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https://github.com/jannisborn/scandinavia23

Scandinavia trip 2023
https://github.com/jannisborn/scandinavia23

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Scandinavia trip 2023

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# Scandinavia summer trip

In summer 2023, we did a 3 week Interrail trip in Scandinavia. Here we share our travel route and experience :grin:



[If you don't see HMTL, click here.](https://jannisborn.github.io/scandinavia23/)



## The route



See this trip on Furkot



## Summary

We were mostly interested in the south of Norway due to its spectacular landscapes such as the fjords (Lysefjord, Geirangerfjord), Preikestolen, Trolltunga, Kjerag Bolten, the Troll wall, the Jotunheimen National park (with the Galdhoppingen) and many other things.

We completed more than 8000km in three weeks. This does not really sound relaxing but it actually was -- we share below how we did it, day by day.



We generally travelled by train, starting from Zurich (CH), via Germany and Denmark. In the south of Norway we rent a car (a VW T-Cross) for a week which we drove from Stavanger to Trondheim. We took train and ferry to reach Lofoten islands and then went via a 2-day boat to the North Cape which we left via a 17-hour-bus to Rovaniemi (Finnland). From there we continued with trains.



Throughout the vacation, we either slept underway (~4 nights train, 3 nights boat), in the car (~7 nights), in a spontaneous airbnb (~3 nights) or outdoors in a bivouac (~3 nights). 



## Images:

![Panel](https://github.com/jannisborn/scandinavia23/blob/master/assets/collage.jpg?raw=true | width=70)

Please click [here](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19Ro31olcBJeAJs3Z__cfRqUbddsQJ4O3?usp=sharing) to get to the Drive folder with the best images :)



## Day-by-day:



### Day 1: Zurich - Aarhus



From Zurich we take the night train to Hamburg. We continue to Denmark by train and go camping with friends in Aarhus - south of the city, there are nice camping spots with sand beaches directly next to the forest!



### Day 2: Aarhus - Stavanger



From Aarhus, we travel north to Hirtshals, where we board the ferry to Kristiansand (around 2.5 hours). We visit the city for a couple of hours, but then continue by train with the Interrail ticket to Stavanger. The train ride already provides a glance at the amazing nature that Norway offers!



### Day 3: Stavanger - Odda (Kjeragbolten)



For the south of Norway, we rented a car to be able to reach all hikes and spots we want to see. We pick up the car in Stavanger and will return it one week later in Trondheim. For our first day in Norway, we already had struggled to decide whether to visit Preikestolen or Kjeragbolten, an impressive boulder trapped between the cliffs. The latter is less touristy but much further away. We decided for this option, and drove 2.5h vom Stavanger to the start of the hike (very scenic drive)! The hike is around 5km one-way and offers amazing views of the fjord in the end. There is a ferry going across the fjord that would offer a shortcut to see both Preikestolen and Kjeragbolten, but unfortuntaly it was booked out when we were there. We therefore continued and drove several hours north, to Odda.

[:mount_fuji: See the **Kjerag Bolten** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9297303547)



### Day 4: Odda (Buarbreen and Trolltunga)



East of the industrial town Odda, there is a massive glacier covering a wide mountainrange. At one spot, you can hike very close to the foothills of the glacier. We started at the same parking lot (only 20 min from Odda), but did the more demanding hike to the top of the Reinanuten mountain (~1100 meters in height to hike up). On the peak, you are super close and slightly above the huge glacier, and get breathtaking views of the huge ice wall.

[:mount_fuji: See the **Buabreen** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9302622694).



Afterwards, we continued with the Trolltunga hike. We started quite late in early afternoon, but this helped to avoid the large number of tourists queueing at Trolltunga every day. We heard stories of people queuing for 30-60min to get a pic on Trolltunga. If you make the hike, **make it in the evening**!! When we reached the Trolltunga between 7 and 8pm there was only one other group of 3-4 people. We did it in late June, so it did not get dark. There is a shuttle that takes you up a few kilometers more, which reduces the hike to 10 instead of 14km one way. One the hike, one can diverge a bit from the actual trail to get a view of the whole fjord-like lake hundreds of meters below (it's not fully visible from the Trolltunga viewpoint itself).

[:mount_fuji: See the **Trolltunga** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9303811030).



### Day 5: Tyssedal - Flam



Mostly a transition day, we stop by Eidfjord where a huge cruise is docked in the port. Watch out for the large bridge going over Eidfjord, the car tunnels are quite confusing because of the roundabouts in the tunnel (yes, you read correctly). There's also a toll on this road and we took it mistakenly triply :see_no_evil In the afternoon we did a fantastic rafting trip on the Strandaelvi, we highly recommend :rowboat . In the evening, we pass by Gutvangen in Naeroyfjord and its famous hotel (Stalheim) but unfortunately the scenic road is under construction. We're driving to Flam where the super popular Flambahn starts that meanders up its way to Myrdal. We follow a tiny dirt road toward Myrdal and camp next to a reservoir lake. 



