Savonlinna, Finland 29/6 - I'm still alive. Took the coastal express up Northern Norway, from Trondheim to Tromsø. The scenery up there just knocks you out. There are places in Lofoten - a maze of mountains shooting up of the sea - that are just hard to believe exist. There's nothing you can do but stand and watch as it all floats by, in 24/7 daylight. The coastal express boats are practically small cruise ships, with a warm, comfortable observation deck on the top, but that just makes everything more unreal. This is landscape that should be appreciated from out in the cold, up front, with four layers of clothing and a big grin.

By contrast, the landscape of Finland is quiet. The endless, dull forests of Lapland in the north is made up for by countless lakes further south, and the nice towns the Finns have built by them. I was unlucky with the timing - all of Finland shut down this weekend for some kind of Midsummer celebration, (how dare they? I'm a tourist - I want to spend money!), but they're back at work now, doing their indigenous duties.

Next: Onwards south, Helsinki and Tallinn.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV,
Finland, Finland, Finland,
It's the country for me.

You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall,
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.

You're so sadly neglected,
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall,
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.

Michael Palin

Sounds very nice Bjorn. Maybe you can post a picture or two when you return.

I have heard there is a mail boat that goes up the coast of Norway delivering the mail and freeying tourists up the coats to all the towns and villages. I assume you are on a train Bjorn but I am wondering if you have heard of this boat and if you would recomend it.

Franko

Yes, pictures, please? I'd love to see the scenes you have described.

Franko: There was a post service flag on the coastal express (aka Hurtigruten) - perhaps that's what you're thinking of. (Won't see much on the coast with train - it's boat or car.) The express stops in most of the towns that are out on the coast. And yeah, I would recommend it. Take it from Bergen to Tromsoe, then you get to see the equally stunning western fjords as well. That should be about four or five days.

I've taken some pictures, but there's an annoying little backpacker in me that stops me from photographing anything _too_ obviously beautiful, so we'll see how they turn out.

The only phrase I know in Finnish (phonetic) is "Ana menula souika" which means "please give me a kiss." Sometimes you get slapped and sometimes you get kissed

Herb, you've mangled it quite a lot! It's "anna minulle suukon".

But you'd probably manage with that phonetic pronunciation.

The Lofoten island region is the strangest, most beautiful place I've ever been.
Like Bjorn said... it's so stark, angular and ominous, yet reassuring somehow. You feel like a mistep on one of the mountains may cause you to fall directly into the sea, but there was a warmth to the place that's hard to describe. I was there in december, which gave the whole thing really eery lighting, like the set of a sci-fi movie about some desolate moon; maybe in the summer it isn't like that.

I was in Savonlinna 20+ summers ago, most beautiful women in the world, bar none. They were also putting on a Shakespeare Festival. They produced MacBeth in real castle ruins on an island guarding the port.

I loved Finland, everyone should visit.

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