Scandinavia

On Tuesday the 8th of July we got up early, just after five o'clock. After packing all things we left at 6:10 am. The roads were not busy at this early hour. After two hours we crossed the German border. Just past it we stopped for something to eat and drink and after about a quarter we continued. Via Osnabrück and Bremen we headed for Hamburg. We had a short break there after which we drove on northwards to Flensburg near the Danish border. We stopped at a bank were we exchanged Euros for Danish money. We stayed to have lunch near a small lake, a very pleasant place to stay. Then onwards to the campsite in Randboldal, not far from Legoland. The last part was via local roads, so it took us some time. We also had a few drops of rain, but not much. Apart from the few drops of rain, we had nice sunny, partly clouded, weather this day.

After checking in at the campsite we went to our cabin. A small wooden hut with a bunk bed and a sleeping couch. There was also a small kitchen with some cooking facilities, a fridge and a coffee machine. After having had a drink, we went to the playground where Ciska had lots of fun. In the meantime we did some shopping for dinner and breakfast for the next morning. Then we went back to our cabin to eat. After dinner our neighbours arrived, a Dutch family, which had visited Legoland today. They've had a great time there although it was a bit expensive. Our other neighbours are also from The Netherlands. But that was it, as guests go from Holland, most people on this campsite are Danish. We did like this campsite very much, quiet, nice playground with a pool. The cabin was also ok, no toilet or shower but they were very close by.

The next day we got up late, we were a bit tired from the exhausting travelling of the previous day. After breakfast we left around half past ten. Legoland was only a 15-minute drive away. A short walk from the parking brought us to the Park-entrance, from where we first toured Miniland. Miniland is what Legoland started out with, before it became a large amusement park. In Miniland you can see a lot of famous buildings and locations from Europe, all built from Legoblocks. From all of the Nordic countries you can see buildings, of course from Denmark, but also from Norway, Sweden and Finland. There also are buildings from Germany and the Netherlands. From the latter one of course the famous Amsterdam canals, but also windmills and cows. Next to these there is also a part with some buildings and structures from all over the world among which for instance the Acropolis (Greece), Abu Simbel (Egypt), Capitol (USA), Wat Pra Kheo (Thailand) and the statue of Liberty (USA). After visiting Miniland, which is really very nice, we saw some other parts of the park. Ciska rode several of the attractions, such as:

• Lego Safari, with a small car on safari through a forest with all kinds of animals. All built from Legoblocks of course.
• Goldmine, with a small train through an old goldmine in which the gold diggers were still at work.
• Legocopters, a kind of helicopters that go up and down.
• Miniboats, with a small boat you sail along a number of world famous buildings (see above).
• Walked the adventure trail, in which Ciska tested her skills in walking on beams and ropes and such kind of things.
• Jungle Rally. A kind a dodgems (bumping cars).
• Jungle Racers, they look like those Everglades boats, a lot of splashing anyway.
• Pirate boats. With a boat through pirate land and a cave with partying pirates with their treasures and jewelleries. This we could do with the three of us, we did it even twice as it was really fun.
• Explore land. A small mini amusement part for the little ones. Ciska was already to big for this.
• Eagles nest. A very large playing castle.

In between rides we had something to eat and drink, which is really quite expensive here. But the rides are all for free. Also the waiting time for any of the rides was not that long, from only a few minutes to at most 20 minutes.
Around 6 'o clock we had dinner in the dragon castle. Afterwards we went on a few more rides before we walked towards the exit. But before we left we stopped at the Lego shop and bought some Lego for Ciska. Here you can buy Lego by the gram. You take a plastic bag and fill it up with as many building blocks you need and then you pay for each gram of Lego in the bag. But be warned, buying Lego here is not cheaper than at home, I would say it is even more expensive. But you can buy blocks here in colours and shapes that you can't buy in an ordinary toyshop.

After we had packed everything and cleaned the cabin we left for Bogense on the island of Funen. This is a short drive, about 80 km (50 miles) from Randboldal. We arrived so early at the Bogense hotel that our room was not ready yet. It had to be cleaned first before we could enter it. It was a very spacious room with even 2 extra beds. After we had put all our stuff in the room we went out to explore the 'roaring' town of Bogense. It is not very large, but is has some nice streets with rather old houses. We also walked along the harbour, not far from our hotel. Near the harbour we had a spot of lunch on a terrace. After lunch we walked towards the jetty with a nice view over the Cattegat. Unfortunately there was no beach or something like that. Only a few landing piers which you could use to get into the water. We walked along the small, beautiful white church of Bogense and across the market square. Via a few narrow streets with some pretty old houses we walked back to the hotel. We needed less than an afternoon to see the whole town of Bogense. Rather peculiar is that the town has a copy of the Brussels "Manneke Pis".

The next day we planned to make a tour across the island of Funen. After breakfast we drove towards Egeskov castle, about one hours drive from Bogense. First we visited the castle itself. The castle is not very big, but the gardens surrounding it are. In the castle you can visit a number of rooms with furniture from the past. Ciska was especially interested in the room and hallway with all the hunting trophies. Here you can see all kinds of game among which a large number of deer, the skins of a lion and a panther, the trunks of an elephant and a lot more. Nowadays this wouldn't be allowed anymore, but in the past those kinds of trophies were not a problem. In the attic of the castle was a small photo exhibition about the Castle's renovation. In the attic there lies a wooden doll. History tells that the doll should never be moved from its place, whenever that might occur, the castle would sink in the swamp on the next Christmas eve. For this reason the family, that still lives in the castle, is never at home during Christmas. During the renovation the doll was protected from moving by a large wooden box. After visiting the castle we went to see the gardens. First we went to the treetop walk. This attraction allows you to climb to a height of about 15 meters using a spiralling ladder. Then via a number of suspension-bridges you walk through the crowns of the trees. Ciska really liked it. Back down she wanted to play in the very large playground. In the meantime Arjan went to see the veteran museums. The first one had quite a large collection of antique cars and a few planes. In the second one there is a very large collection of 20th century motorcycles. Rather nice in the latter one is the possibility with some of the bikes to hear the sound of it by pressing a button. Ciska and Hilleke also visited both museums in a hurry, as well as the third one, with a collection of old carriages and sledges. Before we left the castle grounds we did the Piet Hein maze and Ciska wanted to do the treetop walk once again. From the castle we drove towards Odense to visit the open-air museum 'Den Fynske Landsby'. This museum has a number of historic buildings from Funen. Mainly farms, houses and some workshops. There also is a school and a windmill. Next to the buildings there are some farm animals like cows, horses, goats and sheep. At the time we reach the end of the walking tour it started to drizzle and when we were back at the souvenir shop it really started to pour down. The first rain this holiday. From the museum we drove to the centre of the city to have something to eat. We decided on a restaurant called 'Den gamle Kro', which is supposed to be one of the oldest restaurants in Denmark. After a very good dinner we went back to our hotel. Tomorrow we have to leave early as we have a long drive ahead of us to Sweden.

The next day the alarm went off at seven, we have a long journey ahead. After we got up we packed our things. After breakfast we put everything in the car and left Bogense at 9:20 am. Via a number of local roads we ended up on the E20, the highway towards Sweden. Near the town of Nyborg we crossed the Storebælt via an 18 kilometres long bridge with the same name. This is a toll bridge for which we had to pay 245 Dkr (± €32,=). Across the bridge we entered an island called Sjælland on which Copenhagen lies. We continued our way towards this city, but we ignored it and continued towards the next toll bridge, the Øresund tunnel/bridge combination under/over the Øresund. First you drive through a 4 kilometers long tunnel and after that you cross a 19 kilometres long bridge. The toll for this one was 225 Dkr (± €29,=). A rather expensive day. The border between Denmark and Sweden is in the middle of the bridge and we hadn't entered Sweden for less than a kilometre when it started to rain. It was not the only rain for this day in Sweden, sometimes we had lots of it, some times just a little bit, but other times we had a bright blue sky. Across the bridge we stopped at a restaurant with an adjoining tourist info. We had some coffee and at the tourist info they had an internet PC so we could check and send our email. After that we continued. We passed Malmö and drove northwards along the coast towards Helsingborg. There, at a parking place, we ate our lunch. And from a hill nearby we had a beautiful view over the water, we could see the ferries crossing from Helsingborg to Helsingør as well as the Øresund bridge. After lunch we moved on northwards via the E4 in the direction of Jönköping. We had (pre) booked a room in the no longer existing hotel 'Winn' in Huskvarna just north of Jönköping near the highway and the shores of lake Vättern. From our room we had a beautiful view across the lake.

