There may not be any grey elephants in Denmark…

…but there’s a heck of a lot of hills in Norway. This probably isn’t a surprise for you as after all we grew up on stories of fjords and black water teeming with sardines, or goats crossing bridges to escape trolls. By the way, there are a mighty lot of bridges, too. And lakes and streams and rivers. But it’s the hills that capture the imagination and catch the breath of a bike rider. There’s necessary hills as well as those which are unnecessary such as those climbed due to silly routes or those climbed due to poor navigation. It’s certainly been a workout for legs and lungs.

As soon as we crossed the Swedish border we noticed differences. Houses were no longer uniformly painted in of blood red. Farmland was similarly cultivated but for the first time we saw sheep, not exactly in mobs, but at least in flocks. 

The big difference however was the vehicle drivers. No longer could they be relied upon to stop for bike riders which immediately made me very cautious!

Blonds, blondes and blue eyes everywhere. Tall, tall people. The most recreational bike riders so far. Many single women out on their own on road bikes in a nation that appears to practice gender equality as a way of life for all. Dads with children in tow with nary a mother in cooee. No evidence of poverty, although like most nations there is evident the ubiquitous effects of drug abuse.

Alcohol is a funny animal in Finland, Sweden and Norway (and Iceland) as it must be purchased from government controlled stores which close at 6.00pm. Beer and cider can however be purchased in supermarkets. In Finland wine was available in supermarkets too, but only 8% alcohol or less. Cigarettes sales are controlled by closed cupboards as they are in Australia, but a small shop owner in Finland told us that people take a quick ferry to Estonia and return with enough cigarettes for the entire village. 

Our final rest day was spent in Kristiansand overlooking a large body of water. A day of rest, reading and laundry. Very welcome after our riding those pesky hills.  We were very fortunate to be plunged into a landscape unlike others. Bring on all those Nordic Noir shows on our return so we can say, ‘Been there!’

Sweet Sweden

We arrived in Stockholm after a ferry ride that rivalled a cruise ship. There was entertainment restaurants, bars, a beauty salon, lounge chairs and all sorts going on.

Margit and I at Kristinehamn 

Another massive equestrian farm

In

Morning tea at the workers Cafe

Our table set for dinner at the most gorgeous place

A cold God beer on arrival

A short coffee break at Gnesta

Bruce and Pauline at the workers Cafe

Al Bill and Maureen

Paul on the Train where we caused much consternation at Stockholm

Our new Swedish friend who was very apologetic about the  Police who stopped us from all getting on the same train

Bikes on the train in the approved fashion. Only six bucks per train.

At the national Museum in Stockholm

An absolutely delicious salad

Des pretending to be a Concrete statue

An 18th century drawing in the Stockholm museum

Opulence at the museum

More opulence at the museum

A rather weird water feature at Kristinehamn 

Rolling hills, beautiful farmlands, stately and stylish farm houses with their huge barns in some instances. We have seen a few cows in a couple of balls and some sheep but not very many. I also saw a large fox and a red deer jumped out in front of me and cross the road one morning as we were riding along. We have sought coffee wherever we have gone at about 20 to 30 kilometres into the ride. Our most interesting coffee was had in an industrial estate in a workers canteen. The woman who ran it had made the carrot cake that we devoured with gusto that morning. We have dubbed my riding team The Secret Seven as we are seven in number surprisinly: Margit, Sam, Pauline, Bruce, Karen, Des and myself. after Oslo, however there will only be six of us as Pauline flies home. Navigation has sometimes been a bit tricky, and one day we found ourselves in the middle of an expressway. As it was a Sunday, we weren't expecting it to be busy. It was terrifying. Fortunately, we were able to find a variety of goat tracks and side roads and avoided going anywhere near a major road. This meant we travelled 87 km that day as opposed to a short distance but it certainly was worth it. Spirits are high although we have found getting from this town into Oslo quite problematic. Swedish trains cannot take passengers with bikes over the border and into Norway. This has necessitated much kerfuffling and the splitting of our 18 riders into two groups of nine. None were able to make Oslo and we will see if we can do the same tomorrow.

A change in the weather

 

Waiting for the ferry

Preparing to leave Kustavi 

The weather has changed and we’ve ridden in rain, strong winds and quite cold temperatures for the last couple of days. However, when I say we have ridden, we haven’t really as we’ve been almost on holiday. Our distance has diminished to under 40 km a day.

The Aland islands are spectacular in their geography which ranges from lichen-covered bedrock and forests, with water water everywhere populated by white swans, a couple of different species of seagulls and terns, to rich and rolling farmland the closer we get to Sweden.

Bruce doing the Highland Fling on bedrock

Lichen covered rocks

A derelict farm shed

Our first stop was in Brando, one of the rocky islands that we reached by two ferries and bike. That morning we experienced our first solid rain which began before we left Kustavi and continued until we reached our hotel. We had two nights there. On the morning of our second, more rain threatening, we held our concert and were delighted by eight performances, all very high-quality and affording much amusement.

