London, England

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning – making the most of the comfy house. Roberta went into the London to catch up with Michelle. I went in at 11.30 am via bus and train and met up at Leicester Square.

From there we went to London Tower. This is the 11th century fortress built on the Thames that used to be the Royal Palace as well as a prison. When it was a prison, its prisoners were usually executed at Tower Hill, just behind London Tower. We did a tour through the fortress with a Beefeater (you know the guards that so distinctly give you the image of England). We walked through the chapel, the armory and saw the crown jewels – which were spectacular. Once again, I was also disappointed in the fact that one family, who are meant to act as leaders, are just so loaded, too such an extent that what we saw today could be used to wipe out anyone’s national debt and then probably hand out some money to its people. It would be nice if I could just enjoy what I saw and feel the way I do sometimes, but maybe that helps me appreciate it more.

We go back to the McCallums’ and they had cooked a lasagna for dinner. Another creature comfort to enjoy.

We also had our photos developed today, all nine rolls, so most of the evening was spent going through those and reminiscing. All the photos turned out great and I can’t wait to put them together in an album.

London, England

I got the call from Brett this morning. He’s back from two weeks in Egypt, so we’ll be going there tonight to stay for two nights.

Today Roberta and I walked into the center of London. Down Edgeware Road, Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, Charring Cross Road. We found a little café near the theatres called The Stockpot for a cheap lunch.

We kept walking to Trafalgar and Leicester Squares, before tiredness got the better of us.

We went back to the Mansions to pick up our gear and make our way to Rotherhithe – Brett and Simone’s place. The trip took an hour on the tube and then a 15-minute walk. We turned up at the same time Brett jumped out of a cab, coming home from work.

Their place is beautiful. It’s a brand new two-bedroom unit, which overlooks the Thames River. The whole suburb looks brand new.

After plenty of catching up and chatting we decided on take away Chinese for dinner. This is only two minutes away and was absolutely delicious.

We stayed up and talked to all hours of the morning. It was such a treat to sleep in a clean, comfortable bed in a clean, comfortable house. I almost decided to stay here for the rest of the trip. If only London wasn’t so expensive.

London, England

Today, Reggae had organized to meet a friend from work for lunch in Sidcup (southwest of London), so Luke, Suzy, Kern, Roberta, Bert, Ange, Tim, Tammy and I made the hour train trip down there with her in one of their local pubs.

From there we went to the Blue Anchor in Bexley Village to watch France v Paraguay with Reggae’s friend Duncan, and his mates Dave, Peter and Tarkin. A good afternoon was had by all. 

We arrived back at the Mansions at nine pm after stopping in for some food from the supermarket.

Amsterdam, Holland to London, England

The last day of our Contiki tour. Finally, after 33 days, and some 12,000 kilometers, it is all coming to an end.

While the rest of the tour went to see if the Heineken Brewery was open, Roberta and I decided to walk around the city and see it in daylight instead. This was a bit of a mistake, because nothing seemed to be open until at least ten am, but we walked aimlessly anyway.

We were picked up just after midday to start our journey to Calais. We caught the ferry across to Dover, seeing the famous White Cliffs. This was a fairly smooth and uneventful ride, although we did buy some duty-free presents for our accommodation providers in London.

After getting through immigration, we drove 2.5 hours back to the Royal National Hotel. You could feel the sense of relief on the bus driving back. Although we all had a great time, 33 days on a bus is along time and getting off will be a great feeling. We spent most of the time saying our goodbyes. It is such a shame. We’ve made such good friendships in such a short time – only to probably never see these people again. Another round of goodbyes off the bus and Roberta and I head back to the Mansions and it’s million residents.

Berlin, Germany to Amsterdam, Holland

Today is our longest haul of the Russian leg. Berlin to Amsterdam. This is a long day on the bus, broken up only by service stops and sporadic naps.

We arrived in Amsterdam at seven pm and the place was a buzz. There were people everywhere, with a large number of Poms, out before their clash with Columbia.

Our motel was ordinary, and not having a bathroom was not good, as I still wasn’t 100 percent.

We went to another restaurant / motel for dinner, which was quite nice.

