NORWAY
FINLAND
SWEDEN
My first trip into the Arctic Circle was a strange affair. In some ways it was totally contrary to my expectations, in others it exceded them with a vengeance. There was not enough hiking and too much travelling by bus - no matter how much you want to dress the description up as 'one of the most breathtaking scenic drives in Europe' a tedious eight hour drive remains a tedious eight hour drive. Then of course there are the mosquitoes - blood sucking horrors by the million that drive you to the edge of insanity.
The twenty four hour a day daylight turns the trip into a sleep deprivation experiment as your brain refuses to acknowledge that it's ever time for sleep. Against all of these problems and offsetting them completely is the sheer grandeur of the views and the not quite sunsets at midnight.  It was a strange trip alright but a good one.
Tromsø is a town big on civic pride. Full of statues of famous Norwegians it likes to advertise itself as the 'Paris of the North'. Whether Paris ever advertises itself as the 'Tromsø of the South' wasn't actually clear.
Even viewed from the top of the nearby hill there is still nothing conspicuously Parisienne about it although it has to be admitted it's a remarkably photogenic and pretty town.
Its architecture vary from the sublime to the truly ridiculous. Right we see one of the town's many delightful churches while the 'toppled domino' structure below is the Polaria Museum which thankfully is considerably more interesting inside than out.
As soon as you start to explore in Norway you discover what a beautiful place it is. I always say you can't go wrong taking pictures with lots of water and reflections. If ever there was somewhere to prove the truth of it, Scandinavia is that place.
As can be shown time and time again by pictures of Norway...
... and Finland. The other reliable source of easy excellent photography is always 'Sunsets' and 'Sunrises. This one is neither. Or possibly both. It was taken at about two O'clock in the morning as the sun changed from 'not quite going down' to 'not quite coming up'.
If there is one thing more reliable than the spectacular scenery it is the spectacular mosquitoes. The lengths you need to go to to protect yourself can sometimes seem absurdly extreme - but not to anyone who has been there in Summer.
The fish drying in the sun illustrate one of Finland's major industries, the lady sitting at her stall illustrates another - the thriving trade in bits of dead reindeer. You can buy hooves made into clocks, antlers made into hatstands and skins made into blankets. With a bit of dilligence you could probably buy enough parts to take them home and reconstruct a whole reindeer.
Whether on water or on dry land trying to find your way around in Finland can leave you all at sea.
How better to finish this page than with three more spectacular views - two taken at Nordkapp and one at a Lake on our way back through Finland. After all the scenery was what this trip was all about.