Zonnebloem
29th July 2008, 10:55 AM
I felt like trying something new.
I've always been a fan of the Lake District but get really annoyed with the crawling traffic and bleedin pathetic caravans clogging up the roads. Swedish Lapland is even more Lake, more mountain, more snow than the Lake District but almost deserted wide open roads, so you can get around better.
I started off in Umeå, which is south of Lapland but the drive up beyond Lycksele, the capital of Swedish Lapland, to Tärnaby and Hemavan takes about 4½ hours. In winter they are ski resorts. In summer they are fantastic walking places, with a fair bit of snow still left there in July.
Pluses: the scenery, the quiet, ski lifts up the mountains, the fresh air, proximity to Norway for a change of scenery and language, mountain cabins for accommodation, the weather (mostly) of up to 28º, friendly people (everybody you pass says "Hey hey") and common knowledge of English. Food was good - on my plate, I had reindeer, elk, röding which is a fantastic red-bellied fish and capercaillie. You can see reindeer and elk in the forests if you look carefully and need to watch out for them on the road, if you drive too fast. I am told the fishing is superb.
Minuses: relatively difficult for accessibility (there's a minor airport at Hemavan) but there are train and bus services from Stockholm and buses from Umeå, if you don't hire a car. Drink is expensive and you can't buy wine or beer above 3.5% alkyhool from supermarkets - you have to go to a state monopoly shop called System bolaget. The concept of a pub is almost totally absent in the mountain area. Maybe this is a relief for the liver but makes the area a no-no if you want to be out on the razzle every night. But that's not why you go to the mountains, is it.
It never really gets dark in summer. Is this a plus or a minus?
http://www.tarnaby.se/vinter/default.asp?pageid=14703
I've always been a fan of the Lake District but get really annoyed with the crawling traffic and bleedin pathetic caravans clogging up the roads. Swedish Lapland is even more Lake, more mountain, more snow than the Lake District but almost deserted wide open roads, so you can get around better.
I started off in Umeå, which is south of Lapland but the drive up beyond Lycksele, the capital of Swedish Lapland, to Tärnaby and Hemavan takes about 4½ hours. In winter they are ski resorts. In summer they are fantastic walking places, with a fair bit of snow still left there in July.
Pluses: the scenery, the quiet, ski lifts up the mountains, the fresh air, proximity to Norway for a change of scenery and language, mountain cabins for accommodation, the weather (mostly) of up to 28º, friendly people (everybody you pass says "Hey hey") and common knowledge of English. Food was good - on my plate, I had reindeer, elk, röding which is a fantastic red-bellied fish and capercaillie. You can see reindeer and elk in the forests if you look carefully and need to watch out for them on the road, if you drive too fast. I am told the fishing is superb.
Minuses: relatively difficult for accessibility (there's a minor airport at Hemavan) but there are train and bus services from Stockholm and buses from Umeå, if you don't hire a car. Drink is expensive and you can't buy wine or beer above 3.5% alkyhool from supermarkets - you have to go to a state monopoly shop called System bolaget. The concept of a pub is almost totally absent in the mountain area. Maybe this is a relief for the liver but makes the area a no-no if you want to be out on the razzle every night. But that's not why you go to the mountains, is it.
It never really gets dark in summer. Is this a plus or a minus?
http://www.tarnaby.se/vinter/default.asp?pageid=14703