We are at Riga airport and waiting for the flight to Dushanbe. So there is some time to have a look at the modifications of our bicycles.
Back in Stockholm Sarah bought her Brooks B17 saddle (there is a Brooks retailer in Stockholm old town Gamla Stan). She had problems with the WTB Pro Gel mountain bike saddle that was on her bike. Since she got her Brooks saddle I haven't heard any complaint.
I was riding on my SDG mountain bike saddle but replaced it by Sarah's WTB Pro Gel saddle. We were carring my SDG saddle for a while and finally sent it back home when we arrived in Finland.
In Jyväskylä, Finland, we swapped our stems. Sarah's riding position was not ideal and she had numb palms (despite the Ergon GC3 bar ends) and backache. My stemis a double adjustable stem whereas Sarah's headset can be adjusted in only a single point. The double adjustable stem allows a more upright riding position. In Helsinki Sarah bought a bended handle bar that again lifts the hand position by 2-3 cm. It all helped, the numb palms and backache are gone.
When we arrived at Noora's place we received the spare part parcel that my brother had sent from Germany. I was riding a 44-teeth chain ring and a 16-teeth sprocket in Sweden and Finland. The first gear was easy enough, but would not be adapted to Central Asian and Chinese mountains. I replaced the 44-teeth chain ring by a 40-teeth Spécialités TA one.
Back in Germany we had ordered the Schwalbe Marathon XR tyres. These tyres are supposed to be the best for touring. Interestingly enough, Schwalbe stopped its production last year. We hoped to receive the XR's at Noora`s place with our spare part parcel as well. Unfortunately the online shop was not able to deliver them. So we were looking for the XR's in Helsinki without any success. At the end we decided to continue with our tyres and bought two foldable Schwalbe Marathon Extreme tyres as spare tyres. Let's see how far the Schwalbe tyres will last. After 2350 km we couldn't see any wear on our Schwalbe Marathon and Marathon Plus.
We have never been to Sweden and Finland before. So what differences or common things did we notice between the two countries (and France/Germany) since we have arrived here? Here is a list of things that we quickly identified.
- We loved this soft, white Swedish bread that you can get in every super market. It is called "mjukbröd". We found it only once in Finland. It seems that the Finns prefer rather dark bread as the Germans do.
- There are less foreign (camping) tourists in Finland. While Sweden was full of Germans and Dutch, there are "only" Finnish number plates on the camping sites. Do all the foreigners hide in the vast woods?
- Finnish camp sites do not charge you for warm showers. Swedish ones charge about 5 SEK.
- In Finland we are obliged (by law) to fill a registration form at every camp site. Personal information name like address, passport information, travel purpose and date of entry are requested. It looks like a very strict procedure.
- Swedish McDonald's requires 4 purchased coffees to get one for free, Finnish McDonald's requires 5. The fast food chain Hesburger is more present than McDonald's in Finland.
- In both countries trampolines are very popular. More trampolines are however seen in Sweden.
- In both countries super markets are open on Sunday. Unfamiliar is the way how opening times are displayed. They are usually written in three lines: first line for opening times on Monday to Friday, second line for Saturday and third line (often in brackets) for Sunday. Same method is applied on parking signs for example.
- Swedish long distance bicycle routes are really well marked. At unclear junctions signs do clearly show the direction. Finnish long distance bicycle routes are by far not as good as the Swedish ones. Instead of flat, rectangular signs brown stickers are wrapped around the poles of street signs. They can not be noticed easily and bleach out after a while. Also missing route numbers or names add a lot to one's confusion when many routes cross each other or share a part.
- Sweden and Finland are not 100% 'flat like a flounder'!
- Red, timbered houses can be found in both countries.
You probably have noticed it, but we don't follow our initial route plan for Sweden and Finland anymore. The initial idea was to head north as far as possible. The best would have been to cycle from Sweden into Finland at the very top where both countries come together. This was our initial idea, our rough guideline. We did not refine this idea because we were missing estimations like how far we could cycle in a week time. At home we already checked out alternatives how to arrive in Finland if the northern route turn out to be impossible. We came up with two possibilities. Either we could have taken (a) the ferry from Umea to Vasaa or (b) the ferry from Stockholm to Turku. Apart from Umea - Vasaa there is no other ferry connection north of Stockholm.
