Do you know how many kilometers from Lappeenranta to Pello, Lappland?

It is 10850 km and takes more than a day !

But it is not the shortest route...

In Finland or Sweden? Where am I?

Did you know that between Finnish Pello and Swedish Pello is the last wild river Torniojoki, from where you really can catch wild salmons.

Rock'n Roll in Heinola "Heinolassa Jyrää"

The place where everyone and everything Rock'n Roll, the Town of Guys' and Dolls'. www.heinola.fi

Heinola is one of the oldest TOWNs in Finland. It got the right to act as a city over 200 years ago from the king of Sweden. Today it is extremely active summer city...

"Heinolassa Jyrää" Rock Festival 7.8.2010. It is only 1 hour and 35 minutes from Lappeenranta. You must go there!

http://www.festarit.org/festari/1442/Heinolassa-Jyrää/2010

http://www.heinola.net/

If you think, you are the hardest Sauna man in the world. You can test it and take part in the World Championship Sauna Games 7.8.2010. The games are not for the soft guys! Temperature will be over +120C. (http://www.saunaheinola.com)

Via Germany to Öland

1237 km German roads behind and now in Roge Denmark. I must follow the words of Seppo Räty and say: "Germany is a ...long country having super motorways." However, after several cups of coffee, I arrived from Putgarden to Rödby Denmark. The boat costs 49euros for a bike and driver. In the boat, I noticed that the "beer rally" between Finland and Estonia is nothing compared with the import from Germany to Denmark. Our monopoly company Alko makes the problem bigger only to support it's own monopoly position in the market!! Do not believe Finnish authorities and Alko Oy tell about our problems.

From booze back to travelling, firstly, I thought to spend couple of days in Denmark but spent only a night in Röge Camping by the see. Röge has a very old city center with nice looking old buildings. I can recommend you to go there and have a cop of coffee with Italian icecream.

In the morning, I woke up 11am and decided to continue my trip directly to Öland. Öland is famous about the luxurious and elegant traditional birthdays of Swedish Queen Victoria. This year, the birthday will be again but without the coming Queen and her husband. Her little sister (the better looking one) will be the host. They told me that Victoria is having her honeymoon with her husband ;-).



Öland has two sides: the sandy part like a desert and the green part of the island. I got hints to drive to the green part, i.e. to the north part of the island. I drove to Borgholm. The village is close to the Castle Solliden which is Victoria's place. I noticed that Öland really is an ecoisland. They have hundreds and hundreds of windmills and they even live in those windmills!

In the Island, you can find number of very good camping areas by the see close to the Village and all over the Island. But I found a B&B place. I noticed three bikes in the garden and a sign "Rum med Frystyk" (300Skr). In the evening, I also found a hostel. They had a Jazz band playing...hhmmm...jazz in the Garden. In Swedish way, children played football and their parents enjoyed elegantly wine listening music.

Finally, in Finland Valpperi with my biker friends Laura and Riku. The journey goes next to Lappland, Pello. There will be organized a big "also for the selected bikers' meeting" in the end of July. Let's see what will happen there???

Via Milano to Alps and Tirol

It has been a quite interesting trip so far and I believe that becomes even more interesting. However, Riviera is amazing and everybody must see and feel it. The athmosphere is totally different compared to other sunny coasts. There is everything for everybody. After it, I thought that I could have a break in Milano but plans changed as they has been changing all the time. It is one of the main things when you are travelling by motorbike. Every evening you check the map and make a new plan for the next day. For example, I have been thinking to visit in Nurnburg Ring. The place, where every biker has to go and feel one of the most famous race tracks. But as I said, the plans might change... never know where to go tomorrow :-).


But now, I will enjoy the Alpes in Austria in Seelfeld. I am in my "regular" B&B house. Last time I was here, I met a man who owns a house in the centre of the Village. We had then a nice chat (over the whole night) as yesterday again. He has been travelling all over the world...by sailing boat around the world, climbed the highest mountain peaks in the world and the most important thing he is also a biker ;-).


And yesterday evening, it was an interesting football game Germany-Spain. They had a large outdoor screen in the village and eveybody where there to watch the game. It was fun, I must say. Lot of Spanish and Germans were there...



If you decide to come to Austria, the place is Seelfeld. From Innsbruck 30km up to the mountains. It is nice place during the summer time as well as in winter time. For the bikers, there is a motorbike shop having a full service, i.e. from new bikes to repairing services.











In the village, you can find an old small chappel. It is a well know seefelder symbol, e.g. in TV they show it always.

to Antibes through Riviera

The next destination of the trip was Riviera and Antibes which is close to Nice. The first night, I spent in Sette. It is about 100km from the Spanish border. The village has two faces. Firstly, it is an old fishermens` village. It has several canals like Venice but full of fishing boats. By those canals, you can find number of nice and good fish restaurants. Second face of the village is the beaches. Village has over 10 km long dunes and beaches around it.

Next day, I continued to Antibes. I drove through the whole Riviera. Roads are very grouded and the speed was very low. But if you a motorbike, no broblems. After Marseille, I had a lunch in Cassis. You must go there. It is the best place in Riviera. But I have to say that it is not a good place for the party people.

In Antibes, we met several friends having a pic nic on the beach. It is typical way to meet friends for local people. Antibes offers you plenty of different activities from lovely beaches to historical fortresses and French Mediterrain cusine. Locals say that Antibes is the most important city in Riviera. I agree with them. Antibes also has one of the oldest still operating light houses in the region.

Matadepera and Barcelona

Deeper and deer into the Spain. I arrived to my friends to Matadepera couple of hours ago. They have a lovely house very close to Barcelona having a view to the mountains. I was straving after the trip and I enjoyed a saled lunch wiht my friends in their garden. After that we had a short walk with their dogs in the forrest. I cannot understand how they (dogs) manage to run so much. I could hardly walk because the temperature. It must be over 35C. Tomorrow, we will go to the center of Barcelona to see all famous places. In the evening, we will have a dinner in the monastery which is quite near to the home.

As you know, the next MotoGP race is in Barcelona during this weekend. When I was driving by the highway to Barcelona, it was like a race circuite. Hundrest of motorbikes were driving like a maniacs among the cars and trucks. Of cource I did not!

The weekend in Barcelona was perfect. On Saturday, I walked around the city and saw this very strange church designed by Gaudi. Ramblas, the Beach, Olympic Park and so many nice places...

We had also local food TAPAS. That was something!! But you must know the places to where the local people goes. We had good quides ;-).

I almost forgot to mention that I was hiking in the mountains close to Barcelona Montserrat with my friends and we met a mountain man. You can see his picture bellow. The mountain climbs up to 1250 meters.

Cadasques Dali´s home

Morjensta, I woke up very early today about 8am or little later. I decided to change the place and drove 20 km to the north. I found a little town or better to say the village of Salvador Dali. In the evening, I will tell more...

Cadaques is a very good destination for all kind of travellers including beach lovers, hikers, divers and art people. The main village Cadaques is a small typical Spanish village having six tiny and nice beaches and number of unofficial lagoons. The water is totally clear. You can see as deep as needed, e.g. they have class bottom boats here to see underwater world.

The peninsula around the village is like a desert and the temperature has been over 35C during the past days and no wind.

Tomorrow, I will go to Barcelona and meet my "Heinola" friends. I have known Jari since school days. He and his wife have been living in Spain many years and before that in Germany. I hope that we will have a nice weekend in Barcelona. If I know him and the days in Heinola, weekend will be...hmmm...nice. And more surprices are coming there. May be. Who knows?

Here you can see Dali´s home and the swimming pool. The pool, must say, was interesting. The shape of it looked like fal...