June 29th HOME! Video of the entire trip (in two parts). Not all the little detours onto small roads are included in the route video, but rather the “big picture” of the trip. We covered a total of 16,500 kilometers (10 250 miles) Once we have recovered from the journey, we will write some kind …
June 28 Today I’m writing. I’ve got my headphones on, listening to Simon & Garfunkel. We’re sitting with Eva in the bar of the Finnlines ferry on our way to Naantali, Finland. This morning we left from Anton’s (Eva’s nephew), Carina’s, and Clara’s place after having an excellent breakfast in excellent company. We drove to …
June 26th So, we’ve driven through southern Sweden now. We marveled at the ruins of Per Brahe’s house on the shores of Lake Vättern … and took advantage of the tourist spot’s sanitary facilities there. A Finnish city is named after Per Brahe’s wife! So, which city is it? Think about that! In the morning, …
June 25th It’s so easy to drive here… almost home. Just a few cars on the same road and cheap diesel and coffee! Eva is driving, and I’m writing. If someone had asked me this morning how I slept, I would have confidently said: badly. The strangest dreams woke me up. I was awake at …
June 24th Well, there you have it! The days are starting to get shorter. Soon, Jaakko will be throwing the cold stone into the lake as we Finns say. After next month, the school autumn term will begin, ending with Christmas celebrations. And it’s not that far off now. To celebrate, today I’ll enjoy a …
June 23rd Back in the day, Midsummer was celebrated from the 24th to the 25th of June. Back then, this midsummer festival could last up to four days. Whether the change to the current model was orchestrated by employers’ groups from Eteläranta 10 or by health care substance abuse experts, I couldn’t say. I can …
June 22nd I’ve never woken up in a pub’s backyard on Midsummer’s Day without being drunk or hungover. In fact, I don’t recall ever waking up in a pub’s backyard on Midsummer’s Day at all. But today I did. And I wasn’t alone. Next door, a red camper van and its crew were getting ready …
June 21th You can celebrate the Midnight Sun this way too! At a pub somewhere in southeastern England. Eva had flounder and I had sirloin steak. The good thing was that the side dish consisted of whole boiled potatoes. The fish had been processed so much that it was hard to recognize it as flounder, …
June 20th A day off from vacation.So, I’m at Jette’s doing nothing! Well, not exactly nothing! In the morning, we had a Zoom meeting at 9 AM. An education student from the United States wanted to interview us. We even managed to get Nossim from Tanzania to join for the latter part. These are truly …
June 19th Well, we woke up anyway, even though the chiffchaff was completely silent. The pigeons, on the other hand, were not silent. They seem to have this understanding of the world that the entire creation wants to hear their cooing. You can hear it in the morning, during the day, and in the evening. …
June 18th In the morning, wake-up call out of bedRushing to get dressed, maybe even wash up!In the morning, wake-up call out of bedThe kettle is whistling!We learned that in a basic music course at Helsinki OKL back in ’76. For some reason, it came to my mind this morning in the shower. I left …
June 17th Quiz for readers! What is Ben Nevis? a) A Scotch whisky b) A famous sprinter c) The highest peak in Scotland d) The name of a historical movie Among those who answer correctly, we will raffle off a front-row seat to our next Arusha benefit concert!We’re starting to see a little travel fatigue …
June 16th “Drip, drip, drip, pour, pour, pour, it’s absolutely pouring!” This was a song we used to sing in the baby music class with Elsi! Today it has been dripping a bit and pouring a bit more! But now it’s just windy! Some glimpses of the old familiar sky might even be expected! In …
June 15th In a week, the days will start getting longer! Here on the Isle of Skye, the days are reasonably long already. There’s light until ten in the evening, and in the morning, it’s impossible to wake up early enough to find it still dark. Hooray for the approaching midsummer celebration. Hopefully, everyone stays …
June 14th Today was a travel day. We set off from a rainy Pitlochry at ten in the morning. The weather greatly influenced our route choice. With visibility dropping below safe limits and rain lashing against the windows, it was not advisable to drive on small mountain roads. Out there, you can’t see much of …
June 13th Traveling offers numerous ways to deepen one’s understanding of foreign cultures. You can read histories, visit museums, attend concerts, dine at local restaurants, explore schools, sanctuaries, and participate in ceremonies… and, of course, sample local foods and drinks. An astute reader, familiar with our location, might guess what beverages are produced in Ireland …
