Kirkenes

Eero, our guide at the Russian Border

The ship reached Kirkenes on the Church Peninsula, about 9:30. From here, Oslo is half the distance to Rome, we are at the same longitude as Istanbul or Cairo and the same latitude as Point Barrow, Alaska. We headed off in the bus to the Norwegian-Russian border, only about a 15 minute drive away.

Kirkenes before World War II

We returned to town to see the World War II bomb shelter, built in the Rock below the town. The Germans occupied the town with over 100,000 troops in preparation for occupying Russia. It also had an iron mine. The town suffered through 330 air bombings, the second most in Europe. For air shelter, the families went into the dark, 42 degree F. Caverns, huddled close together on the floor. The lucky had food. By the end of the war only 14 houses remained standing. Russian troops drove the Germans out. Relations between Russia, Norway and Finland remain close in this isolated Lapland region. People have become skilled at smuggling between the countries because prices can be significantly different across the borders. For example, Russian vodka or gas is much cheaper than Norway while Norway has a larger variety of goods, many of them, especially diapers are better and cheaper. Trading between Norway and Russia has a long history: Pomor trade started as barter trade by sea from 1740, usually fish for grain.

After the bombings

After leaving town we crossed the Finnish border in less than an hour. Finland is a country about the size of Montana. Almost the entire country is covered with forest as well as 187,000 lakes.

We stopped for lunch by a campground and restaurant run by a Sami family. The Sami are the indigenous people of Lapland, this region shared by Norway, Finland, and Russia. On our way to Insola, we also stopped at a Folk Art Club, which meets every Wednesday afternoon. Students from other areas learning Sami art.