We couldn't believe our eyes as we woke up: the sky was white from clouds. After an hour of waiting in the car the sky got bright again. It's usually like that in here, but before this morning the clouds have disappeared a lot sooner so that delay made us worry. Anyway, the day was saved and we could go back to plan A.
We went to a supermarket to get some breakfast and went to eat those to the harbour. Arttu said that Alicante is a bt like Monaco. Thats because the harbour is full of big ships. There seems to be lots of rich people in Alicante. Two thirds of the population is from abroad so that tells something about this place.
The beach was quite full as we got there. But it didn't matter. We put on our sun tan lotions and started to worship the sun. We spent about eight hours at the beach and the result was as expected: I managed to burn myself and Arttu did not. Well, I was using quite small SPF as this was our seconde last day in a beach before going to middle Europe. I took a risk and lost. So it goes. After getting enough sun we went to eat at the same tapas restaurant as yesterday. The tapas are just so delicious there. After eating we went for a little walk. We bought postcards and new beach towels.
The rest of the evening went by lying on the beach writing these diaries and waiting for the fireworks to start again. This time we decided to watch the spectacle at the other side of the beach closer to the fireworks. We got to test our new beach towels as we lied down on the sand watching the show. The towels were excellent but they wont ever replace the old one I lost. The smell in that one was so unique... sniff...
Today's fireworks were once again spectacular. It wasn't same as yesterday but now they even had sounds in their rockets. I don't mean the explosion sounds, there were also other sounds after the big booms. It was also amazing to watch those from such a short distance. In Finland that kind of distance would be illegal. Ok, enough of the fireworks.
After the show we left Alicante. Now we were on our way to Valencia. But before Valencia we wanted to stop at Benidorm. Not because of it's reputation, but because we wanted to check if there were showers on the beach. For our surprise there were none in Alicane, and neither in Benidorm. I don't really know when was the last time we used shower with soap:) The side effects don't bother us, but I'm starting to think it bothers others;)
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Day 17 - 27.6.2006
Next on the list was Granada. It was located in the inner land, so no beaches for us:( Granada reminded me of Brussels. The streets were a bit old and dirty and the sights were just about old buildings and stuff like that. So it was a "granny city" as we call those. Not worth to visit before the age of 80 years:) Oh, speaking of grannies. There are lots of grannies who pull you over by handing you some stick and then they read your future from your hand in 30 seconds. One of them said at least that I get a beautiful wife and two children. Suits me:) The rest what she said I couldn't understand. But maybe she put some curse on me because I didn't give her one euro, so she took that stick away from me. Damned tourist harrassing grannies!
In Granada we walked with our flag of Finland attached to my backpack and finally it happened: as I was waiting Arttu this one security guy walked by me and said to me "Finland" and after I answered him he said something about Lordi!!! :) Our first Lordi comment of our trip. We should have that flag with us more often, but we always forget it. Yesterday when we were driving to Malaga we ran into some heavy traffic right outside the city so we pulled over to a Lidl supermarket and bought something to eat and then went for a picnic into this traffic circle. We put our flag on the grass and got few happy reactions from people passing by. But I think rest of the people didn't really like our place of picnic:)
Anyway, after quick sightseeing tour in Granada we left the place. We were in a hurry because we wanted to get to our next destination before Brazil's game would begin. The drive to there took about three and a half hours and once again during hot sunshine. We didn't get there in time so we watched the first half in a restaurant next to our road.
Once we got to Alicante our hopes came true. The beach was right in the city centre and it was perfect! The only problem was that it wasn't just for us, lots of other people had found the beach as well:) The water had not been warmer in any places we had visited so far. It was about seven when we got there so we could not improve our tan. We just relaxed and waited for evening's game: Spain against France. We went to this one bar to watch the game. Once again bars and restaurants had brought their tables and stools outside.
We have been quite disappointed of the way Spanish people follow the world cup. there are no big screens in cities, just those in bars. Well, there's one in Madrid but we weren't going there. Now we had the chance to see how they cheer for their own national team. We didn't have to wait long as the Spaniards scored quite early in the game. They were quite happy, but nothing like football fans in Portugal. For my pleasure, the rest of the goals were made by the French so France won. I like France's team more than Spain's. We watched the game once again with a litre of Sangria as our company. There was no driving for tonight as we wanted to enjoy Alicante's beach for a whole day.
After the game we went to eat at this one tapas bar. Tapas were 1.20 euros each so we took several. After eating we were ready to call it a day, until we saw lots of people going to the beach . We wanted to see what it was all about. We remembered that in our travel guide it read that there was this week long festival going. We just had not seen anything related to it during the day. But once it was midnight a huge fireworks show started. It was nothing I had ever seen. It lasted over half an hour. I thought I had seen all the fireworks but now I saw something new. There were rockets that made pictures like flower and a heart and rockets that went up, came down a bit and went back up again... wow!=) After the show we finally returned to our car and went to sleep.
In Granada we walked with our flag of Finland attached to my backpack and finally it happened: as I was waiting Arttu this one security guy walked by me and said to me "Finland" and after I answered him he said something about Lordi!!! :) Our first Lordi comment of our trip. We should have that flag with us more often, but we always forget it. Yesterday when we were driving to Malaga we ran into some heavy traffic right outside the city so we pulled over to a Lidl supermarket and bought something to eat and then went for a picnic into this traffic circle. We put our flag on the grass and got few happy reactions from people passing by. But I think rest of the people didn't really like our place of picnic:)
Anyway, after quick sightseeing tour in Granada we left the place. We were in a hurry because we wanted to get to our next destination before Brazil's game would begin. The drive to there took about three and a half hours and once again during hot sunshine. We didn't get there in time so we watched the first half in a restaurant next to our road.
Once we got to Alicante our hopes came true. The beach was right in the city centre and it was perfect! The only problem was that it wasn't just for us, lots of other people had found the beach as well:) The water had not been warmer in any places we had visited so far. It was about seven when we got there so we could not improve our tan. We just relaxed and waited for evening's game: Spain against France. We went to this one bar to watch the game. Once again bars and restaurants had brought their tables and stools outside.
We have been quite disappointed of the way Spanish people follow the world cup. there are no big screens in cities, just those in bars. Well, there's one in Madrid but we weren't going there. Now we had the chance to see how they cheer for their own national team. We didn't have to wait long as the Spaniards scored quite early in the game. They were quite happy, but nothing like football fans in Portugal. For my pleasure, the rest of the goals were made by the French so France won. I like France's team more than Spain's. We watched the game once again with a litre of Sangria as our company. There was no driving for tonight as we wanted to enjoy Alicante's beach for a whole day.
