Europe 2003

EUROPE 2003

Left Perth mid morning on the start of the biggest adventure of our lifetime.

We arrived at this point after a lot of “strategising” trying to work out our best travel options. Plan 1 in fact was completely different. It involved a trip up to Beijing then across country to the west of China and the start of the Silk Road. We were going to backpack through all the Central Asian countries to Moscow and St Petersberg, spend winter in the EU (me working with my CELTA qualification), catching up with Adrian and Mark (who at that stage was in London) and then come back to NZ/Oz via the Trans Siberian railway. So we were planning to be away for roughly 2 years. However the best laid plans of mice and men ……. Dubya decide to have a go at Iraq. As most Central Asian countries were Muslim we thought that it may be a little dangerous backpacking thru’ there . Next SARS eventuated and Beijing and other parts of China sort of got off bounds. So a further blow to Plan 1. We had to quickly rethink.

The Round The World option which included Europe, South and North America got back to what we had planned 30 years ago so it seemed like a good idea. We then learned that Mark had just got a job in Santiago so South America became even more important. QANTAS and ONE WORLD gave us a lot of flexibility in terms of Airlines and destinations so we made our plans accordingly.

Agenda – fly to Helsinki, tour Scandanavia, Germany, time with Adrian and family in Lux, France then Spain and the Camino de Santaigo. Madrid for 1 December to catch a plane to Santaigo Chile and Mark. Then explore South America and fly from Caracas mid May 2004 to the USA. Then Canada, back to the USA and fly home to NZ/Oz late June.

So what were we carrying to cover a year away.

Peter: Big Mac pack, day pack. Tent, thermarest, sleeping bag, cooking gear, cutlery and crockery for two, 3 pairs of trou, 3 shirts, five pairs of nikkers and singlets, 5 prs of socks, two pairs shoes, two jackets, togs, two Tee shirts, hat, toilet bag, sun glasses, one towel, small umbrella, Scandanavian “Rough Guide” and usual accessories (torch, bottle opener etc). Also sent some stuff on ahead to Adrian. As it turned out I had too much but at the time I tried to squeeze more in.

Leah:

Phil from No 5 very kindly gave us a lift to the airport. He stopped with us, drank some beer and told us a little of his life. Some life. If you believe him he has been in Pentridge for robbing a bank, then was a contract killer for the Painters and Dockers Union, then worked for Qantas as a baggage handler b4 coming to Perth to “escape” and start a new life. He used to go out under instruction from his father in law and take out the opposition. Mind you the Painters and Dockers were a pretty evil bunch. I found it hard to believe – it all sounded a little Marlon Brando and Godfatherish but Leah firmly stated “no, you can trust Phil in all that he says” How can I argue with that.

So got on Qantas to Singapore where we changed for Finnair to Helsinki via Bangkok. Plane was only quarter full from Singapore to Bangkok but it filled up with mainly young scandanavian guys there. I wonder why they were in Bangkok. Upshot was that cattle class was chocker. Met a nice young Singaporean girl named Hannah who promised (subsequently fulfilled) to keep in touch. Long long boring flight but at least I managed to try some Finnish beer. Last for quite some time as it turned out.

Flying into Helsinki Airport – we traveled over western side of city. Lots and lots of trees, not a lot of high rise buildings and seemingly a pleasant outlook. Flew straight over old 1952 Olympic stadium. It was a big concrete edifice which now houses a University.

Real mixed feelings on my part now that we are officially starting. Leaving behind a job, home, security (of a sort) and a conventional lifestyle, for a much more testing environment in which I do not expect to find many others of our age. We will no doubt run into lots of young backpackers but how will they relate to a pair of old fogies like us. Apart from travel we will have little else in common with them. Travel is something that I have always wanted to do but now that we are here and with Oz and NZ a long way away – wow, it does seem like a big step. Especially as most of our family and friends back home don’t understand and wouldn’t undertake the risk. I am so glad that Leah is sharing in the whole thing. It would have been easy for her to say “no, we are too old, we don’t have enough money, we need a base, etc etc” but here we are.

No problems with customs etc at Helsinki Airport. Then on a bus and into town. I had Euros so OK with currency. Bus stopped adjacent to main train station and central plaza. We walked from there to Euro Hostel (booked from Perth). The Hostel was located in Linnankatu suburb in the South Harbour area. Very close to the Viking Ship terminal and also to all the cruise points. There was a market at the head of the harbour. We booked in for 2 nights (EU18 pn ea) and then went exploring as it was still pretty early.

Decided to take a cruise out to the old fortress islands (Suomenlinna) in the outer Harbour. Fantastic location right in entrance channel - I can see why it was such a good defensive point. There are about four/five islands and only two were fortified. The main one had a sort of shopping area at the wharf and then an extensive complex, including a church, low lying castle and very solid sea walls running around the sea ward side. It was in interesting walk around as you could visit different parts eg tunnels leading to ammo depots, goals, soldiers quarters etc. There was a small boat repair yard and the usual museums, pubs and galleries. One look at the menu at the pub and I knew we weren’t going to be drinking too much booze. The prices were terrible!! I really liked the southern side of the island. It protected the main shipping channel so the walls were really impressive as were the cannons. We sat and watched a few of the Viking ferries come in. What an amazing sight. They are so huge – would make the Arahura look like a matchbox toy. A beautiful sailing ship came in very close to the shore so Leah got a number of photo shots of that. The second island had a naval training school located on it. We wandered around that for a while – all old old buildings with cannons and the like out the front. Some people owned property on this island and they had vege gardens planted out. They sort of looked a little like alternative lifestylers.

Back to South Harbour and the markets for dinner provisions. I think that Leah started here on her love affair with salmon. It was realistically priced so some was purchased along with some veggies. We also went into a supermarket in town to buy more mundane stuff (yoghurt, bread, Museli and the like). I thought prices were OK as long as you were careful. Other shops just like any big city. There was a good tram system which ran right around the harbour and ended up going not too far from our hostel. I liked working those sorts of logistical things out (bus routes, timetables, city maps and directions) so tried to “run” that side of our trip. Sometimes ran into a bit of strife with Leah who didn’t like not knowing how these things worked. From my viewpoint it was a matter of using our respective strengths. I could get us somewhere – Leah was great at sussing out the best accommodation (or food) once we got there and making sure the price was right. Horses for courses I guess.

Had dinner at the hostel in a small kitchen. Rooms were nice but supporting facilities like kitchens were only just OK. I think that they preferred people to pay to eat in the café downstairs. After dinner we went back into the south harbour area and soaked up the atmosphere. It was a very nice balmy evening and the twilight lasted until late. Mainly walked the streets and window shopped. I was heartened at the number of people who could speak English. Even shop assistants seemed reasonably fluent. With Russia so close I may have expected that to be a strong second language but English is it (influence of EU membership?).

Next day got on a ferry (Silja Line Sea Cat $AD125 return trip) to Estonia and Tallinin (capital city). Ferry was huge and we did it on basis of day trip. Nice crossing in 45 minutes and the boat was really full. I couldn’t think why as Estonia could not have been a holiday destination for Finns but all was revealed on return. Tallinin was a real mixture of old and new. We saw “new” for viewpoint of supermarket (again teller girls were English fluent) and then went up to old city. Tallinin was one of the old Baltic Hanseatic league cities back in the early days. There are many reminders of those days – city wall, fortifications, old narrow streets, big atmospheric town square and great old church (Russian Orthodox I believe). Lots of beggars around – mostly old peasant looking women. We had lunch in park close to church and then went down to Tourist office where Leah booked a walking tour of the old city (I think that there was a bus ride somewhere as well). I opted out as the cost was pretty high and did my own thing around the old battlements and buildings. Went into an old church where all the relics were carved out of wood. Like big shields from the trading families with their coats of arms. Some fantastic designs; I wish my memory served me better. I know that they paid to have these things mounted in the church to curry favour with the big guy up top. Also a sign of their wealth and power. I got some wonderful views over the harbour from high points on the city wall. You tend to think – Estonia ex Russian Baltic republic and therefore everyone will look poor and regard foreigners suspiciously. Not like that at all. People seemed quite open and I was impressed with the general knowledge of English. The Baltic states go into the EU very soon so maybe that has something to do with their openness. Went back to the main cathedral and had a look around. Very impressive with lots of nice paintings and an impressive altar piece. The Baltic states take their religion very seriously and the cathedral reflected a lot of civic pride. Well maintained, seemingly worshippers in there all the time and a general feeling that they believed (unlike in the west where I think that Christianity has become more the right thing to do rather than a firm belief).

I liked the central square with its variety of buildings and many streets that radiated away from it. There were some dancers in the square and it seemed lively. A small art market as well helped add to the atmosphere. There were many old buildings in the square including the inevitable church. We explored one building which had many rooms with paintings and furniture. Most of the paintings had a religious theme which we were to strike all over Europe.

Then back to the harbour and our ferry. And lo all was revealed. The Finns travel to Estonia for the cheap grog. Most returnees were absolutely loaded with cases of beer, spirits like you wouldn’t believe. If the ship had of sunk the area around would have been pure alcohol for 100 years!! Just shows how expensive booze is in Scandanavia.

Nice trip back to Helsinki esp past the harbour entrance and the islands that we visited.

Next day we decided to travel out to a small local town, Porvoo. Took a bus – travel time 45 min. Porvoo is also a really historical town with lots of old buildings. At the tourist office we had the chance of free internet (unbelievable for Scandanavia) so took it for ¾ hour. Then wandered around town following a tourist trail. Cobble stone streets, houses built with vertical boards and shingle roofs, nice old church and great riverfront. Latter had many restaurants and small cruise ships anchored. Also old style steam train which runs back into Helsinki proper. Porvoo overrun by local tourists. That evening we strolled up to the main church in Helsinki. Great sight on top of a small rise. It was built in the Russian style with the classic onion domes all over.

Next day we decided to move on to Finnish lake district out to the east and close to the Russian border. But first we wandered thru a church out on the point. It was a Lutheran church full of old paintings and the like. From there to the harbour and an area where a heap of sailing ships were tied up. Then on to the main ice breaker harbour. These huge ice breakers (6) were all tied up waiting for winter. And they WERE huge. Had names like Thor, Loki etc so guess who believed in mythology. Very impressive sight. Continued on around the point and watched boats come in to the commercial wharves and then down to the train station.

Nice ride out to Savonlinna about 7 hours away. Our ScanRail pass was used for the first time and the conductor knew what to do ie clip our tickets (the Swedes were not so smart!!). We were in tourist class and you have to book seats on all trips. Jump on without booking and you could be chased from spare seat to spare seat by those who had booked. We learned the ropes pretty quickly. Rail travel is popular in this part of the world.

Savonlinna is right in the heart of the Finnish lake district. In fact the lake system is really one huge river as there is a definite flow between all the lakes. The outlook was great and we traveled on narrow spits of land between these marvelous stretches of water. Pine forests in all directions with the occasional little village interspersed. Savonlinna was quite small and the camping ground was 7 km out of town. We got a bus out and then camped down near the water on a pretty rough bit of ground (right under the pine trees) I wasn’t too impressed esp as it cost EU 18 per night. We walked back towards town to find a superette so we could buy our evening meal. Very few people at the campsite so we had the facilities to ourselves. Mossies made cooking a bit of a trial but we managed.

