Murmansk, a city too far?

tanneman

Incomplete Arse
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Russian Artic Circle? Biggest city in the artic circle. Also another reason or 2 to visit the place or places on the way there and back or the area to be more precise. Area is a bit of a loose term, the Oblast more like it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_subjects_of_Russia

For no other reason than to go and see what it looks like in those places, and being a man of deep thought :D I had a bit of thinking. Not too much but just enough to think it can be done within my allotted holiday time. In total it can be 45 days in one long stretch.

A preliminary route (Wapping will be proud of me :D):

https://goo.gl/maps/1FssgvNbAyaSAit49
I don't think Garmin has visited the place yet so it will be paper maps, like in the good ol' days with compass and all.

Budget about an average of 250 miles a day. Days off in the cities or shorter days to allow for visiting places, still to be researched. Circa 6500 miles (cue will it invalid my warranty questions :D).

Administration I got so far with it:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia/entry-requirements
https://realrussia.co.uk/Visas/Russian#:~:text=A Russian visa for tourists,for a double-entry visa.
https://raja.fi/en/guidelines-for-travellers-at-border-crossings

Language barrier:

Love is the international language :D
I have an app for that.
Can't read or write that funny signs.

What will the weather be like:

Murmansk is in the artic circle. Clouds of midges and cold at night are expected. Days will be longer the further north you go. Best time to go, unsurprisingly June - August. Eat your heart out Wappers :D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmansk

Do I need any kit for this:

Maybe new bootsies like these, https://johnleemotorcycles.co.uk/product/sidi-adventure-2-goretex-eu46brown-black/. My trusty Gaerne boots are due a replacement after years of fun and I will feel better with some extra protection. Crash in Europe and you are a mile away from a house, crash in the back of nowhere and the nights are cold.
Maybe a survival axe, just to be tactical.

Roads:

Can you believe it but it is tarmac all the way to Murmansk. Honestly I checked on Google Streetview.
And smooth tarmac :D

https://goo.gl/maps/iN6aruczcdqL2vAX8

Who has done something like this before:

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/432187-A-Peek-Behind-The-Iron-Curtain
Other adventures are to be discovered and read about.

Is it dangerous:

Unwanted attention form mosquitoes and easy ladies making eyes at you or crashing into mama bear or worse, one of her cubs.
Russian drivers and vodka, unavoidable.
Getting sunburned/drenched (delete as appropriate) at a tedious border crossing while they confiscate your toothpaste.

Contingency plans if it all goes to fuck:

Have credit card and cash at hand.
Passport goes in the prison wallet :D



Is this a bit ambitious? Yes. Going at it alone, maybe. Feel free to talk me into it or out of it, better be sound advice or a cross will be burned on your lawn :D. I have permission from the boss lady. The missus, being Polish, is not very trusting of the Ruskies. She might need some convincing to join me, but she doesn't have the same holiday time as me. 2022 or 2023? Who knows what will happen. I have to go and visit my parents in SA and my sister in Namibia once this Covid shit is finished. But to me it is something I will have to do, now that I think about it. Even though it sounds a bit like a piss take, which it is being a 1200GSA owner. I do ride it you know.
 
I’ve spent of time in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine all for work, the border crossings are a PITA, I think if I was doing this I’d be looking for a quiet border crossing. Paperwork needs to be correct and matching, if it says BWM on one document, as long as every piece of paper also states BWM you are probably ok. Take an ink pad and stamp, learn how put your signature in the right place, partially obscuring the stamp.

I’d love to have the opportunity
 
I rode solo on my Harley, many years ago, around the NE corner of Finland and was very near Murmansk but didn't have the paperwork to visit it, unfortunately.
 