From there we did a 90-minute tour on the canals of the city. This would be our last night together and it looked like everyone was ready for a big night, but as soon as our cruise finished, everyone split into small groups and went their own ways. We (Ken, Jen, Dave, Melissa, Cam, Jo, Roberta and I) ended up walking through the streets, seeing Amsterdam’s infamous Red-Light District and other sights before ending up at an outdoor café for a couple of drinks. Roberta, amazingly, ran into a mate from university while we were wandering around. It never ceases to amaze me that coincidences like this happen – millions of people everywhere, we’re on the other side of the planet, and still you run into someone you know.

Berlin, Germany

I think it is fair to say that I have had more than my share of this stomach bug. Once again, I couldn’t eat breakfast and after walking to the laundry, I decided that I’d be better off at the motel, meaning I missed out on our day tour of Berlin. For a second time in the last three days, my day was spent either asleep or in the bathroom. If this doesn’t approve by the time we’re back in London, I’ll go to the doctors. Let’s hope it’s not that drastic.

Contiki Russia Crew, Olimpiastadion, Berlin, Germany

Warsaw, Poland to Berlin, Germany

Can I survive this leg of the bus trip? Two stops inside Poland on our way to Berlin prove to be no problem. But another delay at the border, which we were once again prevented from being longer, thanks to Dom, and the pains in the stomach start again. Fortunately, we made it to a restroom stop just after getting through the border.

Onwards to Berlin, where our first stop was the Berlin Wall. I expected a lot more than what remained. It is probably not half the size I expected and has no remaining elements which reflect its significance, at first sight.

Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany

Our next stop was at the Brandenburg Gates, which celebrates the Brandenburg family, whose wealth helped establish Berlin as a city.

Brandenburg Gates, Berlin, Germany

We arrived at our motel at 8.30pm, only to find that they had been double booked and no meal had been prepared, as per expected. We went back into town and found a cheap pasta place, which most of the tour ate at.

The long bus trip has tired everyone, and we’re all happy to accept a lift home.

Warsaw, Poland

Too many EB’s last night means for a rest day today. As well as a hangover, diarrhea has kicked in.

I started on the day trip of the city, going to Chopin’s Park and the Warsaw Ghetto, where Hitler kept all the Polish Jews of Warsaw during World War II, but wasn’t feeling up to getting off the bus. After Mammal dropped everyone off in another part of town, he took the bus back to the hotel and I opted to go with him. I ended up spending the rest of the day either in bed or in the bathroom.

 

Chopin Park, Warsaw, Poland

Ghetto Monument, Warsaw, Poland

I did get up for dinner, as Roberta and I went to a little pizza place, Casa Mia, around the corner for a good, cheap meal. We were to go for a walk after dinner, but my upset stomach sent me straight back to the hotel bathroom. It as decided that I’d best stay as near a bathroom as possible, so we spent the night in.

Minsk, Belarus to Warsaw, Poland

An early start today to combat possible delays at the Polish border. 

Our only stop of interest on the way as at the Brest Fortress. Brest is a near border town attacked during World War II. The fortress here contains monuments and stone carvings as a memory to victims during this time. 

Brest Fortress, Brest, Belarus

There are four checkpoints at the Belarus / Poland border and the record for Contiki getting through is four hours, with the longest being 16 hours. Fortunately, we had Dom, who spoke Polish, and after convincing the guards that al our alcohol and cigarettes had been consumed in Minsk, and we had nothing to offer, we got through in about two and a half hours, on our way to Warsaw. 

The differences between Belarus and Poland were evident immediately. Houses, farms and roads in much better conditions, making our trip into Warsaw the most comfortable we’ve been in a couple of weeks. 

The Hotel Polonia might as well have been a 5-star hotel. Nice rooms, with a TV, clean, drinkable water and a restaurant to match. 

After dinner, most of us went to 10 Champions, a sports bar a couple of blocks from the hotel, to watch Romania beat England in the World Cup. Good atmosphere, as there were heaps of English supporters, who promptly disappeared as soon as the full-time whistle went. Our drink of choice was EB – sounded too much like VB to miss.