The next day we also got up early for the next part of our trip to Stockholm. After breakfast we packed the car and left. At first we drove along the shores of lake Vättern, but after a while we went eastwards. At Nyköping we left the highway to go to Mariefred via some local roads.

In Mariefred there is a museum steamtrain to Läggesta. We wanted to take a ride with it. It was a very nice trip, but a bit short. Both ways only 15 minutes. Back in Mariefred Ciska went for a ride on the back of a pony. After that we continued our way to Stockholm. Our hotel is in one of the suburbs of Stockholm, Bromma, close to the airport with the same name. In the evening we took the metro to the centre of Stockholm to have dinner. We went to a restaurant close to the hotel where we stayed two years ago when we visited Stockholm for a short citybreak. In the restaurant it took quite a while before we got our food. And when the first course finally arrived only Hilleke got hers and for Arjan it arrived five minutes later. With the main course is was the other way around, first Arjan and Ciska, and five minutes later Hillekes plate arrived. The waitress apologized for the fact that all did not go as planned. We got our desert for free to compensate. After paying the bill we took the metro back to our hotel.

The next day, it is Monday July 14th, we packed some of our stuff in a small backpack. We've packed it with some clean clothings and such for the coming night on the ferry so we do not have to carry our heavy trunks onto the boat. After breakfast we left the hotel. At a supermarket nearby we bought some bread to eat while waiting for the ferry this afternoon and also something to drink for the day as it was going to be a very warm day again. Hilleke had the clever idea of first driving our car to the ferry terminal and leave it overthere and take a small ferry from there to Skansen, the open-air museum in Stockholm. We had visited Skansen two years ago as well during our citytrip back then and we thought Ciska would like it very much. We drove to the Viking terminal and parked the car in a garage so it wouldn't be in the hot sun for the rest of the day. At the pier from which the small ferry would leave we found out that it would sail anymore for this day. The only way to cross the harbour was by taking a tourboat that would stop at several places in the city and you could hop on and off as you like. But we had to wait for it for three quarters of an hour. So in the meanwhile we had something to drink at the Tourist Office on the quay. At eleven o'clock the tourboat left and after some stops we arrived at Skansen another three quarters later. In Skansen we first had a warm lunch as we would only have some bread this afternoon while waiting for the ferry. After that we walked to the area in Skansen with all the nordic animals amongst which you may find moose, bears, buffalos etc. At the bearpit it turned out that the cubs, that we had seen two years ago as very small bears, had grown significantly. Also the Moose family had expanded this spring. After visiting the zoo we also walked through the other parts of Skansen although it was too hot to wander around. Just after four o'clock we left the park and took the ferry back. The tourboat was already out of service so we took the ordinary ferry. But that one doesn't go the Viking terminal so we got off at the Katharina elevator and took a bus to the terminal. This is only one stop and all buses stop there so it doesn't really matter which bus you take from the busterminal.

When we arrived at the ferry terminal we first picked-up the car and then drove to the check-in counter. Our boat hadn't arrived, on the contrary, there was even no sight of it. At 6:30 pm the check-in counter opened and the ship would sail at 8:10 pm, but at 6:10 pm there was no sight of our ship, the Amorella of the Viking Line. But a few minutes later we could see her coming and some time later it had docked. The check-in went rather quick, but after that we had to wait again before we could board the ship. There were five lines and we stood in the fourth lane. When finally the boarding started, first lane one went aboard and after that lane two etc. But when the boarding had to stop for some time, lanes one and two filled up again so they were allowed first to start boarding again. So we had to wait a very long time before we could go on board, so in the meantime we ate the bread we had bought this morning. But finally we were allowed to go and after we after having parked the car inside the ship we could start the search for our cabin.

It turned out that our cabin was at the bottom of the ship, even below the waterline, just in front of the engine room. We had booked the cheapest inside cabin available, Q class. A small compartment with two narrow bunk beds. So we had four beds for the three of us, there won't be another person. So even if you have a cabin that sleeps four, you only have to pay for three. After we had put our luggage in the cabin we went upstairs for the sailing. At 8:20 pm we set sail, we sailed for hours through the large archipel of Stockholm. This archipel has about 24,000 islands. Some of them very large, others very small, only a few square meters. A number of the islands are inhabitat, some even with only one house. After we had put Ciska to bed, at 10 pm, again very late for her, and waited for her to fall asleep, we went for a drink in of the bars on board. In the meantime it was about eleven and there was still some sunlight outside. Thats the advantage of an inside cabin, there are no windows through which the ever present light may enter the cabin.

Around midnight we went back to our cabin for a short sleep. At 5 am (Sweden time, 6 am Finland time, in Finland they're one hour ahead) we have to get up for breakfast. At 7:30 am we will arrive and by that time we have to be in our car to disembark. It was very noisy in our cabin, not the humming of the engine but a lot of other noises like the banging of metal chains etc. At 5 am the alarm went off. We were already awake, but Ciska slept through and she had trouble waking up. After packing our things we went to restaurant for breakfast. After that we went back to the cabin for our luggage and went to our car. Shortly after that we docked in Turku and another few minutes later we had Finnish soil under our feet. The first thing that happened after we had disembarked was that we were stopped by the police to check for alcohol. Everybody in a car is checked because a lot of Swedish and Finnish people on board drink a lot of cheap (tax-free) alcohol. Now we were in Turku and wanted to visit the castle and some other things, but at 8 o'clock in the morning there is not much to do for an average tourist. The Tourist Office opens at 8:30, so walked along the banks of the river. It looked like it was going to be a warm day again, at this early time of day it was already over 20 degrees (centigrade).

When the Tourist Office opened at 8:30 we went there to look for some information about the sights of Turku. They also had an internet PC so we were able to read and send some email. This PC also had a floppy drive so we could upload some pages for our online travelogue for the first time this vacation. From the Tourist Office we went to the famous castle of Turku.

But it was still closed and would not open before 9:30, so we had to wait. Around 9:30 we could enter the castle. It has some exhibitions about life in the castle in the past and there is also a museum about the history of Turku. In one of the rooms of the castle there is a large open model of the castle in which you could see how it looked like in the past when there were still people living in the castle. This is very interesting to see. What Ciska really like in the castle were the prison cells. In one of them there were some lifesize dolls and she wondered whether they were real people or not locked in those cells and why they were put in there.

From the castle we went to the cathedral. Its a very nice one and also a lot of concerts are given there. Right when we were there they were tuning up the organ for a concert. After a short visit to this cathedral we went to our car for the last stretch this day to Helsinki.

