Addendum to Northern European Trip: Thoughts From Home

We have sat and read our blog entries and perhaps the last entry, in particular, may have left the reader with some negative impressions about our tour. This addendum is an attempt to clarify our thoughts.

A pervading theme throughout was the sense of history that we in North America do not have to appreciate. We remember looking at some simple nails found in the Klaipeda castle ruins from the 1600s. There are no nails that old here. We also found ourselves thinking a lot of recent history, in particular WW2 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It seems the European people are more aware of this part of their history probably because it was in their “yard”. For many of us it is just something that happened “over there”. Obviously our Auschwitz visit drove this home succinctly. The museum suggests that some of the exhibits may be unsuitable for children. Yet we saw many children there. It is probably something everyone should do in their lifetime and maybe the earlier the better.

It is always of interest to compare the ways of foreign countries to ours. In fact, travel in some ways is an almost constant game of compare and contrast. For example we are big fans of traffic circles (roundabouts) and do not understand why we do not have more of these traffic expediting features at home.

We very much enjoyed meeting the Europeans in their homeland. They are very polite and helpful. Most of our frustration came from not having any command of the language leaving us at the mercy of whatever we met. All of these encounters were ultimately positive but left us feeling lacking in our preparedness for this journey. It also gave us a better understanding of how isolated you can feel when left in a state of decreased communication, even as simply as not being able to understand or read the road signs and menus. 

Living in small town Canada we just are not used to the speed, traffic volume and overall busyness of European roads. After our ride in the Balkans last year we were hoping to not having to deal with such traffic issues, but only in the remoter areas of Scandinavia did we find this the situation.

Scenery? Finland lakes and streams and the Norwegian coast come to mind right away. But there were some beautiful farms and woodlands throughout the trip.

In hindsight we would have benefited by two more rest days to simply “stop and smell the roses”, get a better feel of some of the countries and just regroup.

There was no doubt this was a trip of a lifetime. We had spent the previous winter planning and plotting and trying to prepare for this journey. We are thankful as a 70ish couple we are still mentally and physically capable of taking on such an endeavour.

Frankfurt, Germany 447 km

Our motorcycle adventure has officially ended. Today we completed our 7617 km northern European loop by riding the motorway from Dresden to Frankfurt. Norma has contracted an intestinal bug, it is hot and we are both somewhat “ridden out” so we wanted to make the best time possible. We did the ride in a bit over 5 hours. See the attached video for a short clip of a relatively quiet section of the autobahn. I was doing 120 kph. 

The photo below shows our trusty steed in typical repose at a freeway rest stop. We will miss the amazing engine but Whiskey Jack is a far more comfortable ride. This is also the first day we have had to pay to use the washroom. At least you know they are clean as the attendant not only stands waiting to be paid but also cleans after each use.

Summary: 21 days and 9 countries. 9 different languages. 5 different currencies.

First item: the weather was hot. For the whole trip including above the Arctic circle. It is 34C in Frankfurt today. All the cold weather gear we brought was barely used. The most valuable pieces of clothing were our shorts to get into immediately after each day’s ride.

Second item: we are not used to all traffic and the people. After experiencing it in the Balkans last year we hoped to “get away from it all” by heading to far northern Europe. We were only partially successful. We all should enjoy our North American “wide open spaces”.

Third item: it is very frustrating not to be able to read signs. It gives one a feeling of what it is like to be illiterate or a foreign non English reading person in our country. This is not a nice feeling.

Fourth item: Europe is expensive to visit, especially the Scandinavian countries. Hotel rooms ranged upwards to as much as $250 per night and one tank of gas was over $90 which is a lot for the relatively small capacity bike tank. We knew that going in but there still were surprises. Speaking of money, credit card machines should be standardized worldwide so one doesn’t have to figure how each one works. In 9 different languages no less. Same thing for gas pump protocol. Some were pay in advance and some were not and you were never sure.

