Raphael's Travel Blog

The first days on the road

It’s been a long time coming. But now that I finally get around to write something up I truly don’t know where to start. I suppose I could start by click baiting you all and tell about the last days in Helsinki. So much happens since that I am probably not going to get all things right that far back so I will keep it brief.

The last of Helsinki

I’ll pick up where I left you, which would be Sunday. Jascha went for another long climbing session with Max which gave Frida and me another opportunity to go and play tourists. I still wanted to visit the Sibelius monumentti and there was that neighbourhood that seemed worth exploring as well. Not to forget the Airbnb that we stumbled onto when searching for placed to stay in Helsinki originally. The whole listing was as communistic as it gets and the pictures seemed to be take in an apartment that never quite left the Russian influenced Finland behind. Since the building was located in the neighbourhood we wanted to visit anyway we put it onto our lists of things to see that day. So, after breakfast we headed out, getting the bus to the Sibeliuksen puisto, a park named after the composer who’s music I just adore. After a short walk we made it to the monument. It’s quite a mesmerising sight in my eyes, especially compared to the little metal depiction of Sibelius next to it which just looks horrendous.

Afterwards we strolled towards Alppila, the neighbourhood we wanted to explore. On our way there we stumbled across the Olympic stadium and the amusement park. The first was in interesting thought, trying to imagine the buzz of the Olympics right around us all the way back. The ladder was very tempting to go and spent unnecessary money on and probably get infected with Covid. That one ride just really seemed like one hell of a thrill. Oh well, one more reason to go back to Helsinki one day.

Alppila was interesting in the sense that it was so… Standard. It seemed like the cheaper area to live in and I often like the atmosphere around neighbourhoods like that a lot as it seems more tangible and gives you a true picture of what living here might look like. At least that’s how I feel about it. Unfortunately we didn’t find the Airbnb which we gave the nickname “communist papa”. What a shame. But oh well. We just headed to Oodi (the fancy library in case you didn’t read the last post) to read on the terrace and copy my passport and ID just in case. The reading on the terrace quickly turned into a reading inside as for the first time since our arrival the Finnish heavens opened their floodgates. During a less intense period of time Frida and I headed back to the hotel, planning to meet up with Jascha there and then eat, go to the pool and sauna and watch the hockey finals between Finland and Canada. Jascha ended up taking a while to arrive, he’s had a nice encounter with this thing called rain. I think in the end only I went up to the pool and sauna but the real highlight of the day was Max joining us to watch the finals. I organized quite a bit of snacks and candy to make this a really memorable occasion. After all, being in the hockey World Cup is to Finland what being in the Football World Cup would be to most other European countries. What a lucky timing for us to experience that! By the third third of the game we moved our private room party down to the hotel lobby where the game was aired on a big screen. The atmosphere was great and it felt very good and endearing to scream “hyvä Suomi” alongside all the others. I felt quite at home. But tragically Finland ended up losing in overtime so party turned into a bit of a less enthusiastic event. Nonetheless it was still a party and Jascha as well as Frida ended up joining the others for a night’s out whilst I stayed behind and enjoyed the nice comfort of my bed. After all, I was really tired.

For Monday there is not that much to write about, it was mostly a day of packing and getting the last things needed before hitting the road. At noon I went with Frida and Jascha to pick up the bikes they rented and see that everything was as it should be. I felt like a dad actually. Quite the endearing moment. But yeah, after that I went back to the hotel whilst they cycled there and started trying to fix my issue that I had with my credit card. I got a SwissBankers Travel card that is intended specifically for situations like mine so when it turned out that my card was faulty and would always say “wrong PIN” no matter how many times I’d call and the people on the phone would try fix it, it was quite a blow. I had a back up card, so it wasn’t the end of the world but it made things quite hectic and frustrating. For one having to call their hotline around five times and having to wait around 15 minutes in queue everytime was annoying but in the end I also needed to get a replacement card sent to me which would not be easy considering we were to head out into the wild the next day for a long time. Luckily I had a saviour around the corner. My friend Nina who lives in Turku was kind enough to let me send the card to her and I would pick it up once we’d be there. Thinking I’d fixed my card issues we headed to Max with all the things we brought with us for the week in Helsinki but wouldn’t need (or rather not have space for, currently I think everyone else assumes very much so that I am in dire need of a deodorant) on the road. There we said goodbye to our good friend and once more headed back to the hotel, where a free meal was arranged for us which we more than gladly devoured in our room while watching a YouTube video of two guys trying to cross Scotland in a straight line. It seemed a very fitting thing to watch before going on our own very crazy adventure. The following goodbye to the pool and sauna was very tough. For obvious reasons. But at least there was one more bath with a huge bath bomb to make it less traumatic. No but in all seriousness – this week in Helsinki has been one of the best in my life and I can’t thank the people around me enough for making it the memory it is now. Max and Benjamin for arranging the cheap stay at this dream hotel and Frida and Jascha for being the awesome friends they are.