There are not many 4-lane highways in Finland. From Turku there is a short stretch and from there until about 30 kilometers before Helsinki only a 2 lane road with maximum speeds of 100 or 80 and 60 through villages with traffic lights. So its difficult to speed. We were warned by someone at the Randboldal camping last week that the police is frequently checking for speeding and the fines for speeding are very high. So we had time to enjou the Finnish countryside between Turku and Helsinki. Hilleke was driving this day, but during the trip she started to feel very sleepy so Arjan continued. When we arrived in Helsinki we had to search for the hotel as we didn't have a map of the city. Arjan had only copied a part of the surroundings of the hotel from a map on the internet. We wandered about, but finally we found Hotel Continental, it only stood at the other side of the road and at most crossings you are not allowed to turn left, let alone turn around. So we first had to turn right into a side-street, turn there and cross the road we were on initially (no turn left, remember) into the side-street on the other side. Turn there again and then we could turn right to go into the opposite direction so we could enter the parkingplace of the hotel. After we had checked-in we parked the car in the garage of the hotel and went to see our room. It was a spacious room at the frontside of the hotel with a nice view over the park and lake across the street. We didn't feel like doing anything strenuous anymore today. But the hotel has a pool at the top floor so we went there to relax and to enjoy the view over the city. After this we went for dinner in the neighbourhood of the hotel as we didn't want to walk a long way. We will see the sights of Helsinki the coming days.

After being in bed for a long time we stood up quite late the next morning. We had been awake before, very early in the night because of the sun shining into our room. Despite the thick curtains there is always some light entering the room along the sides of curtains. Today is Hilleks birthday, she had become 40. After all congratulations we went for breakfast. It was a large breakfast buffet and after finishing it we went out to explore Helsinki.

First we went to the Rockchurch (Temppeliaukio). This is a church that has been cut out a rock. There were a lot of tourist buses standing outside, so it must be a popular tourist destination. On the inside it is not very special, except that all the walls are rock with a large copper dome on top of them. We stayed inside for a while as it was rather cool in the church. From the rockchurch we went to see another church, the cathedral of Helsinki at the Senate Square. It is a very large building, as white as a sheet. Also along this square are the university library and a number of government buildings. From the outside the cathedral looks very impressive, but on the inside it is not very exiting, a number of statues and that's about it. At a cafe near the cathedral we had a drink, it was very warm, thirsty weather today. Around 30 degrees centigrade, actually too warm for sightseeing.

From the cafe we walked towards the Tourist Info to gather some information about the major sights in the city and about a boatcruise through the Helsinki archipel. From the Tourist Office, Hilleke went to the nearest ATM across the street (they are marked with 'OTTO') to pull some money and in the meantime Arjan and Ciska went to admire the statue of Havis Amanda. It is a statue of a naked lady near the market square and it is seen as a symbol of Helsinki. There was also a show with cats. A lady with a number of cats had them perform some tricks. From there we walked to the market square adjoining the harbour. Form the harbour all the large ferrys to Tallinn and Stockholm leave. Also the tourboats as well as the small ferry-boats to the islands in the archipel leave from here. We also visited the Russian-orthodox Uspensky church. Both from the inside as well as the outside a very impressive church.

Across the market we walked back again and in a restaurant we had some coffee with cake to celebrate Hillekes birthday. After that we took the tram back to our hotel. This evening we had arranged to have dinner with Heidi, a former Progress colleague of Hilleke who lives in Helsinki. She would meet us in the lobby of the hotel at around 5 pm. At a quarter to five she already arrived and we welcomed her and exchanged presents. We decided to go for a drink somewhere before going to the restaurant. While we walked towards the cafe we came across a lot of people going to a Rolling Stones concert this evening in the city. After we had something to drink we went to the Lappi restaurant for dinner with the four of us. The atmosphere in the restaurant is very relaxed and for dinner we had reindeer. It is really a very good restaurant. After dinner we went for a walk and had some icecream and we said goodnight to Heidi. We decided to meet again tomorrow at around the same time.

The next morning we also slept late. When we left our room there were a lot of people waiting for the elevator to arrive. It also took a very long time before it came so we decided not to wait but to take the emergency stairs to go down. We walked through the kitchen and a long passage and through a door behind the reception desk we entered the lobby. It was very crowded in the breakfast room and we had to wait a long time to get something from the buffet. We assumed it had something to do with the Rolling Stones concert of last night with a lot of fans staying in the hotel. It really was a madhouse and it was also hard to find an empty table. Finally it took us more than a hour to finish our breakfast. So around half past ten we were able to start the second day of our visit to Helsinki. For today only two things remain and then we've seen the most important tourist sights of Helsinki. In 1 or 2 days you can see the most of it.

First we went to the Sibelius park, a park contributed to this famous Finnish composer with a piece of art consisting of organ pipes and the head of the master himself. Clearly this again is a big tourist attraction, a lot of tourist buses are parked there and also a lot of Japanese people are walking around. From the park we walked back to the hotel to take a tram to the harbour for a boat cruise through the archipel. Hilleke wanted to have a hat to wear on the boat against the sun, but the one she liked was rather expensive to Arjan bought it for her as a late birthday gift. The boat would leave at 1:20 pm so we walked the market again and had something to drink. The boat tour also included lunch so we had nothing to eat while waiting for the boat to leave. From the boat we had a nice view onto the islands in the archipel among which is Suomenlinna, the largest military fortification on an island and the zoo which is also on an island. We also sailed along the enormous icebreakers that keeps the harbour and channel free from ice during winter. After the cruise, with a delicious lunch by the way, we took the tram to go back to our hotel. While waiting for Heidi, Arjan and Ciska went for a swim in the pool. After Heidi arrived in the hotel we first had something to drink at the poolside and afterwards we went to a restaurant in a park for dinner. When we had finished dinner we walked along the seaside while enjoying an icecream and admiring some hot-air balloons taking off. We took the tram back to hotel and while going there we said goodbye to Heidi. It was nice seeing her again after such a long time. The last time we met, Hilleke was only a few weeks pregnant with Ciska in the summer of 1998. In the hotel we had our last night in Helsinki, tomorrow we'll leave the Finnish capital and go north to Tampere.

The next day the breakfast buffet was a lot more quiet, not the madhouse it had been yesterday. After breakfast we fetched the luggage from our room and packed it into our car which had been parked in the parking garage of the hotel for the last three days. We had to pay € 17.- per day for the parking, making € 51.- in total. After that we left for Tampere. But first we visited Aura's parents. Aura is a Finnish friend of Hilleke from the time they both were exchange students in the States (also see the travelogue of our trip to the US in 2002). Aura and her family live in Oulu and we will visit them in a few days from now, and she had asked us if were willing to visit her parents as they wanted to see Hilleke again after so many years. So we could easily fit the visit into our schedule as we have to arrive at the camping in Tampere after two o'clock. And the camping is only a 170 km drive from Helsinki. They live in one of the outskirts of Helsinki and after half an hour we arrived at their house. Also both of Aura's sisters were there. We had a very enjoyable morning and afternoon and we had a great lunch with a lot of Finnish delicacies. Also Ciska had a great time looking for berries in the large garden. Time flew by and at three thirty it was time to say goodbye. So we left for Tampere. The road between the two cities is a four lane highway all the way so just after four o'clock we arrived at the camping. This camping, the Härmälä camping, is situated at a lakeside, south of Tampere. We had made reservations for it via the internet and that all had worked out well, so a quarter of an hour later we could move into our cabin. It turned out to be a lot smaller than the one we had at the Randboldal camping in Denmark. But it had a fridge and also a small boiling ring, but no running water. But we already knew that from their website. A lot of the other cabins on the camping were occupied by noisy, beer-drinking youngsters. We hope it will be quiet this night at a decent hour. Also, almost on the front porch of our cabin, there was a group of very noisy gypsies, constantly shouting and screaming at one another like they must be heard on the other end of the camping. As we didn't do any shopping today we had dinner at the small restaurant on the campground. It is a pizzeria and the only things they serve there are pizzas. So even Arjan had a pizza although he is not really fond of them. In the course of the evening it indeed turned out to be very noisy on the camping. Ciska was complaining, she couldn't fall asleep because of it. Officially it should be quiet around 11 pm, but considering the amount of young people shouting and screaming and also because of the loud gypsies we were afraid that that wouldn't happen. But surprisingly around eleven, a group of man started to walk around the camping to urge people to be quiet. We had a little chat with them and it turned out there is some kind of festival in town and a lot people attending the festival are staying at this campground. According them, normally it isn't that noisy at the camping. They hope that most of them will leave Sunday as the festival will be over by then. Because of the noise we went to bed rather late. Also because of the light, around midnight you may easily read or write without extra light on, you don't really notice it is that late already. And also because the temperature at that time of night is even above 20 degrees centigrade.

