mittwoch 21 uhr verlassen wir Turku mit der Fähre in Richtung Stockholm. Dort verbringen wir 3 Tage und brechen dann mit dem Bus nach Oslo auf, wo wir 2 mal übernächtigen. Anschließend nehmen wir den Zug nach Stavanger (Süden von Norwegen), wo wir hauptsächlich die Fjorde bewandern wollen. Nach 4 Tagen nehmen wir die Fähre nach Bergen. So wie ich das sehe und hoffe, wird uns die überfahrt durch wunderschöne Fjordtäler führen. Hoffen wir das beste. Nach 3 Tagen fliegen wir mit einer günstigen, norwegischen Fluglinie nach Trondheim.

Das wären dann gute 2 Wochen. Von Trondheim gestaltet sich die Reise wie folgt:

Zug nach Oulu, welches im Norden von Finnland liegt. Dort mieten wir ein Auto für 30€ am Tag, was wirklich günstig ist. Ist sogar Kilometerfrei. Von da an, werden wir zurück nach Norwegen, durch finnisch/schwedisches Lappland, fahren. Unser erstes Ziel sind die Lofoten und dann die nördlichste Universitätsstadt der Welt, Tromso. Als großes Ziel haben wir uns das Nordkapp vorgenommen (der praktisch, nördlichste Punkt Europas).

Hoffen wir auf einigermassen "gutes" Wetter. Dabei spreche ich von 10° plus und Sonnenschein. Was will man mehr? Eben! Wer weiß, ob wir dort oben zum Schlafen kommen werden, da die Sonne 24 Stunden am Tag scheinen wird und wenn nicht, ist es zumindest hell.

Ich kann es noch immer nicht fassen. Heute z.B. ist in Turku um 23 Uhr die Sonne untergegangen und es wird überhaupt nicht mehr richtig dunkel. Jetzt ist es wiedereinmal 3.30 in der früh und die Sonne geht in einer halben Stunde wieder auf. Das ist verrückt und so unvorstellbar, dass ich jeden Tag davon schwärme.

Wie dem auch sei. Ich versuche fit zu bleiben und die Zeit zu genießen. Bis im Juni. Kamil und Tom

Några minuter senare får jag ett sms. "Vi får prata i veckan, jag skickar upp en kille till dig i eftermiddag som hämtar datan". Jag är inte odelat positiv till tanken på att få stifta ännu en bekantskap till D. i de här sammanhangen och tänker på Z., det höjda fingret och det sammanbitna "inga frågor", men känner ändå att det ska bli skönt att skriva ut sig ur handlingarna. 

En minut över tre ringer det på dörren och jag öppnar. Utanför står det en kille som knappast är Z:s (ännu) principfastare kusin som jag gått och mentalt förberett mig på. Ja, han är knappast släkt med med något annat än sin examen i maskinteknik och far och mor tänker jag. Han är ungefär 27-28, ser ut som en förvuxen chalmerist, med skjortkragen nyktert uppstucken under den stickade tröjan och - hör och höpna -  en cyckelhjälm på huvudet.  "Hej, jag skulle hämta en data" säger han och vi utväxlar handslag, en laptop, kverulerar över det kalla vädret och sen är det hela över innan jag ens hunnit bli förvånad.