May 31st We had to be at a place half an hour away by 10 AM. My internal clock had switched to an early wake-up mode. So, before six, my eyelid fluttered, and waking thoughts started to take over from the dream world. Following a slow waking-up routine, we got up and prepared for breakfast …
May 30th Climate change is in Finland. It’s 30 degrees warm there. In Britain, it’s windy and rainy. Here, everything is as usual – except for the increasing winds and rains, which are now everyday occurrences, and the long heatwaves in summer that we hardly had before. The needs of the economy seem to override …
May 29th Waking up behind the pub, having a discreet pee in the bush in the drizzle, is quite a decent experience. After that, I went back to lounge under the covers for a while. There was no rush today. We had an hour’s drive to Jette’s place, so we took it easy. We grabbed …
May 28th It’s about 30 degrees in Espoo. Here in Britain, it’s windy, rainy, and sunny—all kinds of weather. The temperature is around 18 degrees +/- 5 degrees. After a morning shower and breakfast, we headed towards the city of York. We found a Ford repair shop on the outskirts, and they have an appointment …
May 27th We are sitting in our reserved seats on the ship, en route to Britain. We are transitioning from the EU to a kingdom that decided to leave the European Union. I did not vote for Finland’s accession to the union. However, I would not advocate for leaving it either, at least not with …
May 26th Two’s company, three’s a crowd! Eighty years ago, the British and Americans, along with their allies, built the largest invasion fleet in history and struck with full force on June 6th in Normandy. Here, we now witness the French enjoying their holidays. The Atlantic Wall was breached, and the final downfall of Hitler’s …
May 25th It feels somewhat refreshing that tomorrow’s European World Championship final in Prague won’t include Sweden or Finland! It’s a nice change, although it doesn’t really affect our plans much. Today, we were very diligent drivers. We made it all the way to Normandy in one go. It took an 8-hour drive, but that’s …
May 24th If years aren’t brothers, then days aren’t identical twins either! By eleven, we were already on the move. The chemical toilet had been emptied. Water was taken into the tank. The vehicle was all set for the journey. We were promised variable weather, and indeed, we got it. At times, we could admire …
May 23 Lottery and Joker on! Today has gone smoothly – or at least almost! We got the car to the repair shop in the morning. We took the bikes off the rear rack, used the repair shop’s facilities, and set off. In the middle of Avignon is a palace built by the popes (1300-1500), …
May 22nd In the morning, I had a shower and coffee at Auli’s place. Päivi was leaving for Finland on an early flight, so we were up at the crack of dawn. It was wonderful to receive such tremendous help from Auli and Päivi. Organizing these repairs would have been much more difficult without their …
May 21st Today we head from Basel towards Velleron, where Tellu was waiting for us. Tomorrow we will take it to the repair shop and we hope that the necessary spare parts will be available soon and we will be able to continue our journey on Tellu. Fingers crossed!
May 20th No sweet stuff on a full stomach! As the saying goes. It means things are really going well! To balance out our travels, we’ve had the chance to stay put, enjoy long mornings and breakfasts, and the delightful atmosphere with Christopher, Ulli, and River. With warm hugs, we said goodbye to them in …
May 19th What a wonderful studio … I mean Chris’s studio up there, 400 meters higher on the mountainside. We headed there after a delightful and leisurely breakfast. Before we left, we listened to some recordings made at Chris’s studio. Great recordings of talented musicians’ performances. We drove to the studio along beautiful, small mountain …
May 18th Slow mornings are excellent, just like this morning was. Even though I woke up around six, I was able to turn over and fall back into unconsciousness, waking up again around nine to the different chirps of birds in the nearby trees. We were blessed with a beautiful day, and we enjoyed it …
May 17th Laughter prolongs life… unless you laugh yourself to death!Today, life has been extended by several days. The company of Cristopher, Ulli, and River has brought joy all day long. We’ve had lunch together, wandered around the city of Bregenz, and even climbed to higher levels. Bregenz and Fußach are quite the historical treat. …
16th of May Goodness gracious. Finland melted in Austria’s hands! You wouldn’t have noticed it here in Austria, though! I guess I was the only one who was even remotely following the situation. I suppose icehockey isn’t as big of a deal as a significant portion of Finns think! However, we woke up in Switzerland …
May 14th. What a day it was! After breakfast, we climbed into Tellu, fresh from renovations – bidding warm farewells to Päivi, with whom we’ve spent quality time here in Velleron (at this point, the enlightened reader pays attention to the phrase “here in Velleron”). We swiftly set off towards Switzerland. Our friends there must …
May 13th Morning wake-up to the aroma of coffee. It’s Tellu’s maintenance day. After a quick breakfast, I climbed into the driver’s seat and off we went following Auli’s sister, Päivi, who guided us to the car service. And it was a good thing she did! Once we arrived, we realized that dealing in French …
May 12th Just another day. Today was spent lounging around and mowing the lawn. The weather warmed up, which brought its own little challenges to the day. We managed to mow the lawn at Auli’s place, had some food, and went to visit Auli’s sister’s daughter’s house and went swimming there. A day of rest, …
May 11th Still in Velleron. Enjoying the idleness. On Monday, we’ll take Tellu to the auto repair shop.
May 10th So, the hockey championships have begun. Unfortunately, I can’t watch them from here with my skills. I’ll have to occupy myself with other things! Eva believes that we might have more important things to do than watch hockey games. I somewhat lean towards that view… although I wouldn’t mind catching a few games …
May 9th Thank you for the morning – a morning of feeling good, that is. There’s nothing to complain about, the shower works, and breakfast was nice. So, we decided to have a proper tourist day. An English breakfast in a French market, walking in the old town among thousands of others enjoying their day …
May 8th Yesterday, I didn’t write. The evening stretched out a bit long, and I didn’t quite transform into a writer at night. I raised a few toasts with Heini, Mary, and Evan. At our age, a few swift ones (= 3 cognacs) and a couple of glasses of wine during the evening mean a …
May 6th We’ve seen it now! The papal palace of Avignon and the old city surrounded by walls with watchtowers. We drove past it with Auli as we drove by to pick up the rental car from Avignon train station. We also had a cursory glance at the Rhône River, reminiscing about how, in our …
May 5th I woke up for the first time in darkness. The urgency to use the restroom forced me outside, where amidst an otherwise quiet soundscape, I heard the solitary hoot of an owl (I believe it was a tawny owl). I returned to my sleeping position, waking up quite conveniently around ten o’clock. Sometimes …
May 3rd Morning routine on a porcelain throne without seat covers is like cold coffee without cream! Luckily, my wife had the foresight to bring along a hefty stack of paper. Otherwise, it would have been a more colorful morning in the sanitation facilities. In the shower, I had to lean on the water tap …
May 2nd After the celebration, returning to everyday life meant a slightly colder night for us (the temperature dropped to 3 degrees overnight, and we didn’t have the heating on. It was a bit chilly in the morning. Clouds were also gathering in the sky, so rain was expected. Leaving the small mountain town meant …
May 1st May Day is a holiday in Spain as well. People gather in groups to eat and celebrate. I haven’t seen any parades. However, I have noticed a few statements written on bridges and walls in favor of Catalonia’s independence. Today, we drove through the plains, admiring the Pyrenees in the distance. We made …