After a night with only a few hours of sleep, because of the early sunrise (around 3 o'clock the sun is already shining, it hardly sets here in July) and the noisy guests we got up at around 9:30. Also the horrible, convertible bed on which we slept was also not very comfortable. With every move you made it creaked everywhere and also the mattress was too thin. Probably the designer, manufacturer and salesman of those beds have never slept on their product or else they would have taken it out of the market. You don't want to torture your customers do you? What a horrible bed. For the coming night we will use our own inflatable bed. We hadn't bought anything for breakfast and we only had a banana and some cake. We will buy something on the way today.
In the tourist brochure of Tampere we had read that there should be a summer market in the town of Lempäälä. When we arrived in Lempäälä we went towards the center as we thought that such a market would be held there. Only we were not able to find it. From the highway we followed the signs towards the center, but after that there were no signs anymore. So driving back and forth and into some side-streets we concluded that the place we were first had to be the center of town, but no market. We asked someone about it and he had not heard of it, but when we asked again with the proper name of it (Kuokkalankoski market) he knew what we meant and directed us to a place about 2 km out of town. And indeed, there we found the market. We walked around a bit and watched the 'rapids-shooting', this is probably some local sport for which you have to stand on a trunk and float across a number of rapids in a stream. The first man we saw it doing did well, but the second one fell into the water in which the gathered crowd took a great pleasure. After another walk across the market we drove back to town to do some shopping in the local supermarket. From Lempäälä we went to a quiet lake to take a rest and to enjoy the peacefulness. We went to lake Sääksjärvi somewhere between Lempäälä and Tampere and we had something to eat and drink there and Ciska went for a swim in the lake in her underwear (we didn't brought her bathing suit). After about one and a half hour we left and went to Tampere. When we drove into the city we saw a large Toyota garage. Our car radio didn't work anymore since we entered Sweden and now finally we found a garage that could have a look at it and hopefully fix it. But today (Saturday) they probably won't be in, but Monday, when we'll visit Tampere again we will go there. In Tampere we went to the Näkötorni tower (observation tower) in the Pyynikki park to have something drink and eat one of their famous donuts. When we finished the delicious donut we climbed the tower and from the top you have a nice view over the city and its surroundings. From the tower we went back to the camping. At the supermarket near the camping we did some more shopping (the more perishable stuff) and then we went to our cabin. When we arrived there, Arjan and Ciska walked around the campground while Hilleke was preparing dinner. After dinner, Arjan and Ciska did the dish-washing and when that was done we took Ciska to bed on a more descent hour (9 pm!). Luckily the noise on the camping was much less than yesterday, hopefully most of the festival visitors already went home. Only the gypsies are again constantly shouting and screaming at each other.

Sunday, July 20. Luckily last night was not as noisy as the night before and when it's ok, the coming nights will even be more quiet. At around 9 o'clock we got up, we have a lot of kilometres ahead of us today. After breakfast we left. But before we were able to leave we had a discord with our back neighbour. Yesterday evening or last night someone had parked his van behind our cabin. Normally not a problem, be he had parked it in front of our car so we were unable to leave. So when we had finished breakfast Arjan started to inform if someone knew who owned the van. But nobody knew. Then Hilleke thought that they might be sleeping in the back of the van although it had no windows in the back, but there was a cable running from an outlet into it. So Arjan banged the backdoor and he immediately heard a response coming from within the car. He asked if they could move the van a bit so we could leave. A few seconds later a man got out of the car and he immediately started to became abusive and rage why we were banging his van. They turned out to be from Scotland and probably were still halfdrunk from last night. Arjan stayed quiet and let the man rage. Also our neighbour was alarmed by all the noise and urged the man to calm down. After which the Scotsman also started to abuse him. Angry as he was, he pulled the cord from the outlet and ordered his companion (who we never saw by the way) to move the van. As soon as the van had moved he started to shout again that we should leave immediately with our car as that was the reason why he had to move. But we had to pack some things and we did so quietly. In the mean time they had moved their car to the washhouse. Weird guys they have in Scotland, but we'll assume that they are not all like this madman.

After packing our things we left for our daytrip towards the coast. We wanted to visit Rauma which is a long drive from Tampere and in a country with only a few four-lane highways it may take some time. Around noon we arrived in the old town of Rauma (Vanha Rauma). We walked around through the old, medieval part of the town. In the past it has never been destroyed by fire so there are still a lot of very old wooden buildings present. Most of these old buildings are still beings used as a house or a store. Its a very fascinating quarter to wander around. We also gathered some information about Rauma and surrounding places from the Tourist Info. We also asked if they had internet, they didn't, but they directed us to a café across the street. There we had something to eat and drink and that also included a 15 minutes internet connection. Unfortunately we were only able to read our mail, for some reason it was not possible to send any, neither were we able to upload our website. Maybe we can do both tomorrow in Tampere or when we are with Aura in Oulu. After this we again walked through a part of the old town before we left. We still wanted to see the sea. We still hadn't had a chance to see it from Finland, not even when we arrived in Turku. And we have to admit it is rather difficult to get close by the sea. On the map the roads seem to be along the shore, but in reality there is no sight of any water. Finally we ended up north of Pori near Reposaari on an island. At the end of road there is a restaurant at which we had something to drink and from which we had a nice view over a bay of the Gulf of Bothnia. After a short rest we left again, back to our camping. Near the small village of Kullaa we had dinner, very cheap this time. A warm buffet including drinks for about €28 for the three of us. Around eight thirty we arrived at our cabin. A lot of guests had left the campgrounds this day, so it should be much more quiet the coming night.

After we got up we didn't have anything for breakfast, so Arjan and Ciska went to the camping-shop to buy some. But the shop doesn't have many supplies and there wasn't any bread. It was still in the oven and it would take at least half an hour for it to be ready. So they took some knäckebröd for breakfast. After breakfast we packed our things for this day and we headed for Tampere. First we went to the Toyota garage to have our radio repaired. The fuse is blown and when we replace it, it blows again immediately. It probably has to do with the cigarette lighter, which is behind the same fuse as the radio. At the garage they told us it would last two hours before they could help us, we may leave the car behind if we want. But we may need it today so we agreed that we will come by again between 3 and 4 this afternoon. From the garage we went to the center of Tampere and after some driving around we found a parking place on which we were allowed to park for more than one hour. At most four hours, but that is ok, as in four hours from it will be three thirty and by that time we have to go back to the garage. First we went to the Tourist Info, they had a map with a number of city walks. They also had an internet PC so we were able to send some email. Unfortunately, here it was also not possible to upload our website. We did a walk along the banks of the river flowing through the city during which you come by the former waterfall. The falling water nowadays is used to generate electricity. There are a few power plants in the city that use the running water of the river to generate electricity. The center of Tampere has a lot of Art Nouveau buildings, but in a few hours you have seen the most interesting parts of the city. There are no really old, historic buildings in the city. So around half past three we went to our car to return to the garage. We had to wait a while and then a mechanic went to search for the cause of the problem. Quickly he determined it indeed had to do with the cigarette lighter, but he had no idea what was wrong with it. So he decided to replace it with a new one. After half an hour both the radio and the cigarette lighter worked again. So we are again able to recharge Hillekes mobile phone, as we didn't bring her recharge unit, only a cable to recharge it using the lighter of the car. The total amount of the bill was €75.50, which we will declare with the lease company back home. From the garage we drove by the supermarket to do some shopping for dinner and breakfast for tomorrow. Back on the campground Hilleke and Ciska went for a swim in the lake. While they were doing so it suddenly started to rain. The first rain since long and it really poured down. But it didn't last very long. And during dinner it started to rain again, not such a shower as the first but it lasted a bit longer, but still not long enough to saturate the nature yearning for water. We'll try to go to bed early this evening as we have a very long drive ahead of us tomorrow to Oulu.

