The only part of the long journey’s that I remember of my
childhood is when I asked my mother, how long before we arrive? My father would
then say to me, look out of the window and see how beautiful it is. To sleep in
the journey was more out of boredom then out of the actual need to sleep. In
short all that mattered was the destination and when I took my first 1 hr
flight to Goa from Mumbai, I remember smiling all the way even with the
discomfort caused due to the air pressure difference. Getting there quick is
important, is what I thought back then.
Over the years the concept of a journey has changed for me,
but I never really put it in retrospective as much as I did when I first
started to mention the North of Norway. ‘The journey is more important than the
destination’ I said to one of the callers, explaining him about the ‘Lofoten
Islands Road’. After I had kept the phone down, I thought of the ‘me’, 25 years
ago and smiled.
Unlike the beauty of a destination that suddenly comes in
front of you and makes you say ‘wow’, a journey takes its own time to grow on
you. That is if you look out of
the window! Many train journeys are mentioned which are breathtaking, but not a
lot is said about the road. The train has the advantage of a steady speed,
stops at known intervals and the freedom to walk around in confines of your
compartment. The road on the other hand can be bumpy, the limited space to sit
can be uncomfortable and is prone to unexpected delays due to an accident etc. But
then the road gives you the freedom to stop where you want and take in the
surroundings. And this is where the road scores over the rail!
I have always promoted the winter in Scandinavia tour by
speaking about the activities that one does on tour. Reindeer sledging, snow mobile etc give you that excitement.
I also mention the Ice Hotel, and the Santa Claus. But what I have learnt in
the last two days of my trip here in Lapland is that the journey is equally
important between the towns of the North.
Rovaniemi is the largest town in the north of Finland, while
Kiruna is the same to Sweden. Harstad and Tromso take the title in Norway. But
what is beautiful in the winter is the journey that connects these towns from
Finland to Norway. The sun rises below the horizon at 11 am. This actually
means that between 11 to 1pm it is the twilight zone in the North of
Scandinavia above the Arctic Circle. We travel for around 650 kms in two days
staying for a night in between at Kiruna. There is enough snow in the surrounding
to make you feel that everything right from the roofs of the houses to the
tiniest twig on a tree has all been quoted in a white paint.
Somewhere in those 650 kms you might unknowingly hear
yourself saying, ‘wow’ and that’s when the journey has taken over. The expanse of nature makes you feel
small. The odd snowmobile, or a man being pulled by his dog on a home made
sledge catches your sight or as the twilight begins to fade and the Christmas
lights stand out even more on the houses you cant help but notice the
surrounding. The light makes the white snow turn a into a shade blue and you
feel peace!
Looking out of the window!
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