Journey to the edge of the world (From Swindon Advertiser)

Journey to the edge of the world

9:57am Monday 13th July 2009 in Holiday Reviews By Jaine Blackman

YOU know what it’s like . . . one minute you haven’t given more than a fleeting thought to Norway for years, the next it’s absolutely everywhere!

It started on Eurovision weekend - even before the competition started. On a visit to London, I noticed lots of tourism ads for the country on the tube; then, on checking in to our hotel, discovered there was a party of Norwegians and folk of Norwegian descent also staying there. They were planning to meet fellow countrymen the following day to celebrate Norway’s national day.

Watching the Eurovision song contest with them in the bar later that evening (which Norway won by a mile, in case you missed it) was a riot.

So when, a couple of days later, an invitation to visit the country arrived, it seemed like I was destined to go there.

Even when, as a nervous flyer, I discovered it would take three flights to reach my destination in Norwegian Lapland, right up in the Arctic Circle, it didn’t deter me.

Had I realised our third flight in a twin propellor aircraft (a Dash 8 100 for all you plane buffs) would make another two stops before landing at Batsfjord - our final destination - or that our journey home would involve being unable to land at one airport because of high winds and missing a vital connection at another because our plane had a technical fault, I might have thought twice about going.

Luckily, I didn’t know any of that was ahead and I was glad I didn’t, otherwise I would have missed out on a fantastic experience. And in the end (even after the 26 hours it took to get home) it all just reinforced the feeling that I’d been on quite a special journey.

Batsfjord is in the Finnmark area of Norway, bordering both Finland and Russia and the Arctic Ocean. While we were there we also visited Syltefjord, Kongsfjord and Berlevag (see panel).

The area is one of the lands of the Northern Lights and Midnight Sun and pretty much on the edge of the world (well, the map of it anyway, I do know it’s round!).

We arrived around midsummer’s day, when the sun really does never set. Instead it sits just above the horizon.

There’s no difference between day and night. One minute you’re enjoying a dinner of reindeer and aquavit in the sunshine . . . then all of a sudden you find it’s 2am and still broad daylight. You have to force yourself to go to bed, knowing you have to be up at 7am to go snorkelling or king crab catching or one of the host of other activities you can enjoy in an area, which is new to tourism but keen to welcome visitors.

It’s a strange feeling . . . not unpleasant, but definitely weird. It must be all stranger for the locals, who have to cope with about six weeks a year when the sun never rises.

If you are a traveller who likes to get off the beaten track, this is the place for you.

We visited ghost villages where the houses are now only used as summer homes, with roads which are impassable for many months of the year. It’s more striking than picturesque in summer, when there is no snow. The buildings are utilitarian, the landscape stark. But that’s part of the appeal. In particular, photographers, artists, birdwatchers, anglers, hikers and those who like to go somewhere a little different and have some new experiences will love it.

I fall into the latter category: I was delighted to snorkel in the Arctic Ocean, visit German strongholds virtually untouched since the war, sit in a hot tub with my sunglasses on at midnight, eat whale meat and gnaw on dried reindeer . . . even if it did smell a bit of wet dog.

I’ll probably never go back in daylight, but the lure of seeing the flipside of the area in darkness, with snow and the Northern Lights, means I’m already thinking those six flights just might be worth it.