Finland and North Cape - Page 3

Vaasa - Oulu

The sun slowly came through more and more on the further drive along the gulf to Oulu. The largest city in the north is located at the mouth of the Oulujoki River into the Gulf of Bothnia and is currently the northernmost major city in the EU. The huge campground with cottages has a beautiful beach and is well equipped. The network of bike paths is well developed here, so I saw with my exploration tour with the bike with Oulu also the first quite beautiful city in Finland.

At the Market Square Pier is the 120-year-old Kauppahalli, the market hall. There stands the stately statue of a market policeman, the Toripolliisi. Today a popular photo motif, they used to ensure peace and order here. Old red warehouses, now boutiques, line the pier along the canal. The bike path back led again over the small Island Pikisaari with the beautiful wooden buildings to the island Hietasaari. Here one drives further relaxed ways to the beach. In the evening I hiked still to the lighthouse of Nallikari before at the Beach the light of the sunset in my beer bottle broke 🙂.

Oulu - Rovaniemi

Today we left the archipelago and headed inland to the capital of Lapland - Rovaniemi. On the way I experienced for the first time the feeling when one talks about the vastness and silence about Finland. I was now driving smaller roads along forests, sometimes I didn't see another vehicle for half an hour. The Ounaskoski Camping Rovaniemi is located at the river Kemijoki. Of course I grabbed the bike first to ride the 8 km to the Arctic Circle Center at the Arctic Circle. At the bridge with the nice name Jätkänkynttiläbrücke, which leads over the Kemijoki into the city center, it goes through suburbs along forests in the direction of the Arctic Circle. The route was even relatively mountainous.

There a small square with all kinds of red wooden buildings awaited me: the Arctic Circle Center, Safari Center, a few stores and restaurants. Of course also the mailbox for Santa Claus. There were few people here, relaxed I could walk everything. The line of the polar circle is of course not to be taken too exactly, due to the wandering ecliptic of the earth it should be 120 m more north at the moment. I.e. approximately at the end of the center one should have crossed it surely 🙂. Back to I took another way, more beautiful in the forest I drove to the few kilometers away Santa Claus village. I spared myself the commerce and rolled back towards Rovaniemi City. At the riverside the day colorful towards the end.