Day 1

And so it began. After a last, very thorough breakfast and a quick trip to the pharmacy we finally rolled out our bikes and set out to start what’s been in my head for years.

The cleanest you will see us be for a long time. Before the first meter.

Our first goal was Degerby. We didn’t want to go too hard on the first day and the odd 60kms it would be sounded like a good start. The first kilometers were very smooth riding, which was to be expected considering we were heading towards Espoo, which would mean never really leaving the populated area. Even if we had to cycle on the bike path alongside the high all the way to Espoo, the view was still very pretty with the little islands along the coast and the scenic bridge segments. After a quick top up of on-the-road-snacks and water in we kept moving, now heading to Kirkkonummi. For the first time we left the populated area behind us and were greated by wide open plains, forest on the horizon and hills. Lots of hills. This will be a theme here. Hills. People say Finland is flat but what the mean is that it’s a mostly low altitude country. Because it most definitely is not flat. On our first day we accumulated 561 meters of elevation gain without every crossing 27m above sea. It really is quite curious. So on our way to Kirkkonummi I made my first acquaintance with the roller-coaster that is Finland. Short and steep climb and speedy short descent. Rinse and repeat. Once in Kirkkonummi we used a trick I’ve been told about by the Swiss friend I made on the train to Travemünde. Using the graveyard as a way to get to fresh water. Where there is a graveyard there is a hose. And water is gold now that we’re on the road. Other than that and a bit of a longer break to get some food in we didn’t do or see a lot of Kirkkonummi before already heading out again with Degerby as our goal. From now on (and for most of our trip in Finland) we followed the cycling route 10. It lead us through more rolling forests and plains, quickly making me feel like I’ve entered a far away abandoned fantasy land. The quiet and peace, the sheer vastness. It demanded for a photo break.

From there the route took us on a little detour that confused us all but in return led to the most quiet place I think I’ve ever been. An old abandoned stable or something of that sort, surrounded by forest. I could’ve remained there for a long time, just soaking in the peace and atmosphere.

Shortly after we made our first acquaintance with what Finland calls “main roads”. They are basically big, two laned roads that act as a connector of smaller settlements to the bigger cities and towns in Finland as well as roads that can be used to get from one major area to the other without using the highway. You are allowed to cycle on them and there is a thin side strip but depending on how busy the road is, it can be quite tense. And for our first day with my two quite exhausted friends it made for a very anxious last bit of road before finally making it to Degerby. From there we went looking for a suitable place to wildcamp, which we eventually found not far off from the village near what seemed like a little water filtration or other service hut. We set up our tent and realized we’re running low on water if we wanted to cook the rice we bought. So Frida and I went to the nearest houses where we found a wonderfully sweet man building his new garage who let us fill our bottles with his hose. We had a little chat and he even offered us to come again in the morning to fill up once more before heading back onto the road. For the sake of my mum’s sanity I’ll leave out the details of how we almost blew up the gas canister and just mention the superb rice Jascha managed to serve. With some nuts and spices he managed to make extravagant camp food. I’m not complaining. We had a wonderful chat about tons of stuff and then went to bed. Just as we all closed our eyes we heard the sounds of massive movement really close to our tent. We were all immediately really scared, especially when we didn’t see any human nearby when peaking out. The bones of a deceased animal not far away we discovered when peeing didn’t help the situation. I for one couldn’t really sleep that night. Not the smoothest start to wildcamping.

Some stats of the day:

Route: Helsinki – Espoo – Kirkkonummi – Fågelvik – Degerby
Distance: 64.28km
Total distance: 64.28km
Elevation gain: 561m

Day 2

Okay, this is taking too long to write up. It’s not that I think of you as not worth my time, but time is rare when cycling six hours a day and camping in between that. And I’d rather give you some updates than not finding the time to write up anything. It also shouldn’t become a chore. So I suppose from now on I’ll keep it a bit more brief and let the pictures do more of the talking. If you want the fully experience then you just have to go yourself or contact me once I’m back and I’ll more than gladly come by for an evening of story telling.

Our goal this day was the reach Ekenäs, where there would be a camp ground we could rest for the night. After the rather bad night for me the morning was a bit rough, especially since the inside of our tent somehow got quite wet. Nonetheless we headed out in good spirits towards Ingå. Up to there it was smooth riding, quite hilly but nothing too bad. I think Jascha and Frida were still getting accustomed to long rides on the bike but they where hanging in there and all was well.