Smolensk, Russia to Minsk, Belarus

Happy 43rd birthday Dad! I tried to ring all day, but couldn’t find a phone let alone one that might take my Visa card. I will try again tomorrow morning.

We left Smolensk this morning, on our way to Minsk. Our first stop was at Glory Mound / Mount of Glory, not long past the Belarus border. The Glory Mound was a man-made hill built by the locals, who bought dirt from regions here soldiers fought and died. On top of this hill, a 240-step climb, is a 70-meter-tall monument symbolizing the four armies that fought in World War II.

Mound of Glory, Belarus

Our next stop was Khatyn. Here there was a park that is also a World War II memorial. It represents the 433 villages that were destroyed. Of these, 186 were not rebuilt. These villages represented by concrete columns that have bells in them and rang every 30 seconds. The main monument in the park was a statue of Yosaf Masolkiv, who was the only resident of Khatyn to survive the massacre of the Nazis, by hiding in the forest.

Khatyn Memorial, Belarus

We arrived in Minsk in the late afternoon and had a quick tour of the city, stopping at Yanka Kupalr Park (a local poet of the 1800’s) and Victory Square – yet another World War II memorial. Another nice motel tonight, with dinner in the restaurant at the motel, before a quiet night in watching USA v Iran in the World Cup, bought on by an early start tomorrow, 6.15am departure, due to a possible delay at the Polish border, an apparently notoriously slow border crossing.

Moscow, Russia to Smolensk, Russia

While some took the opportunity to go to the markets, Brendon and I went for a drive with Gavin and Mammal in the morning to get fuel.

We left Moscow and travelled for two hours to Borodino. This is the site where Russians fought Napoleon in 1812. In the field now is a monument hailing the Russian heroes of this battle. This particular battle was the inspiration for Tchykovsky’s 1812 Overture.

Battle of Borodino Monument, Borodino, Russia

Lunch was there, before heading to the city of Smolensk. Here we went to the Church of Assumption. This church was built in the 1600’s and was one of a few churches that continued preaching during and after the communist revolution. We arrived while a Russian Orthodox service was taking place, which made me feel uncomfortable walking around and seeing the gold-gilded wooden icons.

Our motel was quite nice, for a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. We had dinner at the motel and was entertained by some local dancers and musicians.

Moscow, Russia

This morning we headed to the Park of the Fallen Heroes, which was full of sculptures and statues, including those pulled down by residents at the fall of communism. There were heaps! Lenin, Stalin, Bresnev, Ghandi, and the masterpiece, a 50-60-meter statue of Peter the Great on a huge sailing ship. Another sight too grand for words. The bus was parked next to Gorky Park, which I really wanted to see, but time did not allow.

Me, Park of the Fallen Heroes, Moscow, Russia

Peter The Great Statue, Moscow, Russia

We did, however, then take a tour of the Kremlin with our guide, Galina. The Kremlin is the Russian word for fortress. When a city was built, the Kremlin was always built first, so as to protect the rest of the town. Today, Moscow’s Kremlin is used as a tourist attraction that houses the Tsar canon (the biggest cannon ever, but not used in battle), the Tsar bell (an 11,000-ton bell, which was never used because it broke when it was being put in place), numerous churches and, of course, parliament.

Parliament House, Moscow, Russia

Tsar Bell, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

After our Kremlin tour we had some lunch, did some shopping for the next couple of days, and headed back to our hotel for our afternoon nap.

Dinner was at the hotel and once again wasn’t too bad. Seeing as we had been to the ballet the night before, tonight we did the other obvious thing to do…The Moscow Circus. Great entertainment, but I’m kind of reluctant to enjoy it too much due to the use / treatment of animals in the act. Although what they could do was incredible, the way they were punished or rewarded was substandard.

When the circus finished, we stopped by the old KGB building for photos, as well as dropping some people off who wanted to see St. Basil's at night. Roberta and I opted for an early night (it has been a big three days). Once again, this is another place I would like to come back to, not only to see more sights, but to see how capitalism takes further effect.

