North Cape Tour Part 10

 

We have now driven 1 1/2 hours and at ABC Tupos Oulu , which is a gas station that is impressive. There is a wide range of food on offer and you can easily take a break here.

And then my phone rings, we can't get on the ferry in Turku , it's full. You book a cabin for the crossing, but they are all occupied and that is the real problem. We were simply too late with our registration and the Silja Line ferry full.

A murmur goes through the crowd, we are in Lapland and have to change our plans. Either we drive a day later, or we go back a bit to the north and continue via Sweden. Well, I love these big ferries, it's really a nice change to ride on a ferry like this on motorcycle tour

Now we have to decide, we don't really want to wait for the next ferry, we could go back now and go via Sweden around the Gulf of Bothnia, or we can wait in Turku until tomorrow evening for the next ferry.

We can make decisions and come to the conclusion that Sweden is also beautiful, so we come back. Here we go, we drive the E75 towards the north again, that was a strange feeling, we generally don't like driving back the same route.

Swedish Lapland is hardly populated and offers pure nature!

In Tornio we cross the border with Sweden and continue on the E4 around the tip of the Gulf of Bothnia . Sweden is also very beautiful, the sight of nature makes up for everything, there is still real wilderness to be discovered Swedish Lapland To experience the nature of Sweden, you need a few more days in your holiday calendar, the national parks are fantastic and Sweden also has 100,000 lakes and clear, clean water invites you to swim. If you have the time, simply rent one of the countless summer houses and switch off while boating, fishing, cruising or sitting around the campfire in the evening.

We are in the north of Sweden, these are the experiences we take home with us, pure campfire romance

Råneå at 6:00 p.m. and make a fuel stop . We drove about 250 kilometers from Oulu to Råneå in Sweden , now it's time for hot coffee.

Then we continue for another hour, after 80 kilometers we just turned off and ended up in the town of Norrfjärden . We discovered a rustic hut . There was enough space for us because we wanted to do some real wild camping . By chance we saw a few Swedes nearby and we asked them if it was allowed to camp there. Actually not, we were told, as happens with coincidences, the owner of the beautiful place is standing in front of us. He also owns the lake. fishing to Norway the next morning . We're a bit surprised, but that's true, we think. He has his own lake and goes to Norway to fish.

We are friendly guys and have already put a SIX pack of beer on the doorstep as a prophylactic gesture, as a gesture of good neighborliness for one night. Of course that was well received. If we leave everything clean, which is a given for us nature lovers, we can pitch tent

We did that too, we even firewood for a fire. It was really a great place, the fire flickers, we look over the lake and enjoy the sunset reflected on the calm water. That was something special, just like the fishing, of course we had to cast out the line again, but what can I say, we didn't catch anything, the lake is probably full of fish and we were just too stupid.

It really is a very nice evening and we enjoy it to the fullest. 

The next morning starts well, the sun rises and the dew on the tent slowly disappears. But now we notice that there is somehow no decent toilet, the lake is enough to freshen up, but all three of us have to go to the pot and we're hungry again. So everything is packed up quickly, the place is clean and we can go anywhere, the pressure increases.

We drive 15 kilometers further to the next larger town, Piteå , we discover a bakery, but we have a better idea, the one in front of us is the Kust 5 Star Hotel & Spa , they will have a good breakfast for us in the shop we are pure. And that's right, we can go to the breakfast buffet for €15, but first we'll take a look at the sanitary facilities in the lobby before we go to the Skybar for breakfast.

I admit, the receptionist didn't look bad when we went to the bathroom with a toiletry bag. We were happy again, a great breakfast and we can continue, the sun is still shining and now we want to go to Stockholm. Yes, exactly, that's about 860 kilometers from Norrfjärden that we have ahead of us. That's also the reason why we pulled the tap a little more, otherwise we could have waited for the ferry.

