Scandinavia with Zeph

Good travelers have no intent on arriving
And can change their plans at any given moment

Ninety rides, one free bus, one paid train, four free ferries, four paid ferries and a 24 hour canoe rental was all the transportation given to us in the month we traveled through Scandinavia.

Zeph and I started our trip with a plan to make it all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia passing through Denmark, Sweden and Finland and to return by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany. It would have been sweet because we had a few houses where we could ring the bell and say hello. But, arriving in Götenburg, Sweden, we decided that going to the North Cap could be really cool too. Then we would see mountains, snow and not as many people. Yeah, we could do that. So instead of East we headed North.

It was only four days later we discovered that our speed of travel would be waaaaay too slow for the amount of kilometers (2000 from Oslo, that’s 3 days) to the far north. It would mean we would only be seeing the inside of different cars and meet their drivers.
Pictures in a tourist book and descriptions in the Lonely Planet made us curious about other places and on the first sunny day in Oslo we changed our state of mind and focused on discovering places in a smaller area.
Every time there was a fork in the road, we looked at each other, thought the same direction and took it. We were both hungry to see what was around the next corner, we both had the same expectations of travel and we both felt fulfilled at the end of the day.

This, to me, was the highlight of the trip. As a traveler it’s very cool to discover someone who has the same motivation and drive, the same speed and rests, the same direction and expectations and is on the same budget.

This said, I can also tell you that traveling together is very new for me. Being a strong minded person with more thoughts in my head then spoken out loud, it must not have been easy for Zeph to hang out with my moods. I thought it to be very interesting and educational to see how someone who traveled a lot with a partner enjoyed the company where I would normally have preferred to be alone. It made me see a different side of the coin, one that I want to learn to enjoy myself ....... cause who wants to grow old alone.

This trip took us step by step from fantastic friends, to long ferries, to serene lakes, to cosmopolitan cities, to magnificent fjords to sea side landscapes, to meters of snow and miles of road.
I had never thought about Norway, I had no idea what I could expect in this northern European country, so everything was a surprise, everything was better then the ‘not expected anything’.

Our first ride was with Marie and Thomas. They had enjoyed Amsterdam and my parent’s party and took us back to Denmark where they live. We were dropped at the crossing with the highways to their house and Copenhagen very early in the morning. From here the real hitching started.

Copenhagen was our favorite city in the trip. It has a lot of very pretty buildings, friendly people, big parks and Christiania. Christiania is an alternative community founded in the early 1970s by hippies and political activists. It stands for free living and own rights. In the years it has existed many raids took place, the government has tried to close it down, drugs have been sold freely, many hippie-trippy houses have been build and they created their own government. Now they are free, they have their own rules and rulers but the battle with the city stays in full glory.

It was very interesting to walk around here. The centre being very run down with youngsters who punk around and enjoy what the flower-powers have fight for for so long. It was pretty sad to see those pubes abuse the concept what Christiania stands for. If you visit the galleries, workshops, funky army barracks and trippy houses you will get into the feeling that should be everywhere.

Our whole trip we slept in the tent. We always found a place to pitch, even in the big cities. We never paid.... who would if you have a whole city to choose from. Like in Copenhagen, we slept near the waters edge in Christiania; in Götenburg we found a fitting spot in a huge park with big trees. In Oslo we slept three nights in two different places: on the top of a park with a view of the whole city and the other close to the sea. In Trondheim it was most fantastic: again in a park with views of the eternal sunset colors. In Ǻlesund we made a nest really high, with the most open and free view ever and in Bergen we slept really in the center. It was such a cool adventure every day, to find that perfect spot to spread our bed.

Of course we visited our friends in their home town Ǻrhus. It was one of the most hospital and relaxing stays I’ve ever had. Normally I get invited by people I just met, this time I was really visiting a friend and it was so different. It made me really want to have a house for myself so I can invite guests, make them dinners and feel at home. Marie made the best bread and Thomas made the 4/20’s fantastic. We met friends, had beer in the park, ate sublime diners at home and made wicked masks for carnival.

Yep, there was a carnival in Ǻlborg. It’s the biggest in North Europe and we were gonna participate. Very different then in Holland, no prizes for the best group, everyone could joint the parade and everyone really dresses up. While in Holland many people only watch, especially the younger ones, and don’t really dress-up, here everyone went nuts with costumes and beer, especially the young ones. The theme this year was masquerade, but the creations were whatever was invented. It was a mad party, a huge mess in the street and all parks littered with people. We were really lucky that we could join with people from here. That’s always the best. It was wicked!

Rain started and kept going on and off for six days. I can tell you, sleeping, walking, hitching, eating and staying ‘cool’ with each other is no fun in the drizzle. But we managed, the tent leaked, so everything was wet and damp in our backpack, but people kept picking us up and we managed to find a camping with cooking area where we used the facilities for free.
Here in Sweden we arrived in Hǻverud, a little town where canoeing is very popular. The canoes were already outside and we wrote the first names in the rental book for this year ........ which meant that we were totally alone in the canal/lakes.