The next day we got up around seven o'clock because we wanted to leave early. We didn't manage to leave early, we left at approximately 9:15. Aura had advised us to take the coastal road instead of going through the inland. We had planned to stop several times among the way to see some sights. Our first stop was in Vaasa at the coast where we arrived around noon. First we went to the Tourist Inform to inform about the must-see sights in Vaasa that can be visited in one hour. It turned out there were not that many interesting sights in town so we ended up in a park by the sea where we had our lunch. While sitting there we heard a thunderclap and shortly after we felt the first raindrops. And even before we had packed our things the rain poured down. We were rather wet when we arrived at our car, although it was only a short walk (run actually). We threw our things in the car and left. After a short ride we stopped in a tunnel to re-pack our things and to strap Ciska. In the meantime it was still pouring. Incredible, the amount of water falling down in such a short time. Quickly the small tunnel started to get flooded. The feet of pedestrians and cyclists sheltering in the tunnel became wet. So we left, heading for the E8, the coastal road towards Oulu. The streets in Vaasa looked like rivers. And we couldn't even enter one of the streets we had to take to leave Vaasa, due to the height of the water and water squirting out of the sewer like a fountain. Other cars were turning around, as they couldn't go any further. So we had to take another route to get out of town. But as soon as we left Vaasa, it had stopped raining. We headed for Nykarleby, but when we drove through the main street it didn't look very appealing so we continued without stopping and headed for Jacobstad. In Jacobstad we first went to the Tourist Info to inform about the sights in town. There is an old part with small, winding roads and old wooden houses and there is also the harbour. We drove through the old part, but as we had just seen Rauma, and it is just like that, so we went to the small harbour. On a terrace we had an ice-cream and we had a view over the sea. From Jacobstad we continued via some local roads and we ended up at the E8 again. It is a two-lane highway with maximum speeds of 100, 80 or even 60 kmph through towns. When you are behind a truck it is sometimes difficult to pass them because of all the curves in the roads and the hilly terrain. About 90 km before Oulu we had a short rest break and from there we continued for the last stretch. Around 6.30 pm we entered the street in which Aura, Pekka and their children Veera, Pekka and the newborn baby (without a name, he'll receive one when he is baptized) lives. We had a very warm welcome. There was also a niece, Susanne, staying in the house. The remainder of the evening we spent with eating, drinking and talking and admiring the new world citizen.

The next day, our first day in Oulu we went to the beach as it was still very warm weather. Together with Pekka, Susanne and Veera we went to a beach on the Gulf of Bothnia. We've brought Ciska her inflatable whale and inflatable Pooh bear. She went into the sea together with Veera. As well did Hilleke and Susanna, although they only went in up until their knees as they didn't bring their bathing suits. Arjan and Pekka watched all our belongings while the ladies were enjoying the water. When they finished swimming, Arjan and Pekka went for a walk along the beach towards a watch tower. After our visit to the beach we went back to Oulu for lunch/dinner. After dinner we visited a museum in Oulu. The museum contained a few models built after drawings from a children's book. A number of the drawings from the book were copied meticulously. On the other floors of the museum the history of Oulu revived, among which a model of the city as it looked like around 1930. Back home, Arjan and Pekka went to the sauna. Almost every house in Finland has its own sauna. After they came out, Ciska also wanted to try it. She went in together with Veera. She stayed inside for about five minutes. It was too hot for her, but at least she had tried it. Since then she calls the sauna 'the hot chamber'.

The next morning we went to an open air museum near Oulu, Turkansaari. It lies on an island in the Oulu river and has a number of historical buildings. Amomgst which a church from the 17th century, a windmill and several other wooden buildings. In the past a lot of tar was produces her from the pine trees that grow in these areas. So there was also an example of such a tar pit. We spend about two hours in this lovely museum before we went back home. But not after we had something to drink and a pula (a kind of cake). Back in Oulu we had lunch

After lunch we went to the Hailuoto, an island off the coast of Oulu. There is free ferry service to and from the island. We went with one car this time, Pekka, Susanna and the three of us. We drove to the other end of the island. On the way we stopped to visit a special church. It is completely made of concrete and is build on the same place as the previous church that had burned down. In the church are a number of relics that were saved from the old church. On the other end of the island we did a walk along the shore and at a restaurant near a campsite we had something to eat and drink. After which we walked back to the car. Along the way back we stopped at a bird watchtower to see if we were able to see some deer or other wild life. Unfortunately we didn't see any animal apart from a few birds. From the watchtower we drove back to ferry and went home.

The last day in Oulu we did some sightseeing in the city, although the number of sights in Oulu is rather limited. First we went to the market. We walked around a bit also saw the small shops situated around the marketplace. We also visited the Oulu cathedral. Most people in Finland are Lutherans and that is why the churches are not as exuberant as a catholic church. After our visit to the cathedral we went back to the market where we met Pekka, Veera and Susanna who had been to the library. Our next stop was at a supermarket to by some things. Among which some Moomin mugs. The Moomins is a hippo family and there are also books and cartoons made of them. They are very famous here in Finland, there origin lies in this country. In Tampere there is even a Moomin museum. Since we are here in Finland Ciska really adores the Moomins, she bought some of them back in Tampere. From the supermarket we went back home to eat and after that we packed our things to continue our trip towards Simo. In Simo, Aura and Pekka have a holiday cottage and all of us will stay there for a few days. Pekka left first with the two dogs to heat-up the smoke sauna so we can use it this evening. Sometime later we left and we took Susanna with us. Later Aura and the other children followed. It is about a one hour drive from Oulu to Simo.

When we arrived in Simo, Pekka was already there. The holiday cottage in Simo is more than just a cottage, it's more like an estate. There are a number of building amongst which, of course, the house itself and the separate smoke sauna. We will sleep in a separate guesthouse. Next to these buildings there are a number of sheds present on the premises. There is also, as in Oulu, a playhouse in which Ciska had a great time. And all is near the Simo river. Pekka showed us around and when everybody had arrived we had something to eat. After dinner, Pekka, Kaarle and Arjan went to the tennis-court. Their neighbours own the tennis-court, but it is partly build on their property so they are allowed to use it. After that, Pekka and Arjan went into the sauna. Pekka had started the fire about five hours ago, so there was already a nice warm temperature inside. After about half an hour we moved out and the ladies went in, including Ciska and Hilleke. It was midnight already and it is still light outside. We are rather northerly already, almost near the Arctic Circle and the sun hardly sets here this time of year. The ladies stayed a bit longer in the sauna as it had cooled down a bit already. And while they were enjoying themselves, Pekka and Arjan started a post-sauna tradition. First they drank a Finnish lager beer to compensate for all the body fluids they lost and then an English ale that went together with the tasting of a number of Scottish malt whiskies. Ciska and Veera were the first to return from the sauna. Ciska again said she didn't like the warm room and she never wanted to go to a sauna again. Well, that's also what she said the last time and she went in again. After Ciska returned we took her to bed, around 1 am. We went sometimes later, around 1.30 am, and it was still light outside. Luckily the room in which we slept had only two small windows. Too make it a bit darker, we put a mattress and a wooden board in front of them.

The next day we slept late, we had breakfast around 11 am. After breakfast we decided what to do today. Pekka went cloudberry picking and we, together with Aura and the children, went out to explore the surroundings. Susanne stayed in Simo. We went to visit a museum and a number of other sights. At a supermarket we did some shopping for making a cake. Today, the baby is exactly one month of age, reason to eat cake. Pekka had bought a salmon for dinner and he prepared it over a fire. The fish was really very delicious and we all enjoyed it very much. Before dinner Pekka had again kindled the sauna, so in the course of the evening it was sauna time again. The men went first as the women didn't like a very hot sauna. So when Pekka and Arjan returned and started their post-sauna ritual the ladies went in, including Ciska. She now starts to like it; she stayed in the whole time. Afterwards they all, except Hilleke and Aura, went for a swim in the river. When everybody had returned in the house we had something to eat including the delicious cake, before we all went to bed.

