Image Page on Norway, Sweden, and Finland

Insert pictures, and at least one panorama image, and a webcam image from two different times.


Outline

1.   Landscapes

o   Norway

o   Sweden

o   Finland

2.   Cities

o   Oslo, Norway

o   Stockholm, Sweden

o   Helsinki, Finland

3.   Landmarks

o   Heddal Stavkirke- Notodden, Norway

o   Turning Torso-  Malmo, Sweden

o   Pihtsusköngäs Waterfall- Enontekiö Municipality, Finland

4.   Images of People

o   Norway/Sweden/Finland- The Sami People

o   Norway- Henrik Ibsen

o   Sweden- Ingvar Kamprad

o   Finland- Joonas Suotamo

5.   Images from the book

o   Astrup Fearnley Museet- Oslo, Norway

o   Vasamuseet- Stockholm, Sweden

o   Suomenlinna- Helsinki, Finland

6.     Webcam

o   Molde/Moldefjord, Norway

7.    Panorama

o   Geiranger Fjord, Norway


1 Landscapes

 

Norway

Norway is the western-most country on the Scandinavian peninsula with a population of about 5.4 million people. It has mountain ranges, forests, fjords, and you can see the northern lights. There are plenty of quaint coastal fishing villages, and modern cities like Oslo and Bergen. The days are long in the summer, and very short in the winter. Norway is even home to artic foxes and polar bears.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150516-the-extreme-landscapes-of-norway

 

Sweden

Sweden is home to around 10 million people. Sweden has around 11,600 kilometers, or 7200 miles of coastline. Roughly the same size as California, Sweden has forests, lakes, marshlands, and mountain ranges. The highest mountain is Kebnekaise, at 2099 meters, or 6886 feet.

https://www.visitnordic.com/en/attraction/kebnekaise

https://sweden.se/society/key-facts-about-sweden/

 

Finland

Finland is home to about 5.5 million people, with the majority of the population living in the south around the Helsinki region. People swim in the many lakes in the southern region in the warmer months, and do winter activities like cross-country skiing in the coler months.

 

 

https://finland.fi/life-society/nature-in-finland/

 

 

2 Cities

 

Oslo, Norway

Norway’s capital city, Oslo is home to nearly 695,000 people.

 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2020/03/01/oslo-whats-new-in-norways-capital-in-2020/#51814cd272cc

 

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm is also Sweden’s capital city, and is the largest in the country.

 

https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Stockholm.htm

 

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki is Finland’s capital city. The common theme of the area’s I chose it that the capital cities in these countries tend to be in the southern region, and are major seaports.  

https://news.cision.com/helsinki-marketing/r/world-s-first-comprehensive-city-wide-air-quality-system-will-be-built-to-helsinki-region-in-finland,c2266230

 

 

3 Landmarks

 

Heddal Stavkirke- Notodden, Norway

The Heddal Stave Church, built in the 1200s, is the largest of the stave churches still in use in Norway. Stave churches are medieval wooden churches that are often composed of only wooden joints, and no nails or glue. You can take a tour of the church, they have a cafeteria that serves food, and it is still used for church services like baptisms and weddings.

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/heddal-stave-church/3538/

 

Turning Torso-  Malmo, Sweden

The Turning Torso was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, and is one of the most visited landmarks in the Skåne province. It is 190 meters, or about 623 feet, high and was completed in 2005. The building twists around 90 degrees from the base to the top, and you can arrange tours of the top 2 floors of the 54-floor building.

 

https://visitskane.com/classic-attractions/turning-torso

 

 

Pihtsusköngäs Waterfall- Enontekiö Municipality, Finland

Pihtsusköngäs is one of the most famous waterfalls in Finland, although it is quite difficult to access. In order to see this waterfall, you must be a highly experienced hiker with knowledge of hiking steep and often unstable terrain. You also have to prepare accordingly, packing sufficient food and water, and gear for sudden weather changes.

 

https://www.suomenvesiputoukset.fi/waterfalls/browse-waterfalls-of-finland/pihtsuskoengaes-en-gb/

 

 

 

 

4 Images of People  

 

Norway/Sweden/Finland- The Sami

The Sami are the indigenous people who live across Norway, Sweden, Finland and even Russia, but the majority currently live in Norway. They speak Sami, which is different than Norwegian, but is a part of the Uralic group of languages- like Finnish. The Sami people raise reindeer, fish, farm, and raise other types of livestock to support themselves. They are also associated with colorful clothing traditionally made of reindeer leather and artisan goods like jewelry. Most recently, the Sami culture inspired characters in the feature film “Frozen II.”

