From Haparanda to Tromsø through the bus window

Four pairs of looking-through-the-window photos and a bonus proof photo

I’m sitting on my bed of room 223 in the Clarion Hotel “The Edge” in Tromsø. I’m here to join the Barents Press International Media Conference that will take place tomorrow and the day after. We from Skellefteå took a car to Haparanda at the Swedish-Finnish border already yesterday. Today we took the bus to Tromsø.

I took photos through the bus window, all with my Nikon D750 and an old 70-210mm/ƒ4.0 lens.

Pair 1 – along the river Torneälven

The Torneälven is the border river between Sweden and Finland. We drive on the Finnish side of the river. Almost all snow has melted and the river is ice free now. Sometimes large walls of ice floes lie along the riverbank.

Along the TorneälvenIce walls

Pair 2 – moorlands

We already have crossed the Arctic Circle. The coniferous forests are behind us and large moorland frame the road. It’s windy and temperatures are hardly above zero. From time to time it snows.

A large moorlandA dense snow shower

Pair 3 – winterland

The more up north we travel the snowier and more wintry the landscape becomes. We pass Kilpisjärvi and are in Norway now.

Winterland IWinterland II

Pair 4 – fjords and mountains

Fjords and mountains – both are typical for Norway. And both can be seen from the bus. A lot of other participants have never been here before and the Oh-s and Ah-s do not stop. And they are right, the landscape is both beautiful and impressive. (… and quite unphotographable from a driving bus.)

Hazy mountain rangeSunny mountain range

Bonus photo

At 7 o’clock we departed in Haparanda, at 17 o’clock we arrive in Tromsø. Later I make some pictures from the roof terrace of our hotel. A Hurtigruten ship with the ishavskatedralen in the background. Take it as a proof, that I’m really in Tromsø.

A Tromsø postcard motif

Winterly Tromsø in May

I’m sitting in the bus somewhere in Northern Finland. We just passed the sign “Tornio 410 km”. Are we there, it’s only some more minutes to Haparanda from where a car ride of another 270 km awaits us. Then I’m home.

Home from the incredible interesting and inspiring but also exhausting Barents Press International Media Conference that took place in Tromsø for two days. Great speakers, great talks! Here are some of the topics:

  • EU and the struggle against fake news
  • How to make your climate change story into a click-blockbuster
  • #Barents #Beingyounghere: Official book release
  • Norwegian spy scandal in Russia: A close friend’s story

At the same time winter had come back to Northern Scandinavia and so to Tromsø. I used the mornings and evenings to walk round or just visit the roof terrace of our hotel to make some pictures of Tromsø.

Thursday 2 May – the weather is quite nice. I’m glad to walk around after the long bus trip there.

The breakwater Sørsjeteen with the art from Chris ReddySmall is large and large is smallOld town – new townA view south

Friday 3 May – the morning is windy. First it’s dry but then snow showers rack over Tromsø for the rest of the day. Some of them are quite intense.

nesting-seagullsA bunch of bright red buoys on a fishing vesselsnow-bike-1snow-shower-root-terrace

Saturday 4 May – Tromsø is covered with fresh snow. The air is cold but the ground is warm and so the snow is partly melting again. In the evening some very intense snow showers cover Tromsø with more snow.

Snowy morning at the coastTromsø houses and ships ITromsø houses and ships IIClarion Hotel The Edge, my accommodation in TromsøHeavy snow shower hiding the SørsjeteenWalking the dog

Sunday 5 May – partly cloudy, partly blue sky that reflects in the sea water. And so do the ships.

Upside-down ship reflection

Although I enjoyed the conference it was a bit of a pity that I didn’t have more time to take pictures and explore the city. On the other side I’ve been in Tromsø several time and probably will be there again.

I would love to work there for some months but the tax rules of the non-EU-member Norway would make that quite complicated because then I had to declare taxes both in Sweden and in Norway.

 

All articles about Tromsø >

A 2019 winter retrospect

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The lakes are open and the leftover snow hides in some dark patches in the forests. The birches have started stretching out their leaves, butterflies flutter around and it doesn’t get dark anymore in the night. It’s like winter never happened, but the blog reveals that it did happen although I think it was too short. But that’s no real news.

This is probably the last winter article for long, for now it’s spring.

2019-05-15 20:34

Two ways of paddling

25 April – paddling in Skelleftehamn22 May – paddling in Stockholm

Between these two photos lie 4 weeks and 620 km. I made the first one on a kayak tour in Skelleftehamn late April. The second one I took in Stockholm last week. (And no, I didn’t paddle the whole way.)

It’s no coincidence that I have called my blog way-up-north. I’m more often in Kirkenes than in Stockholm. There was however an important reason for travelling south to the capital of Sweden. I need a new passport and the only possibility to apply for it is in the Embassy of Germany in Stockholm. I was a bit nervous that I would have forgotten one of the needed documents as e.g. my birth certificate, but the documents were complete and anything went well. In a few weeks I will receive a letter with my new passport.

After the passport application I had some spare hours before taking the train back to Umeå and then the car to Skelleftehamn. It was warm and sunny and I decided to hire a kayak. I booked it for just an hour but it was fun to be on the water and see Stockholm from this perspective. On the tour before I used a dry suit for protection, this time I paddled barefoot and in a t-shirt. Nice!

I like Stockholm – it is a beautiful town – but I don’t want to live there. Beside of the ridiculously high prices for housing it’s too big for me. And of course way too south!

Stockholm view from Södermalm on Kungsholmen

Colours above the Luleälven

Yesterday evening. We are at Storbacken near Vuollerim in Norrbotten, where we visit friends. They live in a house by the large river Luleälven. It’s a bit chilly outside but we still sit there, enjoy the fresh air and try to ignore the first mosquitoes.

I haven’t planned to take pictures but the warm evening light on the forest on the other side of the river becomes more and more intense. Two whooper swans paddle along the river. And finally, half an hour later there appears a rainbow and hovers above the Luleälven like a huge airy bridge. Beautiful!

22:20 – sundown colours on the forest on the other side of the Luleälven23:00 – a rainbow above the river Luleälven

This morning. I sit in the living room while the fire in the fireplace warms up the room. Outside it’s 3.5 °C and it has been raining the whole night and the whole morning. That’s two of the many sides of Sápmi, the region of the Sámi people.