Denmark/Sweden

We met our tour manager Lou and Bus Driver Scott (both Kiwis), along with most of our group on the Friday night,
I took one look at everyone and new this was going to be a great trip! I was rooming with Saori that night,
so learnt another name that evening. On our first day our bags were weighed then we piled on the coach, I sat
next to Andre as we headed for Harwhich...with everyone talking nine to the dozen, getting to know one another.
We jumped on our DFDS ferry for our overnight crossing to Germany. On the deck we learn't more about our fellow
travellers, then a group of us headed off for dinner. That night we had a few drinkies, still learning everyones
names. A few people went to the movies while the rest of us enjoyed the entertainment before heading to bed.

The next morning we arrived in Cuxhaven Germany and got our passports stamped. Heading across Germany to Denmark we
passed some picturese villages. We hit an amazing lightening storm with torrential rain aswell. Passing into
Denmark it reminded me of the farmland back home. We carried on to a campsite just out of Copenhagan. We all got
given jobs, so as soon as we arrived the bus unpackers unpacked the bus while the cook tent erectors got to work
while the rest of us settled into our cabins. Later the cookies went to help Becks our cook then the rest of us
lined up for dinner, tonight we had a three course meal...usually it's two, an entree and main, or main and pudding.
Sarah and I were watergirls, we had to set up the containers for washing up...bin for scraps, cold water and
detergent, warm water and detergent, then bleach with warm water, finishing with hot water...so everyone did their
dishes and then had to "flap" them dry...tee hee very amusing but effective!! The dishies then helped with the
dishes Beck had used for cooking. That night we chatted at the various cabins before heading to bed.

Today we got to look around Copenhagan. We stopped at the Amalienborg Palace and Cathedral then headed on to
the "Little Mermaid", she was quite sweet perched on a rock with the sea behind her. We were then dropped off
in town so Megan and I walked down the main street Stroget. We had a look at the "Fisherwoman" statue, then
checked out Christiansborg Palace and the first stock exchange building which had a cool dragon spiral. We
then met up with Craig and Nats and headed to Vor Frelsers Kirke which has a 95m spiral tower with 400 steps,
the last 160 on the outside, so we climbed the tower for a great view of Copenhagan. Next we carried on to
Christiania and checked out "pusherstreet" where hash is quite openly sold!!! We decided a canal tour would
be another way to check out Copenhagan so relaxed on the waterways for the next hour, Steve and Sarah joined
us for the ride. After our canal boat we headed to Nyhavn where we checked out the anchor for war veterans
then wandered down past the colourful cafes and houses...this is where Hans Christian Andersen also once
lived. We next wandered through the streets checking out the round tower and wandering through a lovely park.

I had to get a photo sitting on Hans Christian Andersens statues knee, then we headed to Tivoli (century-old
amusment park) where we had a Danish meal...a meat potato dish with a Carlsbergh beer. That night back at
camp we had an introduction night, to get the lowdown on everyone and what traffic light colour they were
ie. green for go..single, orange..maybe, red..off limits tee hee.

The next day was spent on the bus getting from Denmark to Sweden's capital Stockholm, with a short ferry
ride inbetween countries the scenery changed to mainly forest once we were in Sweden. To vent some energy
that night we headed down to the lakeside for a game of soccer, everyone laughed at me as I opted to play
in barefeet! The next day we went in to Stockholm and started off having a look around Gamla Stan (the
old town). We looked at the Royal Palace and went into the Royal Cathedral where they had the 1494 St.
George and the Dragon sculpture. After this we headed to the Town Hall where we saw the Blue room..where
the Nobel Prize banquet is held, Prince Eugen's own fresco re-creation of the lake view from the gallery,
and the mosaic-lined (19 million guilded mosaic tiles) Gyllene Salen ( Gold room). We then climbed the
tower for a great view of Stockholm. After this I wandered up the main street, then met up with the bus
and they took us to the Vasa museum, a 17th century warship which sank minutes after being launched and
after 300yrs has been resurrected.