Go for it. If you go via Sweden you’ll easily do 450 miles per day without pushing yourself then loop back through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania etc and spend a bit more time in those countries if only because Sweden is boring and they’re not :beerjug:

You’ve done the Northern Germany bit so just hop on the overnight ferry at Harwich and smash it through to Frederikshavn in a day before catching the morning ferry to Gothenburg. From there you can either cross Sweden and get a ferry to Finland or simply head north through Sweden. I always sit down in the evening and look at what the weather is going to be like along each route and go from there because life just seems easier when you don’t have a fixed plan that’s certain to go to ratshit.

I’d be pestering you to pop my invite in the post but I’m not sure how long I could spend in Russia before depositing my security clearance in the bin and we’re supposed to notify work if we’re visiting countries that may cause concern :blast
 
Murmansk,city too far

I have for a couple of years been looking at North East Russia for a trip. I wanted to visit Arkangel and the War memorial as my uncle was killed ( he is named on it) there in what was probably the last fighting of WW1 . This was July 1919 and often a forgotten conflict as everybody assumed WW1 finished in 1918 but fighting continued an the Russian front.
My trip was to travel north to the area via St Petersbugh up to Arkangel and return via an anti clockwise route into northern Finland and cross into northern Norway and home down the Norway cost.
It is all possible but choosing the correct time because of midges could be a bit hit or miss. Originally I was going by bike on my own ten years ago but now it would be with in a car.
 
What to see and what to visit in those foreign lands.

Fear not. Atlas Obscura has plenty of info.
 
I have for a couple of years been looking at North East Russia for a trip. I wanted to visit Arkangel and the War memorial as my uncle was killed ( he is named on it) there in what was probably the last fighting of WW1 . This was July 1919 and often a forgotten conflict as everybody assumed WW1 finished in 1918 but fighting continued an the Russian front.
My trip was to travel north to the area via St Petersbugh up to Arkangel and return via an anti clockwise route into northern Finland and cross into northern Norway and home down the Norway cost.
It is all possible but choosing the correct time because of midges could be a bit hit or miss. Originally I was going by bike on my own ten years ago but now it would be with in a car.

Don't know how much research you have put into it but something I discovered.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41271418
 
Fuck it, it looks too good to not do :D

Slowly piecing it together. Skip Ukraine and Chernobyl for a visit later. That cuts the miles down a bit. Skip Kaliningrad because the place is close to Gdansk, relatively speaking, and can be visited another time. Take a different route through the Priozersky District and Lakhdenpokhsky District North of St Petersburg to visit a few stunning places. That does mean it will be a few miles of gravel. The lower part of the Karelia Republic has a bigger population of Russian Brown Bears than further north. You would be lucky to see one on the road.

I have been doing a bit of research since the area is not that well known on these pages. Atlas Obscura is a good source of info but you will always lack the local knowledge. ADVrider has in the past been a good place to start research. I don't want to do it to the death but I need to know where to go, can I go there, when will I be there, where is the fuel station, food and vodka.

General Russian info.

https://advrider.com/f/threads/russia-dedicated-thread.1284850/

Karelia Republic and Murmansk Oblast

https://advrider.com/f/threads/welcome-to-north-russia.864014/
https://advrider.com/f/threads/northern-sketches.1458524/#post-40521039

Even the BMW club went there. No pipes and slippers :D

https://bmwclubmoto.ru/showthread.p...-Северная-экспедиция-По-следам-Дивизии-Кубай-))
https://bmwclubmoto.ru/showthread.php/4715-Северная-экспедиция-п-ов-Рыбачий-Белое-море-Тоня-Тетрино
 
Our plan is to head to Mongolia next year but covid has to settle. If we can only get part of the way east then we may còncentrate on Russia and I've started looking into it, just in case. I've been to Russia a lot but for work so flying in and out, looking forward to a slower mode of transport.

Advice? Go.

Language - buy Linkword, easy to get the basics. https://www.linkwordlanguages.com/product/russian-beginners-course-levels-1-and-2-download-package/
Level 1 will enable you to read stuff and understand menus etc.
 
You are skipping the best parts of Norway i.e. the South Western fijords and the Lofoten Islands. Add on about 5-6 more days for those:)
 


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