Next day we walked back into Savonlinna. Followed an old railway line around the lake and just beat the rain. The walk was 7 km and good training for the camino. We went to the Tourist Office (hoped for free internet but it was up at the library). Then off to Olafinlinna Castle on a little island just south of the town centre. What a fantastic place. It looked like everyones idea of a castle. The lake was the moat, it had big thick walls and battlements, a courtyard and various halls and rooms. All the “mod cons” for middle ages warfare (judas slits, a keep, secure water supply, drawbridge etc). Most impressive esp the queens quarters which had a privy which was a little room set out over the moat. Quite high up so it would have been a queer feeling squatting there to do your business. The castle had just finished an internationally acclaimed opera season (mores the pity for us) and all the staging and scaffolding were still around. We went on a tour of the castle which took us to places that were otherwise inaccessible eg queens quarters, great hall, keeps and battlements. The tour was in English which was really good. It was amazing being on top of the battlements and watching quite large ships sailing by. The lake system has a lot of shipping – mainly boats moving between different chip and pulp mills and the like. They slid by through a very narrow channel between the castle and the shore. I would rate the castle as one of the best and most authentic that we saw. It looked like a genuine castle!!

Then back onto the mainland again and a wander around the foreshore. I liked Savonlinna – it was very pretty and the town had very much of a laid back atmosphere. The old wharf area had some markets and we sampled the local delicacy (………….. which was some sort of a pastry). The lakes dominated the town as it was built on a spit of land between two systems. There were two places where the lakes joined – at either end of town. Quite interesting; there was a reasonable flow of water from one system to the other but if you looked at the land everything seemed dead flat!! Walked home to our tent and some rain (one of the very few times we copped it in Europe). Next day back into town and quite a cold day. Highlight was a boat tour on the lake – about 2 hours. We sort of circled around the town by sailing past the castle, under a bridge, around the back of the town, under another bridge and then back thru a narrow channel to our wharf. The lake system has a small group of freshwater seals which the locals claim is the only population on earth. Well I did not correct them but any Russian worth his salt would. There are freshwater seals in Lake Baikal in Siberia. We didn’t see any though. After our return we walked thru town to a small island close by. Rather nice but the hotel/casino was a bit overdone. The place had some nice parks and an opera amphitheatre.

We left Savonlinna next day by bus for Roveniemi (Arctic Circle). The bus was necessary as there was no train north. We went up to a small timber town (Kuopio) and got a train from there. Curses – the ticket guy again clicked our Scan Rail passes. A long trip to Roveniemi and we arrived very late (close to midnight). Walked across this huge bridge and got to our camping site. I pitched our tent in pouring rain on a down slope to the river. Amazing: it was midnight but the old sun was still quite high in the sky so I could see everything very clearly. Magic moment!

The next morning everything was wet – the runoff under our tent was pretty awful so we decided to decamp to the nearest backpackers. Leah went with Derek a 68 yr old Kiwi from Waikanae, to town to check things out. They both found a hostel and we packed up and moved there It was OK – certainly much better than the campsite. The all night light was also a bit of a distraction in the tent so curtains were much appreciated. The place also had a good kitchen. As I remember the owners were a bit funny but I can’t think why. Sticklers for the rules I think. They were always found sitting on the balcony in full sun.

We then went for a walk around the town. Rovaniemi is the largest town north in Finland. and is built around two quite large rivers. They both join just to the north. The Arctic Circle is about 7 km north at Santaland an upcoming must do. I quite liked the place: it was occupied by the Germans during WW2 and they burnt it to the ground b4 they left. So it has been all rebuilt in the last 40 years. They had a great museum (and expensive!!) Arkitkeum which dealt with the Arctic, its history and inhabitants. Very good but the Lapland part was closed for redevelopment. So Leah had a go to get a price reduction but no go. Still it was pretty noteworthy. The wildlife section which was organized around dioramas was really great. Leah liked the section on the Lap people which showed how they lived b4 European influence. The way they killed their reindeer was amazing. A knife into the spine at the back of the neck sort of paralysed the beast. Cut the spinal cord but didn’t kill it so it was alive as they bled it, by opening an artery in the throat. Would you believe the reindeer didn’t feel a thing as it bled to death. Everything like everything was used.

Then caught a bus up to Santaland. Saw a herd of reindeer on the way out there but they would have been domesticated. Also got a good view of the ski jump. It was on top of a hill and looked quite awe inspiring (or fear inducing, depending from where you are looking). How those guys ever get the nerve to charge on down that slope I will never know. It apparently is the highest jump in Europe. Santaland - what a place. We stood over the Arctic Circle and then wandered around the complex. Went into Santa’s shop saw the old man himself and then selected some Xmas cards for posting to various lucky persons around the world. The whole place was completely set up for tourists and a bit tacky. Lots of shops and cafeterias. Leah saw reindeer pelts/blankets which she nearly purchased but at EU 40 her hands started shaking with the shall I shan’t I’s so she wisely desisted. They had all sorts of things on sale – Santas of every shape and size, candles, cards, nativity scenes for Jesus, you name it they had it. It was very cold so we walked down the road to the Arctic Circle centre. Sort of a side show place and the entry fee was more than we could afford (but almost anything is more than we can afford). So we got a bus back to town and spent the remainder of the day wandering around Rovaniemi. They had some nice shops and lots of mall type places. Natural I guess because it must be a pretty depressing place during winter and autumn. Cold and dark, snow and slush on the ground – not a pretty picture.

Next day we got up early to catch the train to Kiemi, south of Rovaniemi. Our plan was to train there, bus to the border with Sweden, another bus to Lullea and from there get a train to Stockholm. All in one day so we only used one click on our Scan Rail ticket. All worked out pretty well and we had some time at the border in the Swedish town of Haparanda. Saw an interesting modern design Church all made of corrugated iron with a copper roof. Nice and roomy inside but you had to like the contemporary look. Very untraditional and it would not appeal to everyone. Also visited a rather special shop which was located just off the centre of town. Near the town square. It was a real olde worlde general store straight out of the early 1900’s. We both loved it and especially the grizzled proprietor who must have been nearly as old as the store. They sold all sorts of stuff: a lot in the old tins and trays, old style dresses, shirts, trousers, nick nacks and all sorts of other things. An old cash register completed the feeling of “hello, Dunnets store, Galatea 1950”. No such thing as calculators or heaven forbid computers. I particularly liked all the old advertising signs around the main sales area. You know the sort – framed, nice colours, good quality paints with people who looked like people, Coca Cola (I think it was invented b4 1900), tobacco etc. The store frontage was not much to look at but it was the Antiques Roadshows treasure chest inside.

We didn’t bother booking train seats at Lullea which nearly proved to be a mistake. If you jump on without booking you take a chance (admittedly somewhat small) that you may not get a seat. Well we were moved probably about 3-4 times b4 we finally found seats that had not been booked. The relief – I could just about see us sitting in the aisle all the way to Stockholm (15 hours away). We had a swedish mum and daughter sitting opposite us and got into conversation. They came from a city (Kiruna) little north of Lullea and were telling us just how cold it can get in winter. Wow – 30 to 40 below freezing is not uncommon. It is dark the whole time during winter. The land is pretty flat so not much downhill skiing but they have a lot of cross country. The daughter was studying for her PhD at Gothenberg Uni – majoring in Social Sciences. Her thesis was concerned with the adaptation of new near east immigrants to life in Sweden. Apparently there are many problems not the least caused by the Swedes incredibly generous welfare system. Given the amount of tax they get off alcohol and ciggies I can see why they have a gold plated welfare system. So a long all night train trip finally ending in Stockholm early in the morning. We loved the city. It was a nice day when we arrived and the train station was right in the middle of the CBD close to Gamla Stan and the Harbour. First things first – accommodation. We checked all the usual haunts (YHA, backpackers etc) and found that most were full or didn’t have convenient rooms or were too expensive. Not to worry – we wandered around the city area and went down to the harbour. It was raining by now so not too comfortable but we found this hostel cum ferry (Rygefiord No 2) tied up in the inner harbour. Looked really good so we booked a double room (EU 40 per night – that was the most expensive place we stayed in all over Europe). Actually it was very good. The room was comfortable and we had access to a nice lounge. The only downside was that there was no kitchen so we had a cold supper (we got very good at sorting out cold cuts etc). Then wandered around the old city area (Gamla Stan) It was very historic – narrow cobblestoned streets, lots of old buildings, a large Ducal palace, a large fort, parliament, a couple of churches and many shops and galleries; most tastefully done. I liked the outdoor statues, particularly the one of St George slaying the poor old dragon. Very impressive esp as the horse seems to be doing more damage than good old George. Also liked the churches and the old merchants building which had a copper roof and red brick everywhere else. The wharf alongside the island was great with all its sailing ships and people selling, selling, selling.

We paid up and went into the Ducal palace aka Kungliga Slottet. Great entrance and some fantastic rooms. I loved all the huge paintings everywhere, the tapestries and tremendous carved reliefs on walls and ceilings. For one the paintings had a bit more variety than the usual religious themes. A lot of pictures of royal families, country scenes and the like. Lots of statues and exquisite pieces of carved furniture. Everything was a little over the top in some ways – like no expense spared. The Royal Family no longer live there but use it for state occasions, eg dinner in the elaborate dining hall (huge table with seating for god knows how many).

The boat cum hostel was somewhat expensive so we decamped for the island of Skeppasholmen and the Zinkensdamm hostel. Quite a walk through some old areas and up a fairly steep hill. Huge place and we were separated into different rooms. However it was fully equipped and we were quite comfortable.

Next day it was off back to Gamla Stan and a ferry across to another island Djurgarden. There was a sort of Lunar Park type place as you got off from the boat. We wandered around the area and had lunch in a small park area. The usual - bread and cheese .

There were three museums on the island (the Vaasa, a recreation of a medieval village – Skansen, and the Nordic museum which depicts scandanavian culture). We plumped for the Vaasa – a great choice as it turned out. The Vaasa was a large sailing ship and was built on the orders of King Gustav 2. The warship sank in Stockholm harbour (50 dead) on her maiden voyage in 1628. The thinking is that it was built too tall and narrow and did not have enough ballast to compensate. It was well preserved as the Baltic is low on salt and ship worms do not survive (surprisingly) and was discovered in 1958. The exhibition was fantastic. You could walk all around the outside of the ship and view it from all angles. Then they had a below decks section set up so that you could appreciate just how the gun deck and captains cabin worked. Not a lot of head room or room of any description for that matter. They did a snap shot of crew members and showed where in Sweden they came from. Mostly country boys. They also had video shows which explained the politics of the time and the reason for the ship being built. The thing that fascinated me the most is that old skills eg knot tying and rope making are being relearnt so that the boat can be fitted out authentically. There were some other boats tied up outside which were part of the exhibition but they cost extra so we gave them a miss.

Got a bus back into the city area and we sight saw for a while b4 heading back out to the hostel. Stockholm has a lot of nice parks and there always seems to be buskers and jugglers and the like around. We use the Tunnelbana (Metro) to get close to our hostel. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the stations and the trains (such a change after London and the like).

