Back to Sweden

We saw an older woman using this scooter. She could walk along behind it using the handlebars like a walker, but when down hill came look out...she stepped on the foot boards and she was gone!

We met a couple, Monica and Uwe from Germany riding a BMW RT 1200, and spent an evening dinner with them. Ken, Monica and Uve were drinking a beer(which I don't like) so Uwe made me a martini...complete with an olive.

Ken takes a Triumpt Exporer for a spin, he likes the power!

A sleigh parked in the front yard of a home in Vannas. They get alot of snow for sleighing, skiing, and dog sleighing...after all we are at 63.4 degree latitude north.

Swedish countryside.

More Swedish countryside.


So we have left Norway and headed back into Sweden, the grass is always greener on the other side of the mountians! We decided to go over to the Baltic Sea where the weather stations said it was going to be much warmer and drier than on the Norwegian west coast, namely Lofoten(an archipelico that everyone says we absolutely have to see in nice weather). We headed northeast 350 km to Umea, a university city that didn't do much for Ken and I so we kept on going until we hit Vannas. Vannas is a much smaller and friendlier town with a nice campground that offered us a kitchen, tv room, wifi, and a pool and sauna all for $17 a night. It doesn't get much better than that!

On the way back across Sweden something seem familiar, and on this Ken and I both agreed, it looked a lot like Canada. Long sections of roads lined with pines and rolling hills like in the far north, only without the wild animals. We have only seen one moose, a family of sandhill cranes and one fox so far on our trip. The moose looked like ours only smaller and lonelier. As we rode out of the forest and into farmland the sights reminded us of the Armstrong area, only with bigger and older farm houses and barns. We thought we were riding in Canada only thing is when we were asked where we where from everyone says we are the first Canadians they have seen travelling here.

Ken purchased new raingear today and I bought another pullover, we just didn't bring enough clothes for cool weather but this latest purchase should guarantee nice weather. While we where at North Bike bike shop one of the salesmen asked Ken if he wanted to take a Truimpt 1215 Explorer for a ride, Ken was all over it! It was an impressive ride with excessive power but when all was said and done the Honda Africa Twin was more suited for us and our trip around the world. Don't worry Heinz we are not going to trade our bike in.

Tomorrow we set out early to cover the 600 km back to Bodo and the Norweigan coast, and if we have time maybe even catch the ferry over to Lofoten, if all goes well. Just for the record the bike is running like a dream and the new camping gear we purchased before we left is great, rain tested and true!