His Heritage is thirsty in strong winds

The wind is picking up again, it's pushing quite hard from the front. Ernst with his E-Glide and I with the Road Glide Ultra have no problem with that so far, only Hermann with his Heritage has a lot less steam than us and uses more than expected in strong winds and higher speeds, we already have that experience On the way from Kiel to Skagen in Denmark, every gas station was his.

He had already forgotten that his Heritage was thirsty in the wind, so we had to pull over to the right unplanned. Hermann had to conjure up the reserve canister and refuel. No matter, we're still laughing, that's why we took the canister with us. The on-board computer sometimes Road Glide Ultra has a range of over 400 kilometers, so you only need to refuel once on such a journey.

Here we go again, the E4 is ours and we move on towards Stockholm . Where there is wind, the clouds are not far away and the rain is now joining them again. It's getting worse, we're all annoyed, but we're holding on. Suddenly the highway in front of us is closed, a traffic jam has formed and we continue slowly through the middle. You should see that, they all make room for us, it's unbelievable how it works, one after the other moves to the side. I would call that exemplary, the rain is becoming more and more of a storm.

The Dunlop Multi Tread tire can cover a few thousand kilometers more.

Ernst and Hermann are struggling tires They actually didn't want it on at all because there was probably a communication problem with their workshop. I have the Dunlop Multi Tread tire on it, everything is good, the tread will last a few thousand kilometers longer, the tire has really proven itself and until it has 18,000 on it, it doesn't have to go.

What was particularly noticeable was that it gets a little louder in the curves in Scandinavia because the rubber on the outer wall is softer than in the middle and the road surface in the north is a little rougher, which is why you can hear it.

But we are making progress, we only stop briefly to refuel and don't talk much, we want to move forward with determination. in Gävle , the rain and the traffic are killing us, we're a few kilometers from Stockholm , but we don't care about that now, we stop and settle in at Scandic Gavle West .

We pay around €90 a night, which is worth it to us. Pack up and go to the hotel, they have great food here, we like that. After a tap, we are promptly tired and go to bed early so that we can drive the last stage of our North Cape tour tomorrow morning.

Final spurt! We have a fresh and rested breakfast at the hotel and set off. Today we want to drive through to Fehmarn, no matter what. The weather is a bit mixed, but not as bad as yesterday.

planned after 330 kilometers in Norrköping Harley-Davidson dealer where we want to take a look. Coffee, t-shirt, stroll through the store and at 3:00 p.m. we are back on the E4 heading south.

Now we have a quick lunch at a rest stop and now we have 400 kilometers to go to Helsingborg . There we take the ferry to Helsingør in Denmark . Nothing can stop us anymore, Copenhagen , we still have 260 kilometers to Rødbyhavn .

We're finally lucky again, it's dry and next to us we're experiencing a great sunset , the glowing sun sinks into the sea, it's really fun to watch.

 We drive over the Farøbroerne Bridge in Denmark

Our Harleys are loaded onto the ferry towards Puttgarden Now another 45 minutes by boat and we are back in Germany . Now everything happens very quickly, we are at the front and are the first to get off the ship, the ramps rattle and we already have the mainland below us.

Now we drive a few more meters and then we say goodbye. Hermann stays on his island of Fehmarn, Ernst and I drive another 60 kilometers until each of us reaches home. On the last day we drove 1000 kilometers, but that's the way it is, if you want to go home, you push through. All three of us are exhausted, we have experiences in our luggage that we will never forget, it was once again an unforgettable tour that we have behind us.

We started on July 2nd, 2017 and were back late in the evening on July 17th, 2017 with around 8,000 kilometers more on the clock. All three of the Harleys held up great. On the night of July 12th to 13th we reached the North Cape in Norway.

Every adventure, no matter how great it is, has an end, but one thing is clear: this wasn't our last.  

Thank you for your kind support. Our tour partner, Visit Norway , Color Line , The Rokker Company  Tallink Silja Line .

With that in mind, thank you for liking, sharing and taking part in our tour.

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