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/typically-norwegian/sami-people/

https://nordnorge.com/en/tema/the-sami-are-the-indigenous-people-of-the-north/

https://skandihome.com/skandiblog/uncategorized/sami-culture-customs/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-frozen-2-norway-sami/disneys-frozen-2-thrills-smi-people-in-northern-europe-idUSKBN1Y318H

 

Norway- Henrik Ibsen

Years ago, in high school, I read Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House.” I enjoyed it so much, even though the tone overall is rather depressing and the characters face difficult situations; they feel real unlike other plays that involve fantasy or science fiction. I remember debating which characters’ actions caused the most harm- Nora, Torvald, the doctor, or the others. The Visit Norway website states that Ibsen is “considered the father of modern realistic drama.”

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/art-culture/literature/henrik-ibsen/

 

Sweden- Ingvar Kamprad

Who hasn’t owned a piece of Ikea furniture? Or heard a joke about how frustrating it is to assemble it? Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd (IKEA) created the company in 1943 so people could have affordable and stylish furniture. There are over 300 IKEA stores worldwide. We even have a couch- the Morabo- and two chairs with ottomans- the Poäng. We each assembled a chair, although it took me longer!

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/morabo-sofa-gunnared-dark-gray-wood-s89318321/

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/poaeng-armchair-birch-veneer-knisa-orange-red-orange-s19240849/

https://sweden.se/business/ingvar-kamprad-founder-of-ikea/

 

 

Finland- Joonas Suotamo

I always like to joke that my husband is part Viking, or his family must be Scandinavian or Nordic somewhere along the line, because he is 6’9.” My husband just falls short (hah!) to play Chewbacca the Wookie of Star Wars fame, because Joonas Suotamo from Espoo, Finland is 6’11.”

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B97QO0nHpRs/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jPAS2nDIt/

https://joonassuotamo.com/about

 

 

5 Images from the Book

My version of Europe on a Shoestring doesn’t contain color photos, so I went to the Lonely Planet website and purchased the updated PDF version. This will come in handy for future travel. However, when I started to flip through the pages I found that this book doesn’t really have many pictures. I decided to screenshot the PDF book of a few areas/attractions and then googled images to place here. The blurbs from the book provide pretty good descriptions.

 

Astrup Fearnley Museet- Oslo, Norway

The Astrup Fearnley Musset of contemporary art was established in 1993, and moved to its current location by the Oslo Fjord in 2012.

 

https://www.afmuseet.no/en/astrup-fearnley-museet-XAZthaHJk

 

Vasamuseet- Stockholm, Sweden

The photo is from the warship Vasa, for which the museum was created. After being salvaged from Stockholm’s bay, the Vasa found new life and research about the ship and the time it was built, around 1628.

 

https://www.vasamuseet.se/en/vasa-history/timeline

 

Suomenlinna- Helsinki, Finland

The “Fortress of Finland” is a very interesting site. It reminds me of other forts I have visited, like in St. Augustine, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Suomenlinna’s military role declined after World War II, and in 1973 it was converted into an area for public use with museums. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Helsinki today.

 

https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/111272

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/583

 

Sources:

Baker, Mark, et al. Europe on a Shoestring. Lonely Planet Global, 2018.

6 Webcam

Molde, Norway

I found this webcam in Molde to be really cool. It slowly rotates during the day to give you a 360-degree view of the Romsdal Alps, little islands, a marina, and the fjord. It is very peaceful to watch, and sometimes you can see sailboats and other ships out on the water. The webcam sight gives a little information about the town, where it mentions that Molde hosts the country’s main jazz festival. After a little googling, I found information about the Moldejazz festival. This year, it will be held from 13-18 July, 2020. According to the website, this jazz festival was founded in 1961. One thing I found very interesting was that the festival is certified as an “Environmental Lighthouse.” The website goes on to explain that Environmental lighthouse is a national program in Norway for companies and organizations to lessen their environmental impact in their industry.

https://www.moldejazz.no/en/

https://www.moldejazz.no/en/about-us/environment

 

 

https://www.webcamtaxi.com/en/norway/more-og-romsdal/molde-panorama.html

 

7 Panorama

Geiranger Fjord, Norway

The Geiranger Fjord in Norway is one of the country’s most popular destinations, and it’s hardly difficult to see why. This beautiful panorama was taken from a point called Eagle Curve, a section of road where people can stop and get out of the tour bus or car and step onto a platform to take in the scenery. To the far right in the photo, you can see a waterfall. A UNESCO-designated World Heritage site, the Geiranger Fjord can be enjoyed by cruise or by taking the Trollstigen Mountain road.

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/the-geirangerfjord/

 

 

http://www.360cities.net/image/norway-2017-geiranger-fjord-eagle-curve#340.87,16.97,70.0

 

 

 

 


Submitted by Victoria Follin