Next day we pulled up stumps and set off for Ostersund (central Sweden). Curses but it was at this point that I lost my nice black jacket. Just too much of a hurry and not taking enough time to check that everything was in place. That jacket was really good and I missed it greatly in the ensuing weeks.

Now we started to make progress on our Scan Rail ticket in Sweden. The conductors were not diligent and did not click over the travel date we entered on our Passes. So it meant that we could change the date later and get another trip (for free). We actually ended up getting two extra trips; all based on the Swedes generosity. No free lunches with the Finns or Norwegians though. Ostersund is on the Inlandsbanan the scenic inland railway that runs from central southern Sweden right up to Gallivare in Lapland. We did not go this way but took the regular service up thru Upsalla and Galve. Once we left the coast it was a really nice trip with great scenery. We followed river valleys most of the way and could see lots of typical farms with their big barns and picturesque wood and tiled houses (mostly whitewashed with red roofs).

Ostersund is a beautiful town right beside Lake Storsjon (huge). Of all the small places we visited it would have to be my favourite. We camped in the local camping ground about 5km south of the town centre. Had a spot close to a group of Harley Davidson bikies – Swedens answer to the Mongrel Mob!! Nice place though, close to large supermarket and pretty full. However lots of people had their own caravans or RV’s so the kitchens were fairly accessible. Now what made the town so good. Well the weather was uniformly nice, it had a wonderful museum, the town centre was OK and the lake was super pretty with an atmospheric island.

Now the museum: Jamtli. One of the best without doubt. It is in two parts – an indoor section which deals with all sorts of local history and the outdoor which is recreations of a number of periods through the areas history eg 1895, 15C and Viking. They have tried to make the exhibits as authentic as possible but in some places it gets a bit lost eg 15C farmhands raking hay who had cell phones. Still and all much was very good and we got to fork hay (Leah – on video), eat old style bread, participate in classroom activities and commune with the animals. People dressed in the traditional ways but again I thought they looked a little clean and tidy. Nobody washed 4/5 times a week in those days!! Still it was a good walk around and there was a lot to see (and do). The highlight was the indoors museum. You walked in to a basement area and followed a sort of time line., starting from a lot of the original fauna. The animals of central Sweden and Lapland were shown (wolves, foxes, eagles, ducks, goats, wild sheep, reindeer and others, voles, lemmings you name it they were there) in life like settings. Then the displays which focused on mans impact from the early days, through the middle ages and up to close to the present. Things like their houses, implements, social requirements, religion were explained really well. They lived very tough lives. The farmers spent 6 – 7 months a year up in the high pastures with their herds and the other 5 back at their cottage. The high pastures may have been many miles away so no contact with kith and kin during that time. The wife had to do all the work around the cottage while the old man was away and it must have been pretty back breaking. Fetching water, milking a reindeer (I think), chopping wood, cooking and raising the kids. We don’t know how lucky we are. This sort of life persisted until pretty recently ie say the last 75 years.

There was one truly spectacular piece - the 9/10C Viking tapestries, found in an outhouse attached to a church. Amazing that they survived. They were just bundled up and piled in a corner. There are three pieces which show animals, buildings and various other shapes. A video explained some theories as to what the designs represented. There were three theories – I liked the one that was to do with Ragnorrak and the end of the gods as per Norse mythology. You could follow the story thru elements in the design on the cloth. Very good diorama of typical cottages and explanations as to what people ate and how often they washed (themselves and their clothes): not often (once maybe twice per year!!).

A great visit but it was then down to the harbour for a lake cruise on the SS Thomee, an old steamer (1875). I didn’t think it was good value as we went west for half an hour and then turned around and came back. We didn’t see too much and the commentary was in Swedish so no good to we two kiwi’s. The only good thing was that it was a late start but the weather was warm and twilight lasted forever. We had our salmon dinner out in the full sun at 9.00pm and went to bed in broad daylight. Hard to get used to. Not helped by campers sort of careering around and making a lot of needless noise. Leah told them to “shut up” - no problems with translation there. And they all were compliant.

Next day it was off to the aforementioned island (Froson). We walked across the footbridge and got a bus from the island centre which took us out to the end of the line. We then walked to a house owned by one of Swedens best composers (Wilhelm Petersen). Never heard of him but apparently he is highly regarded in these and other parts. I can see why he would be a good composer though. His houses location is quite inspirational as it looks out over the lake with mountains in the background. Certainly would move one to great things. We then walked up top a famous church; Froso Krykka. Beautiful setting on the top of a small hill. It’s 11C and has a separate bell tower. The churches interior is an exquisite pink and grey colour. It’s location is so good that it ranks as Swedens marriage place of choice esp at midsummer. Now no buses back so a long walk in prospect. But Leah resourceful as ever pitches to a tour party leader and gets a lift in a tour bus back to the centre of Ostersund. Knowing Leahs powers of persuasion I was surprised that they didn’t drop us back at the campsite!!

What else to say about the town. Well they have their version of the Loch Ness monster (Storsjoodjuret), they have nice apartment lots and a lot of small churches. I could imagine that it would be a great place to live if you could escape during winter. Even golf courses close by.

Next stop Trondhiem – on a funny little train across the mountains. The train was really small, just two carriages and was like the commuter rail cars you used to see in places like Wellington. No such luck with our ticket – the Norwegian guards were on the ball and clicked us as soon as we crossed the border. Trondhiem (formerly known as Naidros) famous during WW2 and one of the many places around the world on my “to visit” list. So another one signed off

Trondhiem is half way up a long fjord of the same name. The old town section is built on a sort of an island between arms of the fjord. The railway station was a bit off to the seaward side of town and we spent a fair amount of time sorting out our accommodation. Finally found ourselves at the Trondhiem University Hostel (or should I say dorm). Certainly different – we were housed in this huge room with low stretchers or matresses all around. I got a mattress at one end and Leah had a stretcher nearby. Showers close at 11pm which caught you know who out – she had to be rescued. The accommodation included breakfast so that wasn’t so bad I guess. We had a nice dinner of Greek salad and potato at the café. It was an old round building and just over a bridge off the island. We explored the old city the next day. Highlight was the old city area and the Niadros cathedral (locally Domkirke). I never realized but Trondhiem is an established pilgrimage site and people used to walk from places like Stockholm or Oslo across country. The site contains the remains of Olaf a former 9C Viking king of Norway, He was a pretty brutal sort of guy and got involved in many battles and murdered lots of people. In other words a great Christian saint!! He was finally killed himself and buried locally. It became politic for the local church to canonize him to sort of bed Christianity in around the area so they disinterred him after about 40 years. The body was as good as new? so they reburied him in the cathedral. The church also attributed all sorts of miracles to his memory so he is now the “local” St Francis. The church is a huge building with a grey blue green sandstone exterior. Huge organ and we heard a recital a little later. It has a copper spire and some interesting gargoyles around the upper perimeter. Also some famous wooden carvings and an altar piece that shows the “good” side of Olafs life. We did the tour (in English!!) and then climbed up the spire to the walk way around the perimeter. Great views out over Trondhiem. Following the cathedral we tagged onto a tour of the Archbishops palace (for free, of course). We had lunch with half of Trondhiem it seemed in a park by the river – and very nice it was too. Back to the Cathedral for a service and then an explore around the streets of old Trondhiem. Tried to find the local free bike service run by the city council but nothing doing. They were all booked out. The idea is that you take a bike from a special rack by leaving some money (which unlocks the bike), beetling off for the day and then you get your money back when you return the bike. A bit like supermarket trolleys. However some tourists hold the bikes for days at a time so a good idea is basically undermined. We went back to the hostel, had tea and then off to bed. Next morning I did some laundry (quite a long walk up past the newer area of town) and Leah went off for a swim in this futuristic swimming pool down by the harbour. Actually I enjoyed the mundane as I got to see a couple of very nice parks, the old town wall and a pretty decent church. Leahs swim was probably the most expensive (KR110) that she has ever had but apparently it was a superb facility.

Next stop was the train station and a trip to Andalsnes, right in the fjord country. This was our best train trip to date. We first went up to a junction town Dombas where we had to wait for 3 hours to change trains. Dombas had a big shopping area with a supermarket chain called Kiwi of all things. Got a photo of Leah hamming it up with a troll but not too much else to see or do. A very commercial area. Then back in our new train and down the hill to Andelsnes. What a ride. We went down the world famous Rauna incline, following the river of the same name. Had commentary in English (after a request by Leah) which was really good. The track went thru numerous tunnels and at one point it did a double 180 switchback which included a few tunnels and a river crossing half way thru the procedure. The viaduct was a fair way up from the river so you wouldn’t want to make a mistake. Views were spectacular as it was really narrow valleys with all these high imposing rock cliffs. People farm up there which I found astonishing. They must rear mountain goats – it is just so steep. We eventually came out in the bottom of the river valley and followed it along to the town. Andelsnes did not have a lot to offer so we found the campsite (5km from town) and set up there. Not a bad place but expensive (KR90). We found out that the bus to Geiranger went right past the campsite so good news – we did not need to walk back into town!! Now Geiranger is the heart of the fjord country so a must do. To get there we had to pass over the Trollstigen (trolls ladder). I had heard about the Trollstigen many years ago – it sounded fantastic – and became another “must do” for me. We went for a walk in the area, following the river upstream a while and watched the local fishermen do their stuff. They were after salmon so Leah was really keen for them to be successful.

Next day pack up early and meet the Geiranger bus just over the bridge. So on to the Trollstigen. Amazing feat of engineering. There were around 20 switchbacks which meant that the roads gradient wasn’t too bad ie bikers could actually get up and over. (I think you would need to be pretty fit though, or Lance Armstrong!!). There were lots of stops on the way up and we spent some time at the top wandering around the main waterfall and across the side of the hill to a viewing point. What a view – down the valley towards Andlesnes. Photo opportunities galore. The river barreled over the top as fast as anything I had ever seen (until Torres del Paine Chile). Then it was on across the plateau until we came to the downhill into Geiranger. Lots of camping sites on the plateau and also the odd village (not literally: they were quite picturesque). The ride down to Geiranger was almost as bad as the Tollstigen – more curves than Rachel Hunter!! Again lots of stops to see the view esp over the Fjord. Wow, watching these huge cruise ships coming up the fjord was amazing. They looked so small from way up – just like matchbox toys but at ground level they were magnificent. There were three in this narrow fjord at one stage and that doesn’t count the ferries that go up and down. Geiranger was reputed to be the most scenic of All Fjords but I didn’t think that it was too great. Geiranger township was very touristy esp on the waterfront and we got away from it as quick as we could. We walked up the hill past a pretty awesome waterfall area and into the older more sedate area of town. The town had at one stage tried to build a mill right next to the falls but they were just so powerful that the mill didn’t work properly. There were a lot of houses up on top - quite a nice residential area. Also a big conference centre place and the old Union Hotel.

