The following is the story of a journey on the road "made in July 2008:
from Rome to beyond the Arctic Circle.
from Rome to beyond the Arctic Circle.
I left Rome 36 hours before with the same old Fiat Uno, to arrive at Nyköping, near Stockholm, before Vanessa came with a cheap flight on Ryanair.
The crossing of Italy was very long because although not to pay "protection money" to Autostrade SpA, I decided to drive along the Tiber, Romea and all other roads to the border with Austria.
In Germany, Denmark and Sweden the highway (unlike ours) were fair, free and better equipped!
Also in Sweden could be found with ease ethanol from distributors, with a saving of about 50% on the price of gasoline. The margin of time calculated to reach Nyköping, however, was small but sufficient to arrive 15 minutes before the plane Vanessa! 
The first stop we made on Lake Mälaren in Södermanland, where, riding our bikes, we got up in front of an enormous rune stone depicting a battle in which a magic ring, a source of inspiration for Tolkien's trilogy in the writing "The Lord of the Rings." 
That night we camped in the National Park Tyresta and the next day we went to Stockholm. (ah forgot! In Sweden you can do free camping anywhere! Including national parks and rest areas along the common Strase)
Stockholm appeared very orderly, with no traffic and an impressive hustle and bustle of public transport and bicycles, lots of free museums (as well as all over Sweden) and in the air there was an atmosphere of peace and great respect for anything ... 
The second stage was Uppsala, unfortunately it was cold and rainy and we could not visit many of the things that were in charge and after a few hours in town and we moved to Gamla Hall. Near the small lake Mellandammen we spent our first night in a campsite (Camping & Vandrarhem Hall) owned by religious Protestants very welcoming.
The next day we visited the Museum of the Sala silver mine and then take a ride to Angelsberg at an ironworks in disuse. 
the evening we headed to Gysinge and stayed in a lake infested by mosquitoes, fortunately, the fly of the tent held ... The next morning we visited the city Museum Gysinge, remained intact with its buildings of the mid 800. The park is also a pretty Naturum (interactive natural history museum on the ecosystem of the area). In late morning we headed to Falun, with its disused copper mine became UNESCO world heritage site. 
The site was very informative. The first night we arrived in Gavle and then on to Highway Sundsvall where we found a beautiful campsite on the seashore of the Gulf of Bothnia. The city was preparing for a party night and teeming with people, stalls with hot dogs worked tirelessly ... in the upper part of the city was yet another cultural site, consisting of rural buildings of 1800 with period furniture where you could come and play ... of course with great attention and respect, but here we are in Sweden and there is no need to specify Starla ...
The next stage was a hundred miles further north in an area called Hoga Kusten famous for its fjords and small fishing villages surrounded by spectacular coastal scenery. 
Leaving this area we headed toward the interior of Lapland, at some point in the path we have found the road signs indicating the attainment of the line of Arctic Circle ... 
We stopped for a moment to contemplate, take some pictures and just starting again and going north, to admire the beauty of the tundra. This summer the sun is always above the horizon 24 hours a day, and nature is blooming as we in the spring.
There are about 20 to 22 degrees and it is pleasant to be sleeveless except when it is attacked by mosquitoes ... 
A Jokkmokk was a beautiful campground on the lake, we took the opportunity to rest a bit '. Then into town we found a beautiful Sami museum, where were illustrated the transformation of the territory and the Sami culture in recent centuries. 
Across Lapland is easy to see herds of reindeer grazing, a bit 'as we have with the sheep ... From here begins our descent towards the south, moving from the west, so you can see both sides of Sweden and continue to discover new landscapes.
We head to the mountains on the border with Norway ... a show! Among the mountains could be seen a few perennial ice and trickling streams everywhere.
Further south, near Glos, there is a small site archaeological site with petroglyphs dating back to the Stone Age. The site was free, but there was no one else but us tourists! The guides have prepared a hot tea and pastries with honey and nuts, then began to tell the story (indeed the prehistory) of the place.
The carvings dated back to over 4000 years before Christ and depicting the relationship between man and moose. The site also had a partially reconstructed, there were religious instruments, music, hunting, daily life and a furnished cabin. (Here we made a little documentary, if you want to see it is below, click on it!) .... Read ....
