Swedish Birds....

Moved out of Pajala today and headed southwest. Pretty sad to be leaving a great location and a very good campsite, but at least it was a wonderful morning yet again. Packing up dry tents in the sunshine makes a big difference.

Enjoyed Pajala. Had an enjoyable encounter with a noisy Swedish bird ;-)

Initially travelling due west, we were only about 50km out of Pajala when the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped spectacularly. Then we copped for the odd shower. This was the first rain we'd seen since a brief shower in Estonia about ten days ago, so can't complain, but it did mean that I was considering stopping to put my winter gloves on :-) We toughed it out for another 100km to Gallivare, then stopped for fuel, coffee and a warm.

Resuming, we headed south to Jokkmokk and started climbing. It was cold in the mountains and plenty of lying snow remained, but the weather was picking up and the views were ace:

Its pretty wild and wooley out here. You get a real sense of being in the wilderness as there's just no communities and no traffic for tens of miles. The roads were well surfaced, quite rippled in places, no doubt due to the harsh winters, but the bikes were soaking it up as usual. Plus they're virtually traffic free, so we were making good time and arrived in Jokkmokk in short order, where we wined and dined......well had another coffee and a bun. Then it was on south to Arvidsjaur, where we intended to stay. This was the stretch where we saw our first Raindeer. Running beside the bikes, I fancy I know who'd have won had we collided.

Back through the Arctic Circle:

Arvidsjaur is a moderately sized town and pleasing on the eye, but the campsite there was a big, sprawling municipal affair and, whilst it would have done us, the request for 14 quid each for a camping card, on top of the overnight fees, caused Steve to faint....I reckon he was just trying for a freebie. Didn't get us anywhere with the 36DD receptionist unfortunately, so we elected to move on.

It was about 5pm when we rolled onto a site at Slagnas, about 45km west of Arvidsjaur. Pitched up overlooking a river and, as we've come to expect, had all the usual Swedish services to hand......including WiFi....which is why this is getting posted on time.

I reckon we'll get to Norway tomorrow, providing the canvas in Steve's rear tyre holds out!

As Good As It Gets

Woke at 7am to this:

 

 

No Mosquitos here, as you may have gathered.

 

 

 

 

 

Then walked down the bank and stood by the river gawping at this:

Was it not for the knowledge that this place barely sees an hour of daylight in the middle of winter, I wouldn't want to leave. It's around 22 degrees at the moment and I'm in danger of getting my feet sunburned.

We had an incredibly relaxing morning. After breakfast, I did a bit of laundry ( a slight accident with my piss pot in the night :-( ......you don't want to know!), caught up on this and other Internet stuff, whilst Steve walked into town to shop for a razor and underpants, but forgot and returned with yet another fleece (he has 17 with him and another 63 at home), a thermal mug, a fishing rod (collapsible so he can strap it to the bike) and various forms of hooks, flies and other devices designed to lure fish to their death. The Poland fishing incident had clearly been bugging him and he needed to set the record straight.

So, we went fishing in the afternoon. After more than two hours the score was Scotland 2 : England 2. I gave in and returned for a siesta. It was getting very hot on the riverbank, however Steve was into his stride and really relaxing into it, so he returned to try his luck at a different spot.

It's going to be fish (even if I have to buy it - the only one worth keeping escaped the ham-fisted Ewok's clutches and bounced bak into the river, although he still claimed it as a score) and salad for tea.

A relaxed afternoon, but Steve returned empty handed, so I nipped into town to buy some grub. Turned out t be a salad for tea....I couldn't face buying fish!

Going to settle down in our lounge now and watch a bit of football then get a reasonably early night. Moving south again tomorrow. Heading home via Norway :-)

Breaking the Circle

Wednesday 13th June:

What a brilliant day!

In addition to the desire to ride right around the Baltic Sea and take in all the sites and cultures on offer, another dream had been to ride north of the Arctic Circle and camp in 24 hour sunshine. Well, we achieved that today and we weren't disappointed.

