Final Norway Camp Before Finland & Sweden | Would You Camp at the Russian Border?

So we came in inland and now we've got to do this 20-minute stretch along the border. It's prohibited to cross the border by land, water, air. Remove, damage, or destroy the border markers. None of these were on our bucket list here. Good morning. We're on our way to Kirkenes, which gets you really close to the Russian border. So we're going to see if we can get right up to the border. But we spent a couple of wonderful days in Bogoines, Bogoines, I'm not sure how to pronounce it. I'm going to figure that out. A little fishing village. You got to go half an hour off the main road to Kirkenes and a friend from Italy that we met in Vardo told us about this place and I'm so glad he did because we would have missed it. We probably would have driven right by, but we just loved that little village. It was just so quaint and so quiet and we got to taste some really awesome Norwegian traditional foods and we went out on a king crab safari, which was just an epic experience. So yeah, but we're moving on. I think our last stop in Norway is going to be Kirkenes and then we start working our way south through Finland and Sweden and who knows and beyond. So come with us, we'll head over to Kirkenes. We are getting a notification that we need to do an oil change really soon, so maybe there'll be something in town here. We just pulled over here to, Carol's making a coffee and I tossed the trash. You'll notice here there's trash bins at every little stop and actually they're all over the place. So they make it very easy to get rid of your trash and we've noticed the roads are very clean. Almost no litter whatsoever. We have the oil, but not the oil filter, so he's looking around or asking around if any shop in town has that or, you know, auto supply store that they deal with. Otherwise, they have to order it in from Oslo, which would take a week. So we're only here for a couple of days, but he thinks he might be able to source one. He'll text me, I gave him my phone number, he'll text me whether he can or not. We're waiting for the water to fill, so of course we've got to get Pulsa again. That's one of the main reasons why we have to leave Norway very soon, because we're having an unhealthy amount of these delicious things. Thank you, it looks delicious. Last one, promise? Promise. We're driving along the Russian border right now. We just passed the border crossing, which is now closed. We are heading to what they call the end of the road here, which is the far, far eastern side of Norway. It's about an hour drive from here. It also is a stone's throw from the border, so there's some strict rules, obviously, of how to behave out there. You don't do anything pointing towards Russia, don't even throw a stone across the river. This road looks pretty worn out, washed out. We're just going to go out there, probably camp one night, and then hopefully they have some good news for our oil filter, and we can get the oil changed, and then we begin our southward push into Finland and Sweden. We've been driving inland for a while, but now we've got to do about a 20 minute section right along the border, and there's a big information sign here saying Norwegian-Russian border, and it's got some instructions, so we're just going to go out and make sure we're informed. We're right here, so we came in inland, and now we've got to do this 20 minute stretch along the border to the end here, which is where we're planning on camping if there's room. But it just says a couple of basic things. It's prohibited to cross the border by land, water, air. Not planning on doing that. To make contact across the border is prohibited, so if you see someone there, you're not allowed to talk to them. Make offending actions towards or across the border. To remove, damage, or destroy the border markers. None of these were on our bucket list here. To photograph Russian military personnel and equipment in an aggressive or provocative manner. I'm not even sure what that means, but you can see they've covered over. The old sign says right here. Oh yeah, there's a lot covered up. To photograph Russian military personnel and equipment on Russian territory. So the laws must have changed. You can film them now, but not in an aggressive manner. I'm not sure how you film aggressively, but we probably won't do any of that. We're just going to go out there and see what it's like, and we're taking you with us. So the pavement has ended. We're on the dirt road for the last stretch. We really feel like we're getting out there. We're as far east as you can go, I think, in Scandinavia. Wow, that is Russia right there. As we approach the end of the road, we can see the steeple of a church appearing on the horizon. The sign indicates that the church is open and welcomes us inside. Here at the far edge of Norway, right at the border with Russia, stands King Oscar II's chapel. Built in 1869, this small stone church served both as a place of worship and a declaration of sovereignty in this remote Arctic frontier. The stones were carried up from the shoreline by hand, and for more than 150 years, this chapel has stood firm against the Arctic wind and weather. Inside, it's simple and serene. White walls, wooden pews, and a quiet stillness that feels like stepping back in time. For fishermen, soldiers, and weary travelers, this has long been a place of prayer and refuge. Today, it endures as a symbol of faith and resilience at Norway's northernmost border. This is pretty neat. It was built back in 1869, 100 years before