After the game we went to eat at this one tapas bar. Tapas were 1.20 euros each so we took several. After eating we were ready to call it a day, until we saw lots of people going to the beach . We wanted to see what it was all about. We remembered that in our travel guide it read that there was this week long festival going. We just had not seen anything related to it during the day. But once it was midnight a huge fireworks show started. It was nothing I had ever seen. It lasted over half an hour. I thought I had seen all the fireworks but now I saw something new. There were rockets that made pictures like flower and a heart and rockets that went up, came down a bit and went back up again... wow!=) After the show we finally returned to our car and went to sleep.
DAY 16 - 26.6.2006
I had once been in Gibraltar so I wasn't really sure should I join Arttu to see all the sights of "the Rock". Finally I decided to just walk across the mountain without seeing the sights I had already seen and it just cost 1 euro that way. The views were nice and so were the monkeys, or actually macaques.
At one point Arttu went to see the rest of the sights and I walked down from the mountain. The main shopping street of Gibraltar was pretty crowded. The majority of tourists were British, as Gibraltar's official currency is the Pound and official language is English. I returned back to Spain to eat cheaper and to wait Arttu. As I waited I decided to go to a beach next to our car. After Arttu returned we headed to our next city.
Because there is not much to see in Gibraltar, we wanted to see another city today. That was Malaga. Unfortunately there was a 2 hour drive and we had to drive daytime. So for two hours we had to sweat in our van. As if that wasn't too bad, our car's air condition started to act weird... well, we don't really have an air condition, it just blows not so cool air inside the car and now it was just blowing it on the windshield. At times it worked normally.
Malaga turned out to be a beautiful city. It didn't have a beach in the city centre, but the walking roads and avenues were pretty and clean. If I will some day come to Costa del Sol, I will definitely make a day trip to Malaga to do all the shopping there.
After long walks in Malaga, we left the city and went to a gas station to sleep. We have slept in gas stations for several days now. I just wonder how many days less will our lives last because of that:)
At one point Arttu went to see the rest of the sights and I walked down from the mountain. The main shopping street of Gibraltar was pretty crowded. The majority of tourists were British, as Gibraltar's official currency is the Pound and official language is English. I returned back to Spain to eat cheaper and to wait Arttu. As I waited I decided to go to a beach next to our car. After Arttu returned we headed to our next city.
Because there is not much to see in Gibraltar, we wanted to see another city today. That was Malaga. Unfortunately there was a 2 hour drive and we had to drive daytime. So for two hours we had to sweat in our van. As if that wasn't too bad, our car's air condition started to act weird... well, we don't really have an air condition, it just blows not so cool air inside the car and now it was just blowing it on the windshield. At times it worked normally.
Malaga turned out to be a beautiful city. It didn't have a beach in the city centre, but the walking roads and avenues were pretty and clean. If I will some day come to Costa del Sol, I will definitely make a day trip to Malaga to do all the shopping there.
After long walks in Malaga, we left the city and went to a gas station to sleep. We have slept in gas stations for several days now. I just wonder how many days less will our lives last because of that:)
Monday, June 26, 2006
DAY 15 - 25.6.2006
Sevilla, famous for olympic games and Expo '92. We got our car in a nice place next to the river. And we also slept quite well even though it was saturday night and the Spaniards are good party people. We didn't get much sleep because we wanted to make sure we got tickets for tonight's bullfighting. So we went hunting for them. There was lots of tickets left so we got our tickets easily for the show at 7.30pm. They cost only 9 euros. Maybe the matadors were not so famous as they were so cheap.
After getting the tickets we realised something. It was Sunday and nothing seemed to be open. We found few places which opened early and ate our breakfast there. After that we continued exploring the city. We went to this castle or palace called Alcazar. There was no entrance fee for students so we decided to go in. It was quite a big place and beautiful as well. We also saw this chuch which had the Guinness world record for being the largest church in world.
We walked around until it was time for the day's first world cup match to start. We watched it in this american bar. England beat Equador... nice. After the game we headed to the bullfight ring.
The seats in the arena were small. Actually they were just numbers on stone steps. As soons as we saw people carrying small pillows we knew it would get rough:) The arena was quite full, only one quarter, the seats straight towards sun, were almost empty. I didn't know that there was this "band" playing horns and stuff. Whenever a new phase in bullfight began they played as a sign. I'm not going to write here everything that happened. I just want to say that as an experience bullfighting was spectacular. It was something so unusual for me. Of course it's a bit cruel but it just shows how different and rich cultures can be. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
After 3 matadors each had killed 2 bulls, the spectacle was over. It was 10.30 when we returned to our car and got back on the road again. Next stop: Gibraltar.
After getting the tickets we realised something. It was Sunday and nothing seemed to be open. We found few places which opened early and ate our breakfast there. After that we continued exploring the city. We went to this castle or palace called Alcazar. There was no entrance fee for students so we decided to go in. It was quite a big place and beautiful as well. We also saw this chuch which had the Guinness world record for being the largest church in world.
We walked around until it was time for the day's first world cup match to start. We watched it in this american bar. England beat Equador... nice. After the game we headed to the bullfight ring.
The seats in the arena were small. Actually they were just numbers on stone steps. As soons as we saw people carrying small pillows we knew it would get rough:) The arena was quite full, only one quarter, the seats straight towards sun, were almost empty. I didn't know that there was this "band" playing horns and stuff. Whenever a new phase in bullfight began they played as a sign. I'm not going to write here everything that happened. I just want to say that as an experience bullfighting was spectacular. It was something so unusual for me. Of course it's a bit cruel but it just shows how different and rich cultures can be. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
After 3 matadors each had killed 2 bulls, the spectacle was over. It was 10.30 when we returned to our car and got back on the road again. Next stop: Gibraltar.
DAY 14 - 24.6.2006
Sad news. We have lost a beloved friend: this morning when we woke up in Faro and were preparing ourselves for the beach, we noticed that my beach towel wasn't there. I had bought it from Thailand and although it was quite cheap, it's sentimental value was priceless! It had been my favourite beach towel and a good friend for two years. And now it was gone. Lying somewhere in Estoril. We will miss you, towelie!
So now we were in Faro. Faro is the capital of the Algarve, the area of South Portugal famous of it's sunny days and beaches. Although it is the capital, it still haves only a population of 55 000. There wasn't a beach at the centre, so we had to go there by bus. It took a while because everyone had the same idea.
After getting few hours of sun we returned to the city centre. One of our plans had been to go play golf in one of Algarve's many golf courses, so we asked tourist office about different options. We ended up choosing a place called Colina Verde, which was on our way to Spain.
After a little struggle we found the place. It was quite empty as it is not tourist season yet. The course consisted of nine holes and the area was very beautiful. It took us about 2 hours to play nine holes. The result was that I beat Arttu, yippee:)
After relaxing games we returned our rented golf sets and prepared to move on. Next stop would be in Sevilla, Spain. So we had to say goodbye to Portugal's cheap ice cream and welcome Spain's cheap gasoline.
