So here we go.
How did we get to this point ? How did we get to planning a Finland trip ?
And why on earth would we head north when south is always warmer ?
Well my chums went to Nordkapp last year (sadly I had a previous family holiday booked... poor planning I know) and whilst they were en route they were befriended by Harri .. a native Finn who had nothing better to do and asked if he could go with them to the very top. "Of course you can" they said and so another biking bond was made amongst strangers. On the way home he uttered the immortal words " If you ever come back give me a call and you can stay at my place and we'll ride shitty roads together and drink beer and have a great time ". Guess what ? Six months later ... Ring Ring "Hello Harri its us"
September 6th saw us making from Charring Cross down to Harwich for a night crossing to The Hook of Holland. We stopped for a spot of tiffin in West Mersea at a pub called The Coast. It was ok and did super fish and chips with a pleasant view out to the harbour and coast. it started to rain as we boarded the ferry for a good nights sleep. 162 miles.
The second day was always going to be longgggg. Across the top of Germany to Travemunde. Docked at 6 am off the boat at 8 and we were away. Thankfully although big main roads it was pretty easy going and warm too so that was a pleasant surprise. Arrived in the port at 6 pm where the gates were going to open at 830. Time for something to eat then.
I know any thread on here has to have food in it so what better way to start off than with a super German Chicken Burger !!!!
To Helsinki was a 36 hour journey. We had obviously booked a cabin in the depths of the boat to sleep in total darkness with no sound and no windows. I woke at 10am thinking it was the middle of the night ! We all slept well I can assure you. Finnlines Ferry was very good and gave us an introduction in to prices up there .. 4 filter coffees from the bar, nothing special just filter coffees .. £27. An evening meal.. £32 for a 2 hour all you can eat buffet. It was very good .. and so it should have been.
Arriving in Helsinki we headed straight North up to the RVP at The Ace Cafe at Lahti.
This where we first heard of the Queens passing .. in the newspapers and on their TV. It was a shock.
Here I met Harri for the first time. What a super nice chap. Let me tell you about this part of the trip. We were staying in his "summer house" .. a lovely wooden house that he and his late father physically took to bits from where it was in the north of Finland and bought it south rebuilding it on the land they bought for their "forever site"
Quite remarkable. He had a separate Sauna that we used every night. Go in dry so to speak.. get sweaty .. walk down the jetty .. into a fucking freezing Finnish lake with no one around for miles.. arse about, get out, drink more beer and repeat !
This is the view from the BBQ area, the patio if you like. He had a little speed boat and took us for a tour of the lake ..well some of it.
Then of course there was the outside dining .. the BBQ's and evening views.
You can't go wrong !
Here is the jetty I told you about. No one about for miles. Just peace and quiet.
Harri looked after us like kings. We spent a morning chopping wood for him and topped up the stores.. all very important for the winter months ahead.
Then we have a piccy or two of the inside. Very warm and cosey. Triple glazed and a central oven to heat the house 24/7 with the back wall of this huge oven being the main wall to his bedroom ... always warm with Mrs Harri.
Lots of chatting, local cuisine and a few beers. Didnt move for 24 hours. 268 miles.
Then we had a day of gravel roads / off road and general riding in the wild. Just massive roads and massive scenery that quite literally just went on and ON ! BOOOOTIFUL ..
169 miles
Harris place was here .........................
Soon it was off to head east and south a bit towards the Russian border. We would hug this area for as long as we could just to stay out off the main roads and without getting TOOOO close any Rusky who may wish to come and find out what on earth we were up to ! Even the sat nav was telling us to do a "U" turn !!
Obviously had to leave them a "Iv'e Met The Met" sticker on their otherwise pristine board
We were heading down to Savonlinna where we found ourselves an Air BnB for £28. Behind some shops with a nice little square to park the bikes.
Everywhere was beginning to close down for the winter and by the time we arrived soon after 4 pm we were lucky to find a Pizza shop just doing takeaways. They realized how lovely we were and feeling sorry for us let us stay in the shop and eat ... the take away bit was very busy. We walked through the old town and along the main path to a super castle .....
From here we made our way to Porvoo .. more off roads and gravel. Stopped at a roadside "shop" .. a big box on a stand with an honesty tray in it selling local honey. Yes please ! Pulled off the main road for some snakking .. rolls and cheese and reindeer meat washed down with coffee. I took these photos to show the peace and quiet just off the beaten track .. boats laying around ready for the next person to use or borrow or whatever. No vandalism here.
Porvoo was our last place to stay... 268 miles that day even with the scenic stops and most of it off road.
Here we stayed in another Air BnB .. a delightful ex maternity hospital and again as it was end of season only cost us £23.
The last day was very relaxed riding into Helsinki giving us plenty of time to have a look around some of this stunning city.
Lots to see and do.
So there you have it my friends. Didn't want to bore you too much with lots of writing and not enough piccies.
Off we went on the return trip to Germany and back across the same route we took on the way there. This time it was wet ..for some of the journey anyway.
It was a great trip. A couple of the team are still working so shifts and annual leave ensured we had a "limited" amount of time but in the near future we will make these trips more like a 3 weeker and just spend a bit more time doing nothing !