We decided not to stay and instead push on to Hellesylt, an old Viking town up another fjord close to Geiranger. So it was on to a ferry along with a whole heap of Scandanavian tourists and a sail up supposedly the nicest fjord in Norway. Well it wasn’t too bad and the three way (Norwegian, Swedish and English) commentary really helped. Now the walls of the fjord were as near vertical as makes no difference. We passed the Seven Sisters waterfalls so called because they are waiting for a suitable boyfriend waterfall. Well just across the fjord from the girls is a solitary large waterfall known as “the lover”. He is supposed to be trying to marry one of them but no luck sofar. Actually a better story would be that he did have it off with one of them and the other six are the off spring!! Half way down the lovers face is a rock shaped like a wine bottle – that is according to the Norwegians. I think my story is better and the wine bottle is really his John Thomas. Sort of goes with the procreation bit doesn’t it. There are over 200 waterfalls in the fjord in a trip lasting just over 2 hours. Also some farms!! Perched on the side of the cliffs. They were so steep that the oldies had to ties their children to posts to stop them falling into the fjord. They herded goats and sheep and made cheeses, woollen goods etc. What a life – no roads so all communication is by boat. Just getting down from their house to the jetty would be an exercise that Edmund Hilary could relate to. One farm was on a “flat” area ie it was slightly less steep than the others (small mercies). But it was in a small fertile area so they grew all sorts of fruit and vegetables.

Cruised out of Geiranger fjord and into Hellsylt’s where we docked mid afternoon. The campsite did NOT have a kitchen so we decamped for Stryn (by bus). Hellesylt was a bit like Geiranger but less touristy. Nice foreshore area and the inevitable fast running river right through the centre of town. The bus to Stryn was another nice picturesque drive and we found a campsite with a kitchen!! Cost KR 100 plus KR 15 each for a shower. Leah got talking to a fellow camper (I think) who explained why half the population were alcoholic. He was one of that half, definitely. Red face, bulbous nose and a wobbly walk revealed all. Stryn was a small town at the top of Nordgefjord, Norways biggest. It had a lively café culture. Well more like loud. In the campsite we were close to a bar with a band. And they went at it most of the night. All modern stuff so we copped it both ways ie loud rap and heavy metal.

Now the challenge was to make sensible further progress south towards Bergen. We didn’t have too many options. The best seemed to be to go to Vadhiem on the north side of Sognefjord and hope to catch

1) a ferry from Levik (a town nearby) across to the south side and bus it to Bergen
2) an ocean going ferry from Levik direct to Bergen
3) a bus to Balestrand (east along the fjord) and then a ferry to Flam and the railway
to Bergen

According to my precise calculations all combinations were possible but we had to make our connections. And the damned bus station was closed so we could not verify what we had to do. So we went onto the highway south and tried hitching. No luck but we were pretty half hearted. So off to the bus station and on a bus to Vadhiem. Nice drive around the fjord initially and then across country to Vadhiem. Once there we found that options 2) and 3) were not options. 2) was out because the ferry was super expensive; 3) was out because there was no campsite around Balestrand. So 1) it had to be. We hitchhiked to Levik only to find that the last bus to Bergen had just left and no more until the morning. Worse was to follow – the campsite at Levik was no longer operational and the local hotel was going to charge us an exhorbitant amount for a nights accommodation. And it started to rain. I had visions of sleeping in the local park. Guess what – we slept in the next best thing, a small area near the foreshore. Set up our tent in the pouring rain and had a cool nights sleep. The tent was soaking in the morning and whats more we missed the first bus. I could have sworn that it left at 10.30 but no we saw it get on the ferry at 9.30. Woe, woe – we had to wait until early afternoon for the next.

So on to the bus early afternoon and across the fjord to Oppedal on one of the two ferries that ply the route. Then down to Bergen. We were dropped off near the centre of town in and around the harbour. Bergen looked a pretty good sort of a place – it is Norways largest town to the west and is right at the head of the fjord. A big shipping terminal with all sorts there: cruise ships, ferries, fishing boats and cargo boats. Quite exciting to watch it all. The city had its old section but with highly expensive hostels. Most seemed to be fully booked but we found one near the harbour. KR 125 for a huge dorm area a bit like Trondhiem. It was only half full when we booked in but by bed time all 40 bunks were occupied!! Also a very small kitchen – I could see that being a problem later. We wandered around the harbour area which was really atmospheric. A large craft market in which Leah bought a moose teddy for Gillis and Martins son Valentin. Walked around the Bryggen, a number of colourful houses originally owned by Bergens merchants. More on them later. The wharf area was also inundated with restaurants and reminded me a bit of Darling Harbour in Sydney. They were all just as expensive.

Reasonable nights sleep even though there were the inevitable snorers. As we suspected the kitchen was a real trial as it was full full all the time. So we booked out the next day and went to a Christian hostel up by the railway station. Also pretty full and the bunks were interesting ie 3 high. God the top one was a mountain climb. Definitely not for the faint hearted and I promptly grabbed a bottom bunk. Leah slept straight above me. We then went back into town and the old merchants area. One of the old Bergen traders houses had been set up as a museum so in we went (after paying the inevitable huge entry fee). Just b4 that though we met a Norwegian guy (John) and his Chilean wife Diana. They were great to talk to over a cup of coffee. John was intending to head on out to Sydney and Diana planned to return to Santiago b4 joining him down under. In fact we worked out that she would be in Santiago when we planned to be there so we swapped phone numbers and the like. Great couple and John took his credit limit in hand by buying a glass of beer. Wow we couldn’t believe his daring or the depths of his wallet.

Now the museum was excellent as a representation of how the traders lived in the 17C. They mainly sold dried fish and imported all sorts of merchandise that were not otherwise available in Norway at the time. They lived in their houses more or less permanently along with various apprentices and other clerks and the like. Merchants room was pretty well set up with the inevitable secret stair way to his tame floosy. However the apprentices rooms were very basic. Beds were a box with a straw mattress and they slept two together. Light was terrible as they could not have too many windows (burglars and the like). It was amazing but the apprentice position was considered an ideal career option for middle class children in those days. Why amazing you say? Well the boys were beaten for even the slightest error, they stood guard most nights, the work was backbreaking and/or tedious and to cap it all they had these macabre initiation ceremonies when they came out of their time. They had to pass these tests or else they were not apprenticed!! One of the tests was that they were piled into a small boat, taken out into the harbour and then sort of continually ducked into the water by the merchant and his cohorts. Some drowned, others gave up – those failed the test and did not become junior merchants. Another test was that they were subject to a process of continual beatings back at the house. Same outcome – die or give in and you did not pass. So nothing like School Cert or UE and for the life of me I could not see the point. The houses were made of wood and would burn down at fairly frequent intervals. So another apprentice duty was to be a fire watcher and fighter when the need arose.

All the streets in the area were narrow and dark. An interesting area but back up to out hostel past the old leprosy hospital. Hard to imagine isn’t it. Leprosy? in a place like Bergen but it is true. The hospital had long since close but it is now a museum. Also passed a little park cum cemetery and a few churches. Didn’t go in though, we were a little churched out. Next day we organized our trip to Oslo. Down at the local railway station. First choice was a train straight in on our Scan rail pass. However the girl at the ticket counter was a great sales person and talked us into the Norway In Miniature excursion (EU 90 each). A big hole in our budget but it comprised a train ride to Voss, bus down to the fjord, boat ride to Flam and then the train up to Myrdal and a connection to Oslo. Probably really good value.

So it was onto the train and away. In the excitement though I left the Lonely Planet behind at the railway station. God, what a mistake. My second loss after my jacket in Stockholm. So it was a plead with the guard to contact the station, see if it was till there and then get it on the connecting train to catch us at Myrdal. Well there is a god in heaven as the process worked.

Anyway we got the bus at Voss and went on a really scenic drive to a hotel at Stadhiem. Beautiful countryside with farms that you would have thought had been prepared especially for we tourists. Green green fields, postcard houses, animals that were straight from an advertisers photo album and people dressed in their old traditional clothes (well at least it looked that way). Stadhiem hotel was famous as a watering hole for Kaiser Wilhelm (why some one would want to advertise that I wouldn’t know) and was perched on a cliff overlooking the fjord. And little did we know. The hotel was sort of olde worlde and quite nice, but expensive!! Lots of tour buses there with mainly old people it seemed. So back on the bus and then literally down the hill!! The steepest drive I have ever seen. It was incredible – the driver must have had something lower than first gear because he crept down at about ½ km per hour. And he passed buses coming up the hill. It was quite a ride – bare knuckle all the way down. No inclination to look at the scenery as it just reminded you how far down it was!!

At the bottom we piled onto a ferry and sailed up one fjord and then into the fjord that led to Flam. The fjords were nice but did not have the spectacular scenery of the Geiranger fjord. I guess that if you were seeing these for the first time then they would probably rate pretty highly. But we have been spoiled I guess and I thought that the fjords were a bit soulless. Flam was OK – we had lunch there but we were marking time waiting for the train ride. Flam is at the head of the fjord and its only real claim to fame is that it is the terminus of the Flam railway. Looking at the scale of the cliffs surrounding the town I sort of wondered how the train would get up. But there was a fast running river so perhaps the rail line follows it up the valley. Anyway the tractor units (2 of them) looked reassuringly robust so after a bit of a scrum we got in. And got seats what’s more. We were sitting opposite three very giggly young Norwegian lasses who occasionally tried out their very limited English on us. But at least they tried. I was right: we did follow the river valley which seemed to end at the face of a vertical cliff. The valley was pretty but we were seated on the valley wall side so didn’t see too much. Then it was up up up. The train went thru numerous tunnels crossed many bridges and went round many bends. Mountain scenery all the way ie very rocky, steep slopes, not too much vegetation esp near the top. It was all very stunning. I was amazed at the engineering. We went up at some incredible gradient – there were stations on the way up that we stopped at; one in order to let a down coming train go past. We went under a number of special snow catcher covers (sort of open “tunnels” with a roof) and best of all stopped at a waterfall where we all got out. Talk about laying it on for tourists: they had a couple of girls who would pop out of the mist alongside the ‘falls and dance on the rocks to this ethereal music. Actually they were very good looking (supposed to be witches) and the whole thing was quite well done. Also as you looked down the valley you could see a path, mainly for walkers but bikies had been known to go down. Not even Lance Armstrong could have got up!! One of the great rail trips but it would have been better if one could move freely from one side of the carriage to the other. Methinks it would be best to take the last train of the day.

Got to Myrdal and more or less straight away caught the train for Oslo. The trip in took us across what looked like a volcanic plateau and we caught sight of a couple of glaciers (quite small) and some ice fields. Nothing like South America as it turned out but we were impressed at the time. I liked the look of Oslo when we arrived. Nice station and modern centre but not too much high rise. We had booked our hostel (YHA) whilst in Bergen and got a local tram straight out there. Big hostel and quite expensive with the usual cramped kitchen. No mixed dorms so we were separated. Leah met USA Karen here. Karen had “escaped” the USA and was traveling the world preaching the evils of George Bush to all who would listen. And she was deadly serious. She was really switched on to all the anti Bush web sites and all the latest Dubya jokes which she emailed to this huge long list of people. She had pledged not to return to the US into he was out of office. (She may be in for a long wait). Good company for Leah though and she told us something of the local sights and sounds. My roommates were conspicuous by their absence – they all rocked into the room at 1 – 2am and were asleep well after I got up. That seemed to be the pattern whenever I was in a unisex dorm.