So now we were in Faro. Faro is the capital of the Algarve, the area of South Portugal famous of it's sunny days and beaches. Although it is the capital, it still haves only a population of 55 000. There wasn't a beach at the centre, so we had to go there by bus. It took a while because everyone had the same idea.
After getting few hours of sun we returned to the city centre. One of our plans had been to go play golf in one of Algarve's many golf courses, so we asked tourist office about different options. We ended up choosing a place called Colina Verde, which was on our way to Spain.
After a little struggle we found the place. It was quite empty as it is not tourist season yet. The course consisted of nine holes and the area was very beautiful. It took us about 2 hours to play nine holes. The result was that I beat Arttu, yippee:)
After relaxing games we returned our rented golf sets and prepared to move on. Next stop would be in Sevilla, Spain. So we had to say goodbye to Portugal's cheap ice cream and welcome Spain's cheap gasoline.
DAY 13 - 23.6.2006
The schedule for the second day in Estoril was quite simple: Sun as much as possible! After waking up we went to get some breakfast before going to the beach. We took enough food so that we wouldn't have to get out of the sun because of lunchtime
Before driving to South, there was still one place we wanted to see. Our travel guide mentioned a place called Sintra. It is supposed to be an old town near the mountains with beautiful fairy tale castles and green parks. A big favourite among backpackers. So we took the 7pm bus to there. Because the last bus back to town would leave 8.30pm, we didn't see much of that place. What a shame, it really looked nice as far as we saw it. But it mostly was all about taking long walks along the beautiful scenery, and me and Arttu really weren't so interested in romantic walks:)
When we got back to Cascais, we went to buy some food for the evening and went to Estoril to get our car. We had very nice time here, but more adventures were ahead.
Along with cheap ice cream, one other thing was great in Portugal. Portugal has the best radio channels that we have heard so far. Especially during night time. In other countries where we have driven there isn't really good radio stations. I mean both the quality of music and size of stations. We have had to change stations quite often as their signals become weak. There hasn't been good nationwide stations, but in here it's different. Driving during the early hours of the night has been a pleasure, and it still was as we were driving to Algarve. Maybe Arttu doesn't agree as he has had to listen my singing while we drive. But at least one of us is having good time:)
Before driving to South, there was still one place we wanted to see. Our travel guide mentioned a place called Sintra. It is supposed to be an old town near the mountains with beautiful fairy tale castles and green parks. A big favourite among backpackers. So we took the 7pm bus to there. Because the last bus back to town would leave 8.30pm, we didn't see much of that place. What a shame, it really looked nice as far as we saw it. But it mostly was all about taking long walks along the beautiful scenery, and me and Arttu really weren't so interested in romantic walks:)
When we got back to Cascais, we went to buy some food for the evening and went to Estoril to get our car. We had very nice time here, but more adventures were ahead.
Along with cheap ice cream, one other thing was great in Portugal. Portugal has the best radio channels that we have heard so far. Especially during night time. In other countries where we have driven there isn't really good radio stations. I mean both the quality of music and size of stations. We have had to change stations quite often as their signals become weak. There hasn't been good nationwide stations, but in here it's different. Driving during the early hours of the night has been a pleasure, and it still was as we were driving to Algarve. Maybe Arttu doesn't agree as he has had to listen my singing while we drive. But at least one of us is having good time:)
Sunday, June 25, 2006
DAY 12 - 22.6.2006
Damned, we screwed up badly! When you get a ticket as you go to a highway you are supposed to give it back in 12 hours, well, we didn't really know that so it took us almost 13 hours. The result: we had to pay double amount for the highway toll. And it was 65 euros!!! Got damn how it made us pissed off. We're trying to travel as cheap as possible and then this happens. What a great start for the day. We hate those tolls because there are no such things in Finland and it feels very weird to pay for those. And because we're driving a bigger car we belong to the second class which is more expensive.
Anyways, after reading our travel guides, we decided not to go to Lissabon, but to a nearby beach town called Estoril. From there we could go to Lissabon by train quite fast so it felt as a good choice. We had been waiting for to spend a cloudless day in the beach. Estoril was pretty nice, and so was the neighbour town called Cascais. Those were both quite small cities. We parked our car in Casino's parking place. That Casino is said to be the biggest one in Europe and it looked nice. After parking our car we wanted to go straight to the beach!
The beach was great. It was a typical tourist resort. Long beaches with walking avenues and showers behind the beach. And also some tourist shops. We put on our tan lotions and started to burn ourselves.
After getting enough sun and swimming we packed our bags and left to the train station. From the train station it was 30 minute drive to Lissabon city centre. In Lissabon we were in a bit of a hurry because we wanted to catch Brazil's game in Estoril's restaurants. So we explored the city fast. We went to this nice castle to see a nice view over the city. After that we continued walking the narrow streets and small parks before returning to the train station.
Back in Estoril... or actually Cascais we went to this area where there were outdoor restaurants and tvs turned on for the game. The atmosphere was nice as quite many seemed to cheer for Brazil. Luckily Brazil won and made several goals. We watched the whole game while drinking Sangria. Which is GREAT by the way!
After the game there was lots of people celebrating the victory along the streets. We returned to our car next to the Casino. But we were not leaving. We had decided to spend an extra day there because it was just so nice to relax there on those beaches. And because we had been quite fast earlier days we had this one extra day to spend somewhere. I was too tired to go see the Casino, but Arttu went there. It's just a bit frustrating when you can't afford to use your money there:) But at least I could wake up easily tomorrow early for the beach.
Anyways, after reading our travel guides, we decided not to go to Lissabon, but to a nearby beach town called Estoril. From there we could go to Lissabon by train quite fast so it felt as a good choice. We had been waiting for to spend a cloudless day in the beach. Estoril was pretty nice, and so was the neighbour town called Cascais. Those were both quite small cities. We parked our car in Casino's parking place. That Casino is said to be the biggest one in Europe and it looked nice. After parking our car we wanted to go straight to the beach!
The beach was great. It was a typical tourist resort. Long beaches with walking avenues and showers behind the beach. And also some tourist shops. We put on our tan lotions and started to burn ourselves.
After getting enough sun and swimming we packed our bags and left to the train station. From the train station it was 30 minute drive to Lissabon city centre. In Lissabon we were in a bit of a hurry because we wanted to catch Brazil's game in Estoril's restaurants. So we explored the city fast. We went to this nice castle to see a nice view over the city. After that we continued walking the narrow streets and small parks before returning to the train station.
Back in Estoril... or actually Cascais we went to this area where there were outdoor restaurants and tvs turned on for the game. The atmosphere was nice as quite many seemed to cheer for Brazil. Luckily Brazil won and made several goals. We watched the whole game while drinking Sangria. Which is GREAT by the way!