Ingå was also where the discovery of the trip was made. Cucumber. There is nothing better than fresh cucumber when the suns been burning you to a crisp and you’re feeling dehydrated. So refreshing. So we bit into the cucumber like it’s the best meal we’d ever had. From Ingå we headed to Fagervik and this is where it got rough. Roadwork without end made us cycle on ripped out tarmac. Together with the steep hills it made for really exhausting riding and eventually all our spirits and energy had suffered quite a bit. Eventually the ripped out tarmac got replaced by tarmac so fresh we had to fear our tires would pop. I think some of us were close to their limits. So it really didn’t help when I misread the map and took them on a detour that cost us another 5 kilometers. But hey, eventually we made it and we’re rewarded with a camp ground at the sea with a beautiful view. We even got to spend some time in a sauna. A good ending to a rough day.

Route: Degerby – Ingå – Fagervik – Fagernäs – Ekenäs
Distance: 67.46km
Total distance: 131.74km
Elevation gain: 630

Day 3

Onwards! Where to? We didn’t quite know how far we’d make it after yesterday, but anything closer towards Turku would be progress. The roads ended up being really wonderful though and the only thing that worried us was weird creaking noises coming from Frida’s bike. We were cruising and before we knew it we were already in Tenala, a cute little town with the by now most welcome sight of a graveyard next to a pretty little church.

Perniö was next, where we enjoyed some ice cream before moving on and having to decided between progress and a camp ground at the end of the day or less distance and less main road. We decided for the main road and so we went up to Salo. The main road was not too bad, especially considering that the for the last bit after we had to cross a unsignaled train track and cycle path nobody had ridden for ages. But hey. We were yet again rewarded by the most gorgeous camp ground on an islands south of Salo with beautiful view onto the sea. We set up tent, ate some Tortillas, enjoyed the beach and then went to bed.

Route: Ekenäs – Tenala – Perniö – Salo
Distance: 74.66km
Total distance: 206.4km
Elevation gain: 771m

Day 4

Turku! That was the motto! And we succeeded wonderfully. There is not too much to tell about the route – it was by far the easiest to ride, smooth quiet roads or even cycling lanes with only a few hills and views one could only dream about.

Also thanks to the power of the cucumber. Look at this pure testosterone.

We made incredible progress really quickly, being in Paimio before we knew it. After lunch we kept cruising and not long after we passed Piikkiö and then Kaarina. Since Frida’s front wheel started making noises now as well we decided we’d bring the bike to a mechanic once in Turku. And poof. There we were. We decided to take the next day off, giving me time to spend with my friend Nina, whilst the two would rest and recover so we could start with full force again on Sunday. So when we arrived we checked into the Hostel, dropped our bags in our room and cycled to Ninas to stow our bikes away. Due to the bad weather report for tomorrow we decided to go and let Nina show us around a bit already. We went to see the old castle, munched on some food and visited the library. A really lovely and lively city with a lot of history. Once in the hostel we just went to bed.

Route: Salo – Paimio – Piikkiö – Kaarina – Turku
Distance: 64.2km
Total distance: 270.6km
Elevation gain: 404m

Day 5

A day off. Jascha and I went to the barber to get a buzz cut but since the barber didn’t speak a word of English we ended up with short hair but not exactly what we wanted. Especially Jascha looks like half thug, half military now. Quite hilarious. Afterwards I spent time with Nina which was super lovely. Then it was time to watch the Switzerland – Wales match and later the Finland – Denmark game. Unfortunately I think we all know that that took a really shocking twist and therefor my evening also just became more focused on getting back into a better head space. Oh and worth noting that it rained like crazy.

Day 6

Fresh from our break we headed out again, this time with the goal to start island hopping and approach Åland. Again the roads were awesome and we made quick progress. Soon we were in Pargas and with it the scenery became that of a fairy tale.

The archipelago just doesn’t stop blowing me away with its rock formations and pine forest. The little islands everywhere and the sea cutting into the land. Just out of this world. And so it continued. Or it only got better. When we went through the island of Nagu we met the other side of the archipelago though. The wind. It was warm but even I, who tends to always be warm, had to put on layers to make sure I don’t catch a cold. And one had to work for their kilometers. Especially since after Nagu the road to the port was blocked due to an accident and we had to take an unpaved detour. Nonetheless we made it to the next ferry that took us from the island of Nagu to the island of Kyrklandet. From there we took a bit of a longer ferry to get to Kittuis where we would set up tent at a camp ground just next to the port. It was the best decision ever! The camp ground had a scenery that was truly not out of this world. I got so lost in the moment there, felt like I could touch infinity. Possibly the most magical evening so far.