Next day off to see the sights of Oslo. We had a lot to do as recommended by Karen and others. A boat trip across the harbour to Bigdoy, a sort of peninsular area to the west of the main harbour. Bigdoy had an eclectic range of museums so it was an obvious choice for us. First a walk to the Norwegian Folk museum. It was a bit like the Jamtli place in Ostersund but probably a bit better as the people seemed more “authentic” ie no cell phones or watches. They also covered more periods in Norways past. They had a genuine stave church which was interesting. Stave churches are made from wood but what is unusual is that all the planks are vertical (not like Kiwi houses where the exterior planks are nailed on horizontally). They also had a steep wooden slat roof. Nice stained glass windows and all in all it looked pretty good. It had been transferred from a small village somewhere in fjord country. It also had dragon carvings around it if I remember rightly. We did not see a stave church around the fjord country but this was a pretty good substitute. The rest of the complex was a combination of periods. Lots of reconstructed buildings and people making the traditional stuff (pancakes, wooden implements, bread and the like) but it cost to taste so we did not indulge too much. I liked the area devoted to 1950’s small town life. Amazingly similar to small town NZ of the same period. They had a museum area with fixed exhibits. The section dealing with period clothes was particularly good. They could certainly sew in those days couldn’t they. Some of the wedding dresses were really outstanding. Overall highly recommended.

Then on to the Viking Ship museum. I went in to this and was to report back to Leah as to how good it was. There were three old Viking burials ships exhibited. They had all been found in peat marshes but only one (the Oseberg ship) survived in good condition. You could see very clearly how they were built, where the rowers sat, the oar locks and the high prow with the dragons head. None of the ships were ocean going (for reasons that escape me now) but still impressive. I enjoyed the display and it was easy to imagine just how much terror the poms and Russians would have felt when these things showed up. They were a fairly unique style of boat crewed by
warriors who literally “took no prisoners”. Lots of gold artifacts were recovered from the Oseberg site – many were quite exquisitely carved esp necklaces and the like.

Next the Fram exhibition. The Fram was Roald Amundsens ship that he sailed to the Antarctic. We were allowed onto the boat and could explore most areas above and below decks. It was especially built for sailing in ice (strengthened frame, no overlapping planks, steam and sail). Very compact, a bit claustrophobic below decks but you got a real feeling as to how they managed. I liked the area set aside for dog kennels. Dogs were the main reason why Amundsen beat Scott to the Pole. The latter used ponies which proved to be useless. Its great to get up close to these sorts of exhibits – much better than viewing from a distance.

On to the Kon Tiki museum. They had the Kon Tiki set up so that you could see all the features but no walking on deck or anything. Also exhibited the Ra II. An OK experience but it did not resonate with me as much as the Fram. I felt that there was a fair amount of “padding” with the supplementaries.

Leah went into the Maritime museum which she reported wasn’t her cup of tea. I was “shipped out” so wandered around the foreshore instead. All in all though an excellent day.

Back to the CBD and we wandered around the town for a while. It was just like any big city but the wharf area was nice with plenty of open spaces and a nice feel about it.

Next day we went to one of Oslo’s must do’s: the Munch museum. Edward Munch was Norways most highly regarded painter. He was a bit strange (mild schizophrenia?) and his paintings reflected that. Well Leah went in first to check it out and make sure that it was OK. She came back and waxed lyrical about how fantastic it was so off I went as well. And it WAS good. He painted in all styles and it seemed that the style of painting depended on his frame of mind. For example The Scream was Munch in his depressive state and he painted it in a variety of colours. Very psychedelic sort of painting – it shows the shape of a screaming girl. You see her face and a huge open screaming mouth, big terrified eyes and hands clapped over her ears. It was painted in a swirling style (Mark you would appreciate it I am sure) with strong vivid colours. Then at the other end of the spectrum we had The Sick Child showed a girl in bed with her mother? alongside. A very real moving painting – the girls face was painted a sickly white colour and she wore a white nightdress. So your eye was drawn to her and it was obvious that she was dying without you having to refer to the title. Munch’s sister died of consumption at a young age so people speculate that the painting was of her. Really effective – it was my favourite in the exhibition. The rest was also high class – lots of variety; he certainly was prolific.

I wandered through a couple of small museums close by while Leah had a swim. The Natural History and Geological Museums were OK (just) but there are probably other better things to see in Oslo. Still they were close to the Munch museum so it filled in some time. We walked around the area which was a poorer part of Oslo. I was surprised at the number of blacks and middle east people in the area. They were not visitors and I wondered how they managed to get residency (political refugees, illegals?). Still and all it seemed safe enough.

Our final day in Oslo was raining – a real shame as we planned to do Vigeland park. Well we went anyway but didn’t take much in the way of wet weather gear. Vigeland park is named after a world famous sculpture who did all these superb statues of the human figure. The park is full of them. All made of bronze and stone and all the figures cover every aspect of the human condition. Figures (all nude) dancing, fighting, posing, arguing, loving, kissing – almost everything you could think of. Leah really liked a statue of a little boy stamping his foot. So life like – it looked as if he would come to life any minute. He built an awesome statue about 18 – 20m high which shows people (babies, youngsters, adults, OAP’s) at all stages of their lives. A gigantic writhing mass of humanity all shown striving upwards to the top of the statue. It was a bit overwhelming. We did not stay too long as the weather got worse. Very highly recommended but on a fine day!!

We then got a tram back into town and hopped on a train to Gothenberg. Again the Norwegian conductors clipped our ticket so at this stage we had one extra days travel only. Gothenberg is a very old port city in southern Sweden. It’s so great in travel not having to go thru’ mindless passport controls. Viva the EU and Scandanavia!! I think that it is Swedens second city and very old. The centre has been well preserved with a few very nice palaces. However we arrived a bit late and the priority was a camping ground. The nuisance with the bigger cities was that the camping grounds were usually a long way out of town centre. Gothenberg was no different. And there was a festival on in town and they had a huge theme park (a bit of a Lunar Park style) so there were bulk large crowds everywhere. We got onto the cities trolley bus service and ½ hour later we arrived at the camp site – only to be told that it was full. Well, you know who did not take that at face value. We went off looking and managed to find a small space close to the kitchens and toilets. Very cosy but at least it was somewhere we could bed down. Thank god for our small tent – it was a cheapy bought in Perth at the Army Surplus Store but it proved to be a great buy. However not quite so good this night as huey opened up and we found ourselves on a mini stream going down to a small river close to our site. The whole of the bottom of the tent got wet as did our Therma rests and sleeping bags. What a mess but we weren’t the only ones. The kitchen area was covered with wet tents, bags and all sorts of other things. We packed our gear up as best as possible and then took off back into town.

First visit: the old Opera House (with a roof shaped liked two sails) which is now a museum. The museum is at the northern end of the main square. We had quite a walk to get there along streets that had been pretty well preserved. I liked the fact that the everything had been built in a sort of boulevard style ie wide streets and plenty of room on the side walks. We walked past a display of these super large photos taken from the air; a really famous exhibit which features on calendars around the world. Something for us to come back to later. As I said the museum used to be a palace. We went in to have a look at the Art Gallery which was spread over 3 or 4 floors. I always like the stair cases in these places. They are so damned wide and face you as you enter through the main doors. In some ways a complete waste of good space but It guess that if you are wanting to make a statement then this is the way to do it. We were glad to be indoors and out of this horrible drizzly weather. The gallery was really good. They tried to set things up by different eras. The usual range of 13/14th C religious paintings but once you got past that there was a lot more variety. Like landscapes, portraits, historical and some contemporary. They had a few Munch paintings there which was interesting after Oslo. Also one or two Rembrandts, Rubens, Brughels and the like. There were areas set aside for sculpture and the whole thing was very well done.

Then walked back to our photo gallery. A superb display of a couple of hundred photos taken from a plane of places all over the globe. Mostly landscapes and wildlife but there were some human interest eg a photo of all these nudists on a French beach. They all looked grotesque – I am not sure that the human figure is meant to be shown in the all together, unless it belongs to Elle McPeherson or Halle Berry or someone. None like that in France!! Continued our walk around the old town and the main shopping area. Went down to the waterfront, watched the boats come in and headed off to the railway station and got a train to Kalmar (on Swedens eastern coast).

Hooray, the conductor did not clip our tickets so another free day coming up. I don’t know why they just looked the ticket and passed on. It was obvious that they needed to be stamped, but who cares. We had to walk a long way in Kalmar to get to the camping ground. And it wasn’t that good. The ground was pretty rough and there were the dreaded mossies. Next day off to the castle – supposedly the best in Sweden. And it was good. The weather cleared up so we got to see all the sights and took part in various medieval activities eg archery. Neither of us hit the target so we won’t be offered a job by Robin Hood that’s’ for sure. Also ate some of the breads that were cooked in the 14C. Recipe – equal amounts of corn, wheat and coarse oat flour mixed together with water and salt to form a dough. Flatten a small amount, place on a tray and cook over a griddle. Serve with honey – yum. We also did a tour around the castle (English guide) which was good. The castle was built on a small island just (literally) off the coast. So you had the old moat and drawbridge. And all the turrets, judas slits, baileys and LH spiral staircases. I thought the best was the dining hall where they had set up a typical royal feast on this long table. No forks and the like in those days – just sharp knives which they used to stab the meat and vege and eat straight off the end. Lots of game (deer, pig, pheasants, duck, quail etc) and not too much in the way of greens. All the bones and other rubbish were thrown on the floor. They drank copious quantities of beer and wine. If my memory serves me correctly 14l of wine was just par for the course. It must have been quite a sight, and smell. And they did this night after night esp during religious feasts. Fish on Fridays, even though they were not Catholics (Lutheran?).

We went from there into town and got our provisions. On the way back we watched a line dancing of all things. Actually they were quite good – dressed up in their cowboy gear. Back to camp and another wet night and an even wetter tent. Everything got soaked so I had a big drying problem coming up. Not to worry – let nature take care of it and we wandered back into town. I went to a small museum and the Kronan ship exhibition. The Kronan was a large Swedish man of war which blew up in the 16C. Actually not long after the Vaasa disaster. They had really incompetent seamen in those days. The Admiral saw the Danish fleet coming so he got his crew to put on all sail, turn the boat around in a strong breeze to be ready to go to battle. Instead the boat heeled over, some torches fell into the gunpowder and the whole ship was blown to smithereens. Talk about an easy victory for the Danes!! It’s interesting but the guy who discovered the Vaasa also found the Kronan. It wasn’t as well preserved as the Vaasa but more than enough to get a good feel for how a working man of war was put together. I enjoyed it but felt for all the seamen who probably knew more about sailing the ship than their incompetent commanders but never had the chance to prove it. Leah went out and bought herself a hat.

After that decision time. Move on to Copenhagen or stay another night. I wanted to stay mainly to get the tent and mattresses fully dry, whereas Leah wanted to move on as there was nothing else to do in Kalmar and the weather was pretty ordinary. We did think of hiring bikes and riding over to Oland island but the cost was fiendish and the weather was windy and wet. In the end Leah prevailed, we rushed back to camp, packed up in 5 minutes, got a taxi back into town and got on the train with literally 1 minute to spare.