After the game there was lots of people celebrating the victory along the streets. We returned to our car next to the Casino. But we were not leaving. We had decided to spend an extra day there because it was just so nice to relax there on those beaches. And because we had been quite fast earlier days we had this one extra day to spend somewhere. I was too tired to go see the Casino, but Arttu went there. It's just a bit frustrating when you can't afford to use your money there:) But at least I could wake up easily tomorrow early for the beach.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
DAY 11 - 21.6.2006
After early wake up call we headed to the serpentine roads of Peneda-Geres. Next place would be Porto famous of it´s port wine. Because the roads to there weren´t so straight we came to the city at the rush hour. We left our car as soon as we were near the city centre and went to search for some form of public transportation. There was a metro nearby so we didn´t have to walk very far away. The streets in the centre were quite small and went up and down again. Luckily we didn´t try to get further with our car. We read our travel guide and wondered around the centre. For our surprise we found that food... and ice cream is very cheap in Portugal. The local Magnum index was 1.30 euros, which isn´t so good, but better than in last countries.
Porto is not located right next to the beach, but the city has been built next to a river. We crossed that river with a nice looking bridge. The river area is pretty nice with all those houses with orange brick roofs. On the other side of the river there were lots of Port wine shops and their workers kept handing leaflets about wine tasting and boat trips along the river. We didn´t want to do either. Instead, we hanged out at the park next to the river. There was a big screen where they showed world cup games and we noticed that there was Portugal´s game today. So we couldn´t leave anywhere, we just waited while relaxing in the sun.
The atmosphere was great when the game started. Luckily Portugal won so everyone was happy. After the game we returned to the centre. There wasn't many sights in Porto so we went to get our car.
Next stop was going to be Lissabon but we didn't have to hurry there. While we were driving an evening game of World Cup started, so we pulled over to a gas station. It was Argentina against Holland. After the game we were pretty tired so we decided to spend the night there.
Porto is not located right next to the beach, but the city has been built next to a river. We crossed that river with a nice looking bridge. The river area is pretty nice with all those houses with orange brick roofs. On the other side of the river there were lots of Port wine shops and their workers kept handing leaflets about wine tasting and boat trips along the river. We didn´t want to do either. Instead, we hanged out at the park next to the river. There was a big screen where they showed world cup games and we noticed that there was Portugal´s game today. So we couldn´t leave anywhere, we just waited while relaxing in the sun.
The atmosphere was great when the game started. Luckily Portugal won so everyone was happy. After the game we returned to the centre. There wasn't many sights in Porto so we went to get our car.
Next stop was going to be Lissabon but we didn't have to hurry there. While we were driving an evening game of World Cup started, so we pulled over to a gas station. It was Argentina against Holland. After the game we were pretty tired so we decided to spend the night there.
Friday, June 23, 2006
DAY 10 - 20.6.2006
The clouds were still there when we woke up. Because we had made some changes for our route the day before, our schedule for today was mostly driving. Because we didn't have an idea what the roads were going to be, we couldn't make good estimates when we arrive in Portugal. So our plan was to drive straight to Portugal. First place in there was going to be the natural park of Peneda-Geres.
As we kept driving the weather was getting better. Actually we didn't want that because it was much nicer to drive in a bit cooler car. We stopped at one place to eat some lunch. It was quite small gas station and of course no one spoke english. It didn't matter as we succeeded to get some food for our stomaches and some hand waves of what direction we could find a mailbox. The mailbox was in a small town right next to the gas station. It seemed like a ghost town because it wasn't as green as the towns near coast. And we didn't really see many people there.
Anyways, around 6pm we finally crossed Portugal's border. The road went through the mountains so about an hour we had to go up and down the hills. But it didn't matter as the views were spectacular! The national park of Peneda-Geres is located near the north border. We thought we would get there in good time, but once again we were wrong:) We had to ask few times for directions as we kept driving through small villages. In those small villages people didn't really speak english, what a surprise.
After we got on to the right road, we ran into another problem. The road was in very bad condition and the altitude was once again chainging quite much. So our average speed was pretty low. We started to think about how big mistake this was until we made it to this big lake between the mountains. Now we knew what's so special in Peneda-Geres. The scenery was amazing. We had to stop quite often to take a picture. Around 8.30 pm we parked our car near the village of Geres. There was beautiful lakes and rivers so we felt it was a nice place to spend the evening. We walked around the place as long as we still had sunshine. Sun in Portugal comes down around 10 pm so we had to be quick to see as much as possible. The national park was very good for hiking. I wish we could have had time for about a week and just hike around there and sleep outdoors. When the sun set down we went for an evening swim before going to sleep. The water was very bright there and also very clean! We took some pretty night pictures after the swim. It was just so nice to sit back there and watch the scenery in perfect silence. I couldn't avoid of starting to think my girlfriend and how perfect it would be to have her there beside me. Too bad there's just few thousand kilometres between us:( Miss you, Leena!
As we kept driving the weather was getting better. Actually we didn't want that because it was much nicer to drive in a bit cooler car. We stopped at one place to eat some lunch. It was quite small gas station and of course no one spoke english. It didn't matter as we succeeded to get some food for our stomaches and some hand waves of what direction we could find a mailbox. The mailbox was in a small town right next to the gas station. It seemed like a ghost town because it wasn't as green as the towns near coast. And we didn't really see many people there.
Anyways, around 6pm we finally crossed Portugal's border. The road went through the mountains so about an hour we had to go up and down the hills. But it didn't matter as the views were spectacular! The national park of Peneda-Geres is located near the north border. We thought we would get there in good time, but once again we were wrong:) We had to ask few times for directions as we kept driving through small villages. In those small villages people didn't really speak english, what a surprise.
After we got on to the right road, we ran into another problem. The road was in very bad condition and the altitude was once again chainging quite much. So our average speed was pretty low. We started to think about how big mistake this was until we made it to this big lake between the mountains. Now we knew what's so special in Peneda-Geres. The scenery was amazing. We had to stop quite often to take a picture. Around 8.30 pm we parked our car near the village of Geres. There was beautiful lakes and rivers so we felt it was a nice place to spend the evening. We walked around the place as long as we still had sunshine. Sun in Portugal comes down around 10 pm so we had to be quick to see as much as possible. The national park was very good for hiking. I wish we could have had time for about a week and just hike around there and sleep outdoors. When the sun set down we went for an evening swim before going to sleep. The water was very bright there and also very clean! We took some pretty night pictures after the swim. It was just so nice to sit back there and watch the scenery in perfect silence. I couldn't avoid of starting to think my girlfriend and how perfect it would be to have her there beside me. Too bad there's just few thousand kilometres between us:( Miss you, Leena!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
DAY 9 - 19.6.2006
A new week and a new country. This time it's Spain's turn to charm us. I think the whole idea of this fast traveling from city to city is that we see as much as possible and in the future we can easily decide which places are worth to visit again. During our first week few places have left me thinking: "I have to come back here again". Now was San Sebastian's chance to get into that short list.
