Scandinavia from Above: Fjords, Baltic Shores & the North Cape | Full Travel Documentary

This is the story of a journey towards the light, towards the sun. A journey from north to south in a land of legendary seafarers, the Vikings, who discovered America well before Christopher Columbus. A land rimmed with ice and snow, a land of vast forests and a thousand lakes, Scandinavia. Our story begins here, in Europe's northernmost reaches, in Norway. 3,000 kilometers north of its capital, Oslo. Well above the Arctic Circle and just below North Cape, the mythical spot where people flock from all over Europe to witness the midnight sun. Ah, the sun. When it actually does peak out, you sure don't want to miss it. We'll catch up with it as we head south. When the polar night finally ends, the people up north make the most of the long summer days. On the same latitude as Alaska and Greenland, the Vestaland Islands enjoy the warm flow of the Gulf Stream, which keeps the water from freezing over in winter, and also churns up a rich soup of plankton and all the fish that go with it. A gorgeous setting. So who actually lives here? Mainly fishermen. Despite the international moratorium, Norwegians still hunt whales, which they locate by sonar. Summer is fishing season. You don't get much sleep between May and October in the land of the northern lights. We head south. The coastal express sails daily, summer and winter alike. 34 calls between Kirknes and Bergen. But it also provides service to Spitsberg and Greenland. Quite an itinerary. We catch up with a whirlpool, not far from the city of Buda. It's the strongest swirling eddy in the world. Every six hours, 400 million cubic meters of water are churned between two islands from one side of the fjord to the other. A 20 knot current and a sailor's nightmare, the maelstrom. They say sometimes even fishing boats get caught up in the swirl that can measure up to 10 meters in diameter and five meters deep. Fishing in Norway. Think long expeditions out at sea in all sorts of weather or just about. There's still plenty of fish here, not like the rest of Europe. They catch fresh cod, herring, haddock and cold fish. A recent agreement has been reached between Norway and the EU, for example, to protect the blue whiting, which scientists say is endangered. Even if there's constant renegotiation, the EU fishing management programs have helped maintain stocks. On the other hand, quotas for salted cod have been low these past years. In response, the fishermen have teamed up and created co-ops. Less work, fewer worries. Life is pretty low key, as a matter of fact. They've got the smallest population density in all of Europe. Four and a half million Norwegians for over 60,000 kilometers of coasts. Further south, between Bergen and Oslo, not far from Finse, we happen upon a mammoth creature, the Hardanger-Jokulen ice cap, a huge 80 meter long glacier. It seems enormous, but it's been melting too quickly for the past few decades. According to the latest study by Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, 1600 Norwegian glaciers could disappear in the next hundred years. The culprit? Global warming. Stay tuned for developments. Especially since 98% of the electricity produced in Norway is hydraulic. Way in the south of the country, at the end of a fjord, lies a city that enjoys a true microclimate. Oslo, the capital of Norway. This is where agriculture began five or six thousand years ago. While the north was populated mostly by fishing communities, people in the Oslo fjord turned to farming. Today Norwegians enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, thanks mainly to revenues from oil in the North Sea. They say you should visit Oslo in the winter, when its ski slopes are lit up in the polar night. Only five hours of light per day, but just imagine when summer hits. Oslo's inhabitants enjoy a unique living environment, nature right at your fingertips. Just across from the modern city is the Bygdøy Peninsula. Marinas, old rigs, people here in the north love these things. The prosperous Norwegians have developed a real savoir-vivre, almost on a par with the Danes. Now we head straight south to Denmark. Here we are in Denmark, north of Skagen, a small fishing village. Grenen point at the very tip of the country, where the waters of the North Sea join those of the Baltic. The light is magical, a real atmosphere, which numerous Danish painters have captured on canvas. Communion with the elements, a little patch of unspoiled nature. Perhaps it's this very freedom that people come here to find, alone with the sea, letting time drift by. We edge along the west coast of Denmark. Krabjørgmyla, Denmark's giant sand dune, altitude 40 meters. It advances 10 meters per year, thanks to the wind. The Danes have chosen not to stop the dunes, so they can study their evolution better. They believe you shouldn't interfere with natural processes, unless it becomes a vital necessity. A 500 kilometer long beach, deserted. Well, not quite. From one world to another, I suppose you can be open to the elements and orderly at the same time. Order, Danish style, in the form of beach huts. The light grows fainter over the southern part of Jutland, a land of dunes and moors, lakes and lagoons. Waterfront villages, wooden architecture, it's charming. Life's good here, especially when the weather's fine, that's pretty obvious. A recent study has shown that Denmark is the country with the best standard of living, a quality of life that stems from the famous Danish social model. There's been much talk about this miracle, where well-being rhymes with generous social protection, and the fluidity of the labor market. Flex security. Flexibility and security, a real-life fairy tale. And then Denmark, the smallest Scandinavian country, has a population of only five and a half million. The country's not on the euro, and also protects its borders. It's true, the Danes want comfort and security. They're also ready for innovation. Let's go and have a look at the capital, Copenhagen. First, we have the famous circular development of Bromby, in the southwest suburbs of the city. An interesting concept. Each homeowner enjoys the same size yard. Design schools, new forms of architecture. Denmark is innovative. As for downtown Copenhagen, it's baroque. Strategically placed at the gates of the Baltic Sea, Copenhagen is home to close to two million people. People still come to see the Little Mermaid, inspired by one of Anderson's fairy tales. More than once, her arms have been sawed off by vandals, and she was even unbolted from her rock one night a few years ago, but the police found her at the entrance of the harbor. The city has long been famous for its free public bikes, as well as its renewable energy management. A fourth of the electricity used in the country comes from wind energy produced in wind farms. Just across from Copenhagen lies Sweden. To get there nowadays, we take this amazing bridge that ends in a tunnel through an artificial island. The Åresund Bridge. A highway and a railroad across the strait. It's the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. A bridge that makes Scandinavia feel a little more connected. The winds of change also blow in the city of Malmö. Here we have the turning torso on the edge of the Åresund strait. Pretty hard to miss. It's the tallest building in Scandinavia. 