Actually our arguments were mainly about whether to stay or go. Not too much else – I guess that it reflected our different approaches to this part of our travels. I sort of preferred to stay and see all the sights whereas Leah liked to see the main stuff and move on as quickly as possible. We never really worked that one out.

So on the way to Copenhagen and the weather cleared up. We went through the tunnel under the Skagerakk and into Copenhagen station 4 hours after leaving Kalmar. (I can’t remember if our ticket was clipped or not). 2 Hours after that we struggled into the campsite 8 km north of the city centre. The office was closed so we found a spot and pitched our tent.

The morning revealed where we were. Charlottelund Strandpark was a camping ground built around a lot of old fortifications guarding the approaches to Copenhagen. The fort was called Charlottelund and had old trenches, walls, lookout points and best of all a whole heap of old mortars mounted all over the place. Leah did her usual thing – went to the office and booked for two nights (not including the night we arrived of course. She was very good at that) A lot of campers left that morning so we relocated the tent over by one of the guns. It was a great situation; nice and clean and we could not be camped out on two of the four sides. Along walk to the ablutions but I thought it was a great historical site and we could easily walk to the beach. So off to town on the local bus. We got dropped off in the main square and sorted out what we ere going to do. Programme was a nice park, Carlsberg Brewery, then Tivoli Gardens. We both liked the Brewery which now doubles as a museum. We had a free guided tour, the best part was a visit to the stables where they housed all these fantastic large horses. They use them in parades and look after them like royalty. The horses are “dressed up to the nines” and drag all these old beer carts around the town. They had coopers, farriers, saddlers, al sorts in the stables. A real trip back memory lane and a bit like the horses used by Youngs Brewery in London in the 70’s. Even better though was a pint of free Carlsberg in the bar. Now that was worth waiting for!! Carlsberg is now one of the biggest Breweries in the world. The history and competition with Tuborg over the years made interesting reading.

Back to town after a bit of a wander in the area and then back to Tivoli. Tivoli Gardens are world famous and we had a great time sampling all the freebies. They had all sorts of entertainment – the rides and side shows cost so we passed but we attended all the free stuff

• Brass band concert
• Kids pantomime
• Mini circus with trapeze artistes and the like
• Classical concert
• Big band with modern stuff.

All in all a great night and we didn’t get back to camp until late.

Next day back into town and a limited choice as we were a bit over our EU 60 per day target. So I went off to the planetarium and Leah to the Carlsberg Glyptotek, an art and sculpture museum. The Planetarium was OK (just) but the Glyptotek sounded a heap better. It featured Eutruscan art and had a lot of greek statuory. Apparently there were a lot of Gaughin paintings there as well. It seemed that Leah made by far the better choice. Certainly looked good from the outside.

A word about Copenhagen. I liked the look of the place. The buildings weren’t overbearing and they had a good mix of old and new. The streets were nice and wide and there wasn’t too much traffic. The main square was only a short walk from the railway station and there were always buskers and street performers there. Also South Americans (mainly Peruvians) selling all their supposed traditional gear (rugs, ponchos, wicker work and the like). A couple of guys would periodically get up play some Peruvian Indian songs and then promptly charge straight into the crowd and try and sell CD’s.

We walked from the Glyptotek to Christiana, the hippy capital of Copenhagen (and also world famous as the free drug centre of the country). Christiana is a small suburb about 20 minutes walk from the centre of town. All the old 60’s houses are preserved there as is the way of life (and dress) of that time. It is set up as a sort of self governing commune and although all the right wingers in Government want to close it down it has somehow survived, Leah went on a guided tour (with translation) and I wandered around by myself. (The old budget again!!). She enjoyed the walk but not the heat of the day (and it WAS hot). I quite liked the atmosphere and the markets where they were selling hash and coke quite openly (and legally apparently). I tried to get off the beaten track but it was hard as the area was small and there were tourists everywhere. I thought that a lot of the locals were trying hard to preserve a way of life but under a lot of pressure to commercialise their “hippiness”. But at the same time there is a waiting list to get in.

Leah was feeling a bit done in by the heat so we headed back to the campsite – a swim and shower for her and a wander around the fort for me. From the lookout you could see right out over the Skagerrak and the bridge to Malmo and Sweden. It was quite a sight and the boat traffic thru the straits was continuous. Good navel gazing territory: nice to think back on what we had done and what we had to look forward to.

Last day in Copenhagen saw us over towards Christiana again and Our Saviours Church. This church had an amazing spire with a spiral staircase made out of copper winding around its exterior. You walk up all these stirs inside the building and emerge on a platform. The spiral starts from there. It progressively gets narrower as you go up and it is steep. I tried the day b4 … and failed. Couldn’t get past the first complete spiral. The heart was willing but my damned legs refused to obey. 20 KR down the drain. Well you know who tried the next day …. and succeeded!! A great view apparently but how would I know. The church was fascinating otherwise with some great ikons and alterpiece. At least I will take consolation in the arty farty stuff. We then walked back to the central station via Copenhagen’s main shopping centre. Went via Storget Street and the library (right on the waterfront). We had a quick look around b4 plunging into a maze of side streets to the station. Lots of old shops, pubs, houses and churches. You had to pay to get into the latter so that was off limits. I remember a round tower (old water tower?) which was a bit of a local landmark.

We got on the train to Aarhus and were a bit lucky. We didn’t realize but the train was in a few sections. We got in the wrong one and had to move forward (packs and all) to another carriage. What a performance – the train was chokker so we were not too popular I can tell you. Just as well we didn’t know Danish: I am sure our ears would have been burning otherwise. What made matters worse our Rail Passes got clicked so no freebies in Denmark.

We arrived in Aarhus late (as usual) and managed to find a bus out to the Bloomerhaven camping ground which was some way out of town. Not a bad site right on the beach. We had bought our dinner in town b4 we left so no problems there. There were some nice walks in the area through a small forest and we weren’t too far away from an interesting tourist attraction, which I will come to shortly.

Next day after breakfast we were off to Moesgard Museum. Moesgard was a country estate the main mini castle had been converted into a museum. All the old outbuildings (hay barns, cow sheds, workers quarters etc) were still there so it was a bit of a step back into time. We “hitched” a ride with the local bus to the start of the road into the complex. Leah is great at working these sorts of deals – I don’t know how she does it!! Anyway Moesgard was well worth the entry fee. There was a photo exhibition plus examples of their clothing etc of Afghanistan of all places. Not bad but not what we came for. There was an excellent museum dedicated to Danish prehistory. A series of dioramas dealing with various stages of prehistory. The dioramas were all related to a time line but I can’t remember when it actually started. The dioramas were used to display the various things that the stone aqe people used. You know: the usual things, clubs, spears, nets, clothes, huts, carvings and the like. There were a lot of peat bogs in the area so things got pretty well preserved. The highlight of the exhibition was Graubelle Man, a bit like Tolland man. He was a guy who had been ritually murdered around 80BC and then thrown into one of the peat bogs. It was pretty gruesome. The guy was very well preserved so you could easily see how he was done away. They fed him a sort of a porridge made from 50 different grains (plus some small stones!!). They then walked with him somewhere and one guy got behind him and smashed him around his knee. (That was obvious from looking at the body). Now comes the grisly bit – they then proceeded to cut his throat. God, they nearly sawed half his whole neck off. The wound was huge and ugly: you could see has spine from the front quite clearly. The scientists theorized that the blow to the knee sort of immobilized the guy so that he would be in huge pain and thus easy to hold. They think that he was a sacrifice of some sort. Amazingly well preserved; his skin was like leather and his hair had turned red. They have apparently found a number of these sorts of ritual bodies in the bogs – of all the Tolland man (the guy who was garotted) is the most famous. A very interesting visit and one in which we could have stayed a lot longer. But we had a bus to catch so we wandered around the area and walked thru a bit of a forest back to the bus stop.

Into town and we had a look around the old section, which was small and a bit disappointing. I seem to remember some churches and a few old style shops but they obviously did not register strongly. But it lead us back to the supermarket and food, glorious food. It was then back to the campsite and another nice evening.

Next day we were off to Germany. Target – Hannover. Well we had some issues trying to get ourselves into town. My usually infallible reading of bus timetables let me down and we missed an important bus. We ended up walking a fair way b4 (finally) catching another and then just making our train. We had to train to the Danish/German at Tonder. Same problem as at Copenhagen – we had to make sure of the carriage. In any event we had to change at Frederica and had lunch there in a local park. The blasted Danes clipped our ticket again so no more chances of free days travel. Actually we did quite well; thanks to the generosity of the Swedes we ended up with two extra days travel. I wonder if the Germans will do the same.

No problems at the border. We changed trains and (damn) the conductor clipped out German Rail Pass. He would not take our Scan Rail Pass into account. Worth a try though. So three days of travel in Germany left. We had a 4 day per month pass, which really should be enough.

Scandanavia was a great experience. Finland was my favourite place and of all the major cities I most enjoyed Helsinki. I thought that it had a lot of ambience but I think that winter may be hard to survive. You spend an awful lot of time indoors and it is dark for most of the day. A pretty depressing thought. We covered a lot of ground in a short time which did cause some “debates” at times. I would have rather stopped and smelled the roses a bit but Leah had her programme and we got thru OK after all. Most things worked out and the extra days of travel on our Scan Rail were a god send. They gave us a bit more flexibility. Scandanavia is expensive though. We spent EU 60 per day on average and that is with NO ALCOHOL and camping more than half the time. You paid for everything – museums, art galleries, side trips (eg Flam) and the food even at supermarkets is not cheap. But we were careful and ate well. We had no problems switching between the various currencies as it was easy to relate Kroner etc to the Euro.

Highlights Vaasa ship museum (Stockholm)
Flam railway (Norway Fjords)
Jamtli Folk museum (Ostersund)
Olafinlinna Castle (Savonlinna)
Trollstigen (Norway Fjords)
Helsinki city (ambience and great harbour area)
Munch Museum and Vigeland Park (Oslo)
Straddling Arctic Circle (Rovaniemi)

So on to Hannover a city south of Hamburg. I am in charge of the German programme and Hannover is a bit off the main tourist route so it seemed as good a place to go as anywhere else. Well in taking over the programme I didn’t realize that it included finding accommodation. So stress stress for me when we arrived. I was quick to find that the camping site was miles out of town so we headed for the hostel. Great choice as it turned out. We got a tram out, followed the map and found it quite easily. The hostel was large and unisex. So we were put in separate dorms. But it had a great dining room area and breakfast was included in the price. Another reason the hostel was an inspired choice – it was close to a beer hall. Yay, at last beer that won’t cost us an arm and a leg. And a chance of the special dinner of the night, which was something and something and a free stein of beer!! It was also close to the main sports stadium and the training grounds for the Hannover Bundesliga team. There’s more; it wasn’t too far from town ie easy walking distance. So a most pleasant introduction to Hannover.