There was quite a bit of confusion about how we get to the main island of Åland, since it originally looked like there would be none leaving on Monday. But we were lucky campers and due to the timetable switch the next day we would actually be able to catch one. That meant a bit more time to sleep and not a lot of cycling the next day.

Route: Turku – Pargas – Nagu – Gatby – Kittuis
Distance: 80.01km
Total distance: 350.61km
Elevation gain: 562

Day 7

We’ve arrived at the day I’m writing this. All we did today was sleep, break camp and go to Korpo to stock up food as today won’t hold many opportunities to do so. There I had the biggest fight with my credit card company for about two hours. The issue still isn’t resolved and by now I would definitely advice anyone to stay clear of SwissBankers cards. With a temporary solution we set out to catch the ferry at Gatby to get to Långnäs. To our surprise one had to switch ferries at the first stop but we got ready just in time and so now I sit here whilst we tucker away towards Långnäs. We’re going to arrive at 9.30, so all we will do is set up camp and sleep. Quite the chill day again. There provably won’t be too many kilometers added. It also seems like for the first time on the road, the weather won’t be stunning. So let’s hope we manage to stay somewhat dry.

Reflection

So far it’s been a beautiful and mostly smooth ride with many funny and memorable moments. I’ve found myself feeling a bit lost or in doubt during evenings and mornings but I think that is just the transition into this completely different and challenging lifestyle. I am still convinced that this is the time of my life and I can’t wait for what’s yet to come. Thank you for reading!

The first week

Friends, finally I come around to writing something here. Ever since leaving it’s been a constant flood of experiences and events leaving me overjoyed but also very exhausted. And I told myself before leaving that the writing of this blog should not be a chore, so I didn’t force my tired self to write anything. But now I’m sitting in a wonderfully warm bubble bath, Frida and Jascha are out at a bar and everything is calm. Perfect for writing up an update on our first week.

First of all I should mention that I am typing this on my phone, so excuse any spelling errors, I am really not one who likes or is proficient at writing on my phone. But now let’s start.

Heading to Finland

It all began Sunday the 30th, so last weekend. Early in the morning I prepared my food for the train ride, ate breakfast with my parents and then it was finally time to head out. To be honest the whole experience was more than surreal. For years this dream has been a construct in my mind, a life line, a happy place and it was really hard or almost impossible to comprehend that it’s all become reality now.

I cycled to the train station trying to wrap my head around the whole situation but my future self now knows that these efforts were mundane. Still, as of writing this I am not quite realizing that all of this is really happening. Well, I’ve made it to the platform and after I got my bike and bags safely stowed in the ICE (German high speed train) I felt quite relieved. Getting everything on board fast enough had worried me a bit. Well onwards to Hamburg I went. Seven hours and a couple minutes later I arrived and as I set to prepare for disembarking the train I’ve met all the other people who transported their bicycles. We started to chat and it turned out that we all had similar ideas, most heading to Sweden whilst one woman was heading home after touring the Rhineland. We all needed to transfer to the regional train to Lübeck/Travemünde though so I was delighted to have these like minded souls around for the next two hour train ride. I had a really lovely chat with that woman heading home to Lübeck especially, talking about our studies, cities we’ve been to and cycling experiences. It felt like meeting a friend I never knew I had. It was similar with a young man from Biel in Switzerland who would join me all the way to the port as he was heading to Sweden with a ferry. We talked about our planning, equipment, our excitement and worries and once we made it to our stop we cycled down to the port together. And there I finally met up with Jascha and Frida. It felt incredibly good to have months of planning finally come to reality and actually have the two in front of me. This is really happening. It’s real.

Getting onto the ferry turned out to be quite the adventure, I had to cycle up the ginormous ramp that all the trucks and cars were going up to as well and doing so felt like cycling into the opening of big monsters mouth. Once inside I got to stow my bike in a corner on the car deck that was swimming in grease and oil and I couldn’t really lean it onto anything, so I was quite scared to just leave it standing there. Would it fall, it would be ruined forever. So I just prayed for a calm sea.

Our cabin was wonderful and had everything one could hope for on a 32 hour ferry journey. Our own small bathroom with shower and three quite comfortable beds. With all our luggage it was very cramped though, but that was just perfect for that ship feeling. At this point we had waited for boarding for four hours and it was almost midnight so we all just wanted to go to bed. We did. But not for long. Just as we all settled down there was an announcement made over the speaker in our room that a compulsory emergency training would take place on the deck above us in a minute so we scrambled to get dressed again and hurry up there but by the time we made it the demonstration was already pretty much over and it turned out that only one other couple even bothered showing up. Quite amused we headed back to bed.

The next day was extremely calm and relaxing. We went to explore our ferry, the Finnmaid, a bit and sat on the sundeck reading or napping in our cabin. Oh and in the evening we played some scrabble where Jascha absolutely dominated us with superior luck. We packed everything and made sure we’d be ready to disembark quickly on the next morning after waking up.