June 12th I’ve recovered from the “encounter” with Trump. I’m feeling somewhat balanced, and life is going quite well. In the morning, I woke up to the sound of sparrows shouting. Yes, shouting!!! There were a few of them in the bushes beside the tent, engaging in some sort of furious shouting match with each …
June 11th The Scottish coast is in sight! A glass half-full of lager. The last quarter of the journey is beginning. The final leg with Jette. It’s been quite the trip. Even though we knew each other before, only now can I say that I’ve truly gotten to know my fellow confirmation camp leader. I’ve …
June 10th Waking up this morning was less than desirable. As I was lounging around, I remembered that we were supposed to join a webinar at eight. And it was already past eight. I dashed into Outi’s room to find an adapter (I needed power for my laptop), then I scrambled to find the email …
June 9th We woke up on election day morning in quite good order. Shower and breakfast. Outi’s friend Kieran came to greet us – and there we spent a couple of hours comfortably. There were plenty of stories about fishing, fish stocks, politics, history, and much more. After Kieran left, it was time to pack …
June 8th The village of Dooagh on Achill Island has been our home for some time now. Our host Marie has created a wonderful atmosphere in her house. We’ve felt like we’re in the lap of luxury with top-class accommodation, and we’ve explored the culture and environment of this small village and the entire island. …
June 7th The European Athletics Championships have started. 50 years ago, Finland had historic success. Back then, I used to watch the competitions quite a lot on my home TV. Now, I don’t watch them. Now, I am looking at the landscapes of Achill Island on the west coast of Ireland! Of course, I’m happy …
June 6th D-day! 80 years since the Normandy landings. Landing was delayed by one day because Maureen Sweeney, a weather observer working at the Blacksod lighthouse, reported that the weather in the Atlantic was changing and that there was a storm the next day. All other weather stations had reported that the weather remained favorable. …
June 5th Soon the days will start getting shorter. There are just over 6 months until Christmas! However, it will rain in the morning. And for sure, the tire on the bike is flat! Despite everything, life goes on – and quite well at that! After our morning routines (the tent was packed up in …
June 4th Is it mandatory to drink Guinness in Ireland? I’ve tasted it, but I don’t really like it! I prefer lagers, or Czech dark ales! Today, I might have raised some eyebrows in a local pub when I ordered a lager while others were ordering that dark beer! Or is it stout! Whatever – …
June 3rd Ireland is green. Ireland is really green – and I don’t mean politically, but in its overall color. Now I understand why the island is called by such a color name! As you drive around here, you see all shades of green, and the roads often wind through green tunnels formed by the …
June 2nd The green island’s rounded hills closely resemble our Lapland landscapes. Before I delve into describing those hills in more detail, let me tell you a bit about the journey here. First of all, last night was one of those nights that you don’t reminisce about with children—or grandchildren. I had a milder version …
June 1st The heat doesn’t bother you here. In the morning, it starts off at around twenty degrees Celsius. During the day, the temperature is over 15 degrees. Of course, it’s not over 20! But that doesn’t bother us… in fact, quite the opposite. Heat exceeding 25 degrees is too much. For breakfast, coffee, yogurt, …
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 …
April 30th Happy Eve of May Day!We drove a few hours forward from Zaragoza to arrive here in Almunia de San Juan Camping. Beautiful changing landscapes with many castles and vineyards. We even crossed an irrigation canal. We approached Andorra, although we didn’t drive all the way there. We opened a bottle of wine. The …
April 29th May Day is approaching! Tomorrow I’ll be here, even though traditionally I’ve been at Punamäki with good people enjoying the workers’ celebration, food, singing, and playing music. This year more than ever, I would have wanted to be there. After all, we’ve lost two significant contributors to socially engaged music. The Chydenius – …
April 28th. Olli and Mani, true workers, headed off to work on Sunday morning. We got a couple of hours alone with Jedi and Stella. Those two little rascals won us over again. Slow Sunday mornings with the kids are absolute quality time. This time, we savored this delight in Spain on the Mediterranean coast. …
April 27th Today was a “stay put” day. We enjoyed the company of Olli, Manni, and the kids. We also got our gas bottles refilled. We found a PolaGas station in Santa Pola, where we received excellent service and found an adapter suitable for Finnish bottles. Refilling the bottle cost €16. In the afternoon, Mani’s …