San Sebastian is quite small beach city not far from France's border. Lots of french people come here although not because of the beach but because tobacco is cheaper in Spain:) France has it's own beaches which we will hopefully see in July.
It didn't take us long to see all the main area of San Sebastian. We walked around the city's streets and ate some tapas, which they call here as Pinxtos or something like that. We also climbed to one of the two little mountains or hills actually. From there you have a nice view over the town and it's white beaches.
After coming down from the hill, we went to the beach to take a little nap. This time it was impossible for us to burn ourselves, because there was thick clouds in the sky. Back in Finland I heard from one international student that Northern Spain is very beautiful, but the weather is very unstable. So it seems.
After saying goodbye to Setsuko, we headed to Bilbao... UNTILL we ran into heavy rain. While waiting for the rain to stop, we decided to reconsider our travel route. We had made our plans in Spain quite quickly. So quickly that we had not noticed what the coast is like. It was quite roughed so the altitude changed constantly. The roads were nothing but turns, so we made a big change for our route plan. We decided to drive to Portugal a bit further away from the coast. We also read our travel guides and decided to skip few places in the north coast.
We decided to drive a bit south behind the mountains in order to avoid rain and coast's wet climate. After getting to a nice place we went to sleep. It gets dark so much sooner here in the south than back in Finland. I miss Finland's nights!!!
San Sebastian is quite small beach city not far from France's border. Lots of french people come here although not because of the beach but because tobacco is cheaper in Spain:) France has it's own beaches which we will hopefully see in July.
It didn't take us long to see all the main area of San Sebastian. We walked around the city's streets and ate some tapas, which they call here as Pinxtos or something like that. We also climbed to one of the two little mountains or hills actually. From there you have a nice view over the town and it's white beaches.
After coming down from the hill, we went to the beach to take a little nap. This time it was impossible for us to burn ourselves, because there was thick clouds in the sky. Back in Finland I heard from one international student that Northern Spain is very beautiful, but the weather is very unstable. So it seems.
After saying goodbye to Setsuko, we headed to Bilbao... UNTILL we ran into heavy rain. While waiting for the rain to stop, we decided to reconsider our travel route. We had made our plans in Spain quite quickly. So quickly that we had not noticed what the coast is like. It was quite roughed so the altitude changed constantly. The roads were nothing but turns, so we made a big change for our route plan. We decided to drive to Portugal a bit further away from the coast. We also read our travel guides and decided to skip few places in the north coast.
We decided to drive a bit south behind the mountains in order to avoid rain and coast's wet climate. After getting to a nice place we went to sleep. It gets dark so much sooner here in the south than back in Finland. I miss Finland's nights!!!
DAY 8 - 18.6.2006
The first night in a car didn´t went so well for our new travel companion:) Well, neither did we get the best possible sleep, but we have gotten used to it. We had slept in a gas station. It was our first night in service station and it was quiter than I thought it would be. We tried to get out of the main road, but once you got out, you had to pay a toll for using the main road. So we didn´t want to pay extra because we weren´t sure how the toll is determined. Anyways, France was the first country where there were tolls on highways. Our travel guide said that you won´t get cheaper traveling with a car than a train unless there´s at least three persons in the car. The tolls were quite expensive. But at least now we had third person with us to share the toll.
Next big city in our list was Bordeaux. Some helpful HC member in Bordeaux had told us that there´s a famous medieval wine town near Bordeaux. That place is called Saint Emilion and it´s one of the biggest wine producers. The same place was also mentioned in our travel guides so we searched it from our roadmap. It seemed to locate before Bordeaux so we decided to visit that place first. It was a bit hard to find the town, but after using my excellent French skills we found it.
Saint Emilion is absolutely charming! It really looked like a medieval town. All the buildings were very old. And the town was surrounded by vineyards as far as could be seen. At the main area, all those vineyards had a little tent where they presented their wines. With 2 euros you could buy a wine glass and walk around those tents tasting wine as much as you wanted. Me and Arttu took it quite easy because we had to drive but our little japanese friend took a bit too much wine for her size;)
We were lucky because this day was the last day when there was a festival. It was some medieval festival and people were dressed according to it and playing funny music. We didn´t stay there to see the whole show because we still wanted to see Bordeaux and two HC members there.
After a short drive we were at Bordeaux city centre. We met Sandra and Louise there and went for an ice cream. Bordeaux is one of the prettiest city we have seen so far. It is quite old and every building there is light brown so it seems like it´s carved from one big stone:) After saying goodbyes to our friends in Bordeaux, we tried to find some place to eat. It was a bit difficult because it was sunday evening. But after a little walk we came to this World Cup area where there were different restaurants offering food while televisions were tuned for the Brazil - Australia game. As I had never eaten japanese food and we had a good expert of japanese cuisine with us, we decided to go to the little japanese outdoor restaurant. Setsuko explained us what each food was made of. I myself ordered one piece of Sushi and Maki and surprise surprise... the same miracle that was in Germany happened again, I loved that food! Well, love is a strong word but it was very good. Thanks to Setsuko, now I have the courage to go to a japanese restaurant in Finland.
After Brazil had beaten Australia, we head to our car and south towards Spain.
Next big city in our list was Bordeaux. Some helpful HC member in Bordeaux had told us that there´s a famous medieval wine town near Bordeaux. That place is called Saint Emilion and it´s one of the biggest wine producers. The same place was also mentioned in our travel guides so we searched it from our roadmap. It seemed to locate before Bordeaux so we decided to visit that place first. It was a bit hard to find the town, but after using my excellent French skills we found it.
Saint Emilion is absolutely charming! It really looked like a medieval town. All the buildings were very old. And the town was surrounded by vineyards as far as could be seen. At the main area, all those vineyards had a little tent where they presented their wines. With 2 euros you could buy a wine glass and walk around those tents tasting wine as much as you wanted. Me and Arttu took it quite easy because we had to drive but our little japanese friend took a bit too much wine for her size;)
We were lucky because this day was the last day when there was a festival. It was some medieval festival and people were dressed according to it and playing funny music. We didn´t stay there to see the whole show because we still wanted to see Bordeaux and two HC members there.
After a short drive we were at Bordeaux city centre. We met Sandra and Louise there and went for an ice cream. Bordeaux is one of the prettiest city we have seen so far. It is quite old and every building there is light brown so it seems like it´s carved from one big stone:) After saying goodbyes to our friends in Bordeaux, we tried to find some place to eat. It was a bit difficult because it was sunday evening. But after a little walk we came to this World Cup area where there were different restaurants offering food while televisions were tuned for the Brazil - Australia game. As I had never eaten japanese food and we had a good expert of japanese cuisine with us, we decided to go to the little japanese outdoor restaurant. Setsuko explained us what each food was made of. I myself ordered one piece of Sushi and Maki and surprise surprise... the same miracle that was in Germany happened again, I loved that food! Well, love is a strong word but it was very good. Thanks to Setsuko, now I have the courage to go to a japanese restaurant in Finland.