Helsinki

The next day we woke up and went right on to disembarking the ferry. This is where all of our stress levels were the highest. Although we should be allowed across the border it was still a little bit unsure and to see it all fall apart at the border would’ve been heart crushing. But after quite intense questioning I was waved through and there I was. In Helsinki, Finland. Completely overwhelmed and not comprehending quite yet how monumental that moment was I went to meet up with Jascha and Frida who also got across the border fine and already met up with Max, our friend in Helsinki. Since the hotel that Max got us for a really cheap rate wasn’t ready for check-in yet we decided to go to Max’s place and drop off our stuff before going for a little hike into the woods surrounding Helsinki where Jascha, Max and his friends would climb on a big boulder. After a quick detour to the grocery store and pizzeria we walked there (thanks Max for getting lost around three times, leading us through marshland) and whilst Jascha, Max and Co were climbing the boulder, Frida and I watched any made our first acquaintance with the Finnish mosquito population. Eventually we walked back to Max’s got our stuff and checked in at the hotel. And oh my lord is the hotel a dream. Insane views coupled with a rooftop pool and sauna and a room with our own bathtub this is a gift that has yet to stop giving.

Our hotel right at the sea (not the little box on the top left – that’s the pool with a transparent floor).

Obviously we went right to the pool and sauna after dropping our things in our room. Not much to say there other than that it’s the absolute dream. Relaxing, amazing view and just perfect for settling down and digesting all the crazy events that are transpiring. And sauna just cleanses my mind and soul – there are few things better than sweating in a Finnish wooden box.

The next day we decided to mainly relax and settle in. We had an amazing breakfast, Jascha and Frida went to get swimming trunks whilst a went back to napping before we met up with Max at the famous Oodi library.

What an incredible building. Makes one really envy living or even better studying in Helsinki. Architecturally it’s very interesting with it’s wavy look and specially designed ceiling to trap any noise so you can talk in the library without disturbing anyone. We went and spent some good social time on the terrace with a wonderful view onto the central government building of Finland, the famous Finlandia and just very nice greenery in general. At that point it was still quite hard to really grasp that I am sitting here and all of this is really happening but nontheless it felt like one constant wave of joy and worry free state of mind. Eventually we walked back to the hotel, seeing a bit more of Helsinki and it’s open and spaceous design. It truly is a wonderful city. Once at our hotel room, it was pool time again, followed by dinner and a very funny and goofy evening of watching YouTube videos together.

The next day Jascha went bouldering with Max, so Frida and I channeled our touristy self’s and went off to explore Helsinki. Boy was it worth it! I don’t even know where to begin! We went to walk through Kaivopuisto first, a big park with a little plateau to view over the city.

From there we went to the Observatory park and hill, another bit of greenery, just as lovely as the first one. By accident we then stumbled over the diplomatic district with some quite stunning buildings and a really calm air about it. From there we headed to the senate with a market square in front of it where we ate some delicious veggies, falafel and onion rings. Onwards we went to see Katajanokka, a quiet district on a peninsula that was said to be great for walks. But probably most dominant there was the Uspenskin katedraali, a church of immaculate beauty, sitting on a small plateau, shining upon the city around it. What an impressive building. The inside was very pompous and memorable with all it’s paintings and valuable items.

As planned we walked along the shoreline of the peninsula and enjoyed the calm neighbourhood. We had an interesting encounter with the Finnish icebreaker fleet – a quite impressive sight. I didn’t know that Finland was such a leader in the whole icebreaking business. They built 80% of the world’s 150 icebreakers and designed 60% of them.

Both our feet started to be quite unhappy by now so we decided to just head towards the Helsingin tuomiokirkko, the most dominant landmark of Helsinki and wait for Jascha there before heading to the now incredibly craved pool and sauna. But back to Helsingin tuomiokirkko. Again, I find it hard to find words for buildings like that. They are just remarkable and always seem not quite real in their scale. Maybe this is how people in the future will feel about the skyscrapers of our time.

Whilst we were waiting there for Jascha we got to witness the preparation of what looked like the filming of a car chase – really fascinating stuff.

Once back and recuperated after a heavily pool and sauna session we just ate dinner and relaxed in our beds until Jascha decided to go for a late night walk. We decided to join and so we went on what is maybe the highlight of the trip for me so far. We just walked around in the residential area near the hotel but there was something so liberated and worry free about it. Goofing around near midnight on playgrounds, having fun conversations whilst strolling down the empty streets of Helsinki in magical midnight light. Truly magical.

It’s also where this gem of a photo was taken that I can’t withhold. Especially since I know family of Frida is reading this.