We quickly realised that our initial plan wouldn't work out. The distance for 3 weeks was too much. We then considered to ferry across to Finland from Umea, but heard and read on the road so many great stories about Gotland and Aland as exceptional places for cyclists. In the end we found a different, more exciting, route that we did follow instead. So we visited Gotland, then Stockholm. From Stockholm we hopped to the Aland islands and from there to a harbour on the Finnish mainland close to Turku. And there we are, in Finland now.
Our plan for Finland is now to head north-east as far as possible via Tampere and Kuopio, turn south and going through the eastern lake land. Depending on our legs, weather, sights on the way we may turn south earlier and head for interim destination Helsinki.
We're sitting on the ferry direction Mariehamn, the capital of the Aland islands. Although right in the middle between Sweden and Finland, these islands officially belong to Finland. This means for us that we're leaving the first country we visited on our trip now. But it also means a change in the currency again, back to the Euro, certainly this makes things easier. We used the occasion to exchange our last Swedish coins against chocolate here on the ferry.
The last days in Stockholm have been a big change compared to the weeks before. Being in a big city again was nice for a change after all the nature, countryside and tiny villages before. We used this opportunity to eat tons of nice food to stock up our fat reserves which shrank already in the last weeks. But we also visited museums. The nicest was the Vasa Museum, where you can admire the Vasa, a huge war ship, that sank 1628 and was lying in the water for 333 years before it was salvaged. Unlike many other ship wrecks the Vasa was very well preserved. This is because in the less salty water around Stockholm the ship worm which normally eats sunken ships cannot survive. We were a little skeptical at the beginning whether a museum with only one ship wreck is really worth a visit, but both of us really liked the museum as there were so many details about the ship, its history, its carvings etc. to discover.
I also used the chance of being close to bike shops to get a new saddle. Many people on long bike tours swear on the Brooks saddles. I was hesitating for a long time to spend so much money on a saddle which seems to be hard as a rock and I just couldn't imagine that it could be comfortable. Well, I still don't know, I only got it today, but this is my last resort, after having tried three different 'regular' saddles. Otherwise I might have to get used to a sore bum. So it'd better be good!
As we are leaving Sweden, maybe some interesting statistics here:
- we stayed 20 days in Sweden
- we cycled 980 km
- we ate 10 bars of chocolate and 12 ice creams
- on our longest day we cycled 101 km and had 5 lazy days not cycling at all
- Peter had 3 times Köttbullar, in exchange we went to a vegetarian buffet today
- no punctures
- Peter had 6 tick bites, I had none
- one unsolved mystery!
So what's the mystery? Swedish trampolines! There seems to be as many trampolines in Sweden as there are families. There is at least one in every front or backyard! Here some explanations we made up on the way:
- they were on sale at Ikea
- the Swedes use it to exercise skipping around the midsummer pole
- it's their way of loosing weight they must certainly gain by eating all these yummy cookies, cinnamon buns, cakes etc.
All very unsatisfactory explanations.. does anybody out there have a better idea?? Send us your ideas! As a reward for the best explanation we will send a parcel with Finnish sweets!!
Total distance: 963 km
Visby - Nynäshamn - Stockholm
The ferry brought us from Visby to Nynäshamn in 3:20 hours time. When you look at the map, it is a huge short cut that we did not pedal ourselves. We even considered to take the train from Nynäshamn to Stockholm but we had a bad conscience and felt like cheating ourselves. So finally we did pedal the long way to Stockholm. It didn't look too far on the map, but we didn't know that the region was so hilly. In addition it was the first day in t-shirt and shorts since the our very first three days in Sweden. The first 20 km stole our confidence that we would make it to Stockholm on that day. The first problems with Peter's bicycle didn't make it any better. Several annoying breaks were needed to adjust the mudguard so that it didn't scratch the tire anymore.
80 km later we were rolling into Stockholm. The first impression was rather negative. What did the founder of the Sverigeleden bicycle path have in mind when he led the path through the Stockholm suburbs with ugly concrete buildings? There must be better areas. What a contrast to the great nature outside of Stockholm!