Moscow, Russia

After a non-existent breakfast, our day started with a small tour of the Moscow Metro. Each railway station is ornately decorated with statures and mosaics. Each different from the last. The railway also runs deep underground. It is not known how far down, it is a Russian secret, but it was safe enough to use as a bomb shelter during the World Wars. Our tour included Izmalovsky Park (where the hotel is), Teatrainaya, Kurskaya and Prospekt Mira. The railway is privately owned, but it’s future is bleak. The owners intend to redesign the stations and sell off the art and/or melt the bronze statues etc. It would be such a shame to lose such magnificent art.

Komsomolskaya Metro Station, Moscow Russia

Lenin Statue, Izmalovsky Metro Station, Moscow, Russia

We went to Red Square again, where we went to visit Lenin’s Tomb, which was a somewhat morbid experience. Lenin has been dead near 70 years, and he is laid out in a way and preserved in a bullet proof glass case. He looks like he is stall at the funeral parlor or something you would find in Madame Tussaud’s. Behind the tomb is the burial ground of many of the Soviet leaders, such as Stalin, and plaques to the famous Russians, such as astronaut Yuri Gagarin (first man in space).

After this we had some spare time, so Roberta and I went for a walk up Tverskaya (the main road) before finding a market to buy some lunch to eat in a nearby park.

We then headed back to the hotel, after a couple of mis-stops on the Metro – can’t read Cyrillic - for a quick nap before the night out.

This night saw us back in town to see the Stanislavsky Ballet. It is said that this is the premier Russian ballet now, as the great dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet defected to the west at the fall of the Soviet Union. The performances we saw tonight were of Sulamimite, the tale of a king who falls in love with another woman. When his queen finds out, she plots to kill her, but the king kills his queen first. The 2nd act was the story of Salome – the dancer who impresses King Herod so much that he offers her anything she desires. She asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. John, at the time, was imprisoned by Herod but not put to death for fear of retribution. Although it was not classical ballet I expected, I still really enjoyed it.

Another Metro ride home before a quiet evening at home watching France and Saudi Arabia in the World Cup.

Tver, Russia to Moscow, Russia

Off to Moscow, the capital of Russia. We are only 3.5 hours from the city, so only stop on the way was at Tchykovsky’s House – the home of the composer of the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, etc.

We arrived in Moscow at midday. This is a better kept city than St. Petersburg, but by no way is it a prettier city, as there are no classic palaces here. None the less, Moscow has some great buildings in its own right.  We stopped in town and changed money to $US and went to Red Square. We walked through the gates to take a couple of photos of the Square and the Kremlin. We couldn’t go too far in, as Lenin’s tomb was open and they close of the whole Square when that happens.

Red Square, Moscow, Russia

State Historical Museum, Red Square, Moscow, Russia

Lenin's Tomb, Red Square, Moscow, Russia

GUM Department Store, Red Square, Moscow, Russia

Afterwards we went to the symbolism of the new capitalism in Russia – McDonalds.

After lunch there, we got back on the bus for a guided tour of the city. Our first stop was St. Basil’s Cathedral, the onion-domed church at the Moscow River end of Red Square. We got out here for photos for half an hour.

Roberta & I, St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow, Russia

From here we drove up to the Moscow State University, which is on a hill overlooking the city, with the 1980 Olympic Stadium in the immediate foreground.

Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

From here it was to our hotel. This is a 5-building complex, with 10,000 beds built specifically for the 1980 Olympics. The room here is quite nice even though it’s up on the 22nd floor.

We had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and then some people went to Red Square for a drink and to see if they could get thrown out or not. I decided to stay home (I’m getting too old and sensible). Besides, I had a stomach bug and didn’t want to be too far from a bathroom.

St Petersburg, Russia to Tver, Russia

Today we drove to Tver, a halfway point between St Petersburgh and Moscow, for an overnight stop. I now appreciate the Pacific Highway a lot more. The road we travelled was atrocious to say the least.

Our stop was in Novrogorod, where we had lunch and walked through the local Kremlin. It is said that when the Germans attacked in World War II, they made every building in the city uninhabitable, so to see it rebuilt and repopulated is pretty special.

Kremlin, Novrogorod, Russia

On to our Tver motel, where we had a nice meal and a game of Three Man before retiring relatively early.