Breakfast was probably the best we have had, mainly because we could load up with bread rolls, cheeses, salami, fruit and some other things and hello that was lunch as well. So next day off into town through the sports arena area and to the Tourist office. Actually quite a lot to see in Hannover; like the big floral gardens, the tropical gardens, Town Hall and the so called Red Line. Actually it was quite a good idea. You followed this Red Line around the city area and it took you past all the sights. In the centre there weren’t too many. Hannover was pretty badly bombed during the war as we were to see in the Town Hall so a lot of the old stuff had been flattened. I was impressed by the Town Hall – the bombing missed it amazingly as everything else in the centre was hit. It was a great building with the usual wide staircases, big hallways and statues everywhere. We spent some time at the model table. This depicted a model of Hannover through the ages. There was one of Hannover in 1938 looking really good with a well preserved old city centre. Then another model done to show 1946. There was hardly anything left standing.
War is such a futile exercise, isn’t it. I can’t remember too much else of significance. A nice cathedral, a street that retained some of the old character and some old style shops (butcheries if I remember rightly). We spent a bit of time window shopping in the main pedestrian areas and that was pretty much the centre of Hannover.

The highlight was the Town Hall though. We went up one of the corner towers in this unique lift. The tower slanted inwards as it got higher and the lift followed the slant as it traveled up . The higher it went the more severe the slope. A really unusual feeling as the floor stayed level yet you could feel (and see) the lift tracking in against the side of the tower. It went up quite slowly so that exaggerated the effect. But great views across the city in all directions. I like these sorts of European cities as they tend not to have big skyscrapers blocking things out.

So back to the Hostel and another feed at the beer garden. We walked around the sports ground and lo and behold there was a rugby ground, of all things. It was very nicely set up with small stands but I wondered who would play there, especially right in the heart of football (soccer) country.

Next day we went off to the Gardens – the Herrenhausen. These were superb gardens developed by Queen Sophia back in the 18C. They were very formal ie laid out in precise geometric patterns, with the usual fountains, statues of greek gods, band rotundas, open air theatres and lots of gazebos. I really liked it – there was an abundance of different plants all over. You had the flower beds near the front and the arboreal section towards the back. Plenty of areas enclosed by hedges for special displays and they had this amazing fountain which shot a jet of water up about 60m. A huge area; you could easily spend all day wandering around without repeating anything. We went from there to the tropical gardens just across the road. Quite good but we had to pay to get into the hot house so ended up in the parklands.

Walked home through a forested park area and then down this very busy road. What else about Hannover? Well on the last night we walked back to the Hostel and went past the sound shell. Huge crowd there anticipating the arrival of a US band (Zee Zee Top) They turned up in this large black truck cum caravan – police everywhere. Well our beer garden was right next door so we came down later bought a couple of beers, grabbed a seat and had a listen. They were good and for us it was free entertainment. Another morning we were walking thru the park and stopped for a while and watched the Hannover Bundesliga team in pre season training. They had to be the main team as there was a considerable crowd there.

So it was off to Berlin. We left fairly early and found a seat on one of the EU’s fast trains. And you know what. Our ticket was NOT clipped so a free day!! I said one of the EU’s fast trains: believe it. They had put speedo’s in the carriages and it clicked just over 250km/hr. Wow, talk about low speed flying, it was an amazing feeling. The fields just raced by and it seemed we were in Templehof in no time at all. I was looking forward to Berlin, probably for all the wrong reasons. It was the capital city of the Third Reich, Hitlers history and the Wall of course provide a macabre attraction. We went straight to the Tourist Office to find out about accommodation. Now we had a bit of a barny over money. Leah went and bought these Berlin passes at some huge cost – WITHOUT DISCUSSING WITH ME. I was a little aggrieved at that as we hadn’t decided what we were going to do, where we were going to do it and which attraction qualified for the Pass and which didn’t. So things were a bit frosty for a while.

Anyway ……. whatever we had to find accommodation. Off we went to a Hostel half way between Tempelhof and the Unter Der Linden. Nicely placed and we managed to cop a tent site out the back of the hostel. Couldn’t have been better as it was half price in relation to taking a room. And breakfast was included. So far so good.

As I said the Hostel was nicely placed, right alongside a tributary of the Spree and close to all the main attractions. Like the Unter der Linden, the Reichstag, Brandenberg Gate, Wilhelmstrasse, Checkpoint Charlie, East Berlin – I could go on. So off we went and walked into town, through this really famous park (whose name escapes me at present) and along a very wide avenue. I think there are many famous photos of Hitler and his legions of SS marching along this particular avenue (whose name escapes me). It didn’t take too much imagination to see all the Black Shirts, the flags, the torches and hear the “sieg hiels”. Wow, a creepy feeling. But in the era of political correctness all the main roads were named after allied war heroes. And there were a lot of statues as well - again all allied war heroes. Interesting that there was nothing dedicated to our Russian heroes. I guess that this was the old West Berlin and the cold war would have been in full swing when all those streets were named and statues erected. We wandered over to the Brandenberg Gate. It was a real landmark and was quite isolated from everything else. The old Wall use to run either side of it and that no longer exists. The Gate is a huge concrete monstrosity with all the wrong associations. It was a big rectangular shape made from concrete. The horses and winged messengers of the old Gods (Mercury, Hermes?) are still there. There was a big open area on the western side of the Gate and the Unter Der Linden ran straight east.

The UDL is a wide boulevard with a line of scraggly looking trees down the centre. I suspect that is where the name UDL (Under the Leaves) came from. You could imagine the area looking quite good when the trees were in leaf (but not in August). We walked down the UDL quite along way as far as museum island. Walked past a famous hotel (whose name escapes me) and also the ugliest building I have ever had the misfortune to see. It was a squat rectangular building. Small windows, concrete everywhere, a lot of it falling off, a low iron roof – just a box and a horrible place. Words fail me. And the authorities cannot (or will not) bowl it over. It is full of the old blue asbestos apparently. So there it sits; splendidly alone and a real eyesore. What is most amazing people actually worked in it until fairly recently. No wonder they all tried to go over the wall!!

Museum island was a great area. A small semi island surrounded by small canals with a number of eclectic museums. There were a number of large trees all about and an amazing sight – as it turned dark all these large black birds flew in and set themselves down. The noise was horrendous: I means there were thousands and thousands of birds and all gathered on three or four large trees.

We then got a bus right out to the east of East Berlin to a large square, the Red Square I think. Lots of fairly ordinary statues, a few open air restaurants but not hugely atmospheric. So we bussed back to the start of the UDL, looked around a few small shopping areas and tried to find a cheap beer hall but no luck. There were a large number of people out and about – mainly tourists and a lot of Americans. We then walked back to the Brandenburg Gate and queued up for the Reichstag. I was expecting to see the building in something approaching its pre war form. But it is being refurbished for the German parliament so a lot was covered up. The building is quite close to the gate and is very accessible. I think that probably a lot of the exterior was much as it was in the 1930’s. A lot of concrete and tall columns and the like. We went around to the entrance and lined up. Half an hour later we were in. A lot of security and we got a lift to the roof.
Great view from the top all over Berlin. You could see how the Spree wound in and out and around Berlin. Lots of cruise boats plying up and down and all full.

Santiago de Compostella

One of the best experiences of my life was the walk across the top of Spain. From South West France (St Jean Pied de Port) to north western Spain (Santiago). We covered 764 km; all on foot following the Camino Frances, the old pilgrims route. A wonderful tramp – we met many many great people, saw some amazing sights and had many really interesting experiences.

The Compostella de Santiago is a long established pilgrims route. Its history is quite interesting. Santiago NW Spain (or more correctly the province of Galicia) was the area where St James the Elder was supposed to have preached after Christ was crucified. He did not have a lot of success so went back to Jerusalem where Herod had him run through with a sword. I think that he was the first disciple to be martyred after Jesus’s crucifixion. Anyway legend has it that his body was preserved, taken to a boat and magically transported back to Galicia. He was then supposed to have been buried somewhere around the present sight of Santiago. We now fast forward to 800 AD when a hermit by the name of Pelayo was guided to a burial site by the light of lots of stars. He found an impressive mausoleum there and told the local bishop. The Bishop very quickly declared that this indeed was the tomb of the apostle and in doing so established a reason for the pilgrimage. Cynics like me wonder if the whole thing was a set up. Galicia was an impoverished area and the old bishop was probably a smart businessman. Never let an apostle slip by unsanctified.

People argue about the meaning of the word Compostella. On the one hand it can be taken to mean Field (Compo) of Stars (Stella). Or equally cemetery (compostum – a Roman word) as a Roman grave site was located there.

Irrespective the site of the tomb attracted people from all over Europe. The Roman Catholic church encouraged the pilgrims trade, for less than spiritual reasons.

1) The Moors were then in control of most of Spain so it was a way of maintaining a Christian presence
2) Jerusalem was no longer accessible as a pilgrimage destination (as it was then a Moorish stronghold)
3) It enabled the Church to consolidate its hold on the population and as the provider of services it gathered an awful lot of money from the pilgrim trade.

Santiago (which means Saint James) grew up around its Cathedral. The present day cathedral has been developed over 1200 years and is one of the most important in Christendom. I could give a blow by blow on its layout but unless you are into those sorts of things it won’t mean too much. Suffice to say that it is a magnificent place and certainly provides an inspiring backdrop to the conclusion of the walk.

So the pilgrimage has been in existence for over 1000 years. People came from all over Europe, for many reasons. Some came as an expression of their spiritual beliefs, some came as tourists and others came to expiate their sins. In Holy years by completing the walk convicted criminals could have their sins forgiven. Some people did the walk on behalf of others in order to gain merit.

There were a number of routes leading into the most famous ie the Camino Frances. You could start in (say) Paris and walk south through Tours, Bordeaux and on to St Jean. Other would start in Veselay in north central France, then progress down through Nevers, Limoges and so on to St Jean. We have started on a famous route which originates in Le Puy en Velay (SW of Lyon). This route takes in Conques, Figeac, Moissac and the like and on to St Jean. Finally if you are traveling across Southern France you would start at Arles (near Avignon), then Nimes, Toulouse, Lourdes, Pau and then through the central Pyrenees at Somnport. The start points I have indicated are places that pilgrims traveled through. For example if you were a pilgrim from Austria you would walk through Switzerland and down through Le Puy. Italians would take the Arles route. Germans would travel through Veselay or Paris, and so on.

There were also routes in Spain and a famous one from Portugal.

We followed in Marks footsteps by walking the Camino Frances from St Jean (he started in Roncesvalles). We camped for a few days in St Jean whilst we got our bearings and registered for the walk. You have to register as a pilgrim if you want to stay in the various monasteries, refugios, seminaries, all set up for the pilgrim trade. You “buy” a Passport which you have to get stamped at all the places in which you stay overnight. I also got a scallop and a staff. One has to look the part and get into the spirit of things, you know. So we were ready to go. At 2.00pm which was a bit late as we had to cover 27km through the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles. I elected to take our tent and ended up with over 17kg on my back. Far too much as it turned out. You could easily get away with no more than 10 kg. You don’t need a tent, sleeping bag, thermorest, cooking gear or anything like that. We really overdid it, but our excuse is that we were on a RTW trip and those items were needed for later (which they were).