After Brazil had beaten Australia, we head to our car and south towards Spain.
Monday, June 19, 2006
DAY 7 - 17.6.2006
We started from where we left: traffic. We came to Paris late on the friday night and suprisingly there was a rush hour. We didn´t know that so many people come to Paris on weekend nights to party. The roads were full, not very badly but quite stuck. We left our car in the safest place we found. Safe in this situation meant a small street with small bars along it. We were already betting when the car gets stolen or broken in.
After leaving our car on it´s own, we headed to the city centre. I had been in Paris 1.5 years ago and from that trip I had a good map which made our search of centre easier. We didn´t take a metro, so we walked. We walked till Rue de Rivoli and looked some lighted sights. We were hoping of catching the flash lights of Eiffel tower and luckily they still showed it at 1am. After that we walked along Champs Elysee. It was weird how lively the place was because of the friday. When we got back to our car we were happy to see that it was still there. Thank you, God:)
In the morning we decided not to pay the parking ticket. Actually it was impossible to do with cash. It reguired some card so we were hopeless. We went to the city centre again with a metro to see all the sights in daylight. First we went to Eiffel tower and at it´s park we ate a breakfast. I went to get some baguettes and croissants from this little shop. My french skills were soon discovered as I greeted this french woman and she started laughing:) As I ordered my breakfast she always corrected me when I said some english word. After a little struggle and humiliation I managed to get our breakfast.
We used this river boat to see France from the river´s point of view. It was nice and after you bought a ticket you could use the same boat all day. So we used that to get to different places like Notre Dame which was on the opposite side than Eiffel. Arttu went to the uppest level of Eiffel tower, but I went only two the second stage where you can go by climbing the stairs and it cost only 3 euros. I had seen the top of Eiffel tower last time I was there.
This Japanese woman, called Setsuko, had contacted us because she wanted to share the ride to San Sebastian or Bordeaux. So at eight we met her at Notre Dame. After meeting her, we continued to our car and left Paris.
After leaving our car on it´s own, we headed to the city centre. I had been in Paris 1.5 years ago and from that trip I had a good map which made our search of centre easier. We didn´t take a metro, so we walked. We walked till Rue de Rivoli and looked some lighted sights. We were hoping of catching the flash lights of Eiffel tower and luckily they still showed it at 1am. After that we walked along Champs Elysee. It was weird how lively the place was because of the friday. When we got back to our car we were happy to see that it was still there. Thank you, God:)
In the morning we decided not to pay the parking ticket. Actually it was impossible to do with cash. It reguired some card so we were hopeless. We went to the city centre again with a metro to see all the sights in daylight. First we went to Eiffel tower and at it´s park we ate a breakfast. I went to get some baguettes and croissants from this little shop. My french skills were soon discovered as I greeted this french woman and she started laughing:) As I ordered my breakfast she always corrected me when I said some english word. After a little struggle and humiliation I managed to get our breakfast.
We used this river boat to see France from the river´s point of view. It was nice and after you bought a ticket you could use the same boat all day. So we used that to get to different places like Notre Dame which was on the opposite side than Eiffel. Arttu went to the uppest level of Eiffel tower, but I went only two the second stage where you can go by climbing the stairs and it cost only 3 euros. I had seen the top of Eiffel tower last time I was there.
This Japanese woman, called Setsuko, had contacted us because she wanted to share the ride to San Sebastian or Bordeaux. So at eight we met her at Notre Dame. After meeting her, we continued to our car and left Paris.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
DAY 6 - 16.6.2006
We managed to screw up our visit to Brussels early. We slept pretty late, so late that when we arrived Brussels, it was in the midle of the morning rush hour. It took a while to get to the city centre but luckily we found a parking place quite fast. We bought a city map from a gas station and asked for directions. We used the metro and got up at the cathedral in the centre. We walked around the centre and saw the sights including that pissing boy, 'manneken pis'.
Our travel books said that when in Belgium, you have to taste waffles and famous Belgium chocolate. The national dish was too expensive, because it included everything like champagne. We skipped also the chocolate Pralines, but the waffles were wonderful.
The day was beautiful. No signs of the clouds we saw in Amsterdam. So after lunch we went to this big park to take a nap. We didn't want to travel in such sunshine. After an hour of sleep we headed back to our car. On the way there we met these two finnish girls. They noticed us because we had bought a flag of Finland from Hamburg, and we kept it on our backpack. Sometimes at crossroads or rushes we also wave that flag from our car. Unfortunately we don't have Lordi's eurovision song on a cassette, so we can't play it loudly at the same time:)
We tried to leave before the rush hours but unfortunately we stayed too long at the park. It was amazing how many people came to work from neighbouring cities. We spent about an hour and a half in the rushes. Not just because of the rush hour but because of bad signs in roads. It was almost impossible to find a right way to Paris. So we made lots of wrong turns.
I can't wait for the rushes in Paris.
Our travel books said that when in Belgium, you have to taste waffles and famous Belgium chocolate. The national dish was too expensive, because it included everything like champagne. We skipped also the chocolate Pralines, but the waffles were wonderful.
The day was beautiful. No signs of the clouds we saw in Amsterdam. So after lunch we went to this big park to take a nap. We didn't want to travel in such sunshine. After an hour of sleep we headed back to our car. On the way there we met these two finnish girls. They noticed us because we had bought a flag of Finland from Hamburg, and we kept it on our backpack. Sometimes at crossroads or rushes we also wave that flag from our car. Unfortunately we don't have Lordi's eurovision song on a cassette, so we can't play it loudly at the same time:)
We tried to leave before the rush hours but unfortunately we stayed too long at the park. It was amazing how many people came to work from neighbouring cities. We spent about an hour and a half in the rushes. Not just because of the rush hour but because of bad signs in roads. It was almost impossible to find a right way to Paris. So we made lots of wrong turns.
I can't wait for the rushes in Paris.
Friday, June 16, 2006
DAY 5 - 15.5.2006
At the land of windmills. Well, actually I saw only one windmill. Maybe there's something wrong with my eyes or they had just disappeared from the roads we were driving. Anyways, what I remember from Dutch scenery is that it's flat everywhere and often it smells a bit weird:) But the roads were in pretty good shape.