We escaped the rather unattractive, but functional site near Oulu at around 10am. An unusually late start for us, but we'd woken later and both felt a bit groggy for some reason. It was another gloriously sunny and warm morning as we progressed up the E4 to Kemi. I was feeling pretty good, although Steve, who was riding ahead, looked as though the monotony of the never changing vistas was getting to him a little bit. He'd clearly dozed off a couple of times and set the Transalp on auto-pilot :-) Maybe he was thinking about his rapidly wearing rear......tyre!

Turning onto the 926 at Kemi, we decided to take a more scenic route towards Tervola alongside the Kemijoki river. That's better, bends, elevation changes and more open views! We turned north on the 929 and then tried to cut along an unclassified road to the east of the Miekojarvi lakes. Our first experience of Finnish dirt roads turned out to be a rather, how shall I say this, 'exciting' 20 km detour, when we arrived at the front door of someone's lakeside retreat, having fish-tailed our way through various sand traps and rutted gullys. Never saw the cul de sac sign :-).

A quick vid of the intrepid SGD:

 

Just north of Meltosjarvi on the 932, we arrived at the Arctic Circle. It was a really uplifting moment for me and was made even more memorable as we attempted to pull out of the lay by, but had to give way to a passing Elk.

A lunch stop at a tiny roadside grill in Pello was made interesting by our inability to decipher Finnish, the lady not understanding English and the lack of any pictures to point at. We guessed well though, based on the cheapest thing on the menu, and ended up with a couple of very tasty burgers.......you can go wrong with a burger you know, but these were good. Even the 'pump-pot' coffee was good!

Sweden! The 50 km run up to Pajala was great. Still heavily forested of course, but subtly different housing and 'cut' to the land than Finland. Then we arrived at this dream campsite in Pajala. I'd spotted this months ago on Google Earth and thought it looked ace. I wasn't wrong. Sat on an elevated bank beside a river, it really is idyllic.

Super friendly lady and gent at reception couldn't have been more helpful. It's still early season and there wasn't another tent to be seen, but the site is in great condition and the facilities are brilliant. They call them service buildings here and they have everything you could possibly need on a trip like ours. In addition to the usual we've virtually exclusive use of the kitchen, lounge, sauna and laundry facilities. I even washed me pants....the Ewok, of course, doesn't wear any.....he just relies on an excess of ginger hair......sorry :-D

It was cloudy and bright, so after settling in we walked the mile or so into town and shared a pizza and beer (ouch) and watched the Germans take the Dutch apart......not really interested, but kept us entertained for a while. Back to the site to sit in the sun till midnight. Ace.

 

Forging through Finland.

Tuesday 12th June:

A heavy Scotch Mist (should that be Finnish Fog?) hung over the site at Kaskinen at dawn. Well, I assume it did, dawn being at about 2am. Anyway, it was still the same a 6.30 when I decided to get up after a fitfull nights sleep. We had breakfast, fed the Mosquitos, got packed up and said our goodbyes to the very helpful campsite caretaker on this small and friendly site. His English was no better than my Finnish so, with some amusement, we'd communicated via an app on his phone.

We meandered through a few minor roads, then picked up the E8 north. It was another lovely morning. Traffic was light and we made good progress on the relatively empty, well surfaced thoroughfare between the forests and pastures. Sitting at an average speed of around 65mph sounds quite steady, but ask yourself if you'd achieve that on a British A road! They cut the forest well back from the road, which together with the flat topography, makes the sky look massive. The road is in superb condition, by passes almost every village, is awash with speed cameras (forward facing:-)) and dead straight for mile, after mile, after mile etc...The penalty you pay for this, however, is the monotony of travelling a long way on a road where the scenery varies very little. GIVE ME A DECENT CORNER FOR CHRIST SAKES!

We were soon past Vaasa and on north towards Oulu. A diversion onto the coastal 749 (apt) to Jakobstad was a welcome change of scenery. Very reminiscent of the Florida Keys I thought, as the road provided a causeway between several islands set with dozens of waterside properties, each with a pier and a boat. Rich buggers!

We stopped for a sandwich on our own pier:

Then it was back on the E8. Past Kalajoki, Raahe and around Oulu to a site at Nallikari.