We were strolling through Stockholm's old town Gamlan Stan on rainy Friday. A big surprise was waiting for us: the next day was the crown princess' wedding. We didn't know that there was a royal wedding coming up. The whole city was getting excited. Stages and music, Swedish flags and a massive presence of Swedish police were everywhere. The noise of helicopters did not stop at all. Stockholm was packed with media people and many foreign visitors.
One thing about Sweden that we discovered was the cheap lunch specials. We had delicious Indian food in Gamlan Stan and paid only about 15 Euros. Many restaurants offer affordable lunch specials between 11:30 and 14:00. It's the time when Swedes go out for lunch. Take advantage of it!
Talking about food, dear French friends, somebody please tell us what a French hot dog is. They are sold at every corner here in Stockholm.
Stockholm showed off for the wedding on Saturday. The princess and the new prince were so lucky with the weather. Stockholm in the sun was so much better. It's a fantastic city. Thousands of people streamed to the castle. We were among them. Everybody watched the wedding ceremony on the giant screens and turned around to the couple when they passed the crowd within 2 seconds. We did see them as well, very tiny from the distance.
Total distance: 884 km
Farö - Katthammarsvik - Visby
We spent 7 days on Gotland and cycled the northern half of the island. Start and end point was Visby. On our Gotland tour we followed the well-marked bicycle path "Gotlandsleden" that led us through Kappelshamn, to the island Farö and back, Katthammarsvik and again to Visby. A post about our last days on that wonderful island.
Gotland is indeed a great place for cycling. Destination Gotland ferries bring you and your bicyle either from Oskarshamn or Nynäshamn to the island. If you don't have a bicycle and camping gear, you can rent it on the island. We saw many people with rented bicycles, trailers and camping gear cycling everywhere on Gotland.
Farö island is a little island in the north-west of Gotland. A free ferry connects Gotland with Farö. Surprisingly the Farö people call Gotland the "mainland". Not sure what they call mainland Sweden then. When we came onto the island the sky cleared up and wonderful weather welcomed us. Since the dark clouds stayed on the "mainland" side, we decided to spend 2 days on Farö. We picked the first camp site - we wild camped the night before and needed a shower - that was just a few kilometers behind the ferry station and were surprised by a German speaking couple at the reception. Retired couple Ingrid and Uwe from the Stuttgart area helped the 80-year old Swedish landlord and managed the camp site. The camp site was kept natural what we liked a lot. We envied Ingrid's and Uwe's great job in that environment. Both made our stay very pleasant. They were so kind as to borrow us their 3G internet access and that is the reason why you could read several posts from Gotland. In addition they fed us with good Ritter Sport chocolate from home and shared their TV. Yes, we did watch the football match Germany - Australia :-) Good match! Farö island is famous for its chalk erosion formations. The "dog" formation can be seen on many Farö photos.
We didn't know but Swedish traditional meatballs Köttbullar are pronounced (do it the German way) "Schöttbullar", like "Schiosk" for kiosk. Funny! I had a full pan of Köttbullar for myself :-)
On the same camp site, just next to us, we met Dutch cyclists Ingrid and Kees. They were on a 4-week tour in Sweden and celebrated their 20.000 km total distance on their bicycles. We won't make that so far on our trip though.
Before cycling back to Visby and off the island again, we spent another day on the east coast of Gotland. We pedalled the 80 km from Farösund to Katthammarsvik in a day, had dinner (let's call it dinner) at a wonderful beach. The sea was so calm, it mirrored the sky and the clouds. Birds were flying around and dived for fish. A picture like the ones sold at IKEA. We stayed at the place for one night.
The day after we made it back to Visby. We bought the ferry tickets to Nynäshamn and stayed at a camp site close to the city. One thing about camp sites on the island and close to Stockholm area: most of them require that you are older than 25 years old and that you hold a "Scandinavian Camping Card". We were told that the 25-year rule was introduced in response to the many drunk party-teenagers from Stockholm area. Travel with parents, guys!