The next day, Sunday the 27th, we are going on a trip with just the three of us. For today we planned to visit the Ranua zoo and Santa Claus on the Arctic Circle, just north of Rovaniemi. The animals in the Ranua zoo are all from the Nordic countries like bears, wolves, moose, reindeer etc. There are also a number of birds like owls and birds of prey. They also have polar bears, although these don't live in Finland. We haven't seen them, they are probably inside as it would be too warm for them outside. It's a very pleasant zoo, not too large. In about two hours you can see it all and you won't miss a thing as there is a boardwalk that leads you along all animal quarters. After we had something to eat in the restaurant and Ciska had enjoyed herself in the playground we continued our trip towards Rovaniemi.

Just north of own there is the Arctic Circle and there is also Santaclaus village. After we had our pictures taken on the Arctic Circle we went to visit Santa Claus. All of Santaclaus village is on large commercial tourist trap. A large number of souvenir shops with all kinds of Arctic Cirle and Christmas souvenirs. We had our picture taken with Santa Claus for the absurd price of €17.=. There was also the possibility to have a Christmas letter from Santa Claus delivered to someone around Christmas. The price for this was €6.= per letter, too expensive for a small joke. Hilleke had been here before, about 16 years ago, and at that time the photo as well as the letter delivery was for free. After visiting all of Santaclaus village we wanted something to eat, but all restaurants in the village close around 7 pm. So we went for dinner in a restaurant across the street. From the restaurant we also made reservations for a hotel in Copenhagen. We booked a room from the 4th until the 6th of August. This means that the last day of our holiday will be the 6th of August, as we want to drive the distance from Copenhagen to home in one day. After dinner we drove back to Simo. Just after Rovaniemi we noticed that the road was wet. Further down the road we indeed encountered some rain. We have been lucky this day; we haven't seen a drop of rain all day. All the way to Simo we had rain alternating with dry periods. When we arrived in Simo it turned out that Aura had already gone back to Oulu together with Susanne and Kaarle. She had to go to the hospital with the baby tomorrow and Susanne is going home to Savonlinna in the south of Finland. In the afternoon, Pekka had already set fire to the sauna, so during the evening we relaxed a bit in a warm atmosphere. Also Ciska went again, she now really starts to like the sauna.

We spent our last day in Finland in Kemi, about 27 km west of Simo. Kemi is also Pekka's place of birth. After breakfast we drove towards Kemi. We first wanted to visit the icebreaker 'Sampo', which is moored in the harbour of Kemi. This icebreaker is no longer used as such, but in winter it is being used for icebreak excursions for tourists. In summer you may visit the ship and it is also in use as a restaurant. Pekka's brother Matti, sometimes sails with these excursions and he is willing to show us around and tell us something about the ship. First we drove to his house to pick him up and then we went to the harbour to visit the icebreaker. Before he showed us around we saw a video about the ship and the excursions in the restaurant. After the video Matti showed us around, the wheel-house, the engine room etc. Hilleke stayed in the restaurant to write her diary and to make some phone calls to Sweden to arrange some cottages for us to stay the coming nights. Ciska did go, but when we entered the engine-room it frightened her a bit and she said that 'it was not interesting enough' and she wanted to go back to Hilleke. But after some persuasion she continued. While we were showed around, Pekka was called by Aura saying that she had a burst tyre on the way from Oulu to Kemi. Today she would return together so Simo with the baby and Kaarle. Pekka decided he would go and help her if no one else would stop and help Aura to change the tyre. But when we got off the boat Aura called again to say that someone had stopped so Pekka didn't have to go. Pekka took Matti home and we, together with Veera, went to the Tourist Office. This building houses also, next to Tourist Office, a gem gallery. Hilleke appreciated this gallery more than the 'technical' icebreaker. On the first floor a lot of different gems were on display like sapphire, jade, quartz and amethyst. On the second floor they had copies of famous diamonds like the 'Star of Africa', the 'Koh-I-Noor' and others. There was also a copy of the crown of the English queen and the real crown that was once meant for the king of Finland. Long ago they invited someone to become the king of Finland, but that person had just lost a war so he denied the invitation.

When we left the museum also Aura arrived. Pekka then took her car to a garage to get a new tyre and after that we went to a restaurant to eat. On our expense as a 'thank you' for all they'd done for us in the past week. After that we went back to Simo. Ciska went to bed not very late as we want to get up early the next morning as we have a long drive ahead. Pekka and Arjan went fishing on the river trying to catch a salmon. Unfortunately they didn't catch one, not even any other type of fish. This evening the ladies went to the sauna first. This meant that Pekka and Arjan now had a pre-sauna ritual, the drinking of English ale together with the tasting of some whiskies. When they walked to the sauna it started to rain a bit and before they arrived there it poured. Luckily it was much less when they returned after half an hour. Before we all went to bed we first had a draft beer to make up for the fluids we had lost in the sauna.

Tuesday, 29th of July. We wanted to get up early, around 7am, so we may leave around 9am. Hilleke had calculated that it was about 541 km from Simo to Kramfors were we had booked two nights in a cabin on a camping. After we had packed everything in the car and had breakfast we said goodbye to Pekka, Aura, Veera, Kaarle and the baby. At a quarter to ten we left. Soon after we crossed the border with Sweden and we left Finland behind. Just across the border we stopped at the Tourist Office in a small town called Kalix. They had free internet there so we were able to email the owner of a cottage were we want to stay after Kramfors. He would return our mail with a description of how to get there. The PC also had a floppydrive so we were also able to upload our website again. About half an hour later we continued and our next stop was in a small town called Piteå. There we had our lunch and we also refueled the car. There was also a Tourist Office with again a free internet connection and we checked whether there was already a reply from Mora and indeed there was. We printed the driving instructions and we continued our way towards Kramfors. Along the way Hilleke calculated the remaining distance to Kramfors and it turned out she had made a miscalculation earlier. She had made a mistake of 100 km, so the total distance is 641 instead of 541 km, a bit of bad luck. And on all these roads with maximum speeds of 110, 90, 70 and 60 kmh we weren't progressing very fast, also because of a lot of road works going on. But on the more quiet roads, Arjan accelerated up to 140 kmh and then you are able to make some progress. After passing the city of Umeå the scenery became more and more beautiful. It turned out that we were driving in an area designated by the Unesco as a World Heritage Site, the 'High Coast'. The town of Kramfors is in the centre of this beautiful area in which you may think you are in Switzerland. Our stay in this area is by 'accident'. Our route planner had planned a stop here on our way from Simo to Dalarna. If we would have known in advance that this was such a beautiful area we would have stayed here for three instead of two nights. At around a quarter past five we arrived at the Flogsta camping, much earlier than we had anticipated. But after our stop in Piteå we hadn't stopped anymore and had driven the whole 380 km in about 4½ hour. Our cabin was rather spacious, much better than the one we had in Tampere. Also no toilet, shower and running water but much larger and it also had kitchen utensils and such. Apart from that it was also cheaper, less noisy and it had a real swimming pool with a large slide. As usual, Ciska and Arjan went for a swim in the pool while Hilleke did some shopping and prepared dinner. All in all a long and tiring day.

