What awaits us in the province of Troms og Finnmark

(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).

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In good weather, we follow the Rv85 road, the European routes 10 and 6, northwards for 378 km. We have left the province of Nordland behind us and are now in the province of Troms and Finnmark, which lies entirely north of the Arctic Circle and was only created in the regional reform in January 2020 by merging the previous Troms and Finnmark Fylke. “Now we’re in the country of origin of the seeds,” I interrupt the steady hum of the engine. “I thought you lived in the province of Nordland?” asks Tanja. “Nordland is where the Sámi habitat begins, but from what I’ve read, this province is the center of the indigenous people of Norway, who were hunter-gatherers here 10,000 years ago. Today, 50% of all registered Sámi in Norway live here. They even have their own parliament building in the town of Karasjok, which was opened by King Harald V on November 2, 2000.” “Their own parliament building?”, “Yes, but the Sami Parliament (Sameting) does not have the right to veto decisions made by the Norwegian Parliament. Even when it comes to their very own issues, such as Sami culture or the traditional Sami areas in northern Norway, the Norwegian parliament ultimately decides. However, the Sameting is granted the right to be heard in such cases. Considering that this people has been excluded, discriminated against and robbed for ages, that’s a good step.” “Interesting. And what else do you know about this province?” “Ancient rock paintings indicate that there were other peoples here before the Sami, but they disappeared in mysterious ways. Maybe we’ll have a chance to see some of the paintings. However, Troms and Finnmark is the largest province in Norway with an area of 74,830 km². Compared to Germany, Bavaria is the largest federal state with 70,542 km². The main difference, however, is that over 13 million people live in Bavaria and less than a quarter of a million here.” “Wow! Then we are almost alone in this region of the world.” “If we move just a few meters away from the traffic arteries, definitely. The wilderness around us is breathtaking. The province is bordered to the west by the European Arctic Ocean, to the north by the Barents Sea and to the east by Sweden, Finland and Russia.” “Sounds exotic. I can’t wait to see what awaits us here.” “In addition to some old churches and towns like Tromsø, there is definitely breathtaking nature with deep moors, vast green meadows, forests, clear lakes and imposing mountains that stretch their peaks up to 1834 meters into the Arctic sky. We will once again see archipelagos, fjords and coastal regions whose massive, steep cliffs are assailed by the Arctic Ocean,” I enthuse. “Not forgetting our main destination, the North Cape,” adds Tanja with shining eyes. “Yes, exactly. Although we’ve already been there, I’m particularly looking forward to it. I hope the visitor center is still open.” “Why do you fancy the visitor center?” “I just loved sitting in the café drinking a cappuccino while storm-whipped clouds envelop the North Cape outside.” “That’s right, it has something. But maybe we’ll even be lucky enough to explore the Cape on our e-bikes in the sunshine.” “My Tanja. Always confident. I think the chances of encountering good weather at this time of year are very slim. But who knows? Maybe we’ll be granted this good fortune.”…