Wow wow wow, it was so serene, so quiet, so misty, so nice. No wind so pure reflections on the water; birds in the woods, only thick mist but no rain. Surreal and idyllic, definably the best undertaking we did.
We camped in the woods, made good fires, visited a town and went through a lock. It was still closed because of the low season, but the friendly lock-keeper made the big doors work and gave us this cool experience.

The sun started shining again in Oslo which could not have been better. We came down from our park with view when we discovered a huge concert in another park. Everyone was spread out and bbq-ing with those throw-away bbq’s (a real tradition in whole Scandinavia). How fun! We went on our way to buy one ourselves (They are only one buck!) with some sausages to we could plant our butt in the grass too. He! Another concert in another park....... It turned out to be Oslo’s Music Fest day. Ole ole, how lucky. The rest of the day was spend bbq-ing, drinking beer and listening to music in different parks.

As we should know, Norway has a midnight sun. From the Arctic circle (which it halfway up Norway) you can see the sun sinking low, but never disappearing behind the horizon (or in winter you will never see it come up). We were not at the right latitude to experience this, but it did stay light the whole night. The photo above is made around one in the morning. It’s such a strange experience; there is always someone in the street, 24hours. There is more activity because everyone wants to soak up the sunlight as much as they can. (Can you only imagine to have three months every year where it’s only light for a few hour per day, or not even that at all!) We as well fell into the rhythm of staying up late and feeling as if the day lasted forever.

From old mining towns with dark wooden buildings, to hilly landscapes with salmon filled rivers. From higher mountains with snow and massive frozen lakes to beautiful fjords. Past houses that have grass growing on their roofs, white farmhouses with red barns, lots of colorful spring flowers, cozy little towns and very green grass. We zoomed by in the back seat half sleeping or wondering, or in the front seat talking with our new driver.
Two times nobody likes us and we got stuck in between destinations. It meant looking for a piece of grass right there and then. I like those: ‘find a solution now’ or ‘deal with what life gives you’ situations.

In Jotunheimen National Park we made a famous hike called the Besseggen trail. It follows the ridge of the mountains beside a huge lake. From this edge you can look far far away over the snowy mountaintops, the icy lakes, the bare rocks and the ever changing clouds.
Just the day before our start the temperature had dropped with 15degrees! So yes, it was REALLY cold up there with especially the icy wind. Zeph only had his summer beach shoes which were burned by the fire a few days earlier (we were trying to dry them....oeps), so the snow, which we had to cross several times several meters, came right in and made his feet feel like ice cubes. It was pretty bikkelen, especially because we had started this six hour walk at three in the afternoon and we were getting tired. But is was well worth it: the ice on the water made the most crystal-tingling sound, the sun came through and made beautiful shades, the clouds changed shapes every minute, the view from the lake with the walls on both sides was stunning, the ridge was thrilling and the small tundra flowers and lichen were very pretty.
In one of our short brakes we discovered that we had forgotten a lighter..... oeps, no warm food or fire tonight. This trail sees 30.000 hikers in the three months that it’s passable, but right now it was three days before the cabins and the ferry started and the tourists were still scared away. Pfoe, we were lucky with two English hikers. They were the only ones camping as well out there and shared with us a lighter and the 50 reindeer that came grazing by........

Although we told our story 90 times and got rides with extremely curious people, we never got invited.
Until the last days: A tremendously friendly guy from Croatia was our last ride and offered us the house of his friend that he was watching. He stayed at that house as well now and again. It was heaven to sleep on a bed after 21 days ground (we had no mattresses with us) and lay on a couch. He even returned with his Norwegian wife to bring us towels and extra food! And in the morning he drove us 30km to the first ferry of the day. Ilir and Rita, you guys were sweeter then apple-pie, why did we deserve such openness. You will always be welcome in our homes.
The next day we were lucky again. This time our last ride was an elderly primary school teacher and she offered her old farm at the end of a gorgeous lake for us to feel at home. She enjoyed our company cause she was alone for a few weeks and made us delicious tables with nibble food. We were so happy that our last night in Norway was spend visiting with one of them who had endured many long dark winters in a traditional house. Thanks Marry, for giving us this opportunity

At the end we hitched long distances: from pretty Bergen (where a very old row of houses is truly crooked because of a Dutch ship that blew up many years ago) to a small town before Oslo and the next day from there to Copenhagen. We had a stop in Ǻrhus with our friends and made it back to Holland in one day; although we had to call my mum and dad at 11:30pm for the last 45 minutes.

There are so many stories created this month. We should definably sit down one evening and tell them all. The funny people we met, the new things we saw, the experiences that were new, the way we did everything as cheap as possible, where we would jump the fence and much more, but it’s too much to tell by website. One day, with tea and cookies, we’ll share.

Leaves me only one thing:
Zeph ...... you’re such a bikkel. Friendship is build on making history; well, we made a damn fine piece of history, I would almost get addicted to our ‘just let it rolling’ way of living. Let’s see how bad the cold turkey will be..........