Aren’t they cute? (Bad phone camera picture in low light doesn’t matter when it comes to depicting love)

On to the next day. An equally eventful and wonderful experience. We first went to Korkeasaari zoo located on an island not far from the city centre. Although a lot of the exhibits were either listed as currently empty or the animals were sleeping it was still a very fun and worthwhile experience, just for the social aspect alone. Highlights would be to see an active red pand in it’s full cuteness, a baby wallaby peaking out of it’s mother’s pouch and being able to tell the bears there that their friends in the wild should please not come say hello in our tent.

After the zoo and an exceptional vegan Asian food truck experience we went to visit Suomenlinna, an old fortress on an island just off from the mainland. Originally it was built by the Swedish Monarchy, but saw it’s longest use by the Russian empire, before serving as an artillery, anti air and submarine station in WW II. Yet again it was an incredible place, loaded with history which to me is always incredibly captivating as well as views that are not easily matched.

Jascha with a backdrop that will be hard to match

But all good days have to come to an end and so did this one. With? You guessed it; pool and sauna followed by a late night walk (although only me and Frida went outside again this time). I consider myself incredibly lucky to have such wonderful company with me for the beginning of this trip and feel very grateful for the nice and deep talk we had on that walk yesterday. The days fly by but what remains is memories worth gold and a feeling of living life in a way I’ve never done before – full with joy and laughter.

Which leaves me with today. Finally a day where I can’t write too much about because I spent most of it doing nothing. I woke up in a bit of a weird mood and realized a bit of me time and less action is what I need right now. So whilst Frida and Jascha went to buy some electronics they still needed for their travels I stayed in bed and only joined them for an afternoon of doing nothing on the Oodi library terrace. I went ahead as they first got some lunch and just enjoyed the weather and view on the terrace, combine with the good company of my e-reader. Eventually they joined me and we had a relaxing time talking about loads of stuff whilst bathing in the sun. Once back, I let the two check out the hotels Skybar and then we watched the Ice Hockey World championships semi finals of Finland against Germany together with Max on a voice call which was hilarious. Especially since neither Jascha nor Frida knew anything about the rules and as soon as I mentioned the fighting in the sports Frida just started shouting for them to drop the gloves. Now I’m sitting in a warm bath whilst they’re out with Max at an open air bar. As I said – I needed some good me time.

It’s been a pleasure to finally share my experiences with you friends and next time we’re maybe already on the road, who knows. I’ll leave you with some more pictures and wish you a good night!

The evening before

Hello my friends. What a weird time. The evening before. I am in this incredible rush and rollecoaster of emotions, between panic and excitement of the like I’ve never experienced before. I have dreamt about this moment for so many years, had it in my mind as a construct and now that it’s finally here it’s so hard to grasp that this is all becoming reality. There were a lot of hardships and difficult moments and periods and the way towards this dream was quite a hard one, so it feels so incredibly rewarding and empowering to stand here now and actually put everything I dreamed about into motion.

But yeah – I am nervous haha. I mean… I am about to spent an very long time out in the wild, with nothing other than my bike as means of transportation. Thoughts like “am I really ready for this”, “am I made for this” and “will I find the energy to do all the camping stuff everyday” are popping up. But I think that’s very normal – after all it is a big adventure and a bit of respect is maybe even healthy. Because after all I keep coming back to the realization that this is my life dream – that even if there is a rough day or a day where I maybe didn’t go through the hassle of washing my clothes in the wash bag, I’ll be living my idea of absolute freedom. My dream. And it wouldn’t be as bright and shiny, if there wasn’t the odd shadow around as well. So I am just super excited and interested to see how things will turn out, what incredible experiences I’ll make and so on.

Time to eat some dinner with family, go for a nice walk and then probably binge watch Netflix the whole night because I’m too nervous to sleep. But hey – before I know it, I’ll already be on the roads of Finland cycling away. I’ll probably have time to write about my train ride and first experiences on the ferry tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that. For now I’ll leave you with a picture of my bicycle fully packed. Time to start living – can’t wait to have you all along with me.

From my packed test ride last Tuesday down the Rhine.

My bicycle and Planned Route

My bike

A lot of people have been asking me about what bicycle I am taking with me, so I figured I’d write about it for a bit. Let me just mention here, that I absolutely adore my bike. It’s my treasure and I love what it stands for, how gorgeous it looks and most importantly, how incredibly good it is to cycle with. Let’s all bask in the beauty of it:

I promise, there will be better pictures once we get going!

