The Land of the Midnight Sun

As I have mentioned in an earlier post I have been living in Northern Finland for the last six months. During that time I have already experienced the Kaamos, a period of time during the winter when the sun does not rise above the horizon, lasting for about two weeks.

“Daytime” during the Kaamos

Now the summer is here and it brings with it the Midnight Sun. I have seen the midnight sun a few times before when living in Helsinki but not for this long. Mid summer is traditionally celebrated by staying up and watching the sun never set.

Living in the North means that daylight hours are more varying and extreme. In winter there can be 2 hours of light (with no sun) a day. In summer it can be 24 hours for well over a month! Even after that there is technically a sunset and sunrise but not a noticeable difference in day and night.

My next sunset July 15th.

The land of the Midnight Sun
Times for sunrise, sunset and daylight hours in my area.

Death Railway

On the way
Thailand

Riding the Death Railway in Thailand from Kanchanaburi, home of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai. The name comes from the amount of POW’s that died during the construction of the railway over 70 years ago, there are almost 5,000 tombstones in the cemetery at Kanchanaburi alone.

It is said that each railway sleeper used on the track equals the death of one person during its construction. It is predicted that around 90,000 people died during the construction of the railway. The above picture is taken at one of the most perilous points.

This post is in reply to the daily post photo challenge On the way.

Further reading:

Burma Railway: British POW Breaks Silence Over Horrors

The Norwegian Landscape

The Norwegian Landscape
Tromso, Norway

More of the Norwegian landscape from these fellow bloggers:

All Good Hikes Come to an End

Outbound to Anywhere

The View of Tromsø

The view of Tromsø
Panorama using mobile app

Looking over Tromsø there is a view point where you can see the city and the surrounding landscape. The top of the mountain is easily accessible by way of a Norwegian priced cable car that runs every half an hour. Even though it is slightly expensive the view is well worth it.

Above is a panorama I took using my phone, perfectly connected. I am not even sure how it works but some how it does. Below is a panorama I made by printing the photographs and connecting them myself. Even though it is flawed I enjoy the process and the final image.

What do you think? Which one do you prefer?

The view of Tromsø
The manual way

Enjoyed this? Then take a look at my post Landscape Vs Cityscape.

Troll Hunter

Norway
Norway

Driving in Norway took so much longer as we had to stop every five minutes to take photographs of the impressive scenery. Not sure who this guy is meant to be but I like to think if troll hunters where real this is what they would look like.

Further reading:

7 uncomfortable truths about living in Norway

Crossing the Border

I have been living in Northern Finland for the last six months and now the snow has finally cleared it was time to make a trip. The five hour drive north to Tromsø, Norway. It was the beginning of May but that didn’t stop it from snowing the night before.

I had seen much of the Finnish landscape while driving from Helsinki last year and it can easily be summarised, lakes and trees. And lots of them. But then I was told about the landscape around Kilpisjärvi and how beautiful it was. I wouldn’t necessarily consider this as typical Finnish scenery as it was pretty much Norway or Sweden being that close to their borders, but it was beautiful none the less.

Crossing the Border
Kilpisjärvi, Finland

It was surprising how quickly the landscape changed once we crossed the border into Norway. Finland had been grey and dull but 10 km after the border the clouds cleared and made way for clear blue skies. The hills grew from rocky outcrops and became magnificent mountains. The weather was warmer, the snow on the ground was gone and only lay on the mountain sides. It was obvious, Norway was better.

Crossing the Border
10 km into Norway

More from Norway HERE.