Northern Europe

[Bradzy]

I'm leaving Ireland during August and heading to Scandinavia all the way to Nordkapp then south thru Helsinki and back through Estonia, Poland etc. Ill be on the road for four to five weeks. If anybody is up that neck of the woods during that period or has any recommendations then give me a shout. I'm fairly flexible with the route but would love to hear from some experienced travellers or locals on things you must do !
Cheers
Neil

[1moremile]

Hi Neil,

I am doing exactly that trip with a friend on our 2 Triumph Tiger 800's. We will be starting out from Ijmuiden in the Netherlands on 27th July so we will be about a week ahead of you, aiming to complete about 6000 miles in a day or 2 under 4 weeks. Good luck.

[Bradzy]

I wish I was starting from your location ! A lot of obstacles to be crossed before I get to your neck of the woods ! Thats the problem living on an island in the middle of the Atlantic ! Stay in touch when your on the road as our paths may cross. Enjoy.

[VictorKTM]

My friend Steve and I are departing P&O Hull / Rotterdam 28 July and making our way through Holland Germany and Denmark for the Hirtshals /Stavanger Fjordline on 30 July then heading up to Nordkapp (via Lofoten islands etc) arriving 10th August (ish) and back down through Finland and Sweden for August 21st (ish) out of Kristiansund / Hirtshals.
Weather permitting we are wild camping where possible but using cabins if the weather is poor and/or we need a shower!
If any of this coincides with your route then a few miles together would be fine.
Just back from HU Ireland meeting btw. Were you there?

[1moremile]

Hi VictorKTM - we will be a couple of days in front of you. We depart Newcastle for Ijmuiden, arriving there on the morning of the 27th July. What are you riding - both on KTMs? I will keep a look out for you in my mirrors. If you catch up with two blokes on white Tiger 800 XRT's then say hello. We have the same plan to camp or else to use cabins if the weather is poor.

[VictorKTM]

Still got the KTM 990 but both of us taking Beemers on this trip. Triple black GSA for me and Steve is on a silver RT. Will keep an eye out for your Tigers. Reckon the 1800 mile coastal route stating at Stavanger will take us 9 or 10 days in the saddle so maybe reach Nordkapp around the 9th or 10th August then meander back via Finland and Sweden.

[1moremile]

We are aiming to get up to Nordkapp on 6th August, so it looks like you won't catch us. We are then heading east towards the Russian border then south through Finland to Helsinki and across to Estonia.

Have a great trip! You too Neil.

[Bradzy]

I am riding a Ducati Granturismo, red of course. Hoping to leave Ireland on Monday August 07th. I have a few definite stops like Stockholm,Oslo then west to the Voss area to see some base jumping. After that I head north with no fixed route. Once I do Nordkapp im gonna head south to Helsinki for the weekend of 25/26th. Thats the plan for the first half so Ill be way behind you lads. Enjoy and keep in touch.

[Wildman]

Two of us will be heading in the opposite direction, leaving Helsinki 13th August. Probably give Nordkapp itself a miss, but have two weeks to head up to Lofoten, then down through Norway. Maybe catch you on the road.

[Bradzy]

Nice one Paul. I'll keep an eye out for a post on route. Enjoy

[Bradzy]

Well lads did you make Nordkapp ? One group were due this weekend and Victor I assume your somewhere still in Norway ! I'm heading in the morn and expect to be in the Voss area next weekend all going well. Paul you will be starting the packing soon. Anyway stay in touch and i'm sure we'll cross paths. Cheers
Neil

[1moremile]

We just got home this morning after a great trip. We did just over 5000 miles in 17 days on our Tiger 800's and it all went very well. We met so many bikers along the way that convinced us to change our original plans and so we returned through Sweden / Denmark rather than the longer route of Finland / Baltics / Poland that we had planned. The overwhelming opinion was that the longer route would be extremely boring with flat, straight and boring roads throughout. So we took the Inlandsvargen through Sweden which turned out to be....flat, straight and fairly boring. It was pretty enough, but the scenery didn't change much in about 1400 miles - trees to the left, trees to the right, sky above and straight road in front and behind. Norway was stunning as expected with 1 exception. The Lysebotn, Dalsnibba and Trollstigen roads were great, as were all the fjord roads and the Lofoten islands were lovely, but the exception was the much-promoted Atlantic Highway - what's that all about? Nothing much to see there in my opinion. If I did the trip again, I would come back down through Norway I think. On the whole a great trip and well worth the effort.

[Bradzy]

So I made it back last week. I spent just short of six weeks on the road and did 13,450km, 20 different countries 26 countries in total. I left Ireland intending to go north but after delaying a day due to heavy downpours in U.K. And then riding through heavy rain all the way to Bremen I decided based on the next weeks shite forecast to head south and look for some sun. I had to be in Helsinki in 2 weeks time so I spent the fortnight touring Southern Europe all the way down to Croatia. Did the grossglockner, visited Hitler's summer pad and went to the church of bones in Kutna Hora. Arrived in Finland on august 25th. Made my way up around the coast road and down to Sundsvall. Took a right turn there and headed straight to Trondheim. Agree completely with your assessment of the Atlantic road. Only head there if your passing through. I did go to Hell just for the photo ! I also climbed to Lysebolton for the photo on the rock ! I enjoyed Scandinavia I really enjoyed the fact that everyone spoke English and had some great conversations with the locals. Essential for the lone traveller. Never had any issues with the authorities or on the road. I would recommend the route I took for anybody who wants to extend their travelling experience to the next level beyond France and Austria if you know what I mean. Enjoy.