The Baltics 26 July - 1 August

July 26 - July 27.   Tallinn, Estonia

We rode 90 km to Kapellskar to catch a ferry to Paldiski, Estonia. Cost $140 for the 8 and a half hour ride. I was so glad that we followed their instructions of arriving at least 2 hours before departure. Our ferry started sailing one hour earlier than the listed time! I have never seen anything like that before. So you will miss the boat if you arrive one hour before departure time! Incredible!!! So Estonia must follow the Russian system where schedule time is only a guide.

The next day was spent visiting the old town.

July 28 – July 29   Riga, Latvia

We had a minor accident. I made a sudden stop at a red light. Alan did not expect it,  and pulled hard on the brakes, and skidded a couple of metres and slammed into my side pannier. He had a dislocated side indicator, and a cracked headlight protector. My side pannier had a cut mark, and was twisted.  I managed to twist it back, and it seems  to be OK for now. I will only know if it will let in water next time I ride  through heavy rain.

Riga also has a nice old town with churches, cathedrals, etc.

July 30 – July 31   Vilnius, Lithuania

The day did not start off too well. Alan left his GPS on his bike over 2 days in Riga, and this had flattened his Lithium Ion battery. So his bike wouldn’t start. We borrowed a jumper lead from the hotel reception, and use my bike’s battery to jump start his bike. Our ride to Vilnius was high speed and trouble free. We checked into the Downtown forest Hostel and Camping which is an interesting place with a bit of hippies atmosphere. They had a 7 pm  free Jazz concert at the back of the hostel. We headed out to the old town for dinner,  and when we got back the  concert had already finished. The next day was spent walking around the old town again. The old town here is not as impressive as those in Tallinn or Riga. Cars are allowed in.

August 1 Riga,Latvia

Sweden July 16 to July 25

July 16 - July 21   Kullavik

Arriving in Gothenburg after a 26 hour flight. It was great to see Niclas. The next few days was spent on fitting new tyres and front rim on motorcycle, meeting up with Anne, Tommy & Marie & family. The rest of time was spent with Niclas chatting, playing golf, watching movies and drinking beer & whiskey.  Unfortunately I also developed a toothache in the plane and had to see a dentist.  Thanks very much Niclas and Kia for storing my bike for a year, and a week of excellent food and comfortable bed!

July 22 - July 23    Malmo

It is time to start the trip. After an easy 3 hour ride, I made it to Malmo. I checked into a high rise Best Western Hotel about 5 km from city centre. It was a new hotel next to Malmo stadium. Cost $80 a night for single room with breakfast. Quite reasonable except the extra $ 25 for parking! I then went into city for sightseeing and had a local Max hamburger for dinner. Next day I went looking for a BMW dealer to order a spare key for my bike. First bike shop was a only a small workshop, so he sent me to another bike shop. Unfortunately the second one was also a workshop and was closed for summer break. I will have to order it in Stockholm.  I then checked into Mercure hotel which is cheaper and has free parking outside. It was great to see Alan arriving around 6 pm. We had a great time drinking beer and eating out in a nice restaurant in town. The grilled whole fish I ordered was delicious!

July 24 - July 25   Stockholm

We decided to take the longer coastal way to Stockholm. It consists of 700 km of riding on a variety of roads ranging from 50 km/hr single lane to 110 km/hr two lane Freeway. We stopped in Kalmar for a quick look around. By the time we arrived in Stockholm at 8 pm, we were quite tired. We booked into a twin room in a hostel with 100% rating. Anyway we were given a room with no window. It was a clean room with good ventilation but I certainly wouldn't give it 100% rating. Next day, I tried to order my spare key again. The first dealer was for BMW cars only. So we went to the second dealer, and the responsible person there  was on holiday - similar excuse as the dealer in Gothenberg! I gave up and left. I might have to order it in Australia or give Estonia dealer a go later. We then go sightseeing around the old town. It started to rain  later in the afternoon, so we headed back to the hostel. Dinner was Swedish pizza and beer - nice.