Leaving Leafy Sweden
And so we come to the end of the fields, forests, fells, fjords and farmhouses of our Swedish journey. Archetypal rural Swedish scene We’re now on a ferry between Stockholm and Turku in Finland, having spent the last 16 days wending our way slowly around from Malmo to the southern coast and then up the eastern coast to Stockholm, arriving today. I’ve just totalled up and see we’ve covered a total of 996km (we’ll use Swedish rounding to say it’s 1,000km, OK?) and have seen a lot of scenery. It’s been a journey through rural landscapes, with some coasts and lakes thrown in. And hills. We came here expecting fairly flat landscapes, but it’s turned out to be surprisingly hilly. Not big hills, but lots of little ones, which rather spoils the two main benefits of climbing hills: panoramic views and long, fast descents down the other side. Our route had provided us with a lot of greenery in the form of fields (especially wheat) and forests - both coniferous and broadleaf. And lots of cha...