Newfoundland

Of course the finished rune stone was sent with a Viking ship to Newfoundland, (both in the same container on a cargo ship;-)

I have waited and hoped for a late invitation, but no one came.
I investigated the possibilities to take me there on my own but it was too late, no air remained.

Of course I was depressed, in addition to the rune stone was many friends already on the way there with their boats and ships, all contracted with the trip paid for. I almost gave up ...!

Just a week before the opening ceremony someone call:
Hello, we at the State Department want you to go to Canada and participate in the opening ceremony as the representative of Sweden, are you going?
 
... you know the answer ... - Yeah :-)

Arlanda 07:45
Rudely stripped of my little knife at Arlanda security.
Obviously, I had traveled in my Viking clothes, and it includes belt, knife and bull scrotum. My knife was banished to a box in cockpit with the pilot.

13:00
Landing at St. John's Airport in southeastern Newfoundland.
Before the plane landed got everyone on board to fill in a paper, with great pride cruised me in that I was there on work assignments ... not so smartly done, after nearly three hours of interrogation and paper hassles at customs I was finally free to enter the country, but only as a tourist.

16:00
St. John's is a small airport with little traffic and after my unplanned delays, the airport was virtually empty of people when I came out. But the rental company had been patiently waiting for me with his last car that Swedish government had pre-booked and paid.

After some successful paperwork was finally presented the car keys along with the lessor's last question:
- and your credit card pleace?

I never owned a credit card and now I had to see how fast the car keys was taken back and hung on the hook again. I'm trying to contact Sweden but there it was too late and I had to wait till tomorrow.

22:00
Tired after the journey and all the hassle I apply myself to a grove of trees near the airport and sleeping under the sky.
(And I did not know there were bears there).

July 27 - 07:00
The next day was solved through resourceful intervention by my neighbor and friend Ronnie Lindblad at home in Sweden, it was obviously great to just borrow someone else's credit card number ...?

Arne and Ingrid from Norway was also on the way to the opening ceremony, but had been left behind, no more air, bus or other options were available and last rental car, I had taken. Tour of all the bad luck and hassle I now unexpectedly and good company on the trip.

Forest Grove where I spent the first night.
- It's a lot of bear in the aria, do not sleep there ..!
Too late, I've just woken up there..

We pass Gros Morne National Park in the dark.
When we had finally taken us over the mountain we had gone a total of 403 mil and reached Newfoundland's west coast. Now I was tired and needed to sleep a little on the dark rest area we found ... Zzz!

July 28 - 05:30
An hour had become five, and when we woke up, we saw the sun rise behind the high mountains in the east. The first rays of sun also showed a buildup vantage point with the binoculars against a huge bog with big mountains in the background, marvelous!

I went there and stopped the morning tired eyes in binoculars ... Wow! There, right in the picture, as if it were a scene from a first class nature film I see a bald eagle sitting courted by two ravens.

I wake my Norwegian friends and together we follow the Raven courtship of Eagle for a long time.

Further north along the coast pops up fishing villages, small communities who live by fishing and hunting. It feels a bit deserted and we have great difficulty finding somewhere where breakfast is served.

09:00
Five hours to go until the opening ceremony ...
We are looking and searching among the white houses that have no plots, trees and gardens. The population's interest seems to be directed towards the sea or the pursuit of the unspoilt, wild nature, and that is precisely what we see when we finally found our restaurant, stuffed moose and reindeer on the walls and an extensive fish menu.

The opening ceremony begins in about two hours and the last bit we are forced to leave the car and take the bus because of all the queues.

Once we see the northern tip of Newfoundland, Norstead, we are greeted by 15,000 visitors with television companies and helicopters. How did all the people get here, we are in the wilds of northern Newfoundland with normal ten families icebergs and whales?

The next part - Opening ceremony and celebration - Take me there >