An aside, Aussie mate Tom Lester caught up with us in St Jean. He was on a push bike and registered to do the pilgrimage as a cyclist. He can come again – he bought scrummy buns to us at our camp site with cheese and whipped cream on top. Not on the same bun I might add!! He took off well b4 us.

So off we went. And spent the first night under the stars in the middle of the Pyrenees. We did not make the 27 km to Roncesvalles but managed to find a bit of flat ground 2/3rds of the way there. The Pyrenees are overrun with sheep so we spent most of the time clearing a poop free space b4 pitching our tent. It blew a gale and we had these Basque guys passing in their little white Renault vans all night. I reckoned they must have been the mountain branch of ETA. Amazing vans – we got a ride in one next day. I would have loved to have had the local Renault dealership!!

Next day it was blowing like crazy. Come back Wellington all is forgiven. We really struggled for the first 5 km and then Leah flagged down a (guess what …….) Renault van. A local hunter with dogs, shotguns and all gave us a lift over the divide and down to our turn off. Leah got the front seat – I was in the back with the peripherals. Or was I the peripheral?

Anyway over the divide the weather eased and we crossed the border and had quite a good run? down to Roncesvalles. The Pyrenees highest point here is around 1,500m asl and it was a steep walk into the monastery. There also was a famous battle near Roncesvalles in the dark ages. Roland a famous figure in Spanish/French history was killed here in some amazing rear guard action against the Moors. They have erected a big statue to his memory near the site

Roncesvalles is a monastery which dates back to the 12th century. It was set up as a hospital (the word hospital had a meaning different from how we know it now) to cater to pilgrims. We got our passport stamped at the church? and then bunked down at the so called hospital. Our first introduction to the communal living of the Camino. And a feature I grew to really like. Our room was just that - communal. Guys and gals all together. I think about 50 spaces in a single room and it was first come first served. The local monks and volunteers gave us a mattress and blanket and we had to find our own space. Toilets and showers etc were down stairs so clothes changing etc was an exercise in public privacy. For us a real experience and a quick removal of all those protestant inhibitions. We learned quickly that you spotted the snorers and got as far away from them as possible.

We had our first Camino pilgrims meal (3 course + bottle of wine = EU 7.00) and met a Dutch couple who told us a little more about the St Jacques thing in Spain. They were the first to point out that he was depicted as a moor slayer by the Spanish Christians. St Jacques painted on flags riding into battle with his sword and cross was a fairly common image in the early middle ages. We also went to a catholic church service in the local chapel where our upcoming pilgrimage endeavours were blessed. I quite enjoyed it – all we pilgrims had to stand in a circle around the local priest, repeat our names and where we came from and he then gave us a little sermon of encouragement.

We were woken at some ungodly hour in the morning (6.30am if memory serves me correctly) to the sounds of matins. We had to breakfast and move out pretty quickly. The people in charge (volunteers from Holland) were on the case and we were on the road by 9.00am.

I enjoyed the walk down the mountain to a small town called Zubriri. We passed many small villages and walked through various forests and across small streams. Zubriri had a municipal hostel where we all stayed. It was pretty basic, cost EU3 and as with most others was communal. The town was tiny and only had two small tiendas (shops) where we could buy provisions. Quiet night but Leah picked up a book (Germs, Guns and Steel) there which became compulsory reading at quite a few stops. I also talked to an East German who was returning from Santiago. He had walked from Dresden to Santiago (2,000km) and now was walking back. So 4,000km in total!! We were gobsmacked but he wasn’t the only maniac.

Next day – Pamplona. The city of the running of the bulls. A famous historic city with some fantastic buildings. It was a long walk in through then suburbs but we managed to get into a sort
of monastery hostel. The hostel was a small room built into the side of the cathedral. I think it may have been old sleeping quarters for the novices etc. Anyway it was primitive – 24 bunks crammed close to each other, men and women together and only a couple of showers and toilets between everyone. I made a real bad mistake here. I bunked underneath a South African guy who turned out to be the worst snorer I have ever heard. He was a snorers nightmare!!. The people alongside us spent all night slapping him, turning him over and shaking him but to no avail.
Old Guy just kept on snoring away.

We spent the evening wandering around Pamplona. There were some great streets and cafes which traded on the famous people who had frequented them. Hemmingway spent time in Pamplona and one (maybe two) of his books were written there. “Death in the afternoon” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” spring to mind. The main plaza was an atmospheric place and we perambulated around the old city walls. That is one thing I really like about a lot of Europe. They have made an attempt to preserve the best of the past and the central plaza concept in Spain was ubiquitous. Every village no matter how small had it’s town plaza, with Cathedral attached. It was a place for the locals to gather, to sit in the sun or to converse. The larger ones had chess games set up, the weekly market would often take place in the plaza, there was nearly always a water fountain (which we came to appreciate) and they invariably had a great ambience. Pamplonas plaza was quite huge but others eg Burgos wasn’t so big. Anyway Pamplona was a nice intro to the bigger cities spread along the camino. We first met Mathilde here. A lovely young French lass from Roussac in the lower Dordogne. We were destined to cross paths with her a number of times on the way to Santiago.

Back at the monastery Leah inveigled her way in to the kitchen and cooked our dinner. We usually cooked at the premises in order to save a little money. Even at EU 7.00 each for a pilgrims meal the cost mounted up after a while, so we made a point of buying supplies at the local tienda or supermercado and doing our own cooking.

The next day we were off early again. That was the one downer about staying at the refugios. You could only stay one night and you had to leave early the next day. So you never had a chance to have a really good look around the town esp the bigger places. Our next destination was Estella, about 25 km away.

Well I could go on about the camino on a day by day basis. However I think that would be a bit boring so I will focus on the highlights. And there were many.

In summary we walked for 759 km over 37 days. The trip was from St Jean Pied de Porte to Santiago de Compestella. We averaged about 20 km per day – the longest day was 33km and the shortest about 9. We passed through a great variety of towns and cities and I have listed out some of them below along with their key features.


Day Town Where we stayed Distance (km)
0 St Jean Pied de Porte (Fr) Campsite 0
1 Roncesvalles (Sp) Old Hospital 27
2 Zubriri Municipal Hostel - met Mathilde 48
3 Pamplona Annex off Cathedral – met Guy the snorer 67
4 Punta La Reina Municipal Hostel – met Mary B 91
5 Estella Nice but crowded hostel 118
6 Los Arcos 135
7 Logrono Municipal Hostel (very modern) 159
8 Navarette Hostel – met Nick and Matt 175
9 Nahera 189
10 Granon Annex in local church Opus Dei 216
11 Tosantos Hostel Opus Dei 238
12 Villafranca 246
13 Atapeurca 266
14 Burgos Hostel 6km from town centre!! 283
15 Rabe de las Calzadas 295
16 Arroyo San Bol Small shack in middle of nowhere 315
17 Castrojeriz Municipal Hostel 322
18 Fromista 346
19 Carrion de los Condes 367
20 Ledigos Municipal hostel 390
21 Sahagun Section of deconsecrated cathedral 403
22 Reliegos 434
23 Mansilla de las Mulas 440
24 Leon Convent 460
25 Villadangos del Paramo 479
26 Hospital de Orbigo Great old monk who made onion soup 495
27 Astorga 506
28 Rabanal Great Gregorian chanting 527
29 Molinaseca Hostel 552
30 Villafranca del Bierzo Municipal hostel Very cold night 580
31 O’Cebriero Arrived late in pouring rain 609
32 Triacastella 630
33 Barbadello 653
34 Gonzar 676
35 Palas del Rey Acorn and wine festival 693
36 Arzua 720
37 Arco do Pino 740
38 Santiago Seminary 759


Major towns

Logrono – a reasonably big town with a nice modern hostel. I remember that we had a long walk into town across the upper reaches of the Ebro river. Apart from that I do not remember too much about it.

Burgos – one of the major towns along the route and famous in history as the home of El Cid. It has a great historic section but the bummer was that we had to walk right through the town and then a further 6km to get to our refugio. And that wasn’t all that good when we got there. Really basic with bunks so close to each other you could reach out and easily touch the person alongside. It was also full so there were packs and clothes etc in all directions. Still it was a bed and it had a small kitchen attached.

Burgos Cathedral was huge. Only part of it was open for religious purposes; the rest was a museum. The architecture on the outside was spectacular with lots of intricately carved spires, amazing sculptures of saints and the like. But the artwork preserved in the body of the cathedral was something else. Most of it quite dramatic dealing with typical themes (Christs birth and the passion) but it also showed the martyrdom of some of the saints. Like a saint having her breast cut off – and another showing a man being flayed. Saint Sebastian is depicted with his compulsory quota of arrows fired into his body. The altar was great and the choir? had been hand carved. All the chairs were individually made out of a really nice wood. They were magnificent.

Leon – enjoyed our stay in Leon. We arrived late but booked into an old convent close to the main plaza. We did some shopping here and I bought a cape for the mountain areas which were imminent. The shopping area was very good with a fair amount of choice.

Leon cathedral was superb. We went in very early as we had a long walk to follow. It is renowned for its stained glass windows and we could see why. They were all magnificent and showed scenes and people from the bible. The Cathedral is very high with amazing spires and turrets; lots of fancy stonework all around. Not as imposing as Burgos but really nice.

We stopped at an old hospital on the way out of town and went around a small museum. I remember it as having a very nice courtyard and a number of rooms with different religious relics but can’t recall too much in detail.

Ponferrada – had a look around this town. Some old roman buildings there and a rather nice castle which we explored.

Highlights

Puente la Reina – where we met Mary Bolster. She was determined to find the local black Madonna and dragged us around a few of the local churches looking for it. A great lady and we had many good times with her. And we never did find the black Madonna.

Navarette – first time we met up with Nick and Matt from the USA. Had a great dinner with a big group – lots of food and wine and many laughs. Navarette also had an exquisite little church which seemed to have gold gilt in all directions.

Arroyo San Bol – a tiny hostel in the middle of nowhere run by a Dutchman named Ludo. No toilets (use the local paddock), bath was an ice cold outdoor pool, no power and all very communal. Dinner – nettle soup, the nettles collected by Ludo from the paddock in which people did their business, vege pasta and a glass or two of wine. The wine was the best part of it. Oh and a bit of bread. Actually it sounds awful but the nettle soup wasn’t too bad. Probably will give us immunity from all sorts of dreaded diseases.

Rabanal – at the foot of a mountain. We went to a church service where two young clerics did the whole thing in gregorian chants. Quite amazing.

O’Cebriero – at the top of the mountain, 1300m asl. We had quite a climb to get there and arrived in pouring rain. It was quite ethereal coming into the village. There was a thick mist around and the houses appeared one by one. The whole place was really small and we nearly walked past the refugio, which was a “hospital” set up for pilgrims. Now that was one place I was happy to get to. I got talking to a young german guy there. He was a little odd but seemed quite harmless. I can’t remember what we talked about now but after we finished and he had taken off the staff came over and asked me if I thought he was a danger. Apparently he had been doing some strange things and saying even stranger things so they were on the point of pulling in the local policia. Wo..o..o and he was bunking down in our area. I moved real quick to the other end of the room but still had a fairly sleepless night. But we did not see him again.