Let’s get to the specs:

Frame: Silkroad II Thermocrom by Tout Terrain
Fork: Tout Terrain Straightfork II Expedition with 12mm quick release axle
Rack: Tout Terrain Expedition Rack II
Crank: Shimano FC551 44-32-24Z
Bottom Bracket: Shimano BB52 Hollowtech 2
Casette: Shimano CS-M4100-10
Chain: Shimano HG54 10-speed
Stem: Tout Terrain Black Label 100mm +/- 6°
Handlebar: Black Label Ergo Tour 640
Grips: Black Label Ergo Screw-On Handles
Inner Grips: SQlab Innerbarends 410/402
Steering Stop: Ergo-Stop 2
Headset: Cane Creek 10
Saddle: Ergon SMC Sport Gel Men
Seat Post: Tout Terrain Black Label Micro-Adjust
Front Wheel Hub: Black Label EX-F1
Rear Wheel Hub: Black Label TK-R1-10/11s
Rims: Ryde Andra 321 27,5″ disc, 32 holes
Rim tape: Schwalbe Rim Tape
Shift levers: Shimano Deore Rapidfire Plus
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore RD-M6000-GS
Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore FD-M6020
Eccentric: Tout Terrain Aluminium SL Centre-Eccentric
Pedals: Black Label Touring Pedals
Mudguard: SKS Bluemels XXL
Hub Dynamo: Shutter Precision PL-7 12mm
Headlight: busch+müller Lumotec IQ-XS
Taillight: busch+müller Toplight 2C
Brakes: Shimano Deore XT BR-M8000
Disks: Shimano SLX SM-RT66 180/180mm
Lowrider: Tubus Duo Lowrider
Power: Cinq Plug5 Plus

Route

Here comes a really exciting topic! I’ve gotten so many questions about where I’m planning to go, about my route and so on. Well, here it is! Before I dive deeper, I want to mention that this is obviously only a rough plan and the whole point of this adventure is to taste absolute freedom. So it may very well be, that one day I decide to take a completely different route. That’s the exciting part! You just have to follow me along through this Blog if you want to map out my actual route. Generally I will follow the routes described by this absolutely awesome cycling guide I have for Finland as well as Norway. The one for Finland is quite antique by now though, so it’ll be interesting to see how accurate it still is.

Now let’s dive a bit deeper. The whole adventure will start in Helsinki, where we will arrive in the morning of the first of June. Once the thriller of crossing the border is past us, we will spend a week in the city, just exploring it and spending time with friends there. Since we might have to quarantine we had to get a hotel. Turned out to be a great thing though, because thanks to some networking, we were able to secure an absolute steal of a price for a room for three in a really fancy hotel. Anyway – from Helsinki we will start our Journey by heading towards Turku along the southern coast. From there we will take on one of the most exciting sections of our route – the island hopping through Åland. It’s an autonomous region of islands in Finland where they speak Swedish and said to be a cycling paradise. I can’t wait! Once we made our way around the islands we’ll go back onto the mainland and cycle towards Tampere in the southern centre of Finland. By doing so we’ll enter a regiond they call the land of lakes. Basically there will be lakes and little islands whereever we look. Through this watery patch we will make our way towards Kuopi and then Kajaani. From there we will head westwards towards the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia, where Oulu lies. After some time at the beach and sea we will continue, almost crossing the Swedish border in Tornio before heading more eastwards again towards Rovaniemi. If you heard about cities in Finland you probably heard about Helsinki or Rovaniemi. Why? Well Rovaniemi is the home of Santa and has a very interesting position on the map as it lies almost exactly on the arctic circle. We have now officially entered Lapland. The land of my dreams. Now we’ll head to Kemijärvi so we can then go southeast and visit Kuusamo. You’re probably asking yourself now why we do this zig-zagging to which I can only say that we just want to see it all. The western part around the Gulf is quite different from the very nature-rich east and especially around Kuusamo it is said that some of the most stunning national parks are located there. So how could we not go there? Eventually we’ll go back up north towards Inari, the last bigger place before crossing the border to Norway. Inari holds a special place in my heart and has some very fascinating cultural things to offer, being the “capital” of the Sami. It will be here at the latest probably where I’ll have to say goodbye to my two friend accompanying me. Norway will be a solo-adventure.

Speaking of Norway, I have to admit that my planned route is a lot less concrete – basically consisting soley of places I want to pass through for sure and not having decided yet on how to get from one place to the next. From Inari I’ll definitely head towards Olderfjort and then up to the Nordkap. True North. As far up as you can go in Europe. From there I’ll head down, make a short detour through Hammerfest, a place my grandfather almost lost his life at during WWII, before heading further down south through Alta and Tromsø. From there things become a bit unclear, I’ll basically freestyle my way through the Fjords and islands down towards the Lofoten and Å i Lofoten. A little fun fact on the side – it is a picture from right there that stands at the origin of this whole idea of cycling the world with my bicycle. A long story that is closely treasured in my heart. Anyway – from there I’ll take the ferry to Bodø. Trondheim is the next destination I am aiming for and from there onwards I have not made any concrete plans other than that I want to cross Bergen and Oslo and end up in Kristiansand where a good friend of mine has promised me to await me with a carrot cake, shower, hot meal and bed. What more could you ask for? I can’t wait to meet up there.

