Scandinavia… Not a country, but a beautiful area. Scandinavia is the collective name for the following Northern countries; Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Looking at history, Finland and Iceland are also part of Scandinavia: according to the Norwegian council they are part of it. All in all, Scandinavia is huge (more than a million square kilometers), while approximately 24 million people live there. For comparison; The Netherlands is more than 41,000 square kilometers with about 17 million inhabitants.

Of all western European countries, the Scandinavian countries probably have the most more or less untouched nature. In addition, they are countries that are easily accessible from the Netherlands. Norway is characterized by, among other things, the fjords and the Trollstigen, known to many motorcyclists. And where Sweden is known as wide and relaxing, everyone knows Finland as the land of 1000 lakes. All in all, legitimate reasons to traverse this beautiful nature in the north of Europe by means of a number of routes.

After leaving Lofoten behind, it is time to prepare for the second highlight of the trip, the North Cape. That's still a bit of a drive. In this route you start at the first part.
The route starts in Bodø at the hotel. There is room again to fill the tank if necessary. On the other side of the street, some food and drink can be bought for the road. The route runs through an area where it is not really crowded. If a restaurant is closed for whatever reason at a planned stop, you can fall back on your own food and drinks.

The first part of the route will look familiar, it also occurred in the first part of the tour of the Lofoten. Just after Løding you turn right. You leave the E6 (later you come across it again) and you are now on the 17. After a few kilometers you cross the bridge that takes you to the other side of the Godøstraumen. In this water there are numerous rocks on which the erosion of the water can be clearly seen. This has taken years and years, it is still nice to have a look at it.

Further along the route you will pass Misværfjorden. This is a fjord arm of Skjerstadfjorden in Bodø. The fjord has an inlet between Ljønes in the west and the village of Skjerstad in the east and stretches 15 kilometers south to Misvær at the bottom of the fjord.
Slightly in the fjord are the hamlets Hoset on the west side and Støvset on the east side. Between these places is Store Sandøya and from Støvset there is a bridge to the island and the road fills up to Hoset. The bridge is part of Fv554. Inland in the fjord are the hamlets of Bu, Oldereid and Enget on the west side of the fjord. Oldereid is a power plant at Enget. The hamlet of Espenes is located on the east side. The village of Misvær is located in the innermost part of the fjord.

The first coffee stop is planned at Ljøsenhammern Cafe, a beautifully located restaurant in the 'middle of nowhere'. As mentioned, the location is beautiful, in a hilly area from which you have a pleasant view.

After the coffee stop, it does not take long before you are back on the E6. You also drove this road on the way to Bodø, but then of course in the other direction. The road runs along the Saltelva River. This is a river in the municipality of Saltdal in Nordland. The river flows into the Saltdalsfjord at Rognan. Saltelva is part of the Saltdalsvassdraget, the third largest watercourse in the province of Nordland. The watercourse is 78.1 km long, including Lønselva, and has a catchment area of 1544 km². The average water flow at the mouth is 55.4 m³ / s. The watercourse drains the northern part of Saltfjellet and Junkerdalen.
The Saltelva itself runs 35 km from Saltdalsfjorden near Saltnes, via Saltdalen to Storjord where the rivers Lønselva from the south and Junkerdalselva from the east merge. There is a lot of fishing in the river. The watercourse is one of the largest in Norway, which is almost entirely spared for hydropower development.

About thirty kilometers away you drive past the Adde Zetterquist Kunstgalleri. This gallery is primarily an exhibition of the art of Per Adde and Kajsa Zetterquist. The spectacular building houses two rooms for regular exhibitions of the two artists, as well as an adjoining room for guest exhibitions. The gallery is surrounded by beautiful countryside, at Storjord in Nordland, and is part of the Nordland National Park Center. The main principles of the gallery are the communication of art, nature and Sami culture and offers a wealth of experiences.
In the adjacent Saltdal Turistsenter you can enjoy lunch, the kitchen is Norwegian-oriented. You can also fill the tank at the gas station.

After the lunch stop you actually turn immediately left onto 77. You keep following this road until the end of the route. After 20 kilometers you cross the border with Sweden and the road number changes into the 95.
A number of stops are planned along this road, usually at a large lake, to stretch your legs, drink a cup of coffee or refuel. In this area you drive a lot along large lakes, one even more beautiful and larger than the other. Also, there doesn't seem to be an end to the woods you pass through. They mainly consist of coniferous forests, mountain birch forests, swamps and streams.

Eventually you will drive into Arjeplog and reach the final destination of this route, the Simloc Hotel Drottninggatan. A simple hotel with a good rating. You can eat in one of the surrounding restaurants.
Two campsites are indicated for campers in the vicinity of the end point: Kraja Fritidsanläggning and Nature camp.

If you still have some time, you can visit the Silver Museum in Arjeplog. A museum in which you can view Arjeplog's story of the past ten thousand years of human habitation.

Have fun driving this route!