190 meters. Nine cubes stacked one on the other, five stories each. A symbol that marks the city like a huge crane in the shipyards did just a few years ago. Summer is drawing to a close. The days are already getting shorter. The Swedes make the sun trying to stock up on its warmth for the long winter months ahead. As we head up the east coast of Sweden, past this huge congregation of nudists, we spot the castle of Kalmar, one of the oldest cities in the country. This is where, in 1397, the Kalmar Union was signed, uniting the three Scandinavian kingdoms, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, under one monarch. Two centuries later, Sweden left the union. Further north, the forest. As far as the eye can see, covering 60% of the country. Sweden is the world's third biggest exporter of wood and its byproducts. But here, people try to respect the forest. About time. Only about 5% of old or virgin forest remains. After centuries of intensive exploitation, the Swedes are now working on long-term conservation schemes and ecological restoration. A law that's already a hundred years old guarantees the diversity and genetic variation of the forest. As we head up towards Stockholm, we take a little detour to the island of Gotland, Viking country. This is where they developed agriculture, in Froyel. Archaeologists have unearthed evidence that their farming practices and commerce date back several thousand years BC. From Gotland, the Vikings traveled east and even up the Russian rivers. Froyel was an important Viking hub. This tomb here, beside the road, offers proof. A private scene on a rocky islet. Where are we? In Stockholm, believe it or not, where it only takes a few minutes to escape the urban bustle and commune with nature, right in the middle of the city. Stockholm, Sweden's capital, is virtually perched on the water, right at the source of the Mela River. Its historical center is also the political heart of the kingdom, home of the queen and king Charles XVI, on the throne since 1973. But the king's post is merely honorary. Parliament is elected by universal suffrage, and voter participation is record high. And over 40% of the representatives are women. Sweden holds another record, one of the highest life expectancies in the world. No doubt, it's the art of living in an archipelago that makes the Swedes so happy. In constant communion with nature. The Swedes often opt out of bridges to get from island to island. They prefer the tranquility and charm of ferry boats. We follow this one that sails between Stockholm and Helsinki over to the neighboring country, Finland. We head east towards the Åland archipelago. This is Åland. Here, in winter, people go right across the ice to get from island to island. There are even ice skating excursions, complete with backpacks and ski poles. The ferries are replaced by roads marked out right on the ice. For now, though, it's summer, and we're in Marienham. The city is dominated by the stately Pommern, a four-masted windjammer with a steel hull, anchored in the harbor. At the end of a fjord, we find these little wooden cabins, complete with jacuzzi, in the middle of the forest. We're sorely tempted to stop off and enjoy the bubbles. Don't you wish you lived here? The Åland archipelago. Monohulls, old rigs, speed boats, sea kayaks. Everyone's out on the water, enjoying the summer sun. The fog has lifted this morning, though a few remaining patches still cling to some of the islands. There are thousands of islands and islets, in fact, scattered as far as the eye can see between Åland and the west coast of Finland. People fix up these little wooden cabins, complete with pontoon, on private islets. More and more, these formerly self-sufficient fishing villages are getting transformed into second homes. Here, too, the living is easy. Now on the mainland, and Nontali, a city on the west coast. One of the richest cities in Finland, with a renowned spa resort. The Finns enjoy a spa culture, something which dates back 6,000 years. In fact, the word sauna comes from Finnish and Lap. For the Finns, the sauna is a sacred place where you go for purification of both body and mind. It's a national institution. We spot an estate peeking through the forest across the harbour of Nontali, the summer residence of the president of Finland. Hey, there's the flag. She must be there. The manor's called Kulturanta and boasts a French-style garden. And here's a more modern version of Finland, the leading builder of cruise ships. The world's largest one was built here in this shipyard, the Freedom of the Seas. The figures are stunning. 16 hectares of deck surface, close to 6,000 passengers, cruise ships, ferries. We continue following in their wake, zigzagging through the islands. There are little houses perched out on the rocks, and little islands with lots of spots to drop anchor, sheltered from storms. We also find luxury homes perched on these magical islets, out in the middle of nowhere. Near Honkku, a former thermal resort in vogue with the Russian nobility, an old spa complex nestled in the forest. Southern exposed beaches, a merry-go-round out in the water, a quaint charm. Russia isn't far away. It feels like a different day and age. The wind turbines off the southern coast bring us back to the present. In the blink of an eye, Finland has left its agrarian society behind and gone high-tech. And once again, a string of islands stretching all the way to the capital, Helsinki. A few storm clouds cast dark shadows on the city and harbour. From time to time, the sun breaks through to drench the buildings in light. Helsinki, population 500,000, a city at the junction of the West and Russia, the era of the Tsars. Soon it'll be winter, and the water will freeze over. No more ferry rides. Instead, there'll be icebreakers opening up the sea routes to Sweden, Estonia, or nearby Saint Petersburg. The Scandinavians will shift into their winter mode. Meanwhile, better enjoy the last few moments of sun before it disappears with the long, dark weeks of the polar winter.