If you wonder about what comes after that? I can’t tell you. I’ll make my plans as I approach this chapter of my travels. All I know is that neither Denmarks nor Swedens streets will be safe from me and my bicycle.

Well and there it is. All the info I can give you on my route before actually heading out. Thank you all so very much for reading and taking part in my adventure! To all of you who gave me good wishes and other forms of support, I can’t thank you enough. In one week I’ll head out and I promise to make the most out of it!

Ready! Time to learn!

Everything is set!

Exciting news! I am fairly certain that I have finalised my packing list and acquired everything I need. It’s been a wild and sometimes exhausting ride trying to think of every single possibility and situation, making sure I am prepared for anything and everything. But now that I can’t think of any scenario anymore for which I am not prepared for I feel quite a big relief. I feel a bit more calm whilst the excitement for whats to come is only rising! Although sometimes I catch myself feeling like there is something missing when I don’t spent every spare second running through my imaginary packing list in my head. But hey, there is still plenty enough to do! For one I should definitely keep building up all my muscles and stamina that I’ve lost during my recovery and there are also questions to find answer to regarding the after. Unfortunately, like most of us, I can not escape into the wild forever.

Photography

Even more good news! I was able to get my hands on a used Fujifilm X-T30 with a Super EBC XC 13-45mm 1:3.5-5.6 lens. I am so incredibly happy! Now I can make (hopefully) stunning photos of some of the most gorgeous places this planet has to offer! Besides figuring out my file management during travels, I’m spending a lot of time reading about photography as well as watching some tutorials. What an exciting new hobby to get into! Let’s just hope I at the least have a decent eye for it. If you want to talk photography with me, or have some tips be sure to send me a message, your input is more than appreciated!

Test packing

I did a test packing and was pleasantly surprised! Space and weight both seem to be a non-issue. What a relief! There were some hiccups when it came to the mounting mechanisms of my bags, but with some tinkering that was fixable as well. Now there really is nothing in my way anymore other than this damned virus. I have added some photos of me laying everything I am planning to take with me out in front of me so you can get an idea of what I’m carrying around.

Yup, just hijacked my parents couch one weekend.

What’s next?

Not much in regards of things I’m sharing on here. It’s a little bit like the calm before the storm. I still hope to be able to get a crash course in bike repairs from my neighbour or anyone else with the knowledge willing to help me out. I’ll do a lot of cycling and then two weeks before heading out, I’ll quarantine to make sure I don’t pick up anything right before leaving. During that period I will probably put out the next blog post, letting you know more about our planned route.

Thanks for reading! Can’t wait to kick this thing off for real! Until then, stay save and keep dreaming!

A beginning

Heya

All things must start somewhere, so I guess I’ll just start typing away. The thing is – there isn’t much to say right now. Our departure is two months away (almost to the day) and I am about to have my checkup for my back to see if the surgery and recovery went as planned. If that is the case (which by all signs it will be) then I’ll finally be allowed to do physical activities again and I’ll spend all my time leading up to departure riding my bike and building up strength and stamina again.

As for today I went to the city and attempted to buy all the last things that I still needed to get. I say attempted as I’m still unclear about our washing and laundry situation. Maybe I’ll have to buy a washbag, maybe I can avoid it. I’m still trying to figure that out. Other than that I was unsuccessful in finding some decent cooking utensils as well as lashing straps. I’ll find them another day, I’m not really concerned about that. The next things on my to-do list are the cutting of my maps to fit on top of my handlebar bag and figuring out my cash situation during the travels. After that, all that’s really left is for me to pack everything onto my bike, hoping it all fits and otherwise figuring out a plan B. Oh and praying that Covid will not deny us entry into Helsinki.

The only other ongoing topic right now is camera gear. I am quite saddened by the idea of heading out without a proper camera, but I doubt that my budget will allow for the acquisition of one before departure. I really want to take some amazing pictures to document my adventure and to share on here but by the looks of it my phone camera will have to do. But hey – you never know, maybe I get enough money together to get a Fujifilm X-T20 with maybe a 16-55 f2.8-4 lens.

Anyway, this is it for today. I don’t think there are going to be too many new posts happening in the near future, but as we get closer to the 30th of May, our departure date, that should change. And once on the road I will try to get a post out on any day I have internet.

Thanks for reading and see you next time,

Raphi