Fifth item: we are surprised to see how many people, young and old, smoke. It is like we have gone back 30 years to when it was fashionable. It just seems so harsh seeing a beautifully coifed women, nicely dressed pull out a fag! Wrecks the entire image. But then again it would have been just the thing years ago, oh so fashionable!

Tomorrow we fly to Calgary via Ottawa.

Dresden, Germany 476 km

Another country, another currency – our last for our adventures this trip.

The morning started out with a very pleasant leisurely ride through several small towns, a little forested area and then BANG! Onto the A4, which appears to be one of the major motorways (freeways) joining the European countries. The speed limit was 140 with the trucks doing 90 in the right hand lane unless passing. We have done a lot of travel but think this truck traffic volume beats anything we have seen in the past. It was bumper to bumper semis. If you want to take an exit you have to plan ahead to sandwich yourself between two rigs to access the exit. The road has two toll sections so last evening Doug exchanged some of our euros into zloty so we could pay these. It cost us about $4.66 Canadian for the two sections. We rode through many toll areas in Norway but they are controlled electronically and motorcycles are exempt.

As we have been riding through Poland we keep seeing wayside shrines set up on the edge of the roads, on people’s property and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We think they must be like our markers for road incidents. They are pretty permanent looking though as they are brick with a maypole effect coloured streamers from the top and lots of flowers.

Wayside shrine

Sign indicating town limits

Caught on a mirror

Tonight we are in Dresden. A city with an interesting history probably best known for the incendiary bombing of  by US and British AFs in March of 1945. We can see the skyline from our hotel window.

Tomorrow will be our last riding day as we return to Frankfurt to return the bike. Included in today’s report are some captured stills from the helmet cam and a short ride through a motorway tunnel in Germany.

Oswiecim, Poland – 386 km

This morning we decided to check the roads on google maps and see if we could find a way to stay away from the freeways. In doing so we also discovered a fairly big area where the road was closed so good pre- trip planning! Our plan of course did not coincide with the “girl” (GPS) so we had a day of recalculating!

It was a lovely morning traveling through orchards and many small towns. At the entrance of each town there is a sign that looks like buildings which indicates the start of town limits and the need to adjust your speed. At the outskirts leaving the town the sign is the same but with a red line through it. It was a morning of slow, fast, slow, fast but also one of the most pleasant rides so far. Very little traffic and good scenery. 

Polish Orchards

Being Sunday every little town had their church service in progress. Not sure why but lots of people standing outside facing the church, not like they were just visiting post service but more like it is too hot inside or not enough room. Your guess is as good as mine.

The past few days we have been seeing many stands at the side of the road with people selling their garden produce, some attended and some with an honour box. We have seen veggies, tomatoes, potatoes, red peppers, jars (yes quart jars) full of blueberries, baskets of cherries and boxes of apples. We did stop by one of the cherry stands and the man chattered away at us in Polish not understanding why we weren’t buying. Cherries and motorcycle saddlebags just don’t mix. Now if it were apples …

Lots of signs indicating free range cattle. Now at home we would be prepared for them to be in the middle of the road or heading that way. Not here. They are all so busy munching on the luscious grass on the side of the road. Besides they are all tethered!

As we got close to our destination (the GPS had taken over by then) we found ourselves with a closed roadblock. The GPS kept telling us to turn around but we decided to follow a taxi and some other local looking cars and sure enough, into a sort of parking lot, along a very narrow one way street, through a very narrow tunnel and out the other side! Voila! We were past the construction and the “girl” could take over again.

The hotel we are in is situated directly across from Auschwitz. The museum/monument which is open until 7 pm so off we went. We attempted to get in but Doug had his pocket knife so was denied entrance. Norma went in, Doug hid his knife in a tree and entered. They didn’t meet up until both were out so ended up going back in again together. The displays were informative but very upsetting. The whole compound is mostly intact, which in itself is amazing as we are certain there are many people who would have liked to see it razed. Perhaps it will allow mankind to learn something from its mistakes. There is a lot more we could say, but we will observe the silence we were asked to observe in the gas chambers.  We have included a few photos.

Auschwitz!