St Petersburg, Russia

Breakfast was in the hotel this morning, before a day of travelling around St. Petersburg. The day started at Smolny Monastery, which, now a days, was a winery. When the Bolsheviks came into power, all the girls attending the school, being of nobility, were either shot or sent to Siberia.

Smolny Monastery, St. Petersburg, Russia

When the Bolsheviks started their Revolution, it began in the Aurora, a naval warship now docked on the island where St. Petersburg was established.

The Aurora, St. Petersburg, Russia

Also on this island is Peter & Paul’s Fortress (our next stop). This was the building in Russia where the tsars, Peter the Great, defeated the Swedes. The fortress now contains a cathedral where all the tsars and tsarinas are buried, and a prison, which was used for political prisoners, both by and for the tsar families.

After this, we went to a dodgy CD shop in a room on a back street (as organized by Gavin through his Russian contact, Serge) where CDs were only US$3.50 each. I contained myself to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (who we missed in St. Petersburgh by three days) Greatest Hits and a live Bad Religion CD.

After this, it was a visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral – an absolutely amazing church, full of religious art. This is the city’s principal cathedral, where everyone stands during services.

St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia

From here we did a viewing of Church of Our Saviour (Spilled Blood). This is the only Moscow-style church (like that of the onion-domed church in Red Square) in St. Petersburg. It is so beautiful outside and apparently more so than St. Isaac’s on the inside, but AU$26 entry, Roberta and I decide against it.

Church of Our Saviour (Spilled Blood), St. Petersburg, Russia

Church of Our Saviour (Spilled Blood), St. Petersburg, Russia

Next to the church was the flea market, where we purchased some traditional Russian Dolls. Roberta bought two and I got three. Mum’s getting a traditional one, Kelly is getting a Snow White and Seven Dwarves, and a Nirvana one for myself.

Today was the hottest day of the tour so far (33oC) and, of course, the day we picked to walk the hour and a half back to the hotel. We got some food from the supermarket and stopped at the Blue Domed Church along the way.

The Blue Domed Church, St. Petersburg, Russia

After dinner in the hotel, we tour went to Nikolaevsky Palace to see a traditional Russian folk show. Singing, dancing and music! This was spectacular. It was also fun to see Nick, Paulino and Ken pulled from the crowd to dance on stage.

Traditional Russian Show at Nikolaevsky Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Nick, Ken & Paulino On Stage, Traditional Russian Show at Nikolaevsky Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

I wish we could stay longer in St. Petersburgh, as it is a most amazing city, which we only touched the surface of. More free time to wander the streets, and a couple of days in the Hermitage would have been more to my want. Maybe another time!

St Petersburg, Russia

Breakfast in the hotel was followed by a one-hour drive to the Peterhof Palace. Commissioned by Peter the Great, who was a tsar who lived in Moscow but wanted to be elsewhere, so commissioned the city of St. Petersburg to be built.

This is the palace that he stayed in during the summer and was absolutely huge. I had mixed feelings about being here. On one hand, here I was seeing this most magnificent building, smothered in gold leaf, on over 250 acres, surrounded by dazzling fountains. Yet the excess felt a little too much in a country struggling to come to terms with capitalism. The amount of money spent in upkeep of place, not to mention re-building it after it was bombed in World War II, seems such a waste when the infrastructure of the city is in decay and so many other buildings, although not half as nice, could well use the money for maintenance.

Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

After lunch in the palace gardens, we went back to the city to see the Winter Palace, in which is Russia’s largest museum – The Hermitage. The Hermitage consists of five buildings – The Winter Palace, The Small Hermitage, The Old Hermitage, The Hermitage Theatre and The New Hermitage. The buildings house 2.8 million pieces of art, a collection started in 1764 by Catherine the Great with a mere 225 paintings. It is said that if you spend 1 minute in front of every piece of work in the museum, it would take you 30 years to see everything. Unfortunately, we raced through in an hour and a half, and it’s closed tomorrow so we can’t come back. I spent my whole time wandering around in awe and missed most of the commentary from our local tour guide, Anna, but soaked in enough art and culture to last a lifetime. It was amazing to think that in one day, under one roof, I saw artwork by Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Monet, yet in the same circumstance missed works of Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, and ancient Egyptian treasures, to name a few. But I also think about it the same way I do about the Summer Palace. Exquisite, but excessive! Though I would love to come back one time just to spend a week here in the Hermitage. Such a shame that it’s closed on Mondays!