April 26th What a fantastic shower this morning. The water came with such pressure that even my poor skin felt it. The facilities at the campground were really comprehensive and high-quality. The only drawback was the swimming pool, which didn’t open until 12:00. Breakfast outdoors felt a bit cramped. Surrounded by other campers, with only …
April 25th Parking lot wake-up calls can take so many forms. Today it was the usual: some dog remembered to bark as its owners took it for a morning walk. Some of the campers are early birds. Since we were right next to the water and dumping station, all the departing campers drove by to …
On the 24th of April Today I woke up to the sounds of life coming from the neighboring camp pitch. Next to us, there was a guy camping (who knows for how many nights), whose morning routine differed from that of the others. He pulled out an unopened bottle of vodka from his gear, poured …
April 23rd Today we said goodbye to Anu and Hannu. Farewell also to the charming city of Sines and the surf beaches, where we had the chance to witness a surfing student tackling waves that weren’t exactly massive – more on the modest side! Eva conjured up fruit-strawberry smoothies for the four of us for …
April 22nd Today we received a rather thorough explanation of the intricacies of surfing and the mechanisms behind those famous mega-waves. Anu and Hannu have been involved in the field for quite some time, so it seems they’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge. However, that doesn’t mean I’m considering taking up wave riding on …
April 21st. We didn’t have breakfast on the grass. A simple coffee, juice, and a roll – breakfast in the car in the parking lot of Maria’s house. We checked the locks of the hostess’s house and set off via the supermarket. We grabbed some spread and juice. Set the navigator to Sines and off …
April 20th Portugal’s April at its best. The cool morning seems to be turning into a reasonably warm day. It rained last night, and that’s something we all like. Everything that rains before Midsummer goes straight into the bin. Just a reminder for fellow travelers in Finland. Perhaps those who coined or recorded the saying …
April 19th As we were leaving, I took my mother’s sister Elvin’s school songbook from 1924, signed by her, along. At home, I slightly customized it so I could send it to my cousin’s daughter in Canada. Now it’s been sent. It might have to be sniffed by drug dogs – maybe even opened by …
April 18th My friend Mikko Ojanperä is turning 75 today. Happy birthday, Mikko! You’ve carried the mantle of the elder brother wonderfully! I met you at Kanneljärvi Folk High School in the summer of 1970. Since then, we’ve been involved in all sorts of events together. I raised a toast to you today in Porto, …
April 17th. Staying between the bullfighting arena and the football field didn’t warrant a long morning routine. A slice of bread with juice and coffee. Then off we went. Heading towards Porto – or rather, finding a cheap place to stay along the way. Mostly driving on highways, we stopped for a break at a …
April 16th. What a pleasant place we stayed overnight. In the morning, I hopped on my bike to the village to buy freshly baked baguettes and croissants. We had them for breakfast. Eva had already brewed coffee while waiting. Watching hawks hovering over the vineyard, we enjoyed our breakfast. Afterwards, we prepared the car and …
April 15th. What a brisk morning it was! A slice of German dark bread with cold cuts, a cup of juice and coffee, and off we went. I’ve seen more stunning river landscapes, so we didn’t linger to admire them. After refueling, we headed to the grocery store to find snacks and a pot lid. …
April 14th. A refreshing shower in 12-degree warmth woke us up. Breakfast on the grass. Coffee with bread. We decided to postpone yogurt and muesli until lunch. The weather is improving – it’s time to switch to summer clothing. After a slow morning, we set off around eleven. Around noon, we stopped to admire the …
April 13 Morning was sunny and slightly cool. The temperature quickly began to rise. After breakfast, we got ready to set off. We decided to drive along the Mosel. It was a splendid river valley bordered by vineyards and successive villages. Large tourist boats cruised up and down the river carrying tourists. We stuck to …
The first actual driving day was on April 11th, when we drove from Lübeck to Koblenz, where we met our godson Jonatan. Jonatan is here on a student exchange. It was nice to spend the evening with him. We drove about 600 kilometers. The journey took longer than expected due to numerous roadworks. Camping: Knaus …
The journey begins April 10, 2024 Helsinki Travemünde Helsinki The departure from Vuosaari, Helsinki April 10, 2024 at 3 pm. Travemünde Arrival in Travemündeen April 11, at 9 PM.