'Finland, Finland, Finland, the place where I quite like to be, pony trekking and camping, or just watching TV'. Yep, the Python team were absolutely right, it's nice to be in Finland, although my response an hour after arrival would not have been at all complimentary:
Adam - the Captain asked if you do end cans for it?
Viking Line's 8am sailing from Tallinn left bang on time. We parked the bikes amongst the cars on this huge ferry, leaving them with some trepidation when the crew instructed us that there was nowhere and no need to tie them down. Dispite our misgivings, they were right of course. The Baltic was like a mill pond in the morning sun and the boat was absolutely stable......come a long way these Scandinavians since sailing around the Baltic in oversized canoes wearing leather hats with horns..........and our bikes were unscathed.
The arrival into Helsinki harbour was simply stunning. A myriad of small islands, many with old, ruinous fortifications before the backdrop of a low lying city seemingly set amongst woodland. It looked very inviting and is probably a lovely place to spend some time in; just make sure you go as a foot passenger! Disembarking the ferry in a vehicle is a f*****g joke! The quayside was gridlocked and the traffic jam backed up onto the car decks. We'd initially ridden onto the quay and then remained stationary for 20 minutes or so, until I switched to stunt riding mode and rode over the roofs of all the cars in front. Well no, actually we bullied our way past everything in true Italian style and eventually managed to make some progress through the city. The whole situation being caused by appalling traffic planning and management (oh shit....that's the old job coming back...stop it).
Helsinki harbour.
An hour after getting off the ferry, we eventually escaped Helsinki. The reward was a fabulous ride on a great road north west towards Pori. Virtually traffic free, we made seemingly uninterrupted progress through some wonderful countryside. Woodland and open pasture, dotted with colourful clapperboard houses and farms, bathed in warm sunshine under a clear blue sky. The light quality was amazing. Our moderate progress (it's not wise to speed over here...well just nick a bit maybe) kept us pleasantly cool as the day heated up. Motorcycling bliss!
I was now liking Finland.
We had originally planned to camp near to Pori, but had made good time and the weather was fantastic, so after a pitstop, we decided to press on north up the coast. The ride continued in the same vein....bleedin' awesome and we soon arrived at Kaskinen/Kasko, where I knew there was a campsite. We found it in short order and whilst Steve pitched and got sorted, I followed the very helpful site manager to a nearby supermarket to stock up on biscuits ;-)
Aki Lahtinen everybody.
Talinn sounded like a peaceful place and looked pretty.
ReplyDeleteLooks like quite a distance from Helsinki to Kaskinen, but it sounds idylic.
I thought that the last part of a sauna was to run outside and roll around in the snow.
Keep safe.
must be about time to change yer first pair of underpants?
ReplyDeleteI can supply end cans for the Viking 2000 ship but I think the one pictured is the Viking 3000 model. They are more tricky and require a Powercommander IV and 10 hours on a rolling ...road ...sorry...sea
ReplyDeleteIGMC