this expensive budget trip start from Lund,Sweden ( 40 mins from Copenhagen,Denmark)
best way to get around is buy a Scandenevian pass, around 2200 and 30% discount for under 26 ,  or euro rail.best option would be 8 days pass or 5 days pass

Best way to get around is buy a Scandenevian pass, around 2200 and 30% discount for under 26 ,  or euro rail.best option would be 8 days pass or 5 days pass

plan by what you actually want to see , for me artic circle environment and land scape and of course budget

my trip started from
from Copenhagen,Denmark  --(5 hrs ) stockholm(sweden)--(night train 20hrs)---Abisko
        Abisko--(2 hrs)--Navik( norway)--(4 hrs )--Lofaten island----Narvik
        Lofaten island(norway)----(7 hrs ) Lulea ( sweden)
        Lulea---(2 hrs )Harparanta ( border town)----Kemi ( finland)---( 2hrs)--rovaniemi
        Rovaniemie----(night train 10 hrs)--helsinki
        Helsinki----(2 hrs)---Turku
        Turku(finland) ----(10 hrs night ferry ) Stockholm ( sweden)
        Stockhom---( 4 hrs)Gotenberg---( 2 hrs )Lund ( sweden)

cover almost 5000 km in 12 days
      

people  look for a mid night sun, but here in winter ,  some period no sun does not go above horizon and there is only a sun light from 10.3 am - 1.3 pm before it become completely dark by 2 pm!!!

moon picture is taken at 1 pm in Kiruna on my way to Abisko

after more than 20 hrs train finally , small nice town Abisko home to a popular national park and highest mountain in Sweden

nice trekking rail, but in winter,? amazing nice walk on frozen lake

quote from Lonely planet,  :no such bad weather but bad clothing! so ...better to have a well prepared

frozen lake , look empty and place of no where

sauna( baked your self in there for mins and have a cold air and come back to sauna again , repeat  several time ( the way they do it) in a wooden hut after a night nice walk!

good bye to sledge dog ( aren t they cold ) and good bye abisko

last station on Sweden border before train winded in to mountain area and decline down to a sea port in Norway ,Narvik

the name of train station means Nation Border

next station is a last station  Narvik narvik

2 pm in Narvik, daaark

finally arrived , Svolvær capital of Lofaten after 4 hrs headache curvy road

i don t know where i was , no where , no people and arrived at a wrong season !

arctic taste  raining, windy, snowing, cold, dark and ,,,crap

depressiveeee

uncomfortable feel  of a small narrow house , in a dark

backk  to main land Narvik again with little money left, i found my self a quiet corner in the town before some one reported to police and we were taken to police staion.

police: what r u doing here?
me: wait for train station to open  at 6 am,it is too expensive
police: do you have money???!!
me: if i have i would not sleep here  

glad to be back to a train station again ,and feel great to see people, a live and walking
get ready next station Lulea, Lulea

passsing highest mountain in sweden again feeel good,

Lulea .. bus hub to finland,

(and looking for a frozen sea)

frozen sea

may i help you?

people look for midnight sun? here again mid day sun , sun at 12 am almost gone

ps Lulea  locates below arctic circle so there would be sun may be 3-4 hrs a day during mid winter

bus from Lulea ( sweden ) ---Kemi( Finland)  -----(train )--- Rovaniemi (Finland)

บรรยากาศแปลกตาดีครับ สวยมากอยากไปเหมือนกัน มีโอกาสคงได้ไปเยือนสักครั้ง ชอบมากๆอากาศหนาวเนี่ย

traditional Sami ( native in northern part of Scandenevia) hat 25 EU  a bit too muchh

fish fissh fisssh oen of a main dish here ,  both raw and cooked

leaving Rovaniemi for HELLsink(i)

Helsinki lanmark? and its streets

amazingly quiet during new year 2008

last pictuess of HELLsink(i)

last stop Turku , ( former capital city of Finland)  before last ferry back to Stockholm!

ferry to stockhom ( sweden) from Turku ( finland)

a bit of thinking, if you plan to to travel in this region! especially very up north of Norway ,Finland, and Sweden

1. what you want to do ( winter activities ----skiing,dog sledging  or summer activities ---trekking,camping)??
1.1  European summer you would have almost 24 hrs light  but in mid winter you have 3-4 hrs lights perhaps no sun

2. winter time in north regions  there is not much number above 0 c in thermometer but more number below 0 c ,Cold or windy or rainy ,,,no such bad weather but bad clothing!

accommodation and opening hours can be annoyance!!

some HOSTEL and HOTEL open only a certain time of the year, check others wise mean no place to sleep!
some BUS and FERRY only run for a certain time of the year
New year and Christmas should be avoid , not because is only crowded but shop are closed means no food in non tourist area  24-26 Dec danger!!

so well check, well plan and if it is possible book it