I was born. Kind of to establish the sovereignty of Norway, because that river is the Norwegian-Russian border. They built the chapel facing the sea. You can see the sea right behind us. And it's significant enough that it was used as a navigational marker for many, many years for sea-going people and fishermen and all that. It's built of stone from the area, so it kind of blended in. So at one point, they whitewashed the whole thing so that it would be much more visible. But then, I think at the 100th anniversary, they sandblasted it back to its original. It's a beautiful, beautiful building with a neat history. So I just got an email from the Ford dealership there. He said, hey, Peter, we cannot get an oil filter for your truck. No one in Norway has it in stock, but we can change the oil. It's better than doing nothing. And then you can change the filter when you get it without changing the oil. Best regards, Christian. That makes sense. At least we'll change up the oil, right? Man, I knew we should have bought some and just had them with us. If you're shipping your vehicle somewhere, carry a couple oil filters. We honestly thought of it just too late. But, yeah, it would have been so simple. We got our oil changed in New Jersey just before shipping out of Baltimore. And, I mean, we could have bought two, three little oil filters. But we'll bring them back with us next time, or we'll just have the boys ship a couple to us. We made it. It really blows me away how many cozy little beaches in the most remote places it feels like here in Norway. Like, I mean, look at that. The perfect beach. It's just an amazing setting. It's kind of sad. You know, the last, probably, maybe night or two depends on how long it takes to do our oil change and different things. But probably not that long. So, tonight's probably our last night in Norway. I'm kind of happy it's rainy. It's fitting for where we are. And we haven't really had any rain on this trip. Like, a few passing storms, and then it'd be hot and sunny again. So, apparently, you can camp here over the night. I don't know if we will. We might go down the road a little bit. So, it's a very rugged and beautiful coastline. But every once in a while you see these white sand beaches. Today's not much of a beach day, but it is beautiful coastal weather here. I just saw a seal bobbing in the water. They say you can see whales out here quite a bit. I'm just making some hamburgers. And we made some pre-made potato salad to go with it. It's a little bit chilly. It's just that damp, cold of night. I'm used to that. We had such pleasant weather this whole entire month here. Pete's been talking to lots of wonderful people. I see him with his phone out and their phones out. They're telling him places to go and must-see stops. That's what we've experienced this whole trip. People have come up to us and said, Have you been here? Have you been there? Oh, if you're going there, you've got to go here. My goodness, already, people have said, Have you been there? And we've driven past it not knowing. So, now we really take the time to put it in our notes and try and hit those destinations. Anytime we get coordinates for a camp spot or a place recommended by a local or fellow traveler, we save it on the OnX OffRoad app. All we do is paste the coordinates into the search bar and it takes us right to the spot. From there, we can add a waypoint, jot down a few notes, organize it into a folder, and instantly have it available on all our devices. Whether we're planning ahead on the laptop or navigating in the truck, OnX OffRoad keeps all our favorite places at our fingertips. After dinner, a couple of the soldiers stationed here came by to say hello. Their duty is to watch over the border, but they also take the time to greet travelers who've made the long journey out here. As we shared conversation and laughter, it wasn't about politics or history. It was simply about people. It struck me that even here on the far edge of Norway, history and borders may define a place, but it's the connections between people that truly give it life and meaning. We're just here to inform tourists when we are on social patrol. When some tourists come, we talk to them and we explain the regulations with the rules and not to throw stones over a certain side. And picture-taking. Picture-taking, what you can take pictures of and not. So we just want to talk to tourists. We have this blue mission. So with the police in Finnmark, we talk to them and we sort of do the mission. You keep the peace up here. Oh yeah, basically. So they don't have to drive all the way here. So we work with them. And it's also to comfort people that's here because when we're so close to the Russian border, it's very great to have some friendly military. That's comfort for the tourists and people that's here. Yeah, you make us feel super comfortable. So the weapons are not to frighten anyone. No, no. We're having this on our back. If you ever make it up here, guys, talk to the military folks here. They're here to explain everything to you and make you comfortable, which you did for us. So thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Nice meeting you guys. Nice meeting you. How cool is that? Look at that patch. Anywhere but here. We had a really nice quiet night. It was raining for a while, but then it stopped and it was just beautiful right at the end of the river that separates Russia from Norway. We're now driving back to town to get our oil change along this international border, which is a very small river. You could probably, it's illegal, but