My tour of northeastern Scandinavia, this time in Finland

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Traveling comfortably on Swiss motorways (San Bernardino), a short stretch of the Austrian and German ones finally, we make a technical stop in Nuremberg and use the afternoon to visit the beautiful city and enjoy local delicacies made of fried cheese and sausage. In the morning we're back on the road, destination Travemünde, the most attractive seaside resort in northern Germany. E'agosto country and there is the feast of St. Lawrence: a triumph of bancarele with all good things, and then music, party and beer ... lots of beer. On the night we boarded our car and the ferry Finlines that in 36 hours comfortable leads in Helsinki, where we land early in the morning to the Hotel Kataianokka, beautiful renovation of a prison. The visit to the city takes a couple of days. Helsinki is beautiful above the sea, in fact we enjoy the sunset using one of the many cruises that visit the archipelago. Here Finland is true, as we imagine it is usual on small islands where jagged coastline overlooking small buildings in which each has a Finnish smoke sauna. During his stay in Helsinki, take the opportunity to go on the outskirts, and look Finland Italy boasts of basketball. All over the sports hall we will be a dozen Italian and we remain impressed by education, respect and friendliness of the people, who, screaming festive fans of their team with absolute loyalty. Back on the road towards Savonlinna and the Lakes. Stay at a beautiful lodge overlooking the most beautiful castle in Scandinavia. Unfortunately the weather is inclement and forces us to skip the boat trip on the canals of Saimaa, the real reason we came here. So, off to the north and Oulu, a lively town on the Gulf of Bothnia. I make beautiful saunas and rest amazed that in every area of the center there is a wi - fi: the town offers. It starts with the usual excitement that we live on the day of crossing the Arctic Circle. This time avviebne Napapiri to a few km north of Rovaniemi. There's a little 'disappointed because the area looks like a huge tent where a commercial photo with Santa (which seems to be here at home) costs 17 euros. We limit ourselves to a few souvenirs, gasoline and we get ready, all happy, to travel the next 300 km that separate us from Lake Inari. this is a fabulous way, including low birches, swaying up and down collinotti. In four hours the weather has changed a dozen times, deafened by the rain, the storm, the sun. So we enjoyed a couple of rainbow very distinct and therefore rare. Reindeer on the sides (and also in the middle, eye) of the road keep us company all the way: the white ones are the best, but if you come across in many colors and some are magnificent. Inari is a small village on the River. We visit the museum of Sami culture, probably the most important in the world. The visit pernde an afternoon, especially to the outside is a large walk in the woods with breathtaking views of the lake. The next day, we love the idea of visiting Kirkeness, just 200 km from Inari, the last outpost of the Norwegian-Russian border. arrive in town at noon, rain and a chill wind blows arctic sea. The center is desert, there is a room open. Only the tourist office are a handful of Italians just landed from the Norway Post, here is the last stop before returning to Bergen. They, like us, are shocked from the unreal that you are facing. Let's go back to hotel in Inari and in the evening, eat one of the best pizza in recent years, only 4000 km from Naples. In fact, the Sami people familiar with the wood oven, which produces a bread similar to pizza. Though I have enjoyed with tomatoes, blue cheese, peaches and reindeer meat. From Inari, on a winding road, trespass in Sweden and stayed in Gallivare, old mining town. Stay in a beautiful castle in the mountains and find that the ownership of this jewel is Italian. Gallivare to begin a long march on the Inlands Vågan, the internal road that Swedish as a first step, leads us to the south of the Arctic Circle, in Mora (after a technical stop in Stramsund, anonymous town on the road) on the shores of Lake Silian . The lake and the villages surrounding it are pure esempèio Sweden internal and here, among other things, originated. Buy wooden Dala horses and visit the mining site in Falun, where, until a few decades ago, copper was extracted. Residues from the extraction, eg here have produced a color to paint the house sides dele (Red Falun), and every home, wood is the same color, with white cornices and around the meadows. The lake is always present. from Falun, Mora again and again to 45 on the Oresund bridge on which we say goodbye to Sweden to get in Denmark. Technical stop in Maribo, in the south and in the morning a short crossing by ferry takes us to Germany. The cross from north to south and we do (the last) stop in Heidelberg. The liveliness of this German city on the river with its castle nekar will be difficult to forget. Through the Gotthard route, we start the last sad journey home.