Not many words today, just a video, to show you how nice Gotland looks like when it's not raining. And we were actually quite lucky the last two days :)
It's so nice reading the comments from all of you! This gives us the feeling that we are not completely forgotten yet! We think a lot of home, our friends and family and we miss you, specially in the very nice moments, which would be even nicer if we could share them with you. So here at least a try to share some of it with you...
We have been on Gotland now for 3 days. The first day on the island was as expected rainy and grey, but it didn't really matter as we had a rest day. We didn't get out of the tent before lunch time. Only then our hunger dragged us out of the tent towards Visby old town. Visby is Gotland's main harbour and Destination Gotland ferries connect with different mainland harbours. Visby is also the biggest town on the island. Lonely Planet says that Visby itself is worth a trip to Gotland and it is true. The town has a medieval flair with its old city wall, churches and ruins.
In Visby we did what a town is good for on our travel. We went into a restaurant and had excellent pizza. Afterwards we spent several coffee hours at McDonald's to update the blog and to check different information. By the way, the Swedes here on Gotland take it very accurately considering signs and distances.
Since we arrived here in Sweden, the wind has been a permanent partner. Everywhere strong wind showed up and made our life difficult. On our second day on Gotland, however, we did love the wind. During the night the wind arrived with noise. It shook our tent and smashed the waves against stones. We decided to head North and the decision couldn't have been any better. Tailwind pushed us and our bicycles went almost on their own. Pedalling was so easy. We noticed how great the wind was whenever other cyclist passed us going in the opposite direction. They really had to fight.That day we took it easy and let the wind drive us. We slept somewhere behind Kappelshamn at a wonderful place.
We thought the place was wonderful but it turned out to be a bad place. During night the wind became stronger and shook the tent even more. We couldn't sleep. The noise was too much. It became even worse when the rain started around 6 in the morning. Our only thought was that we didn't want to have rain any longer. It didn't stop so again we started our new day in full rain gear. We tried to convince ourselves how great it was to ride in rain. You can imagine, it didn't help.
Total Distance: 592 km
Kalmar - Oskarshamn - Visby
We did it! We cracked the 100 km per day distance: our longest distance on a bicycle on one day ever. Since cycling to Öland wasn't really feasible, we changed our plan again and decided to head for Gotland instead. Gotland is Sweden's biggest island and we have heard a lot about Gotland as a great place for cycling. To ferry across to Gotland we had to manage the distance from Kalmar to Oskarshamn. In Oskarshamn the ferry would bring us to Visby on Gotland in about 3 hours time. The weather forecast for Friday wasn't good at all. So we said that we would do the distance between Kalmar and Oskarshamn in one day and relax the day after on the island. Our estimation of the distance had been something around 80 km, but at the end of the day it was more than 100 km because the touristic bicycle path went here and there instead of straight to Oskarshamn.
Kalmar was heaven and hell at the same time. Heaven because it was a bigger city with a McDonald's. We spent Wednesday evening at McDonald's with free internet access to update our blog and chat with our family. Of course we did buy something! We have had our first coffee since weeks! Hell because we got lost in Kalmar Thursday morning and pedaled 11 km in a wrong direction. This extra 11 km was really annoying. Firstly, we lost an hour, and secondly, we lost precious energy for the long way to Oskarshamn.
The 100 km to Oskarshamn weren't easy. Strong headwind made pedaling even harder. We started to do like the pros to share our effort: one bicycle ahead, the other bicycle right at the other's rear wheel. I imagined that it did help. We are prepared for the Team Astana. In addition rain started to drizzle too. That wasn't a surprise anymore. The last few days had been rainy and we got used to it.
100 km later we arrived in Oskarshamn. The last kilometers seemed endless. It was a straight road with many ups and downs. We hoped to see Oskarshamn after every up but were disappointed so many times. Our legs were surprisingly not tired and we could have gone even further. Only when we boarded the ferry, sat down, relaxed, dry and warm, we noticed how tired we were. I didn't feel good and I didn't want to eat anything. Sarah said that we couldn't do that too often. Otherwise we would be home earlier than expected. 100 km in 7 h with an average speed of 14.6 km/h on heavy bicycles was probably too much. It was a real rush to catch the ferry.
