Northern Highlights

Yesterday, we revealed our plans for a very different kind of driving tour – a trip to the Arctic Circle, in winter, which you can read about in the blog post here.  Now, this trip will only be happening if enough people sign up, I guess we need to do all we can to tempt you to come along.  So, while the last blog post about the trip focussed on the amazing scenery and adventurous driving, in this little update we’ll be sharing a little more about the route, and some of the interesting stop-offs which you can take in along the way.

Firstly, the provisional route.  The trip to the Arctic and back will be departing from, and returning to, the UK via the Eurotunnel.  Once on the continent, we’ll be heading up through the low countries to Germany, and then Denmark, from where we’ll cross into Sweden via the rather amazing Oresundsbron bridge-tunnel.  Once in Sweden, we’ll be slowing things down a bit, as we head north from Malmo to Gothenburg, and then on to Lillehammer, in Norway.  From there, we’ll be taking the scenic route up to Trondheim, where we’ll be taking a day off the road to enjoy a well-earned break.

Driving north out of Trondheim, the Arctic Highway beckons, spiriting us through incredible scenery to cross the Arctic Circle, before crossing into the snows of Sweden.  Then, we’ll begin making our way south, firstly to our second day off the road in Stockholm, and then on to a ferry across the Baltic back to Germany.  And from here, we’ll be making our way back to the UK.  The total driving distance to and from Calais will be around 3,500, and so you can expect to be covering an average of just over 200 miles per day, which should leave plenty of time for exploring.

Naturally, a big part of the appeal of this trip stems  from its status as a true driving adventure – and the excuse it gives you to buy an old Saab or Subaru, of course.  However, that’s not to say there aren’t lots of interesting places to check out en-route.  As with all Pub2Pub trips, there’ll be a full itinerary covering the drive, and here are a few of the big-hitting sights which will be making the cut:

One – the Carlsberg Factory and Museum, Kopenhagen

It’s a Pub2Pub trip, so of course there’s a brewery en-route.  In fact there’s a fair few, but for this list, we’re turning the spotlight on the Carlsberg offering, as not only is it bang on route, but you've probably heard of it, and it should also be open in early March, when we’re passing.  However, if you’re not a huge Carlsberg fan, we’ll also be looking for a few other breweries to put on the itinerary, too.

Two – The Museum of Disgusting Foods – Malmo, Sweden

Yes, really.  As with any Pub2Pub trip, we put in the work to find the most weird and wonderful possibilities for stop-offs en-route.  And just as you roll into Sweden, there’s a museum which really ticks the box – one dedicated to disgusting foods, from maggoty Sardinian cheese, to well-aged shark and finely served bat.  Here’s the website if you’re curious: https://disgustingfoodmuseum.com/

Three – the Saab and Volvo Museums

They’re both en-route, and they’re both worth a visit, particularly if you’ve made the journey there in your Swedish steed.  In fact, in that case, it’d be rude not to.  You’ll find us at the Volvo one, trying to get our trusty 240 as far through the front door for a photo, before security stop us…

Here’s the Saab museum, in Trollhatten –  https://saabcarmuseum.se/en/

While here’s the all new ‘World of Volvo’, in Gothenburg - https://www.worldofvolvo.com/en/visit/

Four – Ships.  Lots of ships

There’s plenty of maritime interest en-route, with some amazing museum ships to tour, if you’re into that sort of thing.  The first one we’ll bring to your attention is near Kiel, in Germany – the U995, a genuine second world war U-Boat.  There’s a historical and technical museum here, and you can take a good look around inside the sinky vessel too.  Nearby, there’s also a post-war submarine which is also open to tour, along with its own Cold War submarine museum, plus further museum ships in Hamburg, too.

The second vessel on this list is a legend of icy exploration – the Fram, which was used for expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic by a variety of ice-encrusted legends, foremost amongst whom are Nansen, and Amundsen, the Norwegian who beat Scot to the South Pole.  The Fram is now preserved as a museum ship near Oslo, and the museum around it covers many facets of polar exploration.  Here’s the website: https://frammuseum.no/ 

And we’ve saved the best until last – in Stockholm, you’ll find the Vasa, the best preserved galleon on the planet.  Sunk in 1628, recovered in 1961, the Vasa is today an incredible piece of history, preserved within its own museum in Stockholm.  A must see, if you have any interest in nautical happenings at all. Here's the website: https://www.vasamuseet.se/en

Five – The world’s only 007 museum.

Where would you expect to find the only museum on the planet dedicated to Commander Bond? Yep, southern Sweden, of course.  It exists, and houses a decent selection of artefacts from the many films, so is certainly worth a visit if you’re in the area…

Six – the world’s prettiest public toilet

Trust the Scandinavians to even do toilets properly – this one, just north of the Arctic Circle and just off the planned route, is a work of art.  Worth driving around 1,500 miles from the UK to use?  That’s debatable, but as a halfway objective to your drive to the Arctic and back, there can be few better objectives than a tinkle in a work of art, surrounded by nature’s splendour…  because ask yourself, when was the last time you drove all the way to the Arctic to answer the call of nature?

Seven – The Lake Storsjons Ice Road

Have you ever driven across a frozen lake?  No?  Well, that’s something we’ll have to fix.  Fortunately, there are a few options in the course of our drive back through Sweden, with the ice road across Lake Storsjons being the most obvious.  So, get this life-tick done, and go one-better than walking on water, by driving across it.

And we’ll leave this list at seven, as while we could keep on going all day, we don’t want to give the whole game away.  There are plenty of other awesome things which will be in the itinerary which aren’t listed above, from the ABBA Museum and Nobel Prize Hall in Stockholm, to a Swedish Air Force museum hidden within a cold war bunker.  But hopefully, this has whet your appetite sufficiently to tempt you into joining us on a drive to the Arctic this coming March.  If so, drop us an email at ben@pub2pubadventures.com , and we’ll see you on the road…