Our first impression of the Amsterdam wasn't so good. We had very hard time finding a parking place for our car, because we didn't want to pay too much. We never found a free parking. The smallest amount we saz was two euros for an hour and it continued until midnight. So because of that and driving in the small streets all over the city we were pretty pissed. Oh, and for the first time it rained... damned. No wonder drugs are legal in Amsterdam, after driving around the city in a search for a parking spot you have to get some drugs to release your stress:
Once we got to the city centre our bad feelings disappeared. It was nice to see lots of busy tourists and all those little souvenir shops. And the houses, canals and bridges were also very beautiful. We walked quite long in those beautiful scnenerys. At one point we stopped at the harbour and decided to have a tourist boat trip along the waterways. It was nice as we could just sit back and listen to introductions in english instead of trying to read everything from the Let's Go's and Lonely Planet's books.
As it is obvious, most of the souvenirs related to drugs and the famous red light district. We skipped the drug experimenting because we were leaving the city on the same day. We also had to see the red light district. But we didn't do anything there... honestly;) But it was worth of seeing, even though the day was still bright when we got there.
We left in the evening, said goodbye to Holland and welcomed Belgium.
Our first impression of the Amsterdam wasn't so good. We had very hard time finding a parking place for our car, because we didn't want to pay too much. We never found a free parking. The smallest amount we saz was two euros for an hour and it continued until midnight. So because of that and driving in the small streets all over the city we were pretty pissed. Oh, and for the first time it rained... damned. No wonder drugs are legal in Amsterdam, after driving around the city in a search for a parking spot you have to get some drugs to release your stress:
Once we got to the city centre our bad feelings disappeared. It was nice to see lots of busy tourists and all those little souvenir shops. And the houses, canals and bridges were also very beautiful. We walked quite long in those beautiful scnenerys. At one point we stopped at the harbour and decided to have a tourist boat trip along the waterways. It was nice as we could just sit back and listen to introductions in english instead of trying to read everything from the Let's Go's and Lonely Planet's books.
As it is obvious, most of the souvenirs related to drugs and the famous red light district. We skipped the drug experimenting because we were leaving the city on the same day. We also had to see the red light district. But we didn't do anything there... honestly;) But it was worth of seeing, even though the day was still bright when we got there.
We left in the evening, said goodbye to Holland and welcomed Belgium.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
DAY 4 - 14.6.2006
Hello World Cup!
We left Julesminde and Ieva early on the wednesday morning and headed to Hamburg, Germany. We arrived in Hamburg around noon and after asking for direction we found a perfect parking place for our car near this one lake. We walked from there to the city centre. You could see that the number one topic in Germany at the moment was football. Everywhere you could see something related to football. We saw some national football team leaving Hamburg, when we first pondered why police was stopping every car and making the street empty. At the city centre there was lots of different tents full of different food for the football fans. I tried the famous german sausage Bratwurst there... and suprisingly I liked it. Actually I ate those the whole day:)
After getting to know the centre, we headed to the World Cup Fan Fest. It's a festival area for all those football fans that didn't get tickets to the games. There was a big screen where you could watch a football game and lots of different shops selling fan stuff. There was also lots of free things. For instance we went to paint our faces to show our support to Poland's and Germany's football teams. We watched Spain's game which started at 3pm and then we went to walk around the city before the evening game Germany versus Poland started. When we got to the Fan Fest area in the evening the area was full of people, mostly germans cheering for their team. I got some mean looks from the German fans because I wore those Poland's flags on my cheeks.
We wanted to leave early so that we could still drive while sun was up, so we only watched the first half of the game. Unfortunately Germany didn't score on the first half. We wanted to hear how much noise they'd make. But so far they had made so much noise that we could have imagined how the fans would scream after a goal. We jumped into U-bahn to get to our car. We made some wrong movements and got a bit lost in there:) That's why as we started the trip towards next city, the game was already ended. From the sounds of the car horns, we knew that Germany had won:)
Go Germany!
We left Julesminde and Ieva early on the wednesday morning and headed to Hamburg, Germany. We arrived in Hamburg around noon and after asking for direction we found a perfect parking place for our car near this one lake. We walked from there to the city centre. You could see that the number one topic in Germany at the moment was football. Everywhere you could see something related to football. We saw some national football team leaving Hamburg, when we first pondered why police was stopping every car and making the street empty. At the city centre there was lots of different tents full of different food for the football fans. I tried the famous german sausage Bratwurst there... and suprisingly I liked it. Actually I ate those the whole day:)
After getting to know the centre, we headed to the World Cup Fan Fest. It's a festival area for all those football fans that didn't get tickets to the games. There was a big screen where you could watch a football game and lots of different shops selling fan stuff. There was also lots of free things. For instance we went to paint our faces to show our support to Poland's and Germany's football teams. We watched Spain's game which started at 3pm and then we went to walk around the city before the evening game Germany versus Poland started. When we got to the Fan Fest area in the evening the area was full of people, mostly germans cheering for their team. I got some mean looks from the German fans because I wore those Poland's flags on my cheeks.
We wanted to leave early so that we could still drive while sun was up, so we only watched the first half of the game. Unfortunately Germany didn't score on the first half. We wanted to hear how much noise they'd make. But so far they had made so much noise that we could have imagined how the fans would scream after a goal. We jumped into U-bahn to get to our car. We made some wrong movements and got a bit lost in there:) That's why as we started the trip towards next city, the game was already ended. From the sounds of the car horns, we knew that Germany had won:)
Go Germany!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
DAY 3 - 13.6.2006
On the road again...
We woke up at 8am from the parking area. Our first objective was to find food. 500 meters away we found a Lidl. It didn't open until 9am so we went to nearby gas station to wash our faces from the first not so pleasant sleep at our car. After a satisfying breakfast we headed to Odense.
On our way to Odense we decided to skip it and go straight to Billund, the hometown of Legoland. At billund I decided to go visit Legolandia and Arttu decided to stay outside the gates because he had already seen the place. Legoland was nice. A short trip back to the childhood. We met at our car at 4pm and after a shower in a nearby camping area we headed to the small town of Julesminde. Our old Hospitality Club friend, Ieva, was staying there so we wanted to visit her. Julesminde is located next to the sea so after we got to the school Ieva was staying we went straight to the sea for a swim. The water was not so cold as I expected it to be. At the beach we met the rest of the women Ieva was staying with. They were kind enough to offer us an accommodation for the night and a dinner. After the dinner we made a long walk along the shoreline. This night we didn't have to argue about who gets the better sleeping place in the car because we had two good beds for us. Thanks Ieva and the rest of the group in Julesminde!!!
We woke up at 8am from the parking area. Our first objective was to find food. 500 meters away we found a Lidl. It didn't open until 9am so we went to nearby gas station to wash our faces from the first not so pleasant sleep at our car. After a satisfying breakfast we headed to Odense.