We were very lucky with the weather. Harri said it was very dry for us .. a few days after we got back to Blighty it started raining .. proper Finnish rain !
Yes everything was very expensive. 1/2 tank of fuel for the GSA £45. A "pint" of beer £14. A "normal" sized Pepperoni Pizza £30. But oh so worth it.
I think if you go you just have to accept that this is what your'e going to pay and suck it up. Just get on with it and enjoy.
Just a few random photos to "Finnish" off with.
Hope you enjoyed it.
How did we get to this point ? How did we get to planning a Finland trip ?
And why on earth would we head north when south is always warmer ?
Well my chums went to Nordkapp last year (sadly I had a previous family holiday booked... poor planning I know) and whilst they were en route they were befriended by Harri .. a native Finn who had nothing better to do and asked if he could go with them to the very top. "Of course you can" they said and so another biking bond was made amongst strangers. On the way home he uttered the immortal words " If you ever come back give me a call and you can stay at my place and we'll ride shitty roads together and drink beer and have a great time ". Guess what ? Six months later ... Ring Ring "Hello Harri its us"
September 6th saw us making from Charring Cross down to Harwich for a night crossing to The Hook of Holland. We stopped for a spot of tiffin in West Mersea at a pub called The Coast. It was ok and did super fish and chips with a pleasant view out to the harbour and coast. it started to rain as we boarded the ferry for a good nights sleep. 162 miles.
The second day was always going to be longgggg. Across the top of Germany to Travemunde. Docked at 6 am off the boat at 8 and we were away. Thankfully although big main roads it was pretty easy going and warm too so that was a pleasant surprise. Arrived in the port at 6 pm where the gates were going to open at 830. Time for something to eat then.
I know any thread on here has to have food in it so what better way to start off than with a super German Chicken Burger !!!!
To Helsinki was a 36 hour journey. We had obviously booked a cabin in the depths of the boat to sleep in total darkness with no sound and no windows. I woke at 10am thinking it was the middle of the night ! We all slept well I can assure you. Finnlines Ferry was very good and gave us an introduction in to prices up there .. 4 filter coffees from the bar, nothing special just filter coffees .. £27. An evening meal.. £32 for a 2 hour all you can eat buffet. It was very good .. and so it should have been.
Arriving in Helsinki we headed straight North up to the RVP at The Ace Cafe at Lahti.
This where we first heard of the Queens passing .. in the newspapers and on their TV. It was a shock.
Here I met Harri for the first time. What a super nice chap. Let me tell you about this part of the trip. We were staying in his "summer house" .. a lovely wooden house that he and his late father physically took to bits from where it was in the north of Finland and bought it south rebuilding it on the land they bought for their "forever site"
Quite remarkable. He had a separate Sauna that we used every night. Go in dry so to speak.. get sweaty .. walk down the jetty .. into a fucking freezing Finnish lake with no one around for miles.. arse about, get out, drink more beer and repeat !
Then of course there was the outside dining .. the BBQ's and evening views.
Harri looked after us like kings. We spent a morning chopping wood for him and topped up the stores.. all very important for the winter months ahead.
Then we had a day of gravel roads / off road and general riding in the wild. Just massive roads and massive scenery that quite literally just went on and ON ! BOOOOTIFUL ..
169 miles
Harris place was here .........................
We were heading down to Savonlinna where we found ourselves an Air BnB for £28. Behind some shops with a nice little square to park the bikes.
Everywhere was beginning to close down for the winter and by the time we arrived soon after 4 pm we were lucky to find a Pizza shop just doing takeaways. They realized how lovely we were and feeling sorry for us let us stay in the shop and eat ... the take away bit was very busy. We walked through the old town and along the main path to a super castle .....
From here we made our way to Porvoo .. more off roads and gravel. Stopped at a roadside "shop" .. a big box on a stand with an honesty tray in it selling local honey. Yes please ! Pulled off the main road for some snakking .. rolls and cheese and reindeer meat washed down with coffee. I took these photos to show the peace and quiet just off the beaten track .. boats laying around ready for the next person to use or borrow or whatever. No vandalism here.
Porvoo was our last place to stay... 268 miles that day even with the scenic stops and most of it off road.
Here we stayed in another Air BnB .. a delightful ex maternity hospital and again as it was end of season only cost us £23.
The last day was very relaxed riding into Helsinki giving us plenty of time to have a look around some of this stunning city.
Lots to see and do.
Off we went on the return trip to Germany and back across the same route we took on the way there. This time it was wet ..for some of the journey anyway.
It was a great trip. A couple of the team are still working so shifts and annual leave ensured we had a "limited" amount of time but in the near future we will make these trips more like a 3 weeker and just spend a bit more time doing nothing !
We were very lucky with the weather. Harri said it was very dry for us .. a few days after we got back to Blighty it started raining .. proper Finnish rain !
Yes everything was very expensive. 1/2 tank of fuel for the GSA £45. A "pint" of beer £14. A "normal" sized Pepperoni Pizza £30. But oh so worth it.
I think if you go you just have to accept that this is what your'e going to pay and suck it up. Just get on with it and enjoy.
Just a few random photos to "Finnish" off with.
Hope you enjoyed it.
I really do need to get over to Scandinavia.
