12 August 2014 (warm, sunny, showers early on) 7 km

Eight countries,

4700 km,

5500 pageviews

And 350 cans of tuna!

Yes, we made it and more importantly, loved it!  We’re rapt with the planning we did and the planning we didn’t do.  Researching a place too much before you go there can give you preconceived notions of what you should be seeing and leave you disappointed if it doesn’t live up to the brochure or the weather lets you down.  The only thing we know we missed is a bloody great castle at Karlsborg – which is amazing as Karlsborg is not a very big place!  We found plenty of other unexpected treasures though to make up for that.

We are pleased with most of the things we chose to bring with us with all having done their job to some extent.  The tent kept us dry but we felt a few design improvements could have made it even better.  We are really pleased we chose a bigger than average tent (for two bikepackers anyway) to be our home for the last three months and having enough height to kneel up made a big difference to the roominess.

We also both felt living on the floor as it were, was very good for our aging joints – I’ll be interested to know if our yoga instructor notices a difference.  Simple things like getting in and out of the tent and sitting on the floor for the majority of our meals probably helped open up our hips more than sitting on chairs all the time would.

How good does fresh air feel on your skin???? We have both noticed since coming into the hotel a sense of claustrophobia and are very glad we have four windows in our room and three of them actually open.  Whenever we get out on the bikes to go to the shopping centre, we feel happy and free again.

We are very keen to see a wave again as we have not seen one wave since we left NZ.  The closest we’ve come to it is the bow wave off the ferry.  We just want to see some movement instead of all this still, refined water, a bit like the people??  We crave the exuberance of the antipodean water and spirit.  Very noticeable was the absence of NZers and Aussies in northern Europe and Scandinavia.  We only met one Aussie couple in Belgium and that was it.  No NZers whatsoever.  It’s obviously an indication that if NZers are travelling to Europe, Scandinavia is not a popular choice.  This could be due to the perception that it is so expensive, but really it is only slightly more costly than NZ.

Today we had to cave in and satiate our curiosity.  When we caught the ferry from Stockholm to Turku, we saw two women dressed in elaborate outfits of black velvet jewel encrusted skirts with bustles underneath and hooped skirts and embossed, lacey white blouses.  We stared at them unashamedly thinking they were part of the entertainment on the ferry.  However, no floor show followed (that we saw anyway) and other people seemed to regard them as just another piece of the furniture.  As we moved through Finland, we saw more and more of these women and wondered what the go was.  So when we saw a couple in the shopping mall today, we stopped a young Finnish girl and told her we were leaving Finland tomorrow but had to find out why these women were dressed like this before we went.  Apparently they are gypsies.  I asked if they were travelling gypsies but she said No, they just live in a house and choose to dress this way.  Never saw any corresponding men so guess they get to dress like your average joe while the women stick out like bloody great moving lampshades.

About  4 ish we rode back to the Cumulus… for the last time. It was time to pack the bikes in their boxes ready for an early start tomorrow morning….4.30am in fact.

With a 23kg weight limit….it’s always going to be testing, especially when your bike alone weighs 16.2 kg. Doesn’t leave much room for sleeping mats….sleeping bags…..tool kit….helmets…..pannier bags and the like. After the pack we weighed the boxes. Mine was 24.2kg….Julia’s was 23.6kg.

That is as low as we could get them, so we are hoping for friendly check in people….won’t hold breath..!  As if she couldn’t find anything else to do…..my beautiful wife and partner in life….decided to give me my first haircut in 13 weeks….to make me presentable to the world.

As is always the case….and I should know…..since she’s been cutting my hair for 28 years…..she did a fine job….yeah…yeah… I know what you’re thinking………he hasn’t got any hair………that’s because Julia keeps it so tidy….!

I think she also thought that if any check in person….or passport control officer…….in fact anyone…..I may have offended with the blog due to almost any reason that came to mind as I wrote it…….should come in contact with me ……she at least wanted me to look presentable as they threw a punch…or aimed a gun [if your hubby’s gonna die…… he should look his best…!]

It is now 10pm.  This is our last entry from Finland, but we will be reflecting on the trip over the next week. The sun has just set…not just on Helsinki….but on a trip that was 25 years in its conception.

One things for sure….with our children now grown…..it won’t take another 25 years….!!!

Alright! We've got our robes and we are ready for the beach man!

At last!  The long anticipated conclusion to “The Cock and the Pigeon”……

In front of my eyes was a photograph…… of a building……titled…..Kok and Café.

‘How is this supposed to torment me……you’ve even spelt cock wrong’ I laughed

The pigeons feathers ruffled…..and his beady…birdy eyes glared at me

Sven replied ‘Once dis is unveiled to the public….you vill  be  amazed vot happens to your reputation’

‘People you don’t even know….will valk past you in der street…..sniggering’

‘You do realise I was trained to resist torture…..and also ……to never let your wife say she’ll just have a swig of your beer…..knowing full well that there will hardly  be anything left when she’s finished’

‘I came here expecting to have to use my wide variety of former t.v. and film weapons in a moment of anger…..and you torment me with a photograph…..

‘You are obviously not the 4 foot nine inch Swede I was anticipating….you have lost a couple of inches in my estimation’

Sven smiled a knowing smile……and I felt a chill run down my spine

At that moment I  would have sworn I saw the pigeon smile and a glint appear in his eyes

I turned and strode from the room…. Sneaking one last look at Sven’s girlfriend….whose name I never had discovered ….in that Onesie…..my God she could drive a man crazy in that I thought …..as I pushed open the door and made my way out into the back streets…….to the sound of distant laughter…!

Time moved on ….

Julia had abandoned Pete to take off with a Norwegian Pogo Adventurer, who was planning to pogo stick across the Antarctic…..?  She hadn’t been able to help Pete with people constantly laughing at him wherever he went……. [“What was new” she thought] and when the surf was pumping…..she didn’t give a shit anyway……!

In a forest in a secluded part of the German countryside…. Stands a grand old building…..in stark contrast to the lives lived within its walls. A private Sanatorium………

Down one of its expansive corridors walks a man….his footsteps echoing throughout the building.

On his shoulder……sits a pigeon.  The back of the man’s suit is covered in bird droppings. He is admitted to a room by an attendant and strolls across to the far window…..just providing sufficient light by which to see.

‘I told you I would bring it’ he says

With that, he removes a Harry Potter Nimbus 3000 wand and hands it to the man sitting with his back to the light from the window.

‘For you’ he says, laying it in his lap

Coo Coo…..Coo Coo…..Coo Coo……………     ………………    …………said Pete.