I next headed to Skansen where they had traditional houses with people dressed up in traditional clothes.
I enjoyed walking around the zoo in the rain aswell and saw my first and last moose and baby moose. I
caught the bus back into town and met up with Dave and Ingrid, we decided to try the Mongolian BBQ for
dinner, some of the others checked out the "Ice Bar"...entirely made of ice! A few of the guys stayed
in town for a night out in Stockholm. Back at the campsite I did a washing mission with Asuka, up to
midnight chatting with some other travellers doing a eurorail trip. The next day was spent travelling
from Stockholm to Norway...now Norway thats another story.

Norway

Travelling from Stockholm to Norway Don kept me entertained on the bus all the way to our campsite,
an hour out of Oslo. That night we had a bonfire and by the end of the night Nads, Scotty, Monica,
Don and I were the only ones left standing so we decided to get some photos infront of the bus, with
Scotty on Dons shoulders and Monica and I on either-side (after a few attempts of Monica on Scottys
shoulders aswell....not a good idea). It now doesn't get dark so deciding we needed a few hours sleep
before hitting Oslo we headed to bed.

We headed to Oslo in the morning, our first stop Holmenkollen ski jump (1952 Olympics). Neil, Fiona
and I did the simulator....a rush. Took some scenic shots of Oslo then headed to Vigeland Park...an
amazing collection of Gustav Vigeland statues including a monolith of writhing bodies. These all
blew me away especially a statue of two elderly people, old age sucks. After being dropped in town
Don and I wandered up the main street and stopped for lunch at a trendy pub where we could watch the
world go by. After lunch we headed to the Akershus Fortress and enjoyed wandering through the various
rooms. We then headed to the Royal Palace and wandered through the gardens at the back before making
our way to Oslo Domkirke (cathedral) with its 1697 painted ceiling. We met up with the bus and next
went out to the Viking Ship museum, some amazingly preserved ships! We came back into town and headed
to the harbour for dinner with Stefan, Dion, Amanda, Sarah, Erin, Lou and Phillipa. We chose a pasta
restaurant and enjoyed the atmosphere of the harbour with the castle/fortress in the distance.

From Oslo we travelled to Lillehammer where we checked out their ski jump which had people practicing
on it, man they fly!! Next we had lunch and wandered around the town, there were some street performances
happening and I couldn't resist stopping to watch some young kids doing some amazing latin-american
dancing! Just out of Lillehammer at Hunderfossen we stopped at the 1994 Winter Olympics Bobsleigh
run. Vivek, Tania, Julie and I teamed up as "Speed Demons". We watched some of the others then off
we went with a great shove off from the guys. Our time of 64.31secs was the best yet but we got bumped
to bronze by the end! Such a ride....up to 100km/h...trying to keep your back straight as your hurtling
towards corners with the G forces trying to crush you down!!!! Took a while to wipe the smiles off!!!
Onwards through Dombas (Dumbass) to Andalsnes passing through some spectacular mountainous scenery!
That evening most of us got dressed up and headed into town for a boogie, Scotty got the prize for
best dressed with his hot shirt! Still not getting used to this walking home in daylight at the end
of the night...the river and mountains are just picture perfect!

Today we made our way up Trollstigen (Trolls Path) with its many hairpin bends. We stopped to take
photos of the Stigfossen falls then headed on to the Dalsnibba lookout (1476m) to take more photos
of Geiranger valley and fjord. We then headed down to Geiranger where we jumped on our fjord cruise.
This was beautiful, the colour of the water, and all the waterfalls like the 'Seven Sisters' tumbling
down from above! When we got back we had lunch in Geiranger. We stopped by the Stifgossen falls on
the way back to camp and Hollywood took our Contiki group photo. That evening we watched "Bend it
like Beckham" on video...pretending we were at the movies.