### Day 6: Flam - Laerdalsoyri



The tiny dirt road between Flam and Myradl is incredible. It's one way since you cant go all the way up to Myrdal, so there's little traffic. The road is super scenic, you frequently cross the train tracks (if you spot a train, dont miss out to stop and take a picture) and eventually, the road passes through a super remote valley with a bike rental and a zipline in the middle of nowhere. We couldnt believe our eyes at first but apparently the classical tourist activity is to take the train from Flam up to Myrdal and then roll down the dirt road on MTBs or take the zipline. The last section of the road to Myrdal is MTB-only so we leave our car and start a hike. This was the coldest day of the trip, it was cloudy/rainy and we did a very long hike (>30km) with almost 50% of it going through snow. We did not have enough food and had really underestimated the amount of snow but on the bright side we passed by almost a dozen of lakes, all in different stages of frozenness (from all-open to all-frozen with snow on top). We did not see a single person the whole hike and the area was so remote that neither the lakes nor the mountains had names!

Since we also started late, we are back to the car only at 11pm. We drive back to Flam, and start to look for a camping spot on the side of the road, when we are suddenly stuck in a 24km long tunnel - Laerdal tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world!

[:snowflake: See the **Flam** ice-hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9315838529).



### Day 7: Laerdalsoyri - Galdhoppingen



We head toward Jotunheimen nationalpark, a must-see since it contains the largest mountain of Norway, the Galdhoppingen. If you're keen to do some wintersports in summer, you can cross-country ski in the visitor centre Sognefjell or you drive all the way up to the ski resort in Jurashytta. We arrive at an intersection with the one-way roward that brings us to the start of the Galdhoppingen hike. We've had so much snow, ice and fog yesterday at < 1500m that we didnt really consider hiking the Galdhoppingen would be possible. But the weather is fantastic! Even though it's already 7pm we decide to give it a try. By ~8:30pm we begin what will turn out as an amazing overnight hike! We're climbing up steadily from the hut at 1300m all the way to the Galdhoppingen at almost 2500m which we reach at 23:15, just in time for the sunset. Views are exceptional, we are entirely alone, this is maybe the most emotional moment of the trip thus far. On the way back, we become a bit tired at around 1:30am so we decide to bivaouc on the only non-rocky spot, right next to a cliff of a glacier. 

[:sunrise: See the **Galdhopping** night-hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9322880634).



### Day 8: Galdhoppingen - Geiranger



The night is short and rough because it gets cool even though we're wearing all our clothes. At around 5 we get up and walk the same way back down to the hut.

This was a super epic hike and I totally recommend doing it -- only if the weather is good though!

We leave Jotunheimen NP still in the morning and work our way up toward Geirangerfjord, one of the steepest, most famous fjords. The so-called "Golden Route" is maybe the most touristic route in Norway. It's extremely scenic, passing by crazy-reflecting lakes and eventually leading down to Geiranger.

Here we rent bikes (crazy, they dont have normal bikes, *only* ebikes) and we go for a ~65km roundtrip with stunning views over the fjord, passing by the Eidsvatnet lake and discovering a scenic, mountainous route to Norddal that we totally recommend! 

[:bike: See the **Geiranger** biketrip with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9326168062).



### Day 9: Geiranger - Andalsnes 



We slept in the car next to Eidsvatnet lake and continued on the *Golden Route* (take the 10-min ferry in Eidsdal) toward north. The route now approaches its culmination, the Trollstigen, a stellar viewpoint at a mountain pass. The road here is pretty spectacularily build into the steep landscape with dozens of switchbacks. It already opened in early 20th century and has been a big "attraction" of Norway since, however, living in Switzerland this is not too unusual. From Trollstigen we hike to the Troll wall which is the largest, vertical wall in Europe. Up to 1000m altogether, most of which entirely vertical! The views from the top are incredible. The hike is unfortunately a one-way hike (again), but we're almost alone on the track so it's a great option to escape the crowds from the Golden Route (generally this has been the busiest part of the entire journey). After the hike (12km, 800hm), we drive to Andalsnes and then sleep in the car next to a lake in Vengedal, a small valley east of Andalsnes that is the perfect starting point for the hike on the next day

[:mount_fuji: See the **Troll wall** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9419512173).



