Scandinavians are passionate about nature and the outdoors. Unfazed by the weather, they hike, ski, skate, sail, cycle, fish and climb.
The people of the Scandinavian countries are so at home in their natural surroundings that they seldom pause to consider how intertwined their daily lives are with the climate, the seasons, and the amazing and diverse beauty if the Scandinavian landscape.
In spring and summer, the mountains beckon backpackers to scale their heights, the Swedish archipelago is dotted with thousands of sailing boats, and serious hikers and day-trippers wend their way through the Scandinavian forests.
Danes head for their magnificent beaches while Swedes and Norwegians celebrate the cool refreshing plunge of the thousands of lakes that dot the landscape. In recent years, hordes of Scandinavian ski enthusiasts have taken to the open roads and mountain trails.
Winter poses no obstacle to the hardy Scandinavian. They take to their skis to traverse fields and forests, pull on skates to blaze paths across icy lakes, fish through the ice and climb frozen waterfalls just for fun.
Scandinavians often manage to combine a practical outlook with a sense of adventure and sporting spirit – where better to exercise all three than in the great outdoors?
Active Life in Scandinavia, written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top): Biking in Vesteraalen, Norway. Photo: Øyvind Wold