Day3 - getting to Helsinki

We were in a ferry... that had wine... a lot...

Day2 - a sunny day around Hambourg

After a long sleepless night, for Isa, we finally arrive to Hamburg – for Miji: all of a sudden we’re there.

An unexpected sunny day is ahead of us. We planned to meet our friend Christof, who is already waiting at the arrival platform. We first follow him to his beautifully renewed house where we are heartily welcomed with warm solar-powered shower and breakfast prepared by Tanja and Jens (Thank you!).

After renewing ourselves, we have the pleasure to follow Christof and Tanja for motorcycle sightseeing tour in the surroundings. The weather is excellent and at 31.5°C we heat up like oven-buns in our bikers’ clothes.

First stop: the impressive boat-lift of the “Seitenkanal” of the Elbe River (Schiffshebewerk). The construction is huge, but the most impressive thing is to see the lift at work!  Mmm… how to explain it to you… It’s like you using a spoon for taking out a floating cornflake from a cup of milk into another... now replace cornflake with huge boat…

We then quickly stop at Lauenburg to rehydrate and swiftly continue to Lübeck.
Lübeck is a cute baroque gothic city definitely worth a day-trip.  Lubeck is not all about bricks – but there are a lot of them (with Isa’s words: it’s a fairy-tale-town - must have been Rapunzel’s home). There are many things to see, and we unfortunately miss a couple of them (but it’s already set in our minds: we need to visit it again).

In Lübeck, Isa also took the time to do some shopping. Check out the bill. Can you guess what store she was in?

The evening arrives, we sit for a last drink at the shores of the Trave, … and it is already time to say good-bye to our lovely, caring hosts (Thank you so much both for showing us around!).

We then head to Travemünde where we wait roughly until midnight to board on our delayed ferry to Helsinki.

Day1 - towards Lörrach

60 long Kms after leaving Utikon with an overloaded motorcycle, we practice our first pit stop to refuel -> to enjoy a lovingly prepared apéro and lunch at the Ihnenfeld’s.

With full stomachs and homemade Maria’s Rüeblicake in the topcase, we leave to catch the Autozug in Lörrach. Let’s not forget that putting the motorcycle in the train is the highlight of the day!

As soon as we get there, action starts: There is a bunch of motorcycles ready to the drive into the train, so we need to hurry to get ready! Miji gets hit for the first time by all the baggage we have packed. He’s furious and is planning to force me to either trash my clothes or send them back by DHL. It’s not a WorlCup final, but this Isa vs Miji: ended 1:0 (penalties)…

Miji follows the other bikers. Space is very limited and he has to creep behind the windshield to fit on the lower deck. Our friend, Christof, had already warned him about the risk of decapitation.

While Miji is helping securing the bike, I take possession of the 1.4m2 penthouse; I start unpacking and decorating, but 5 minutes later, the “maitresse de cabine” pulls open the door to tell me we have to change cabins. She grabs our bags and gently tells me (in a German way) to follow her right away. I follow her and… what a surprise!  We get 2 cosy cabins instead of 1… we are still wondering why we were upgraded…

Anyhow, when Miji comes back, we get free wine that we peacefully enjoy before going to rest.

Here we go!!!!

Welcome Peteri who just joined our crew!

We are counting on him for lighting fast action at pit stops!

10 days weather forecast for Kalajoki

http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/weather/kalajoki?forecast=long

Last motorcycle parts to be changed arrived today! Eme is installing them!