Initially we had no plans for the 30th, only to relax a bit. But as it turned out that we are in such a beautiful area, we did want to see some more of it. So we planned a sightseeing tour through the High Coast. We first went to a hotel with an adjoining Tourist Info to gather some more information. They also had a free internet PC, an oppurtunity to upload the website again. From the parking place next to the hotel we had a nice view over the High Coast Bridge. The map we took from the Tourist Office had driving directions for a scenic route through the area that we wanted to make. The same route is also indicated along the way by signs next to the road, so it's easy to follow this route. It is a very scenic drive over rural roads with at some points breathtaking views over estuaries, bays and valleys. There are only hills in this area, no real mountains. Along the way we stopped several times for lunch and to enjoy the view. At one of these stops Hilleke and Ciska went to pick bilberries.

Hilleke also wanted to see some petroglyphs, but Ciska wanted to swim. As the petroglyphs were at a distance of about 100 km and going there and back plus seeing them would take at least 2½ hour we decided to return to the camping and leave the petroglyphs for what they are. On the way back we did some shopping for dinner and when we arrived at the camping, the three of us went for a swim for about two hours. After dinner, Hilleke did some washing and the rest of the evening we only relaxed and prepared ourselves for the trip to Dalarna. We are going south now which is noticeable by the time it gets dark. Here in Kramfors you will have to switch on the lights at 11 pm if you want to read or write something.

The next day we got up around 8 am. After packing our luggage and eating breakfast we loaded everything and the car. While loading the car it started to rain, so we had to put the car up against the veranda to be able to stay dry when packing everything. Around 9:30 we left for a trip of about 380 km to Färnäs in the Dalarna province, again more to the south. All the way we had sunshine alternating with rain. Around noon we stopped at a roadside restaurant to have something to eat and after about three quarters of an hour we continued. On the way we saw the first moose crossing our way this holiday. In the past weeks we had seen dozens of signs warning us for wild life but we never saw any until now. The moose crossed our way about 200 meters ahead of the car. After another stop for refuelling and taking a snack we arrived at a quarter to four in Färnäs. The driving directions we had were not fully correct so we could not find the cottage immediately, but after some driving up and down the village and some questioning we finally arrived there. It turned out to be a very nice, small cottage with many conveniences like a microwave, coffee machine and even a mixer and a vacuum cleaner. There is also a TV, VCR and a music centre and all for the price of no more than 300 SEK per night (± €35.=). The cottage has two storeys and is located in the backyard of the owners. On the ground floor there is the kitchen with a dinner table and the toilet/shower and on the top floor there is a sofa bed, a bunk bed and the TV and music centre. The top floor also serves as the living room when the sofa bed is used as a bench, but we will mainly live in the kitchen. Next to the cottage there is also a small playhouse that was inhabited immediately by Ciska. She was getting used to such playhouses as these were also present in Oulu as well as in Simo, both made by Pekka. As we did not do any shopping today we went out eating in Mora in a Cajun restaurant. On the way back we did some shopping for next day breakfast.

Friday the 1st of August, Arjan's 39th birthday. The weather today looks much better than yesterday. A blue sky with some friendly clouds here and there. The bed on which we slept last night was again hopeless, the same type as we had on the camping in Tampere, a sofa bed for two persons. But with every movement it creaked and the mattress is very thin so you sometimes feel the steel beams from which the bed is made. The coming nights we'll sleep on our inflatable bed like we did in Tampere. After breakfast we left to explore the surroundings. First we went to the Tourist Office in Mora to gather some information about the sights in this area. From the Tourist Office we went to Nusnäs, not far from Färnäs. In Nusnäs you may find the Grannas factory in which the famous red Dalahorses are produced and we had promised Ciska to visit such a factory (there are more of those Dalahorse factories in the region). It is a real tourist attraction. First we visited the factory. At first they saw the coarse shape of the horse from a piece of wood (next to horses they also make pigs and chickens among other things). After that, the details are carved by hand with a sharp knive and then the horse is scoured mechanically. The next step is dipping the horse in red paint and when that has dried it is painted by hand. Very fascinating to watch and Ciska really liked all the Dalahorses. After visiting the factory we went to the adjoining shop to buy some souvenirs. For Ciska we bought a pair of wooden shoes painted with the same kind of decorations as the horses and one of the Dalahorse painters painted Ciska's name it. After we had something to eat and drink in the restaurant we left for the island of Sollerön in lake Siljan. There was not much to do so we immediately continued to Gesunda on the south side of the lake. We wanted to ascend the Gesunda mountain by chair-lift to enjoy a magnificent view over lake Siljan. But unfortunately the lift was broken so we couldn't go as high as we wanted. At a restaurant nearby we had lunch and after lunch we went to Falun. The town of Falun has an old copper mine, the oldest in the world, about 1000 years of age.

The mine is no longer in use as such but it can be visited. Arjan also went into the mine as we didn't bring a warm coat with us for Ciska. The temperature in the mine is about 7°C. With an elevator you descent to a depth of about 55 meters into the mine. The deepest point of the mine however is at around 600 meters below the surface of the earth. From there you walk through a number of galleries and you get an impression of how they digged the copper-ore. Next to copper they also digged zinc and gold in this mine. The excursion lasted for about an hour and in the mean time Hilleke and Ciska admired the surface of the mine. The story goes that the mine was discovered by accident. A farmer spotted a goat with red horns and he followed the animal to find out what was the cause of it. The goat grated his horns on a piece of rock and because of that the copper was exposed. This all has taken place about 1000 years ago. Near the mine there is a large wooden goat to remember this happening. After we had visited the mine we left and header towards the town of Rättvik to have dinner in a restaurant on the shores of lake Siljan. After a delicious meal we went back to our cottage. In the evening Arjan was allowed to use the PC of the owner of the cottage to read our mail and to update our travel website.

Last night we had a better sleep on our inflatable bed than the night before on the sofa-bed. Outside, the sky was heavily clouded and looked very threatening and after a while it started to rain. What a difference compared to yesterday. For the first time since long we put on our long trousers. After breakfast we left to discover more of the surroundings. First we went to a bearpark just north of Orsa, which closed down in 2022. In this park they kept bears, wolves, lynx, polar foxes and a wolverine in a more natural environment than an ordinary zoo. Supplied with some umbrellas we entered the park, it was still raining. First we went to see the bears, the have a number of large enclosures to live. In one of these enclosures the younger bears are living and in another one the more mature bears are living. There is also a smaller enclosure in which a mother bear and two cubs are staying. Those cubs were born at the end of 2002. The cubs were playing with each other all of the time. Luckily it had stopped raining. While we were watching the bears they were fed. They got bread, apples and some power-fodder. From the bears we went to see the wolves, they had also just been fed. The wolves also live in a rather large enclosure. The other animals are endowed with a smaller one, but they are also a lot smaller themselves. There was only one wolverine, a female. But we didn't see her. In summer, the polar foxes have a dark fur. In wintertime it will turn white as snow. The whole park is situated on one side of a hill, which means that you have to climb a steep path to see everything. In the park there are a number of vantage points from which you have a good view over the enclosures and you may make pictures there without a fence in between you and the animals. On top of the hill there is a restaurant in which we had some refreshments. After lunch we walked back down again to have a look at the lynx, although they weren't good to see as they hide in the grass, so we only saw them from a distance. All in all it is a very interesting park in which you see the animals in a more natural environment and you won't see them walking up and down a steel cage as in most zoos. This park is definitely worth a visit. We stayed in total for about three hours in the park before we left for the Tourist Office in Orsa to check what else we could visit. They advised us to go to the Gammelgård in Våmhus. This is an open-air museum with some old handicrafts. But there was only a basket maker and a lady busy with pillow lace making using human hair. The produced threads are used to make ornaments, brooches and wall decorations. In early days the poorest people, that didn't have money to buy yarn, practised this craft and they used their own hair for it. From the Gammelgård we drove around lake Orsa to Mora and back to our cottage. On the way we did some shopping.