you could throw a stone into Russia. But yeah, it was a neat experience. We had a great time talking to the Norwegian military folks that are stationed out here. Really nice guys and full of great information. So yeah, that was a good experience, I think. And we're now proceeding southward. So we just pulled over for a second. I think this is the camp spot where Caroline, Dan, and the XO team camped. And as you can see, we're right on the river. So this is about as close as you can get to the Russian border. We just stopped for a minute just to take some pictures for their memory's sake, and we'll carry on. So in most cases, the center of the river is the border. But in that case, it's the edge of the road here. So they have a sign. You can follow it on the map here, but sometimes it touches the right side of the bank, and sometimes it's in the middle. So that's why all those warning signs. You are literally three feet from the Russian border, and it's not something to mess around with if you're out here. But anyone we talked to, Norwegians, people from Austria, all over, they all glowingly talked about the Russian people and how nice they are, and how much, how they have friends on the other side, and so on. So hopefully all that stuff will be resolved, and peace will prevail. We stopped here at a rest stop, which is right on the actual border crossing. Carol made something for breakfast, which is delicious. We're waiting to see if there's a little souvenir shop across the road to see if they open any time soon. And then we head over to get our oil change. We're just looking for a coffee shop downtown. Kirk and us here, but things open pretty late this time of year, if they open at all. So the main coffee shop is closed for the entire month. Family holiday, it said on their website. So we will keep looking. If it does open, it opens on the average like 10 or 11. Kind of past the point you want a coffee. Right. Back home, coffee shops are open at 6, 7 in the morning at the latest. All right. Yes, last week it was a festival. Wow. That's a tight fit, but they got it in, so at least we'll get the oil changed, and we'll order a couple of filters to our next destination. And also when we're in different countries, we'll look around for some of them too. You can't even buy it. We can do it in the box. That would be the only thing you need. The roads through Finland, there's a lot of rain there. We used 7 hours through Finland, down to Rovaniemi, because rain there and animals on the road. Mostly in Lapland in the north? Yeah. Fine ever, but in Finland it was 1.2. All right, so the folks there are very helpful. They got the oil changed. As I told you yesterday, we couldn't find a filter for it, but everything we've read on those filters, they can go 10,000 kilometers, and we've only got 5, so it'll be OK for a while. So after the oil change, we've decided to come back 20 minutes back to the border because there's a little souvenir shop that apparently has some Russian stuff in it, so it would be kind of neat to see if we can find a sticker or a patch or a souvenir, and then we'll carry on. But the gentleman that did the oil change was a really interesting guy, really awesome guy, and it turns out he's a military veteran, and I've never seen a Ford as big as an F-350. The biggest they have is like a 150 Raptor, and there's our friends from France. Yeah, so anyway, the respect that these folks have for America, for the U.S., is off the charts. Sometimes we've heard the opposite coming here. We've had people say, you should take those American plates off your truck and things like that. We've had exactly the opposite experience. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that story because sometimes you just don't hear that on the news or whatever. Oh yeah, I like that one. And this is the border. That one's kind of cool too. Well, this is kind of neat too because it has both with the church. The Norwegian ones are yellow, and we saw the red ones across the river. That's a good one there. Let me get a translation. I'll just screenshot it. That one I recommend you to see. And you can check it if you go. This one, that's old city, German city. The Russians never gave it back. They have the boats, the army there. So check it if you can come here. Yeah, motorcycle trips across America or even Canada. Yeah, he went to Canada, but I wanted to go to America. Pete and Dan. Yeah, he's clear. Well, we just left Norway and re-entered Finland heading south. And I'll take some time in the next day or two to share my thoughts on Norway, but what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive through Norway and experience everything we experienced. It's too much for me to even process right now. It was amazing. The people were incredible. Wow, that was something else. And we almost feel like we're leaving home. We felt so at home there over the last month or so. But anyway, it's been amazing. So thank you, Norway, and on to Finland now. Same diesel, 7% biodiesel here in Finland. It's not cheap up here, at least in north Finland. It might get cheaper as we go south, but right now it was 1.64 euros, which is $2.60 CAD per liter. I think when we left home it was, what, $1.70 or something. Anyway, time to fill up. So far, driving through northern Finland here, it really, really reminds us a lot of the taiga forests of northern Quebec and northern Ontario. And then there's, so far, lakes, beautiful freshwater lakes and rivers and rocks. But you can see the trees don't grow too big up here. So I'm going to look online and make