Scandinavia 2014 – Part 5: (S) Nowhere in Sweden

Inlandsvägen – Straight ahead

Thursday, 04.09.2014

Good morning from winter sports region Åre. We were stranded here last night at a later time than we actually intended, but therefore we are now closer to our destination than planned. So getting up at nine o’clock should be ok.

Still 800 kilometers till Luleå, since our arrival in Norway four days ago it has taken us nearly 40 hours for 1,200 kilomteres. Face off will be in 36 hours. That might become a close call.

Shortly past ten o’clock we have stowed our utilities again and are ready to start our journey through Sweden. In a months’ time winter season is about to commence here, but temperatures are still reasonable in the double-digit range.

At first sight Sweden stands out for its vast open spaces. Unlike Norway with its steep cliffs and spectacular mountain passes, it rather consists of gentle wooded hills.

In Östersund we turn onto Inlandsvägen, also known as European Road E45, linking Göteborg with Lapland once across inner Sweden. For long stretches it runs parallel to Inlandsbanan railway line which once gave the road its name.

In the small village of Lit we are looking for a petrol station and a bakery, hoping that the old, rusty bridge will still carry us even on our way back. In search of a nice spot with a view of the lake we find a nice place next to the station where we’re having a wonderful breakfast break.

There doesn’t seem to be  much traffic on Inlandsbanan railway line. Although the nice red station building is kept in a good condition, the railway facilities look shabby and halfway abandoned. The platform itself only consists of a small pedestal, a lantern and the timetable for the single daily train to distant Gällivare, 718 kilometers away. Outbound in the morning, returning in the evening.

Inlandsvägen is a well-developed highway which allows for a smooth and easy drive. Fortunately for us the road is as monotonous as smooth. Straight segments for miles followed by a slight curve, straight segment, slight curve, straight segment. Its surface sometimes changes its colour from grey to black to red and back again, the trees aside are sometimes acicular, sometimes full of leaves.

Every ten minutes we pass through a hamlet, offering us some welcome variety for a few seconds. Unlike in Norway none of us demands for a stop to take photos or to explore the area.

With population figures of 1,500 to 2,000, towns like Dorothea, Vilhelmina or Storuman serve as important  central places. Only just a handful of people live along the 50 kilometers in between these places.

The further north we go the higher becomes the density of coniferous trees and mosquitos. As far as Sorsele we want to drive today since there is a campsite which is said to be open until the end of the month.

And indeed, it is still open. We check in at 7pm and arrange everything for a barbeque. Unfortunately we won’t have much fun, because the mosquitoes are still horribly active at the beginning of September, thus we quickly seclude ourselves back into the Didimobile for some beer and Pernot after dinner.

No Elk Today!

Friday, 05.09.2014

Today’s program consists of the last 250 kilometers to our second milestone in Luleå. We have regained the lost time from the many breaks in Norway yesterday without the feeling of having missed out on anything. Only the proposed moose did not want to show up under any circumstances, despite being warned against on many of those famous traffic signs. But that we want to change today.

Back on Inlandsvägen we keep our eyes open for a moose, or at least for a “Danger, moose!” sign. But here they all seem to be smashed, at least they seem  to “stagger” across the signs. Strange moose!

Later on we will be told that we were already in Lapland and that the moose in the sign actually was a reindeer. With a bulbous nose and broom antlers.

The next larger town is Arvidsjaur with aproximately 4,500 inhabitants. For the first time after 500 kilometers we get back the sense for some kind of civilisation. We fill up the Didimobile and free our windscreen from hordes of dead mosquitoes. AND we finally catch sight of moose! Made of wood, but better than nothing:

We continue towards the Baltic Sea, some 150 kilometers left to our destination and a good eight hours drive. E45 road leaves Arvidsjaur towards Arctic Circle: We are somehow interested in going there, but we rather don’t want to risk a 300 kilometer detour.

We are making good progress, but the moose still doesn’t want to show up. Since we still have time we dare do a small detour towards the hinterland. It definitely MUST hide somewhere here…

Unsuccessfully we arrive at “First Camp Luleå” at 3pm. We are given a pitch directly at the long sandy beach. In summer this must be Sweden’s Caribbean.

We now have some time to relax and enjoy the sun until we head for the busstop around 5pm. It is situated opposite a small railway museum.

In front of the arena we meet up with five other fans from Hamburg – and one from Krefeld, being on the way to a Krefeld Pinguine match in Skellefteå the next day. So we are ten away fans all together, experiencing a great game and a 6-0 loss to our Hamburg Freezers.

Four of the other five fans from Hamburg have also been driving here (we will meet them again in Rauma), one came by plane and night train. Somehow crazy, isn’t it?

And what about moose? … It’s just the beginning of the hunting season, there are more moose than at any other time of the year, we are told. Every single person we are talking to tells us that he or she had met at least three of them on their way to the arena, and in everyone’s garden they are standing in hordes, eating all their flowers. Every single day. We indeed still believe moose to be an urban legend, since MOOSE ARE NON-EXISTENT. They are just a brainchild of the tourist industry!