Back at the hotel, we took the opportunity to confirm our booking in Paris, as well as me buying two Russian soccer shirts, CSKA Moscow and St. Petersburg, for US$10 each – one for me and one for dad. Dinner was at the De Konnick Restaurant. We had beef stroganoff at the restaurant and it was delicious.

Afterwards, some of the tour, Roberta included, went to the Metro nightclub for a taste of Russian nightlife. I, however, opted for an early (midnight) night to catch up on washing and my diary.

Helsinki, Finland to St Petersburg, Russia

Today is the day I have been waiting for. It was the compromise to get Roberta to do a Contiki. Our trip into Russia.

A 7.30 am departure, with one stop before the border. Between this service station and the border, we were told enough information to send us running or leave us paranoid.

It took over an hour and a half to get through the border. It was a very intimidating event, with border patrol dressed in military uniforms checking passports to the finest details, getting on the bus and going through everything, only for us to be checked again after almost leaving the border area.

The first stop in Russia was at Vyborg, where we changed our Finnish Marks and had some lunch.

From here we drove into St. Petersburgh. This is a very interesting city. When you drive in, the horizon is dominated by thousands of blocks of units all the same height – some in bad condition, others left unfinished and left standing without a hint of completion. But there seems to be a just as many people driving around in Mercedes Benz.

We arrived at our hotel “Sovetskaya” expecting the worst, but our rooms were quite nice, and the dirty water we had been warned about wasn’t half as bad as I had imagined.

View From Our Room, St. Petersburg, Russia

Dinner was in the hotel’s restaurant and wasn’t much to speak of. Afterwards we went for an hour’s canal ride through St Petersburgh. This was great! Buildings here similar to that of London, yet there is not a high rise in sight. I can’t wait for our next couple of days.

Canal Cruise, St. Petersburg, Russia

Canal Cruise, St. Petersburg, Russia

Canal Cruise, St. Petersburg, Russia

Naomi, Julian, Carmen, Jamie, Sarah, Helen, Richo & Cameron, Canal Cruise, St. Petersburg, Russia

After looking at some black-market hockey shirts, we had a couple of drinks in Naomi’s room before heading to bed.

Jyvaskyla, Finland to Helsinki, Finland

A 10 am take off to Helsinki this morning.

After one stop, we arrived at two pm. Roberta, Brad and I then spent most of the day looking for a bank to accept our ANZ cards, but to no avail (only to find out later a problem with ANZ’s system back in Australia).

We did however manage to see Helsinki’s Cathedral and Senate Square. Also did a bit of shopping for supplies to take into Russia.

Cathedral, Helsinki, Finland

On our way to the motel (somehow our camp site had been double booked) we stopped at the Rock Church, which is a church built into the ground and surrounded by rocks. A bizarre design, but it made for a beautiful church, as the roof was made of glass and, therefore, lit the church with natural light.

The motel was 20 minutes out of town and was luxurious compared to all previous accommodations. Here we met our new tour manager, Gavin, and bus driver, Mammal, before our group and some new people (who were only doing the Russian leg) went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. This was a good night out for us, as we said goodbye to 16 people who weren’t coming to Russia and greet the new people.

Contiki Scandinavia Crew, Planet Hollywood, Cathedral, Helsinki, Finland

We came home on the late bus and danced all the way home.

The night finished off in Kerry and Greg’s room for a couple of drinks.

Roveniemi, Finland to Jyvaskyla, Finland

I don’t like cooking duty in the morning – far to early (six am start) for a vacation.

Today was another bleak day weather-wise, which will hopefully improve as we move further south. Our first stop today was at Santa’s Workshop in Rovenemmi, where we walked through endless souvenir stores and saw Santa. Working even in the off season!

Back on the bus and back to sleep until Tervola, where we made an unexpected stop due to a problem with the bus’s windscreen wipers. It was decided we would have lunch here and that a new bus would be called while we waited for ours to be repaired.

