After a very comfortable night in my very comfortable Sami-style hut, I loaded up the bike to make my way to Kiruna and the Scandic Mountains. The weather was a bit rough and the temperature down to a measly 4C, but the forecast promised better times up the road.

I first rode up to Kiruna, or should I say the Kirunas. Because there are actually two towns. The old Kiruna used to be a small countryside village, up until iron ore was discovered in the mountain next to it. Lots of iron ore. That drew in the state mining company, LKAB, which began to, well, basically decimate the mountain, and a few others around it as well. After extensive tunnelling under the town of Kiruna, the very ground on which the old town sat, became unstable. So the town's people and LKAB jointly decided that the town should be moved. That process is wel on its way now, with the old town boarded up and new big apartment blocks being built about 5 kilometers further on. LKAB pays for it all and also put up a small remembrance park on a ridge to commemorate the old town centre. It overlooks the mining operation, which is much larger than Kiruna itself.
I rode around town to take a few pics. I had a funny feeling I was being watched. Can't be sure, of course.

On to the mountains. The road follows the train track which is being used to transport the iron ore to the Norwegian port of Narvik. It was a prime target for the Germans in the second world war, because they needed to secure both the iron ore and the railway for their war effort. There were few major battles here, but nothing remains of that. Instead, the road to the mountain town of Abisko brings nothing but loveliness. The Scandic mountains are quite old and not that tall, though the tallest are covered in snow year-round. In between them are wide valleys, with many lakes in all shades of blue. It made for a wonderful ride, with fantastic views around every corner. The weather had cleared up as well and life couldn't be better.
I made some home movies along the way, check them out at:
https://youtu.be/IeEcghpXtDY 

I reached Abisko by lunchtime. The town had nothing to offer except petrol, so I decided to have my lunch al fresco near the closest lake. Sounds idyllic, right? Well, the Scandic mountains are beautiful but wild. So when I followed a small path to the lakeshore and arrived at my intended destination, it didn't exactly turn out to be the paradise I had envisioned. All around, spread out over a large area, were bones. Big, burly bones in all varieties. Which had been recently chewed upon. Clearly this was something else's favourite lunch spot as well. And I didn't particularly want to meet it. So I hastily made my way back to the bike and rode off. After all, this is bear country. No worries, I would eat my lunch elsewhere, where I was less likely to become lunch myself.

After I finally had lunch (no bears present), I went on my way to the Swedish-Norwegian border. The road continued to flow through this wonderful landscape, as I passed Kebnakhaize, the tallest mountain in Sweden. As I rode into Norway, the landscape slightly changed. Rocky outcrops and huge stones mainly, less wide open spaces. And lots of cottages. The Norwegians clearly like to go up and stay here.

I did as well. My hostel was right here up on the mountain, overlooking the valley to Narvik. When I arrived I cooked a simple meal, which I shared with the Swiss guy who had also just arrived. He's actually on his way to coast. He didn't much care for the mountains, but he was interested to see the ocean. Well, of course.

Tomorrow I'll be riding along the Atlantic myself, making my way to Tromso. Getting more northern every day ;)