The next day back to Dombas where I met a friendly Troll. Then on to Trondheim, Norways former capital
and it's third largest city. Don and I headed for some lunch then went to the Nidaros Domkirke (cathedral),
unfortunately it had just shut so we checked out the ornately embellished exterior west wall, which is
lined with statues of biblical characters and Norwegian bishops and kings. We then headed up to the
Kristiansten fortress marvelling at the "bike escalator" on the way, and one guy taking a lift up
balancing on one foot without a bike! From the fortress we got an amazing view of this pretty seaside
town. We meandered back down into town and had a look around before meeting up with the bus which took
us to our hostel. Later they dropped us into town for dinner. We met up with Dave, Ingrid, Nat, Craig
and Scott for a drink at a cool bar then we headed off to Tex Mex for dinner, a very enjoyable evening
with great food and company. Don and I later decided to walk back to the hostel and with Don's navigational
skills we made it back, only to discover later that our hostel backs onto the fortress which would have
been a decidely easier route to have taken than what the bus did...but where's the adventure in that!!

The next day we farewelled Trondheim and headed to Mo I Rana, a short stop at "Hell" first off to
take a few photos...just to prove that we'd been to Hell and back, and to send a few postcards while
we were in Hell. To kill some time on the bus we had a battle of the sexes quizz which us girlies
just managed to win...though having Ingrid as the scorer might have helped! Our cabins in Mo I Rana
were set right on the lakeside! That night we had a quizz evening to strain our brain cells...Scotty,
Steve, Ingrid, Asuka and I were aptly named "brain dead." The next day we caught a launch across a
lake then had a gorgeous 45 minute walk over amazing coloured rocks to the Svartisen Glacier, Norways
2nd largest! It was fantastic with amazing greens/blues in the "ice caves." Next we headed up to the
Arctic Circle Centre, where we saw a video with no sound, just pictures of the area. Then we took lots
of photos and got our passports stamped. I bought an arctic circle shirt while I was there. That night
we had reindeer for dinner! Some folks had gone up in a plane to see the glacier from the air, after
dinner Neill, Don and I ran to the airport to see if we could go up, unfortunately the pilot was off
home for tea..so we missed out :-(

The next day we left Mo I Rana, had a short ferry ride then stopped in Narvik, a bustling port completely
rebuilt after WW11. Got a photo taken by a sign with distances to different places up North. We carried
on passing some Sami (native nomadic people) tents heading for Moen. Our campsite was set on the side
of a lake with mountains surrounding us. The next day we travelled from Moen to Hammerfest. At our
campsite some reindeer ran through the middle and up the hill! We had dinner then headed up to Nordkapp.
There were heaps of reindeer on the way up. We got to Nordkapp and it was blowing a gale with lots of
low cloud, we bundled up warm and took some photos outside on the cliff. Later we came inside to a really
cool bar built into the cliff and had a drink with candles all alight in the cliff wall...stunning! At
11:45pm we headed outside again and just on midnight the weather cleared and we got photos with the midnight
sun...on June 21st the longest day of the year! Everyone was so excited that we were one of the 8% that
saw the midnight sun, everyone was jumping up and down and hugging like it was New Years!! Most of us
tried to sleep a bit on the bus ride back.

The next day we had brunch, then most of us went arctic fishing to catch us some dinner! We all piled
on a local boat then off we went. They had a fish finder system on board so once they'd found a school
we would stop and we'd drop our hand-lines in, no bait..just hooks with plastic luers! Dave caught the
first fish, I caught the first fish for a girl and Erin caught the biggest!! Half way through the trip
Anne-Marie mangaged to hook herself, so we took her back to shore so she could go to hospital and get
it removed. We ended up with 18 fish, just enough for tea. Dave gutted quite a few of the fish along
with the son of the boat owner who was about 10, the seagulls loved the guts! The boat owners were
going to fillet the fish for us and bring them up to camp.

At 7pm that night those of us insane enough to get into our togs went for a polar bear swim. It was
freezing so it was a quick dip for most of us, except for Steve who decided to go for a wee swim!
Beck wrapped our fish up for tea with herbs and butter in tinfoil, and cooked it to perfection...you
don't get much fresher than that!! That evening there wasn't a cloud in the sky so Don and I took
our vodka and gin and set ourselves up on the cliffs above the sea where we could watch the sun on
the horizon...this midnight sun thing is unbelievable, it comes down then goes back up again not
even looking like it's going to go below the horizon!!

The next morning we said goodbye to Norway and travelled into Finland...but you'll have to wait for
the next exciting adventures.