On our way to Odense we decided to skip it and go straight to Billund, the hometown of Legoland. At billund I decided to go visit Legolandia and Arttu decided to stay outside the gates because he had already seen the place. Legoland was nice. A short trip back to the childhood. We met at our car at 4pm and after a shower in a nearby camping area we headed to the small town of Julesminde. Our old Hospitality Club friend, Ieva, was staying there so we wanted to visit her. Julesminde is located next to the sea so after we got to the school Ieva was staying we went straight to the sea for a swim. The water was not so cold as I expected it to be. At the beach we met the rest of the women Ieva was staying with. They were kind enough to offer us an accommodation for the night and a dinner. After the dinner we made a long walk along the shoreline. This night we didn't have to argue about who gets the better sleeping place in the car because we had two good beds for us. Thanks Ieva and the rest of the group in Julesminde!!!
DAY 2 - 12.6.2006
Alarm bell started ringing at 7 Sweden's time. Because we had skipped dinner the earlier day, we wanted to wake up early and go to eat a big breakfast. Nothing beats Stockholm cruise's breakfast. After eating properly it was time to pack our bags and move to the car deck. We had to be there early so that there would be no waiting moving the cars outside. That's why we couldn't watch the ship coming to the shore. But hey, we've been on a cruise many times so it was nothing new to us. For the same reason we planned to skip Stockholm and head directly to Denmark. Sweden welcomed us with a cloudless sky. Too bad because that meant 5 hours of driving in a hot van.
We had to stop at a gas station right after leaving Stockholm. At the gas station we met a Swedish hitch hiker called Elias who was heading to Berlin so we promised to give him a lift to Malmo. We had never given a lift to a hitch hiker, so we were a bit sceptic about the whole thing. But our thoughts were soon to be changed. We had nice conversations with Elias... mostly about ice hockey and Eurovision song contest... GO LORDI!!!
We asked Elias about good swimming places along our way. After driving 2 hours in a hot car we needed a swim. Elias guided us to a little but famous town of Gränna, next to the one of the biggest lakes in Sweden, Vättern. He also wanted to buy us Gränna's famous candy called "Polkkagris". Not bad, not bad at all. In candy store we asked our sales person about nearby beaches and there was one few hundred meters away. We went there to swim, get some sunshine and eat our Polkkagris. We stayed there for about 2 hours and continued our trip. Afterwards we noticed that we had managed to burn ourselves at the beach. Second day of the trip and already our shoulders were burned, way to go!
It took about 3 sweaty hours to Malmo. We decided to skip Malmo and go straight to Copenhagen so that we could see that city before the day changed. We dropped Elias in a nearby store and continued to the big bridge separating Sweden and Denmark. We arrived in Copenhagen about 8pm. We left our car near the city centre and walked the rest of the blocks. Our main goal was to visit the walking road called Stroget. We ate our "lunch" there and walked around. We decided to skip the Tivoli because it cost too much. Instead of that we walked to our car and found ourselves back on the highway after few wrong turns.
The sun had already set when we reached the next big bridge. After the bridge we pulled over to this small village and parked at the parking area of this one hotel. That was going to be our sleeping place for the night.
We had to stop at a gas station right after leaving Stockholm. At the gas station we met a Swedish hitch hiker called Elias who was heading to Berlin so we promised to give him a lift to Malmo. We had never given a lift to a hitch hiker, so we were a bit sceptic about the whole thing. But our thoughts were soon to be changed. We had nice conversations with Elias... mostly about ice hockey and Eurovision song contest... GO LORDI!!!
We asked Elias about good swimming places along our way. After driving 2 hours in a hot car we needed a swim. Elias guided us to a little but famous town of Gränna, next to the one of the biggest lakes in Sweden, Vättern. He also wanted to buy us Gränna's famous candy called "Polkkagris". Not bad, not bad at all. In candy store we asked our sales person about nearby beaches and there was one few hundred meters away. We went there to swim, get some sunshine and eat our Polkkagris. We stayed there for about 2 hours and continued our trip. Afterwards we noticed that we had managed to burn ourselves at the beach. Second day of the trip and already our shoulders were burned, way to go!
It took about 3 sweaty hours to Malmo. We decided to skip Malmo and go straight to Copenhagen so that we could see that city before the day changed. We dropped Elias in a nearby store and continued to the big bridge separating Sweden and Denmark. We arrived in Copenhagen about 8pm. We left our car near the city centre and walked the rest of the blocks. Our main goal was to visit the walking road called Stroget. We ate our "lunch" there and walked around. We decided to skip the Tivoli because it cost too much. Instead of that we walked to our car and found ourselves back on the highway after few wrong turns.
The sun had already set when we reached the next big bridge. After the bridge we pulled over to this small village and parked at the parking area of this one hotel. That was going to be our sleeping place for the night.
DAY 1 - 11.6.2006
Gentlemen, start your engines!
The road trip has started. Around 2pm Finnish time we jumped in our car and headed to the Katajanokka harbour in Helsinki. At first, it seemed we had to hurry in order to catch the ferry on time. We drove about 130km/h to Helsinki. It doesn't sound much but with our car we have to keep our top speed below 100 or the car will use too much gasoline. The distance from Tampere to Helsinki is about 200 km, so it meant that our gasoline price for the route was pretty high.
Helsinki was less crowded as we expected, so we made it to the cruise ship on time. Unfortunately our rushing had caused us to forget to draw money from our bank account, so we had to start our trip without cash. Well, there's no use of euros in Sweden or Denmark so we have to put our faith in our Visa credit card anyways.
Weather was perfect, almost too perfect. It's not so nice traveling in good sunshine. We had brought some food with us to the ship, so we decided to skip the dinner buffet. After doing all the shopping in tax-free shop, we went to the cabin for a quick nap. The earlier night was kind of short because of our farewell party, so we needed a sleep. After naptime we were ready for the dance floor:)
The road trip has started. Around 2pm Finnish time we jumped in our car and headed to the Katajanokka harbour in Helsinki. At first, it seemed we had to hurry in order to catch the ferry on time. We drove about 130km/h to Helsinki. It doesn't sound much but with our car we have to keep our top speed below 100 or the car will use too much gasoline. The distance from Tampere to Helsinki is about 200 km, so it meant that our gasoline price for the route was pretty high.
Helsinki was less crowded as we expected, so we made it to the cruise ship on time. Unfortunately our rushing had caused us to forget to draw money from our bank account, so we had to start our trip without cash. Well, there's no use of euros in Sweden or Denmark so we have to put our faith in our Visa credit card anyways.
Weather was perfect, almost too perfect. It's not so nice traveling in good sunshine. We had brought some food with us to the ship, so we decided to skip the dinner buffet. After doing all the shopping in tax-free shop, we went to the cabin for a quick nap. The earlier night was kind of short because of our farewell party, so we needed a sleep. After naptime we were ready for the dance floor:)
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