From the prisoners

Crematorium

Body incinerator

Lochow, Poland 549 km

We knew today was going to be a long one so made an early start. We gained an hour when crossing into Poland too so that helped.

This morning we got on a very nice freeway leading from Klaipeda to the interior. Not much traffic but there were fog banks that had rolled in from the sea/ocean/bay? That helped keep the temperature a bit cooler. We needed to ride east to go south, as sort of a dog leg, as there is a small piece of Russia – their Baltic seaport: Kaliningrad - that requires pre-obtained visas and is all sorts of hassle to travel through. Although the GPS was quite willing and tried to take us there, it was overruled. Stopped at a rest stop near some Harley riders from Lithuania so on an impulse Doug walked over and gave them each a Canada lapel pin. The picture shows them putting on their pins. They seemed really pleased.

Now we have entered another planet. Welcome to Poland. It seemed that as soon as we crossed the border the traffic slowed and backed up. Up until now we have been treated by signs in English and speakers of English. In this part of Poland there are no such things. We are booked into a modern Polish Spa for the night. I’ll bet we are the only foreigners (English speaking) here. The two gals at the reception did the best they could – even to offering to “hide” the motorcycle when we asked where we should park. So we "hid" it with the bicycles.

We have difficulty getting noncarbonated bottled water in most countries we have been in on this trip. Usually you can see the word still or stilla or some such indication but no luck here. So today when we went to a garage to get some snacks, water, pop, etc., the only way we could ascertain the water was not carbonated was to mimic opening it with a loud hiss. Pssst! It worked.

The hotel is relatively new. It has a couple of man-made lakes, pools and a bowling alley. The room is very spacious and is decorated with a modern concrete wall. Poland so far is just weird. . .

Hotel

Manmade lake

The feature wall in the room

Okay, so call us wimps but as we just can’t understand the language and there is no indication of any meanings and the staff don’t know English we opted for the buffet for dinner. At least, even though the words mean nothing, you can get a visual of what you are going to eat. Not that a visual helped in all cases - there are still a few dishes we are debating about. It was all very good, though.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings as we get into a more international tourist area.

Klaipeda, Lithuania 0 km

We really are enjoying our non-riding day in this very interesting city. Even though this is a touristy city it has a very calm small town feel. The streets are all cobblestone (a bit hard for walking) and everyone is very friendly. We are finding the use of English isn’t as widespread here as other countries we have visited but people try hard and smile a lot. They talk so quickly that even if we did understand a bit we would still be lost.

Klaipeda waterfront

We started with the usual breakfast buffet at the hotel then walked over to the castle. Well, there isn’t a castle there any more. The castle was first mentioned in written sources in 1252, and underwent numerous destructions and reconstructions in the centuries that followed. During the 19th century, having lost its strategic importance, the castle was demolished. Archeological work was performed at the site during the 20th century, and in 2002 a museum was established underneath one of its bastions. Currently, the castle is being restored. They have a big job. We wish them success. 

Castle restoration

Castle museum

We visited the museum, examined the archeological displays and also saw a special section of the museum to learn a bit about the history of the city of Klaipeda during and after WWII. Hitler annexed Klaipeda at the beginning of the war and gave a speech at the theater just down the street from us (see pictures). Apparently this town was part of pre-WW1 Prussia and Germany “lost” it then as part of the war reparations. It remained in Nazi hands until it was liberated (read destroyed) by the Russian Army at the end of the war. When the USSR fell apart in the early 90s Lithuania became independent once again after many years of German and Russian “occupation”.

Hitler at theatre in 1939

Theatre today

We also walked down to a passenger ferry terminal and people watched. One fellow was fishing off the pier and caught two fish while we were there. We patronized a gelato kiosk as well.

The theatre square where the above picture was taken has many stands selling the same amber jewellery. I guess you just pick the seller who looks most interesting to you? Cruise ships do stop in Klaipeda so we are not surprised to see this.

We had been watching children “play” in the courtyard in view of our balcony so we decided to walk up the back alley and find where they were. It is a plastic chess set “playground”. 

