Day 35b & 36. Ferry Helsinki to Rostock.DE.1168km

It’s 3 pm and I am sitting in the Finnlines waiting lounge.   A bus load of passengers have just arrived and need a toilet break.   Problem: there is one M and one F toilet.   This could take a while, and did.

I have my ticket to Rostock.   Rostock is the port I left with the ferry to Gedser, Denmark.   This ferry trip will take 36 hours and I will arrive at 7 am, on Sat 14 July.   The cost was €637 for me and the bike and I had a cabin to myself.   I figured that I needed the sleep.   I did some quick sums and thought that I could ride back to Germany for a lot less.   I turned out that the cabin was an extra €400.   I cancelled the cabin.   For €400 I could sit up and wander around the ship for a while.   I can have a few beers, too, since I don’t have to ride.

The boarding time for the ferry is from 1:30 pm, but there is no shade, just a very big open car/truck park once through the gate, so I will wait in the lounge until about 4 pm.

So far the trip has been a great success for me.   I have enjoyed seeing some familiar sights again, and many new sights.   The weather has been somewhat drizzly, except for patches of sun.   Maybe when I get down into Germany again there may be some more sun.   Here’s hoping.   It seems like our visit to Venice.   We left Darwin for some cool weather, and then Europe had their hottest period for 400 years.

I am unsure which way I will travel back to Holland, so I have my maps in my back-pack to peruse while sailing.

The ferry trip was routine and enjoyable.   Dinner on the second night was a smorgasbord.   The most delightful combination of fish and red & white meat I have seen.   Naturally, I went for the fish and the red meat.   I am now fully loaded with omega3 fatty acids and red meat iron.   My health should be in top shape and all my joints well oiled.   What a treat.   The two Kuhla Beers washed it all down nicely, thank you.   

Now it’s off to my aeroplane chair.

(I had spoken to the receptionist today about getting a cabin for tonight while we were docked at Gdynia, but the cost was still a bit high, considering that I am very comfortable where I am.)

I was fortunate that the ferry doesn’t have many people on board, and most of them have a cabin, I guess.   I have the full row of the three seats to myself and there is with plenty of legroom.   I fetched the sleeping bag and jacket off the bike during the Gdynia docking, so I should be able to sleep on the floor again, but this time I won’t be cold, and I’ll have a pillow too.

I selected this row of seats because it also has 2 power points next to it.   I can run the PC and charge the camera batteries.

It has been a slow, but good trip on the ferry.   It’s been comfortable, and I have had the time to just relax and watch movies on the PC.   I’m glad I bought the movie back-up drive.

We have just had a stop-over at Gdynia, Poland.   I watched “The Mighty Ducks” today for Heidi, then hit the deck for a sleep.  I will wake up in Rostock, Germany.

LN2N2012

Day 34 & 35a. Saariselka to Helsinki FI. 1216 km

I had one of the best night’s sleep for a while at Saariselka's, Laaninov Hotel.   Perhaps it was not using the sleeping bag, but probably was the hamburger and the beer.   This was the third best hamburger that I have had, after Iran and Colombia.  

Breakfast was smoked fish as well as pink salmon and a white fresh water salmon.   The cook didn’t know what it was called in English.   Pure decadence.

For the ride it was the usual sun, drizzle, cloud, rain, sun, more rain, etc.   On and off with the rain suit.   I am getting good at that.

I was riding the E75 through the centre of Finland.   It’s a very nice road to ride, with a good mix of scenery and freeway.   Most enjoyable.

I decided to look for a hotel around 7 pm, but the place I found had no internet.   I wanted to lookup the ferry services out of Helsinki.   I’d hoped for a ferry to Rostock, Germany.   A 36 hour ferry ride should be fun.

The next hotel was way too expensive for me, and as I was near the freeway, I thought that there would be a string of “Motel 6” types of accommodation along the way.   Well I was wrong.   So, since it was a nice clear night with no rain, I rode on some more.

After about 10 minutes, guess what?   It rained.   Never mind, just ride on.   The rain cleared after about 20 minutes and by then it was about 11 pm.

I fuelled up again and had a coffee and saw that Helsinki was only another 264 kms away.   Let’s ride until I get tired, and I can always sleep next to the bike again.   I rode into Helsinki at about 3:30 am, and surprisingly, not tired.

There was little to no traffic in town, and it was light again by then, so I just rode around.   I remembered some of the buildings from when we were here in 2006.   That was a good pick-me-up.   I was going to stay at Rastila Campground again, but decided to check the ferry times instead, since getting around was so easy.

I found the Rostock Ferry Terminal eventually.   It’s hard to ask for help, when there is no-one about.   Not that real men ask for directions!

The ferry leaves at 6:30 pm, so I have found a real nice supermarket with a couch and free internet, so here I type.

It’s interesting that on my first night and my last night in Scandinavia, I have not gone to bed.
I hope you enjoy the photos.   (Sorry for the typos and grammar errors.   I’m getting tired now.)

LN2N2012

Day 33. Skarsvag NO to Saariselka FI. 259kms.

After a good breakfast, I hit the road at about 9 am.   The days riding started out cool and sunny, but after a while the rain came again.   However, I still enjoyed the ride.   
     
I had a lunch break with a British guy named Kevin.   He has a new blue 990 KTM Adventurer with orange crash bars, very nice.   He bought this KTM, and during it’s delivery, he lost his job, so the redundancy has given him a holiday.   He doesn't know how to blog, but he is planning on writing a book on his adventures around Europe to Istanbul.   He will send me an email with details.

I didn’t get too far because I again spent too much time sightseeing and taking photos.

Overnight in Saariselka in a nice pub/hotel with a big sign, “Bikers Welcome”.   It was very good, and less than half the price that I was paying in Norway.   Goodnight.

LN2N2012