Two and a half hours later we were back on the road in a new bus. We continued to Jyvaskyla, which was another four hours away, to arrive to our picturesque camp site on the lake.

Campground, Jyvaskyla, Finland

A game of volleyball was followed by a midnight dinner and then a visit by Santa (Carcass) for our gift swapping. I got two shot glasses from the Arctic Circle Centre (from Mark & Heather), while Roberta received a small Viking hat. John got my jigsaw puzzle of Scandinavia.

The night finished at three am with Jamie and Dan coming over for a drink in our room shared with Dave & Melissa.

Hammerfest, Norway to Roveniemi, Finland

Our first stop, after leaving Hammerfest this morning, was Vackson, our last port of call in Norway.

A quick stop on the other side of the Finnish border for some people to claim duty on their purchases before driving on to Narmi for lunch. We had another hamper lunch, which have saved us a fortune during the trip. I managed a sleep before arriving at Sondankyla, where we were treated to some cold wet weather.

From there we continue on to Rovaniemi – a 12-hour bus trip in total. Our roomies for tonight are Jo and Cameron.

I was on cooking duty tonight, then Roberta on wash up.

Afterwards we went into reception, which had a bar and watched Norway vs Morocco in the World Cup, while playing pool.

Hammerfest, Norway

The 10 am start this morning allowed for a nice warm sleep in.

After breakfast some took the option to go deep sea fishing. Roberta and I chose a relaxing day in bed, catching up with much needed washing. We opted to not even go into town to have a look around – mostly due to the cold and lousy weather. But at least we’ll be clean. 57 fish were caught on the trip, so it’s not hard to guess what’s for dinner this evening.

Hammerfest, Norway

After dinner Mark, Heather, Roberta and I were joined by Dave and Melissa for a couple of drinks and a viewing of the 12.21 am sun.

12.21 am Sun, Hammerfest, Norway

Moen, Norway to Hammerfest, Norway

No time for sightseeing in Moen today, as we continue on to the northernmost point of the trip – Hammerfest.

We left our camp site early, and made our first stop in Olderdalen, where the weather seemed considerably colder.

Olderdalen, Norway

Between there and out next stop, Alta, we pulled over to the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, to take photos of the beautiful fjords and snow-capped mountains.

Not much to tell you about Alta, except we ate some nice banana rolls. After lunch I got my first ever sleep on the bus. I’ve tried to stay awake as much as possible, knowing I’ll probably never see these countries again, but today was the limit or me. When I woke, I saw the most barren countryside I had seen so far on this trip. Snow and dirt covered bare trees on smallish hills. Why anyone would live here is way beyond me!

We arrived in Hammerfest at seven pm and our camp site was up on a hill south-west of the fishing village. It is here things got a little crazy. Considering it was summer, I was surprised when we got off the bus to 7^oC, but the wind chill on top of that made it amazingly bitter.

We all went down the hill to watch some of the group take the Polar Plunge. Down to their swimming costumes and into the freezing water of the Barents Sea. I wish I had of tried it, but I was neither brave, nor crazy enough to try.

Polar Plungers, Hammerfest, Norway

After dinner most of us crammed into Spencer, Flea, Carcass & Ben’s room for our Midnight Sun Party. Hammerfest has 71 days of continuous sunlight during the summer months, but tonight it was cloudy, raining and, at one stage, snowing, so we missed the phenomenon. Considering how cold it is here, I don’t think I’ll be back to try my luck again. Hopefully the weather will be more agreeable tomorrow. The party, however, raged on to the early hours of the morning.

Cabin Party, Hammerfest, Norway

Mo I Rana, Norway to Moen, Norway

Today was another long driving day. We left Mo I Rana at eight am, making a stop, yet again, at the Arctic Circle Centre, though this time in bright sunshine. This was merely a leg stretching stop, and of course a quick snow fight.

Arctic Circle Center, Norway

Our next stop was at the side of the road three hours later, where we had lunch and kicked the soccer ball around.

Back in the bus to continue to Narvick, before arriving at Moen at eight pm. Once again, we are sharing a cabin with Mark and Heather in our nicest accommodations so far.

Roberta & I, Narvik, Norway

Although it is cold today, it was the sunniest day we’ve had since we left Australia.