Klaipeda, Lithuania 256 km

When we went out to check the bike first thing this morning there were three police cars and four guys with guns on their belts hovering around the bike. On, no! The administrative pass people were onto us. We casually sauntered over to the bike, looking as innocent as we could but they paid us no mind. Just security guys changing shift we think. Must say we were relieved when we rode past the sign saying end of fee area. No criminal charges. No 50 euro fine.

Yesterday we saw a bus load of young girls in gymnastic attire get off at the hotel, doing cart wheels and hand stands across the court yard. We asked about it this morning and apparently they are attending a prestigious gymnastics camp that they are only allowed to attend if they have won a championship of some sort. There are girls there from all over the world but mostly from Russia.

Welcome to Lithuania. See video for border crossing under construction. 

Doug wore his Toronto Raptors hat in honour of Jonas Valanciunas, the Lithuanian center for the team. Nobody has offered him any money for it yet. . .

We had a very varied ride today from 40 kph construction zones to 130 kph freeways. Spent most of the day in farmland with a few towns/cities thrown in. Saw many more heron nests along the way – even managed to grab a shot with the helmet cam. There seem to be nests around many farm houses. The platforms are man-made metal framing on the top of power poles. Maybe the birds are helpful to the farmers so the farmers help with the nest building to encourage them to stick around. Or by providing them with sites they don’t interfere with power transmission.

We also saw a Latvian fire extinguisher – sealed in a box painted red were two buckets and a cable. Figure that one out.

One of the rests stops, they were very infrequent today, had these cute little bathrooms --- until you opened the door to see the hole in the ground surrounded by cement foot prints. Gross – picture provided on request but not appropriate to post here. Norma is really glad she has learned how to pee in the bush sitting on a rock. No way was she going into this establishment, cute or not!

We are staying in the National Hotel. It was built in 1855. We treated ourselves to a luxury suite with air conditioning and our own private deck. It is very nice. It is 30C out there again today so we were glad to get settled in the cool. Looks like there is lots to explore within walking distance for us tomorrow, our day off.

Jurmala, Latvia 320km

It’s official. We are criminals! We just rode right by the check point where we were to purchase a pass into this town, Jurmala. Apparently from April 1 to September 30 you are required to buy an administrative pass for 2 euros a day to just be present here. There is a 50 euro fine but they have to catch us first. We think we are safe here in the parking lot of the hotel. Time will tell and we can plead ignorance as all the signs are in Latvian.

We weren’t in too much of a rush to get going this morning as we knew it wasn’t a long ride. We also were in a catch 22 as it was already 25C and we knew it was only going to get warmer and you can’t check into the next hotel too early either so better to wait in your accommodation as it was. At least we managed to get a bit of air into our “oven” room last night but would have suffocated without the fan.

The start of the morning was a very pleasant ride in the forest, some farm land, and minimal traffic and eventually to the water. As we got closer to the water we found every rest stop jammed with people who were trying to get to the beach. There seems to be many miles of beautiful sandy beach.

We keep seeing these grey herons. Some of them have built huge osprey-like nests in the telephone poles instead of the trees where they are supposed to.

Hmmm...anyone speak Estonian?

Roadside fauna

Again there was no need to go through customs or a border crossing leaving Estonia and going into Latvia. There are just signs indication you are leaving one and going into another, sort of like changing provinces at home. 

The traffic just kept getting heavier the further we got into Latvia and the closer to Riga, the capital. Lots of truck traffic but they pull over as far over in the lane as they can (only a two lane highway) to let people get by. Oncoming passing vehicles in your lane is thus quite common. You are supposed to move over. We had planned to go further south to bypass Riga then decided to listen to the girl (GPS) who just took us right through the center of town. It was a hot slow ride so we were glad to get to the hotel where we have air conditioning.

We were going to stay here two nights but we booked only one after getting burnt by the Estonian oven yesterday. But it turns out we can’t stay here another night because of it being booked. Oh well – off to Lithuania!