sure, but I think it's part of the huge taiga forest that wraps around the whole Arctic Circle and the whole north of both Canada, Alaska, Russia, northern parts of Scandinavia and all that. So far, not too many reindeer. We've been able to drive fairly steady. A lot of people warned us, watch out for the reindeer because they can block the road and jump out of the ditch, so we're being careful. As evening falls, we arrive at a campground in Enari. Time to catch up on laundry and take in the pristine beauty of Lake Enari, Finland's third largest lake, stretching nearly 80 kilometers and dotted with over 3,000 islands. Tomorrow we'll visit the Sida Museum, named for the traditional Sami Sida, a community built on cooperation, connection to the land and centuries of living traditions. Here, the Sami and Finnish people have coexisted for generations, sharing this remarkable landscape and its rich cultural heritage. So it's been nice. I've been able to do quite a few loads of laundry, hanging them outside and inside. It's just a nice reset at this campground here in Finland. This morning we are touring a Sami museum here in Finland. There's an indoor museum and then an open-air museum, which is what we're going through right now. And yeah, it's just been fascinating. Walking through the Sami museum, we're reminded that the far north is more than just dramatic landscapes and arctic wilderness. It's also home to an ancient culture that has thrived here for thousands of years. The Sami are the indigenous people of Lapland, with a homeland stretching across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and into Russia's Kola Peninsula. Traditionally, they lived as reindeer herders, fishermen and hunters, adapting their way of life to the extreme arctic seasons. Here in the museum, we see tools, clothing and artifacts that tell their story. Intricately woven garments, decorated with bright colours, handcrafted knives and the traditional go-ti, a turf-covered hut that offered shelter during the long harsh winters. But the Sami are not just people of the past. Today they continue to preserve their language, music and traditions, while balancing them with modern life. The hauntingly beautiful sounds of yoik, their traditional singing, are still performed, carrying memories and emotions across generations. Exploring these exhibits, we gain a deeper respect for the resilience and identity of the Sami people, whose culture remains as much a part of Lapland as northern lights and endless forests. So we did a fair bit of driving today from way up north, where we were last night on a beautiful lake, down to the Arctic Circle. We stopped at a restaurant which is right on the Arctic Circle here, and we're having reindeer roast. Reindeer roast. So it's a traditional Finnish meal. And it looks good. It should be delicious. Wow, this is super good. We were talking to the gentleman when we were crabbing. Carol asked, what's your favorite meat? And he said reindeer by far. And the difference between, say, reindeer and moose or caribou back home, maybe caribou is the same, but at least moose and some game like that is very, very lean, so you typically mix it with something more fatty. But he said reindeer is almost like beef. It's got enough fat to just be served on its own. Due to the hot weather and everything today, we just kept on driving. I have to sit there in this heat. The heat's going away next week, but it's here for a couple of days. I talked to a local guy when I was fueling up, and he said the last time it was this hot here in this part of Finland was 1990. It had a heat wave just like this. But anyway, it was too hot to sit still, so we just kept driving. And then we came around the corner, and the Sweden sign was there, so we're in Sweden. I actually didn't think we were that close to the border yet, but we're going into Sweden, down along the coast, and then we're going to take a ferry back to Finland, over to Helsinki, and then down. Anyway, that's the plan right now. It may change, but some folks last night when we were at the camp spent some time with us. They've lived both in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and they shared a couple of different routes that they thought would be best for us to take. So this trail is way longer than we thought, and it's rocky and beautiful, but hopefully it ends up at a great camp spot because it takes a while to get in here, and it'll take a while to get out. So we've got the bay at the top of the Baltic Sea on both sides here. We've got the place, at least right now, to ourselves, and it's super quiet and remote and beautiful, so it looks like it's going to be a great place to camp for the night. We'll get the truck positioned so we can get Starlink access and upload a video. There's a seagull diving out of an eagle. Well, it looks like a sea eagle. It must have been getting too close to their little chicks. We hope you enjoyed this week's video. Next week, we'll continue our journey through Scandinavia, crossing from Sweden back into Finland, making our way south to Helsinki, and then taking the ferry across to Estonia. A big thank you to our Patreon family. We hope you've been enjoying our Europe series so far, and the road ahead is packed with more. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and finally Germany, where we'll visit my sister near Frankfurt before flying home to finish the first part of our European tour. There's so much more to come, so stay tuned. And in the meantime, we'll see you down the road. This is the perfect soup size for Matt and the boys.