Day 1 - Stockholm, Sweden to Goteborg, Sweden

 

As we left the ferry at about 9:30am there was a slight drizzle that went away about 20 minutes after we arrived and the sun rays started to break through. We were very happy as there is a significant difference between riding in the dry versus riding in the wet. We were also quite lucky as temperatures were low enough that we could keep the raining gear on and not feel hot.

As mentioned before both Paula and I like Stockholm which is the largest Nordic capital. We decided to do about a one hour tour of the city by motorbike and giving Paula opportunity to practice take pictures on the bike. We have found that this picture taking activity has changed totally her approach to riding as a passenger in that before she started doing this she found the riding much more boring and she felt she did not have much to do on the back. In a day that can be as long as 12 hours or even longer you can imagine this is not so much fun. However since she started taking the pictures she feels the ride is much more enjoyable as she is now much more attentive to the environment around her looking for that perfect shot. It has also improved much more our ability to remember the ride as well as prepare blogs and share pictures with everyone. She uses a Panasonic Lumix camera with analog zoom capability and has proven to withstand quite well high winds (normal on the bike as we travel) and has good battery life (although we also keep a spare charged battery just in case). Although it can do more we keep it in 5 megapixel quality as we feel this is a good balance between quality of picture and size of file (which in the evening helps with the download speed). It is important to somehow tie the camera to the person who is taking it. Although Paula has never dropped this one, I have lost a GoPro that unfortunately does not have place to tie anything to. For the trip we also took pictures with a GoPro Hero 2 camera which if you do not have one yet, my recommendation is to go and buy one. You will recognize the GoPro pictures by the ones having a rounding effect to them. This is due to the fisheye lens that the camera has which has the benefit of being able to catch so much more in a picture which is great for this type of picture. The quality of the picture is also very good so you can later on edit and crop picture to focus on one particular part and still do it without dramatically impacting final picture.

 

After doing the Stockholm tour we stopped to put in gas and look for a Swedish flag. We decided to fill up in Sweden rather than in Finland as cost of life in Sweden is lower and so is price of gas. For the flag, when we first started doing these tours we decided that as we would enter a country we would buy a flag of that country and ride always with that flag until we got to a new country. We have also found it useful as we look at picture later in case we forget where picture was taken we will be reminded by the flag. In this trip we collected 9 flags and it felt great at the end of the trip to take a picture of the bike and both of us with the flags, but that is way into the future for now and lets get back to Day 1. Unfortunately we were not able to find Swedish flags In our first stop and it would take us another 2 hours to finally find a flag.

There was not much we were looking to do in the way from Stockholm to Goteborg bit we wanted at least to stop once and have lunch in a special place. We stopped in Norrkoping which is a very nice city by the sea.

We went to tourist information (where we actually found the flag) and as we were inquiring where to have lunch in the city, the lady mentioned that not too far there was a very nice place we should not miss on the way. The place is Berg, Sweden and is in the Gota Canal (which forms a continuous waterway through Sweden from coast to coast). Apart from being a beautiful small town close to water with all particularities of this specific lifestyle, Berg has a socalled lock-staircase consisting of 7 locks ending towards the east in a nice big lake. As this is supposed to be the most popular attraction in the Gota Canal and we were so close we decided to saddle up and visit Berg, Sweden and have lunch there which turned out to be a great idea as the restaurant was right next to the locks, we could sit outside (something we would always look for during our trip), food was good and very good prices.

 

 

After loading up with lunch and coffee (very important throughout the trip to keep the energy and attention level up) we made our way to Goteborg. Remember we said we would not stop on the way, well we broke that rule quite early on and would during trip keep breaking it. The disadvantage is that you arrive at the destination later than expected and have less time to enjoy that specific city. The advantage is the surprise and adventure of doing something unplanned. I do not believe one option is better than the other, they are though very different and based on people you are riding with these decisions should be done with input from all parties involved. In our case with only two to decide we could come to agreement pretty fast. In trips where the number of people is higher it is more difficult and if not well managed can create some issues.

In this case we were very happy we broke the rule and stopped by Granna, Sweden which is on the Vattern Lake. One of the cables, the one that connected the iPhone to the Autocom system used for music broke so this was a good opportunity to fix it. We love to speak to each other and discuss what we are seeing and how we are feeling, about our kids, and anything you can think of, but in a long trip like this there is plenty of time to talk and also to just not talk. In those no talk time we like to hear music which is another very interesting discussion point because the probability one likes a song that the other does not is high. In those cases one always has the option to unplug. We decided we would use my playlist which in general Paula likes but she feels I just have "too many fados". I just do not understand, as the concept of having "too many fados" is impossible for me to grasp. I am extremely happy with the life partner I have as she has infinite patience for some of my likes.

In Granna, Sweden we sat together just in front of a beach having coffee, carrot cake and ice cream. Paula says this is one of the best ice cream she has had and it was not even Italian so it must have been really good. We had the chance of also seeing the ferry leave to the island of Visingso, Sweden. Having now lived in Finland where there is plenty of water around we just love ferries. The waiting for it, getting the bike on it, then parking it and walking to upper decks and see the amazing views and feel the wind and the sun on your face or just sitting inside the restaurant and have a pizza and coffee, seeing people of different nationalities that for a specific amount of time share this mode of transportation is most enjoyable.

 

 

 

We filled up again, got back on the bike and aimed for Goteborg. The riding was fast as there were great highways but it was also combined with good views of water.

 

We arrived in Goteborg still with sun shining, and took the opportunity to do a quick tour of the city. We like to check the city put in our motorbike when we arrive and then decide on a place we will go to later on after dropping all our gear and in some cases park the motorbike for the night.

 

We went to our apartment (we had decided to stay in a bed and breakfast), parked the bike and took our gear up four flight of stairs as lift was not working. Paula started to wonder what type of places/hotels that I had planned. Apartment was good size (1x bedroom, entrance hall, kitchen, family room with another bed (that we did not need)) but not in great condition. In the end it turned out to be the "worst" of all the accommodations we would stay during the trip.

Our apartment had a great characteristic though which was being very central, so for the evening we walked to Kungsportsavenyn, commonly known as just Avenyn "The Avenue", is the main street of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a smaller counterpart of the Champs-Élysées.The sun was still up and the colors were great for pictures so we walked around to take some pictures and make time for dinner.

The choice for dinner was large but as Sweden was playing against France that evening we looked for a place with lots of people, beer and large television sets. We settled for the Hard Rock Cafe and the atmosphere was fantastic. It helped that Sweden won that evening 2-0 and although it made no difference to results for the Swedes leaving with at least one win was important. For dinner I had a great hamburger, one of the best I have ever had. Paula had the chicken salad.

 

On the subject of beer as we travelled on the Nordic we found that Carlsberg has the market cornered and it is interesting how strong they have become. Later on when we arrived in Denmark we learned about the story of Carlsberg, "probably the best lager in the world".

After the game and once celebrations had died down, we walked to our B&B (it is a great thing in these countries how you always feel safe) as we had a breakfast to look for (that was one of the main reasons we had chosen to stay in this B&B) and a full days riding to Copenhagen in Denmark.

 

Click HERE for all the pictures for Day 1.

 

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