Included in today’s blog is a video clip our wrong turn on to a one way street and another racing the tram in Helsinki yesterday.

Haapsula, Estonia 330 km

We needed to make an early start from Tampere as we had the ferry booked from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia and weren’t sure how long it would take to get there. Tampere is a mess with construction as they have all roads dug up installing a tram car system which isn’t going to be ready until 2020.

In hindsight this turned out to be the easiest part of the day.

As we approached Helsinki we were feeling pretty sure we had it under control. Until we realized the road to the ferries (and there are several companies that sail out of the small port there) goes all the way through downtown, beside the tram cars, cobblestone streets, poor signs. The “girl” (GPS) told us to turn left but right we went into a one way street going the wrong way – again more cobblestones. A quick detour into a market – bringing back memories of Sarajevo market ride – turn around with the ice-cream vendor yelling at us, and back onto the right road. The helmet cam was filming the entire time but no footage tonight. Explanation later.

Finally with just dead reckoning we managed to find the correct terminal. The ferry trip was uneventful. The ship was an old cruise ship, or at least that is what it seemed like, with sleeping cabins you could book – it was only a 2.5 hour trip, slot machines in every corner, a huge duty free shop, several bars and even a live band providing entertainment and a place for people to dance.

Leaving Helsinki

Ferry sun deck

Live band on ferry

Now for the departure into Tallinn! Getting off the ferry was the easy part. We just followed everyone but again found ourselves in the worst traffic snarl. Trying to watch road signs the GPS and traffic we ended up many kms away from where we needed to be. Oh, well. We are adventurers. Eventually we got turned around and made our way here. The thermometer on the bike was reading 35 C so we were melting and disappointed to discover our accommodation (we had originally planned two nights here) was like being in a SMALL OVEN (and was advertised to be a “family” room). Thus no helmet cam footage from today as it is just too hot to sit and edit video footage. Besides we don’t know if we want to relive the Helsinki ride again so soon. 

Our 100 ft square Estonian Oven

Now we are going to ride into Latvia tomorrow. We are still looking to plan another day off. Maybe tomorrow.

Tampere, Finland 300 km

We are not tourists. We are adventurers! These were the words we heard many times from Primoz, one of our guides on our Balkan’s motorcycle tour last year. Well, we are doing this adventure ourselves. No support vehicle taking our luggage. If it doesn’t fit on the bike it stays home. No one to interpret but we are learning to say “Good morning, how are you?.” and people respond in English, if they can. No one to guide us on the right trail. No one to book accommodation and make dinner reservations and no tour guide. Wait a minute. We have Doog (how they pronounce Doug in Finnish). He has an active role in estimating how far we want to go each day, the best route avoiding cities (we have always travelled away from cities if possible) neat accommodation, the Sami village, Christmas village, restored customs house. His evening consists of looking at maps, researching on the computer and yes, grumbling a little about it but his faithful companion does not complain, just gently encourages. The roads we travel take us into people’s back yards, farm lands, water ways, outdoors smells, some not so nice, and travel ways with less traffic. Good job Doog!!

We have been seeing lots of fireweed throughout the trip. At home we only seem to see it in the burned out forest areas but here it trims the highways and frames the farmers’ fields. Wonder if they consider it a weed, like the tansy at home.

Many of the roads we are travelling have bicycle trails parallel to them. They have built tunnels under the main intersections and roundabouts, bridges over the rivers and streams, light posts and even a speed limit on some of them.

Tonight we are in Tampere, Finland and are staying at the hospital. THE HOSPITAL!??

Not really at the hospital but in the hospital hotel. It is a really neat concept where they have built this very nice facility to accommodate people needing to use the hospital but also open to travellers. Both of us have managed to catch a mild cold so the location is appropriate. The sneezes kept turning on the voice actuated helmet to helmet communicator today. . .

View from our hotel window

Can keep an eye on the bike from the 6th floor

Today’s ride to Tampere (pop. 230,000) was over some busier roads than we have been on lately, getting us prepared for the trip into Helsinki tomorrow to catch the ferry to Estonia. Still we saw some lush farm land and, as usual many lakes. Finland is a beautiful country.