Total distance: 480 km
Ivö - Karlshamn - Ronneby - Kalmar
Clouds and rain was forecasted for Monday and they did really come. We had had brilliant weather with temperature around 29°C. Monday was the complete opposite: rain and 10°C only. There it was, the famous Swedish weather. We actually thought that we would be able to pedal a longer distance. Well, it was only 45 km in the end. The permanent ups and downs in this region Blekinge were painful. They didn't want to stop at all. Rain poured down heavily around noon. We stopped somewhere in the forest looking for shelter at a bus stop. No busses were operating anymore, so we had the bus stop for ourselves. Following one German saying we made tea and waited. The burning stove and the hot tea were so good and unfroze our fingers. We tried to persuade ourselves that rain days would be a normal part of travelling. Well, yes, they are, but still we don't like them. It's bizarre, but when you are wet and tired you start thinking of your warm apartment and your couch. Are you sitting on your couch? If you do, think of us sitting in the rain!
The next day was a little better, a mix of clouds and some sun, at least no rain. So we could make some distance, this was our longest day so far with 80 km. In the end we were really happy to lie in our tent. We found a spot somewhere in the woods, quiet and even close to a little river, only painpoint were the millions of little insects that attacked us as soon as we stuck our head out of the tent. And we thought this would only come once we get further north!
Today the rain came back, but at least not continuously, just a short shower for about an hour or so. So we made it all the way to Kalmar. Initially we had planned to cycle over the brigde to the island of Öland, but the brigde is not open for bikes and the bus which takes also bikes over to the island, will only start running from the 12 of June, that is in 3 days. So, we settled down at the camping here in Kalmar. First hot shower after 3 days of cycling! You cannot believe how good a shower can feel! But I guess that's part of the trip, to learn to appreciate what we just took for granted back home!
The last few days led us along the south-east coast via Ahus onto the island Ivö. We also did our first free camping following the Swedish Allemannsrecht! We found a nice spot in the forest and stayed one night there. The spot, in fact a little trail, was perfect for this first experience because it was 'protected' on both sides by fences. So no big, wild animal could surprise us. The only wild animal that we saw was a little fox. Except that we really missed a shower after a whole day of cycling, we slept well. The next morning we continued early direction Ahus.
We just entered Ahus when an elder lady spoke with us in Swedish. She quickly recognised that we were not Swedes, switched into English and asked us about our tour. It's surprising! We talked to two elder ladies in the last few days and both of them could speak English.
Absolut Vodka. Does it ring a bell? We cycled through Ahus where the worldwide-known vodka is produced. It's the kind of vodka that is served in posh clubs. It's strange though. The company's buildings had a sign that read 'The Absolut Company. Pernot Ricard'. That sounds like a French name. And Ricard, is that the same Pastis Ricard?
We had another nice surprise in Ahus. While we were sitting under some trees, looking for shade and eating, an elder lady from the opposite house came over with Swedish chocolate. She offered us all sweets, but of course each of us dared to take only one. That was not enough. She grapped a handful and handed it over to us. Did we already look so skinny? Anyway, it's this kind of experience that makes your travel worthwhile!
After three days of cycling and 217 km total distance we felt our legs. They were so heavy, so we felt it was time for a break. We spotted a campsite on the island Ivö on the map and decided to spend our day off over there. A free ferry took us from the mainland to the island in only 7 minutes. The campsite was right on the beach. We were with ten Swedish girls and a German couple the only people with tents. Swedes must have a different skin and feeling for cold! While all Germans had long trousers and their jackets on, all Swedes were still running in their bikinis.
Thank God that we have got the tick vaccination! We thought that it would be useless, but it is certainly not! When we woke up on Ivö, we walked only a few meters to the wooden table where we had breakfast. We counted 6 ticks on our skin and 2 bites (Peter's first tick bites ever). These little bastards are so small that you can easily miss them.
These days we eat a lot and talk much about food. Proof? The road markings on Ivö looked so delicious like icing on gingerbread cookies! We almost licked them off the roads!
Another strange thing: shower fees on campsites in Sweden. Warm showers are not included in the standard total price. It's perhaps a good idea though to save water. But discrimination is still present! A shower for Sarah cost 5 SEK, whereas a shower for Peter cost only 2 SEK.