The next day, after breakfast, around a quarter to eleven, we left our lovely cottage. The weather is much better than yesterday, the sun is shining with a few clouds. The temperature is about 20°C. First we went again to a Dalahorse factory, not far from our cottage, to buy some things. The factory was closed (Sunday), but the little shop was open. From the factory we header for Mora and from there we headed south. We didn't make any reservation for the coming night as we want to try to get as far as possible so we won't arrive too late tomorrow in Copenhagen. Around half past twelve we stopped for lunch. This morning we already prepared our lunch and we bought something to drink at a gas station. After half an hour we continued. Hilleke had found a camping in the Swedish camping guide, only the guide didn't mention whether it had cabins or not. The camping is located in Göta, a small village south of Lilla Edet (toilet paper and such). Around 5:30 pm we arrived at the Ryrsjön Fritidsby camping and it turned out they also rent cabins, and a few of them were still available. They don't accept credit cards, so after we had inspected the cabin we headed for Lilla Edet to withdraw some money and do some shopping. Back on the camping, Ciska and Arjan went to explore it while Hilleke prepared dinner. The camping has some animals; it has a small playground and an activity circuit. You may also rent a canoe or a boat as the camping lies on the shores of a small lake and there are excellent fishing opportunities from a number of plank-bridges. The cabin is quite large with a kitchen and a shower and toilet. The only weird is that when you open one of the cold water taps, it first gives you warm water and only after a while it becomes cold. Our cabin is along a steep road up a hill on which there are some more cabins and this provides us with a good view on all cars that try to go uphill. The road of dirt and gravel is so steep that some drivers have great difficulty to get on top. Some don't even manage and halfway they start to slide back down again. Apart from a 400 km drive nothing special had happened this day. Up until this day we almost drove 6000 km, we'll pass that tomorrow and before we arrive back home we will have passed the 7000 km.

The next day we got up early and after breakfast we headed for Copenhagen. After a short stop at a supermarket to get the deposit back for some bottles we drove towards Göteburg and from there south along the coast. From Göteburg onwards the road is a 4-lane highway. We wanted to cross to Denmark by ferry from Helsingborg to Helsingør and not via the bridge. Our hotel is in a suburb north of Copenhagen, Gentofte. At a quarter to one we arrived at the harbour and the ferry just arrived. Soon after that we could board and at one o'clock sharp we left Sweden for a 20 minute voyage to Denmark costing about SEK 250.=. When we arrived on the Danish side we headed for Copenhagen. On the way we stopped to eat our lunch and shortly after that we arrived around 3 pm at the Gentofte hotel In the hotel they gave us the keys for two rooms and we could choose the one that suited us the best.

After we had put all our luggage into our room and had a rest from the long journey, we walked to the station of the S-bana (city train), a walk of about ten minutes from our hotel. We took the train and went to centre of Copenhagen. We bought a 10-ride ticket which is much cheaper than 8 separate tickets (2 days, 2 persons, double trip), even when two of the rides are not used. Ciska still travels for free. After a 20-minute ride we arrived at Copenhagen central station and we went to the Tourist Info, opposite the station. When we had gathered all information we walked to the large City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen). We looked around at this large square and from there we walked back to the Hard Rock Café to have something to eat. There were a lot of young girls in and around the café, they had come to see a performance of a famous Danish boy-band, the B-boys. This Hard Rock Café, by the way, is the only one we'll visit this vacation. The one in Stockholm we had already visited a few years ago and in Helsinki there is no Hard Rock Café. After dinner we went to the famous Tivoli park, next to the Hard Rock Café. Tivoli is a kind of amusement park, but is also has a lot of restaurants and other attractions. You pay an entrance fee to enter the park and you also have to pay a separate fee for every ride. This means that when you only want to visit the park to feel the atmosphere, like us, it won't cost you too much. Ciska however did some of the smaller, children's, rides. When the sun sets, the whole park becomes illuminated by thousands of small lights which gives the park a fairy-like atmosphere. At about half past ten we walked back to the station, opposite the park, and took the train back to our hotel.

The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, we walked to the station again to take the train into town. We are only one whole day in this city and to see as much as possible we decided to take a citytour with a so-called hop-on hop-off bus. These busses stop at a number of tourist sites at which you can get off. After half an hour, or each multiple, you may get on again. The top of the bus is open (closed when it rains :-)) so you are able to enjoy the sun as well as the city. There are three lines, the blue, the red and the yellow line, each driving a different route. We took the blue line. The tour starts in front of the Palace Hotel at the City Hall Square, but you may start at any of the stops. Of course will you stop at the famous mermaid, we got off the bus there to take some pictures and have something to eat. After half and hour we continued and our next stop was at Nyhavn. Nearby there is a building, under which you will go with the bus, that has a number of splendid mosaics on the ceiling. After admiring the mosaics and Nyhavn we hopped on the bus again an hour later to return to the starting point in front of the Palace Hotel. At the hotel we had something to drink and after that we went out to explore the Strøget shopping area, a pedestrian zone. We rummaged around through this area, had something to eat and drink now and then and did some shopping. In a leaflet Hilleke had seen an ad for a Scandinavian restaurant and to end our (Scandinavian) holiday in style we wanted to go there to have dinner. It only turned out to be quite a walk.

When we finally arrived at the restaurant it turned out that we were the first guests. We really had a delicious meal, only the service was rather slow. We arrived at the restaurant at half past six and left at nine. So we arrived in our hotel not before 10 pm. Much later than we had planned. We had planned to pack our luggage this evening and put it already in the car so we can leave tomorrow immediately after breakfast at 7 am. We have a long journey ahead. But now we only managed to pack all our luggage, so tomorrow we have to put it in the car. After we had set the alarm at 6 am we went to bed for the last night of this vacation.

At 6 am the alarm went off and soon after we got up. Arjan came out of bed first, for Hilleke and Ciska it was a bit harder to get out of bed at this early time of day. When we were all dressed we packed all the luggage in the car. The hotel has a, free to use, PC and we used it to check the departure time and frequency of the ferry from Rødby to Puttgarden. It departs every half an hour at a quarter to and a quarter after each hour. Then we again had a delicious breakfast and after we had finished it we left around half past seven. The temperature was a nice 20°C. It was rush hour when we headed for Copenhagen, but it didn't cause us any delay. At a quarter past nine we arrived at the ferry terminal in Rødby. The ferry had just left, so we had to wait for the next one that shortly after that arrived. After all cars drove off of the ferry we were allowed to enter the ferry. And at a quarter to ten sharp we set sail for Germany for a crossing that lasts three quarters of an hour. On the ferry we had something to drink and we spent our last Danish money. After arrival in Germany we headed for the Netherlands. First we had some local roads before arriving at the German A1 and via Hamburg and Bremen we continued to Osnabrück. The more we came south, the warmer it became outside. At a certain moment the thermometer in car indicated 35°C. We are lucky to have an airco in the car else it would have been a warm and sweaty day. Somewhere along the A1 we stopped at a roadside restaurant to have lunch. On the traffic information we were warned for a blocked road near Rheine on the A30. This is the road we need to take from Osnabrück to the Netherlands. And indeed, just before Rheine we ended up in a traffic jam, the first one this holiday. The road indeed was blocked and we had to get off the highway. That went very slow as at the end of the exit there were traffic lights and the police was directing the traffic. An officer directed us to go left, but from there we had to find our own way. There were a lot of other Dutch cars, so we followed them, hoping they knew were to go. Our map mainly has only highways and important secondary roads so it was difficult to know our exact position. At a traffic light Hilleke went to the car in front of us to ask whether they had any idea of our whereabouts. They had been here before and knew how to drive, so we followed them. At a certain moment we arrived at the A31, which was on our map, so we took that highway to go to the A30 again. All in all the diversion had cost us at least 1 to 1½ hour. Just after the border we stopped to take a rest and to change seats. Arjan was driving the last part back to Strijen. We arrived at home around 7 pm. The end of a tiring day and also the end of an unforgettable vacation through three Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In the 30 days of this holiday we had driven almost 7100 km, and apart from a small repair to our car we didn't have any troubles.