luleå & umeå

molly, quito sounds lovely! i can totally picture an ecuadorian policeman looking at the map upside down and trying to figure out his whereabouts!
so, i made it to the nordkapp (post card awaits you upon your return). freezing, acritc air, crips and biting. i stood on the end of europe and tried to imagine the arctic just beyond the horizon. the road up was winding. reindeer have the right-of-way as do large, gas guzzling german tour buses. made my way from the nordkapp to alta and almost drove off the cliffs admiring the fjords! the northern norwegian landscape is amazing and breathtaking, barren and harsh. southward through the remainder of norway and straight down through the 'arm' of finland to the finnish-swedish town of tornio/torniå. there, at last, i caught the midnight sun! i stood in the street at midnight and watched it burn in the sky just above the horizon. i laughed! it wasn't in the far north (where it was murky with clouds) but rather south of the artic circle on the border of two of the worlds most beautiful countries. took a bus to luleå and am now in umeå. heading southward to stockholm. eating old bread and passing up the beer (barely 3.5%!!! wtf?) as i am counting the coins. clothes need washing, beard needs-a-trimming and my back needs a re-alignment after hauling my pack around for over 3 weeks. catching a cheap flight out of stockholm for a bit of a hungarian reunion. mr. david fülöp (my room-mate whilst in belgium) awaits me in veszprem. not ready to head back to switzerland and await my departure, so i will make a bit of a detour to the east until i fly back homeward.
keep us updated molly! i love reading about your wanderings!
sorry if this is a bit jumbled, an overnight train ride didn't allow for much shut eye. i am not sure if it was the constant day light or the snoring swedes... :)