### Day 10: Andalsnes - Trondheim (night train to Bodo)



This is the last day in the car and we begin the day with the steep Romdalseggen ridge hike (15km, ~1200hm). This is the most famous hike in the region and it's totally clear why -- after a steep ascent, the hike is pretty easy, along the ridge, with continuous views on the Troll wall, the fjord and the mountains. Even though the hike is famous, we barely saw any people. In the afternoon we have to head back to Trondheim to return the car, but we dont miss out on multiple seights on the way back: First, the Mardalsfossen, a 600m high and pretty large waterfall that drops in two sections down to a lake. The drive along the like is already incredibly beautiful. We didnt hike all the way to the waterfall due to a lack of time, I'm not sure it's really worth because the endpoint of the hike is just the bottom of the falls. The next remarkable thing are the waterfalls near Sundal (e.g., Sinnfossen and Skorga). They belong to the largest waterfalls in the world but beware that they dont carry as much water as e.g., Mardalsfossen so we clearly found them less impressive. We return the car in Trondheim and enter the night train heading toward Bodo

[:wall: See the **Romdalseggen** ridge hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9337179822).



### Day 11: Bodo - Lofoten (Reine)



The night in the openspace of the train is a little rough. There's little to see in the center of Norway between Trondheim in Bodo. Bodo "officially" belongs to the north and we do see a clear difference in the vegetation here (it just becomes less and less...).

We hang out a bit in Bodo and then take the lunchtime ferry to the Lofoten (Moskenes). We're incredibly excited about this part of the trip! The Lofoten are truly unique islands! It looks like the Alps were floated and only the mountain tops are towering up from the water. Out AirBnb in Reine (the regional center of tourism, "lots" of restaurants and hotels) is actually a RV in the backyard of our hosts. Still much more comfortable than anything we've seen in the last week! We head out and face the Reinebringen hike. It starts at sea level and goes 1978 steps straight up to 600m. At the top we have maybe the most amazing view of the entire trip (scroll up to the top!). We're told that we're very lucky with the weather:sun:! The way up is *very* touristy but nobody knows that you dont have to go the same way back but can leave the platform at the top via a small trail that heads west and actually allows to do a stunning roundtrip that passes by several lakes. On the hike we met a guy who was on a fundraising campaign for Alzheimer (donate [here](https://www.gofundme.com/f/til-topps-mot-alzheimer)). 

[:mount_fuji: See the **Reinebringen** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9346813321).



### Day 12: Lofoten (Reine) - Lofoten (beach)



We're leaving the apartment and plan to explore Lofoten via bike. We rent bikes for 24h in *Reine Adventures* (much better than *Reine activies*) and head north, aiming to sleep the night at a sandy beach with our bivaouc (good weather forecast). Biking the Lofoten works very well, you can ride along the water everywhere, it's pretty flat but all spectacular. We visit the Blacksmith museum in Sund which feels like a time travel, very archaic and you can see steel production live in action. Definitely worth a visit. Afterwards we're heading towards Kvalvika beach which is famous because it's the largest sandy beach on the Lofoten. We drop the bikes and walk the 2.5km to the beach. It's a bit surreal to see a sandy beach in the Arctic Ocean, imagine to swim here in the sun during midnight! At the cliff on top of Kvalvika beach is a "Mini Trolltunga" but unfortunately the day is cloudy so the cliff is in the fog and we skip the hike up. Since Kvalvika beach is very busy, we follow the secret advice from the bike rental and sleep with the bivouc at a smaller and very remote sandy beach northeast from Kvalvika.

[:bike: See the **Reinebringen** bike trip with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9419469925).



### Day 13: Lofoten (beach) - Cruiseship (Halvila)



It's our first outdoor night north of the arctic circle during midnight sun and it's interesting. It's not only super bright all night but there's also no haze or dew in the morning. A bit surreal! We cycle back to Reinebringen, return the bikes and take the bus to Svolvaer. Our plan is to go via boat from Svolvaer to the North Cape (Honnigsvag) but before that we're concluding the Lofoten days with another steep hike, this time to Floya (600hm). Not as spectacular as Reinebringen but still wonderful, fromm here you can even see mainland Norway.

After our return, it's time to enter the boat. We were expecting a car-ferry-type-of-boat since we thought the main purpose of the two cargo-boat providers (Hurtigruten and Halvila). But actually we could not have been more wrong. We enter the Halvila and recognize that it's a super luxurious cruiseship with outdoor pool, sauna, large openspace and very few guests. We had originally booked the port-to-port lounge (only 90/night) but we upgrade to a cabin for an extra 30 bucks per person. What an incredible deal this is by the far the most comfortable part of the journey! Halvila is a brand-new cruiseship company, the boats are much better equipped than Hurtigruten. In general, there's one boat going north/south the Norwegian cost per day but Halvila and Hurtigruten split the days. If you can, make sure to travel via Halvila, they are super modern and even have massive batteries onboard which allow to travel 4h fully electric.