Finland and Back Again

Travelling into Finland our destination was Rovaniemi. That night we all ended up at the campsite
bar, where hello...there was a pool table...so Don and I settled into becoming kings of the table
for the evening, gotta love the game! The next day we headed to Santa Claus's village, where a few
of us got our photos with the real Santa! The arctic circle runs right through the village so we
took some photos on the line. Got a few more photos on Santa's sleigh etc. before jumping back on
the bus and heading to Jyvaskyla. That night we had a Christmas dinner and Lou, Beck and Scotty
shouted us some wine and beer! After dinner we all gathered around our Christmas tree and we had our
Secret Santa gifts handed out. It was a top night with a lot of thought obviously having gone into
a lot of the pressies.

The next day we travelled to Helsinki, Finland's capital. First stop was Senaatintori the central
square where we took photos of Tuomiokirkko (Lutheran cathedral) the most photographed building in
Finland. Next we went to the Olympic stadium and then to Sibelius Park a memorial to Finland's greatest
composer in the 'white city of the North', it was really neat like a large pipe organ. We passed the
underground church then got dropped off to look around the city. Don and I walked back to the central
square then headed to the Orthodox Uspensky Cathedral, where we took some photos, then we walked through
the markets on the harbour and up the main pedestrianised street. We got bits and pieces that Don
needed for Russia and headed up to take another look at the Parliament building before just wandering
around soaking up the atmosphere. Once we were dropped at the hostel that night we all got dressed up
for our last night together. We went to a lovely restaurant for dinner then all hit the pub. A few
people carried on to the clubs with the rest of us heading back to the hostel.

The next morning was quite sad as most of the Scandi crew got up to farewell the other half of our
group which was heading to Russia...we new they were off on another exciting trip with new people,
but it was hard saying goodbye after sharing so many good times together through Scandinavia! We still
had some time in Helsinki so Jo and I went and did some e-mailing then we went back to the Uspensky
Cathedral and had a look inside. We looked around the harbour and markets where we both found a lovely
Finish crystal necklace to buy! Then we had fresh salmon at one of the stalls for lunch...divine! We
then wandered up the main street and headed to a park which was also an old cemetry...really neat with
the old headstones scattered through a manicured park. That afternoon we boarded the luxurious Baltic
Ferry for our overnight "thousand island" cruise to Stockholm. We all had the buffet that night then
headed to the bar. Got a lovely back massage from Steve and then encouraged the braver/drunker people
in their karaoke attempts! It was a great evening and I ended up dancing with Liana and Scott until
the nightclub shut at 4am. Amazing fun dancing away with the sea and islands sliding by outside.

We lost Scott, Craig and Neill to Stockholm that day while the rest of us headed across Sweden to
Copenhagan in Denmark. That evening we had a lovely meal with cheese, crackers, salami, ham, salad,
buns and fruit...with strawberry pudding for dessert. It was so strange with only about 15 of us...lining
up for dinner was a non-event! We had a few drinks and chatted before heading to bed. The next morning
we had a few hours in Copenhagan. I found a cool shot glass for Stace, then headed to the Rundetaarn- the
round tower, a 1642 astronomical observatory. It was great to climb it and get a view of Copenhagan
with blue skys!! Had a bit more of a wander around the city before heading back to the bus. We then
headed to our overnight ferry which would take us back to Harwich. I had the buffet that evening with
Beck, Lou and Scotty, then we all sat around at the bar chatting and having a few last drinkies together.

The next morning Jo and I had a danish for breakfast, before we jumped off the ferry back in England.
We jumped on the bus and listened to "Rockin all over the World" for the last time as we headed back
to London. It was a very quiet/empty bus that rocked back into London to "Buttercup". Just as we pulled
up at the National a car was driving alongside us in Scottys blindspot and as we turned to park we took
out its headlight/bonnet. Poor Scotty he had done so well all through Scandi and right at the end of
trip, unbelievable...we still wuv you!!

We all grabbed everything off the bus and said our farewells...with hugs all round! It had been an
amazing trip, with great scenery, experiences and friends made along the way!!!