A big site with a municipal feel to it. Everything you could possibly need and few things you didn't. My least favourite so far.

The SGD thought it was the highlight of the trip......they had an Ewok sized toy for him to play on:

 

 

 

He liked it, but struggled to reach the controls.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, we have a particularly good day tomorrow.......you see I know this, because I'm a day behind with my publishing :-D


 

Ta-ta Tallinn.....Hello Helsinki.

Monday 11th June:

'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 ;-)

What a great site (ex. No WiFi). We have our usual beautiful, rustic spot, with adjacent lake plus additional (free) shauna. Oh, and our mates, the Mozzies :-/ Fortunately, not too interested in us whilst we cook our tea.

The sauna was ace. Sitting on the pier in glorious sunlight until 10 was fab. Writing this blog in natural light at midnight is bizarre.

Time for kip....

Aki Lahtinen everybody.

 

A Day in the Estonian Capital.

Sunday 10th June:

What a glorious morning it was in Tallinn. Shorts and T shirts weather for sure, though many of the locals continue to wrap up as if it's winter?

We headed for the old town and walked through Toompark and around the mediaeval walls, soaking up the sunshine, before hitting the cobbled streets within.

It's been very tastefully renovated over the past 20 years, having previously been neglected whilst the Ruskies ruled, and is now a pretty, rustic place to wander around for a few hours. Touristy, but not horrendously so. There's clearly plenty to do and see, with lots of historical sites and several museums, but barely had time to scratch the surface.

 

 

The central square; Raekoja Plats.

 

 

Some cool dude muscled in on this shot...sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

We ambled round for a few hours, had cake & coffee (obviously) and then headed back to the Humala guest house and put our feet up for a couple of hours, before returning in the evening to eat. That turned out to be a bit disappointing though, in that there wasn't much life about. Mind you, Sunday night and all that. We quit early, mindful of our early start in the morning........lightweights!


 

The Tarts hit Tallinn.

Saturday 9th June:

We fled the Mosquitos of Haapsalu like a pair of tarts. In complete contrast to yesterday's weather, heavy overnight rain and a humid early morning had brought all their brothers and sisters out to join in the bite fest. We sat sealed in Steve's tent for breakfast, then packed up as quickly as possible...well Steve did, I was dragging my heels as usual.

We decamped to the town centre and planned the days ride over a coffee. We knew it was a pretty short, straightforward run to Tallinn, so wanted to plan in the odd diversion. We set off in heavily overcast, but drying conditions and soon after leaving Haapsalu, picked up the 17 to Linnamae and Padise. A great road through a mixture of forest and open farmland. A brief stop at Padise, where we were immediately set upon again by our insect enemies, then back to the coast to check out Paldiski. Err, not what we expected. Looked like a big fuel and vehicle storage depot surrounded by old communist block housing (very unattractive, old concrete flats complexes). Possibly the most unappealing place we've been to so far. We didn't hang around, electing to get to Tallinn early and find our digs for the next two nights.

By 2pm, we'd checked into a rather snug room at the Humala guest house and 'Triple S'd'. A couple of hours of R'n'R and then we heading off into town on a trolley bus.

 

 

 

A bit out of town, but clean & comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

After a brief look around, the Ginger One then employed his Ewok hunting skills and quickly identified the 'Hell Hunt' bar (Gentle Wolf) in the old town, as the place to hang out. He wasn't wrong; decent food and a good selection of local beer.


Here's an ageing Jimmy Sommerville with a pint of Hell Hunt Tume:

 

We spent the evening chatting to a German guy (undercover drugs cop) on a tour of the Baltics; an ex-pat Belgian (drug runner) and a Dutch entrepreneur (currently developing his cheese importation business in Tallinn), whilst watching a large contingent of Dutch football supporters become increasingly subdued as their team got stuffed by the Danes:

It was a great night. By the time we left, which was quite late, things were 'hotting up' nicely, but the Dutch accountant and cheese shop magnate was still rattling on about his plans for world Edam domination and we were pretty worn out so elected to get the last bus back to the guest house.