Travel Tips

While I remember, I'm going to put in a plug for my new favourite driving route. Every fortnight I make the drive from Boden to Kiruna to attend a project meeting in Kiruna. A one way distance of around 350km. There is a train which takes the trip, and I've taken it once. it's a comfortable train, and I've nothing to complain about it. But the drive is my time. Even though it's a bit tiring at times, it's a chance for me to mull over the day and contemplate life for a while. without the grief of some annoying git on their cellphone or slurping their coffee. That's me, the original Grumpy Old Man. Stuff it, I like it. And, as I'm not paying for it, I get to take a nice new hire car every time. There's money in iron ore. Anyway, after bouncing around a few different alternatives, I've settled on my favourite routes. Travelling to Kiruna I take route 356 out of Boden. Not a lot of people know this road, which is a lovely sealed route winding through the forests. It's one of my favourite jogging routes as well, although obviously not all that way. Unfortunately it hooks up all too soon with E10 highway, which means battling out with freight trucks for the final hour and a bit. But that 100 or so km stretch between Boden and Morjärv is to be recommended.

Having driven home once in the evening via the E10 and E4, I needed to find a sane alternative. It was either that or I would be charged with truck driver genocide. Thanks to my very clever wife, I have the perfect homeward driving route. Taking the E45 between Gällivare and Jokkmokk and then hooking onto 97 for the final stretch is the perfect unwinding road. In the 6 or so times I taken this road home, I have yet to meet one car travelling in front of me and, more importantly, not a single truck. This road has fantastic scenery, and if you're a reindeer fan then this is the place for you. That's probably the only downside, keeping an eye out for reindeer as you go. On my last trip I tried to keep a quick tally and I ended up with passing 25 reindeer either on the road or standing next to the road during a 50km stetch between Porjus and Jokkmokk. That being said, these are impressive reindeer. Santa stuff, not those scrawny worm infested theme park animals.

So there you go. If you're ever in the area and want to get off the beaten track a little while still remaining civilised, that's the way to go.