One of the most difficult things for us to believe when we crossed the Estonian-Latvian border was that we’d only cycled a total of about 300km in Estonia. Compared to Australia, the Baltic States are tiny. That being said it was late afternoon and still about 120 km to Riga, so we would need two stops along the way. Handy...
In Estonia, it’s legal to ride on the road or the footpath. It’s not necessary to wear a helmet in either circumstance – Exiting Tallinn we chose the footpath as the traffic was thick and the road quite narrow. Becoming a hood ornament on a Scania just isn’t part of our plans! I’ve gotta say, though, I hate riding on...
We were very excited to be heading to our first new country on this trip. Both of us were really looking forward to the Baltic States. No-one we’d talked to had a bad word to say about them, and Tallinn, Estonia was high on the list of everyone’s favourites. We loved Finland but it was definitely time to move on....
I’m digressing a bit from the sequence of the trip to highlight a powerful lesson in hospitality. Mother Nature has continued her challenging ways and the actions of one small guesthouse, in the middle of rural Latvia, turned a grumpy, potential complainant into one of their biggest fans. The Build Up… I’ll start the day before to give you a...
We were finally reminded what sunshine looks like on our arrival in Helsinki. It was only fleeting, but its warmth helped justify our decision to get on a train in Kokkola and leave behind the coldest Finnish summer since 1987. Three weeks later and we are still getting reports of daytime maximums of just 17 degrees C. The train tickets...
Even after 2 weeks of challenging our intestinal fortitude, the weather in Finland wasn’t done with us yet. On the day we were ready to ride out of Rovaniemi, the weather gods let us know just who was in charge of this trip. When we got up at 7am it was literally raining sideways. Accuweather was telling us it was...
The weather has been cold wet and windy interspersed with bright, sunny clear spots. That was what we’d expected. That was why we’d bought a whole heap of new warm and dry clothes. It wasn’t til the locals started passing comment on how unusually cold and wet it was that we realised we were cycling in unusually challenging conditions. Anyway,...
We’re back and rolling! It seems such a long time since I posted on this blog. A year in Ho Chi Minh City certainly consumed most of our energies and attention. But, thankfully, we’re on the road again. This time our adventures will see us Bicycle Touring in Lapland then down through Europe. We’re starting 500 kms above the Arctic Circle in the...
A lot of people are puzzled as to why two middle-aged, overweight backpackers would suddenly decide it’s a good idea to lay down their backpacks and take up long distance bicycle touring. I have to admit, I still sometimes ask myself that question, especially when I’m cycling up a hill into the wind. But trading our backpacks for panniers and...
For long term travellers, life is not just one big adventure story. For us, at least, it’s a series of smaller (but still long I guess) chapters we combine end to end. Sometimes we split them up with a return to home base in Australia. Others, like our recent Trans-Asia then Trans Africa stint simply transitioned as we went. But...
A lesson in hospitality. Turning things around
23 Jul, 2015
