This trip was really a tale of two environments. Scandinavian capitals – Helsinki, Stockholm, and Oslo. All fun cities to visit with what you’d expect of cities – good restaurants, museums, theater, music, super streets for walking, urban culture – though in smaller settings than elsewhere I’ve been. Stockholm was just a wonderful spot, a place I’d love to return to as there’s still so much to offer there, and its setting is just gorgeous.
The second environment was the natural beauty and great outdoor experiences of being north of the Arctic Circle in Finnish and Swedish Lapland and the fjords and landscape of Norway. I know I barely scratched the surface of all these places, but to go snowmobile riding, sled-dog mushing, reindeer sledding, float in an icy lake, take a cold plunge in an icy river, ride a steep railway through the mountains, and cruise in deepwater high cliff-water ways, are experiences that just can’t be beat and are hard to duplicate in any other places in the world.
Learning about the Sami culture was an important part of my time away. They have suffered greatly over the centuries, facing some of the same injustices visited by other indigenous peoples in other countries, and their culture is – like the others – unique to their environment. They need voices and support and understanding to survive and thrive. People like Anna help spread their stories.
I also got a chance to try many different vodkas while I visited these places – all slightly different, all flavorful, and some I know I can find at home and others I hope to. And that vodka martini at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm (where they did NOT have Absolut!), stirred to -2 degrees. Amazing.
But I think it’ll be the northern lights that will stick with me the most. To stand under a star-filled sky for five or six nights and just be overwhelmed by the sparkling colorful atmosphere that stretched from horizon to horizon is a reminder about how small we are, how stunning the environment is, and how you can still be awed and surprised by the natural world around you. Wow.
Fred's Travel Blog 