The concert program

A long ferry ride preceded by a short ride and followed by a slightly longer ride saw us arrive in Kastelholm the next day. We visited the castle and sat down by the marina to enjoy the afternoon sunshine.

Remains of a Russian fort, circa The Crimean war

A solstice Maypole 

The castle at Kastelholm 

The marina

Only a few more kilometres, mainly on bike paths, and we were in Mariehamn, the principal town of the 6000 plus islands that comprise this autonomous region of Finland where Swedish is the predominant language. The city is quaint and full of places to eat. 

If you can see us in this sign, you’re doing well

Taking a selfie in the town

Hay stacks

We have not seen any moose or bears, although I don’t think there are bears on these islands, but we have spotted a fox. 

Our next stop is Sweden. According to a Finn, Swedish drivers are not as polite. Let’s see.

Statistics for those who are interested

So far we have ridden a bit more than 600 km. There’s been quite a few hills but riding an e-bike has made them more pleasurable than they have been in the past. Hills that is. We all carry two panniers which contain our worldly goods for the six weeks we’re on the road. 

No bears yet

Bill stopping for coffee

A very odd goat track that we found ourselves on complete with sharp rocks and undergrowth

Farmland

Pauline demonstrating morning tea

Paul pumping up Pauline‘s tyre

A little siesta after lunch

We are enjoying a rest day inTurku in south west Finland on the coast after riding for five days from Helsinki. The riding has been very pleasant as we cross through forests around lakes and through farmland. There are a few hills. I guess this is not surprising. And the weather has been very kind, although the day that got over 30 was a bit much.

We were able to cool off however in a beautiful lake 10 m from where we were staying. This is where bears might be. Certainly there were warnings up about them and although I planned what I would do if one broke through the window during the night, I did not have to execute the plan. Talking to Lady Al from Idaho, That was pretty fortunate as she said we would not have survived.

When we’re not riding, we are either stopping somewhere for coffee and cake, taking a breather, making sure everybody who’s in the group is in the group and has not been left behind, or we are checking navigation. This sometimes involves local people and that’s really good because we get to learn more about the country that we’re in as well. For example, the teacher told me a couple of days ago that Finland is no longer the poster boy for education in the world. That things have not kept up to scratch.

When we arrive at our hotel, we busy ourselves with laundry and possibly shopping for dinner if we don’t want to go out, and then we amuse ourselves with cards, and in one instance a dinosaur jigsaw. We also talk a lot. 

We’re having a lot of fun and we’re joined in Helsinki by Karen and Maureen Who had cycled the route along the Baltic coast. Michael will be joining us shortly in Turku to ride to Hamburg.

Welcome to Finnland, land of rocks, trees and water

Steve and Bill reading and writing 

Sam found a way to counteract the midnight sun 

Margit chilling 

A wild game of Wizard 

We arrived in Helsinki aboard the 30 hour 1100 km ferry from Germany. A very smooth crossing. 

Waiting to board 

Our ride from Bad Segeberg was full of twists and turns and had us on our navigational tiptoes. We also weren’t able to find anywhere to have coffee until we were almost at the ferry port. We sat outdoors at a very pleasant cafe run by an even more pleasant woman.

Margit and Janice at the lake

Kate at a roadside library

Where are we again?

Waiting at the ferry port was slightly tedious as we sat there for hours and hours and hours. Once aboard, we’re headed to our cabins as it was 1.00pm.

The next morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast of considerable proportions and spent the rest of the day playing cards on and off, both 500 and wizard. I think we were pretty noisy. Card playing was punctuated By lunch and dinner followed later. More cards then off to bed.

Up for an early breakfast, then packing our panties and heading down to where our bikes were housed on the ferry. We rode 22 km approximately to our hotel and really only got lost once. Our navigation systems were telling us we are only 100 m away from the hotel, but we couldn’t see it. The reason we couldn’t see it is because being in Helsinki is like being in a forest. It’s difficult to believe her in the middle of a city as there are just trees everywhere.

Off to the laundromat of course in the afternoon after we checked into the hotel. We visited the most enormous supermarket I have ever been in. It’s sold everything from fishing gear to electrical goods to food to linen and things for the house and clothing. Literally a one stop shop.

On the way

Our group is 15 with four more joining in Helsinki. It’s 21 June and we leave Hamburg on the 22 June on our first leg of the journey. 

This photo was taken on our practice ride to make sure the bikes were okay and everybody was okay riding them.

From L-R, Al from Idaho, Liz and John from New Zealand, Peter from Canada, Sam Pauline and Margaret from Australia, Nelson from Canada, Steve from Australia, Bill from Pennsylvania, Kate Carmen Des Janice and Bruce from Australia.

No

Bruce, Bill, Peter, Pauline 

Kate, Bruce, Carmen 

Liz

Nelson and Margit