At the time of starting this post it was 1:44 am, 2nd June 2010, we were on the Scandline ferry from Rostock to Trelleborg. We were sitting in the restaurant among sleeping travellers and truck drivers. Arrival time in Trelleborg was scheduled for 7:30 am.
Today or better yesterday was the kick-off of our travel. We could not sleep well because our cat Phoebe walked over us at 6 in the morning. She must have felt that we would leave her for a year.
In the morning we finished the last things that we had to do prior to our departure. It's always more than you think indeed. We packed the bicycles with all panniers, said good-bye to Peter's parents and brothers and started pedalling to the train station. Already on the way to the train station both of us thought that it would be very difficult to climb the central Asian mountains with those fully loaded bicycles. But we had had these same thoughts and concerns last year during our Pyrenees trip as well and at the end everything went fine. At the train station again we really noticed how heavy the bicycles were while we were pushing them up the stairs. It's almost impossible to lift a bicycle on your own.
It's amazing how many cyclists you meet when you are on a tour. In the train to Münster we met a man who also did bicycle tours. Once we arrived in Münster we met two other men, 63 and 71 years old, with their bicycles on their way back home to Stuttgart. They had cycled along the river Ems for a week. We talked a lot while we were waiting for our trains.
The train took us from Münster to Rostock. Just in front of the railway station we had dinner, i.e. Döner Kebap, before we made our way to Rostock harbour. Weather-wise we were unlucky! Dark clouds and light rain accompanied us to the harbour. Our motivation shrinked a bit. It's very interesting to see how weather can change your mood. Although we were in June, so normally summer time, we put on several fleece pullovers and leg warmers as the temperature was only 10 degrees. Two things that we did not regret at all were the expensive thermo bottle with hot tea and our waterproof gloves. We were freezing outside! Therefore we went inside the ferry line's building where the heaters were on. June and running heaters? Yes!
It was not until 10 pm when we could board the ferry. While we were standing outside in the rain in front of the ferry, waiting for the green light to board, two other, very nice German cyclists - Wolf and Andreas - showed up and joined the group. Both were on their way to Sweden too. Wolf planned to stay in South Sweden for a week, Andreas was heading for the North Cape in only 4 weeks time. He had more the eager attitude and wished to make about 150 km per day. Our bicycles helped us to make contact. We exchanged our experiences and spent time together in the ferry's restaurant. It's absolutely great meeting other cyclists!
And dear SAP people, we opened and emptied your champagne bottle here! :-) Very good champagne by the way ... 1.5 kg less to carry now ;-)
We couldn't leep long in the restaurant. Already at 5:30 am hungry truck drivers filled the room. Sarah woke me up and pointed the fantastic sunrise, but I was too tired to look up. Half an hour later it was time to get ready. The arrival was announced loudly through the speakers. We arrived in Trelleborg and the weather was good as expected. This couldn't have been any better after the cold, wet weather in Rostock. Outside of the harbour we said good-bye to Andreas. Since Wolf was heading for an island that was on our way, he accompanied us. First stop in Trelleborg was an ATM to get Swedish Krona, second stop a bakery. Trelleborg reminded us a lof of Enschede in the Netherlands with its similar architecture. Our first destination afer Trelleborg was Ystad (catch word Henning Mankell). We mainly followed the bicycle path Sverigeleden. The landscape was absolutely great! The sea was always on our right-hand side and yellow crops field to our left. Somewhere we stopped and had a longer break at an endless beach that looked a lot like the beaches in Queensland in Australia. The sun was so hot!
In Ystad Wolf left us and boarded his ferry to the island Bornholm. We stayed some time in the very nice town Ystad and took a nap in one of its parks. Both of us were still so tired. We camped in Nybrostrand after a 55 km ride. That was enough for day 1.
The next morning we woke up at 5:30 am, packed our stuff and were gone. We wanted to see the Swedish version of Stonehenge - Ales Stenar in Kaseberga - in the early morning. At 12 pm we had already pedalled 40 km. We passed many little villages. All of them seemed so tranquil. This part of Sweden, Skane, does probably not know stress at all.