Road side rest and cafe

Jacobstad, Finland – 489 km

A beautiful Sunday ride took us through mixed forests to the Bothnian Coast of Finland. The Gulf of Bothnia is the north arm of the Baltic Sea. Because of the low salinity due to all the rivers it actually freezes in the winter. No freezing today as the temperatures ranged up to 28.5C.

This morning we passed a number of reindeer including a white one (see helmet cam shot). We noticed that there are a number of colour morphs while examining the pelts available for sale at one of the gift shops. They are becoming so commonplace to see we no longer get excited about it but have started analyzing them. They have huge hoofs, better for tramping in the snow and soggy tundra and walk with a lopsided, uneven, floppy gait that is quite amusing to watch. None of the “deer in the headlight” look on their faces – they are so used to the traffic and act like they own the road. We have now seen one with a red collar, one green collar and one with a leather collar with a bell. We understand these are distinguished as leaders of the pack.

On the way we stopped at a few rest areas with people enjoying the lakes and streams on a Sunday. Also there was some nature walks including one out into a boggy environment. We did see some sand cranes as well. Also a lot of road side garbage. No excuse for that as there are receptacles available in many locations. This stretch of road didn’t seem to have as many of the nice rest stops we have become accustomed to – just pull out areas.

Couple Enjoying Sunday

Tonight we find ourselves in an upscale hotel that is an old converted customs house. We even have air conditioning, a first for the entire trip. There are beautiful garden areas surrounding the hotel with the attached statue on the front lawn.

Our Hotel Tonight

There are lots of motorcyclists touring the area and we have noted they all wear full protective gear, full face shield helmets, jackets, riding pants, etc. None of the ape hanger, beanie style helmets, bare arms look. Tomorrow will probably be our last stay in Finland, Tampere to be exact. Patrick Laine’s home town! You gotta be a hockey fan for that one.

Rovaniemi, Finland 425 km

After a sumptuous breakfast (for all those brekkie fans out there – come to Europe for a treat – and this stated by the normally non breakfast eater) we said goodbye to Norway and headed into Finland under clear skies. That did not last long as we quickly ran into some lake effect cloud from an ocean-sized lake. Check out Lake Inarijarvi (here we go with those multi letter words again) with over 3000km of shoreline and 3000 islands. The temperature dropped into the lower teens, which meant a stop to don cold weather gear, and it did not warm up ‘til we passed the lake which took about an hour. After it warmed up it rained for about an hour and now that we have stopped for the day it has started again. Our stop was timed well as there was lots of thunder and lightning along with the rain.

The roads and signage in Finland so far are noticeably better than in Sweden and Norway. As alluded to above, this part of Finland has a large portion of its land mass covered with water. We passed lakes almost continuously today. And we met Martta at a roadside shop. As we have been finding all the way along the people are very friendly and have an excellent command of English. Only difference is we were getting used to the credit card machines with the English option and so far we are not seeing it here.

Numerous single sightings of reindeer and we were beginning to be grateful for seeing the large herd a few days ago, when we came around a corner to see a huge herd grazing along the side of the road. As they are semi tame they are not bothered by the traffic so just saunter out into the car path, much like the wild mountain sheep do at home.

Tonight we find ourselves in Santa’s Village – a Christmas theme park right on the Arctic Circle. We have our own cabin complete with Christmas tree, candles in the window and a sauna, which we are sure we will not use. There are lots of activities in the park, a mini shopping mall with Christmas themed stores and Christmas music playing throughout. 

Park Shop

Our Cabin

Our Sauna

You can arrange for Santa to visit your cabin for 150 euros. Not sure what he does for that fee as it is only good for 15 minutes! Any ideas??? Norma has her own Santa though so no need to hire one! It was a zoo when we got here with all the tour busses but it has settled down and is pretty quiet now – and the sun is shining!!!!! Sure hope it lasts for tomorrows ride.