[:mount_fuji: See the **Svolvaer** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9357697111).



### Day 14: Tromso - North Cape



In the last hours before reaching the very north, we are lucky: There are several wales next to the ship! We are super excited to see some fins from very nearby. At 11am, we reach Honnigsvag, a small town closest to North Cape. If you travel without car: public transport options are very limited - when we asked about it in the tourist information (11am), the only bus going on that day was already gone. We therefore hitchhiked to the North Cape, which works well considering that only a few cars pass. On the way, one can already see many reindeers - they are everywhere in this area. At North Cape, there is a visitor center with nice exhibitions (but 300NOK pp). After taking pictures at the cape, we hiked to the actual most northern point reachable - it is slightly western and around 14km one way from the visitor center, or around 9km from a car park. The most northern point is rough, with high waves hitting the rocks! We make the way back to the visitor center and wait for the bus leaving at 1am. 

[:mount_fuji: See the **North Cape** hike with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9372161998). 



### Day 15: North Cape - Rovaniemi



There is exactly one direct bus from North Cape to Rovaniemi, a city in the north of Finnland that is connected to the railway network. The bus leaves at 1am from North Cape, reaches Honnigsvag at 2am, then waits for another bus driver who starts at 5pm (we could sleep in the bus), and continues south with several longer breaks. At 5pm Finnish time (other time zone!) we reach Rovaniemi, and only take a short walk through town and have dinner. 



### Day 16: Rovaniemi - Helsinki



In summer, Rovaniemi is rather empty since the main attraction is Santa Claus village. We can recommend to go for a bike ride since there are nice bike lanes along lakes and over long bridges. We rent bikes and go to a location around 20km south of the city, to an underrated attraction: In the middle of the forest, there are large boulders and so-called Giant Kettles. These huge potholes were formed when water underneath glaciers was trapped and started to rotate with up to 200km/h in a small hole. Due to little stones and sand, this carved out large kettle, here up to 10m wide and 15m deep. After this visit, we ride the bikes back to the other side of the city, to Santa Claus village, which is exactly at the arctic circle. In winter, there is husky and reindeer sledging and other activities, but now there is mainly some shops and Santa’s post office. After riding back to the city (the whole trip is around 65km), we board the night train to Helsinki.

[:mount_fuji: See the **Rovaniemi** bike ride with pics here :mount_fuji:](https://www.strava.com/activities/9380402209). 



### Day 17: Helsinki - Stockholm



Our city tour starts with three churches, Uspenskin cathedral, Helsinki cathedral, and Temppeliaukio church. The latter is the most unusual since it is round and is built into a hill - you can even walk on top! Later, we get Falafel at Fafa’s (super tasty place for vegetarian food!) and walk along the seaside to the south. There is a famous sauna called Löyly, with a fancy architecture and direct access to the sea, which freezes partly in winter. In Helsinki, you can walk along the sea for a very long time. At some point we take a ferry to Suomenlinna Sveaborg, an old fortress where you can see old buildings and canons. The ferry is included in the public transport ticket and takes 20min. Back to mainland, we pass by Market Square and then board the ship. This is completely different from the cruise ships in the north - the ship is huge, crowded and seems to be a party-and kids playground at the same time. There is a casino, several bars and a supermarket on board.



### Day 17: Stockholm - Alvesta



Unfortunately, we only had a few hours for visiting Stockholm, which is a lovely city build on several connected islands. The old town on the island Gamla Stan is very pretty, with nice old buildings and narrow streets where no cars are allowed. You can also visit the Riksdagshuset, and the castle, or the Nobel prize museum if you have more time. In the afternoon, we take a train to south of Sweden (close to Llungby) to visit family. We spend the next three days there, at a beautiful place directly at the lake. One activity we can really recommend is renting boats and camping on one of the numerous islands in the lakes there (we were at Bolmen lake) - it is a unique experience!



### Day 18: Alvesta - Zurich



The last day is a long travel day - starting from Alvesta at 1pm to Kopenhagen, we went for a one-hour walk there (we will come back to spend more time in this nice city!), and continued to Hamburg, where we took the night train to Zurich. Seems like it takes only a few days to go from North cape to Zurich! Overall, we were extremely happy with this mix of fast trains for long distances and the road trip in the south of Norway for the flexibility, and could not imagine a better travel route for this three-weeks trip!