W
hat was I think-
ing?!
I had expe-
rienced some
larger trips in
the past, as
a solo rider, but I started doing the
mathematics and came to the reali-
sation that was almost ten years be-
fore on my trans-Siberian expedition!
Upon retrospect, on this journey, I of-
ten asked myself the question. Why?
Especially during the very tough
times; political turmoil, extreme
weather, documents, border cross-
ings, the unknown, and sourcing out
a place for the night and food – all
day, every day.
I started my journey in Heidel-
berg, Germany at Knopf Tours – a
great home base for touring Europe,
complete with a workshop, bed and
breakfast, transportation logistics,
and simply all-round an excellent
place to frequent in Europe.
I am not sure that anyone starts off
at Nordkapp, so the first part was to
get there, the end of furthest naviga-
ble road on the continent of Europe
(71° 10' 21'').
I had to make it there as this seemed
like the holy-grail for all over-landers
and I quite like Scandinavia, as well
as having several friends with whom
I needed to catch up.
I had not been to the Baltic Repub-
lics since they first opened around
1991, where I'd entered just a few
weeks after had opened the require-
ments for entering by motorcycle. It
was a time to revisit.
I rolled out of Heidelberg and then
started with a visit to the following
countries on my trek north; Germa-
ny, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and
Estonia. Poland has the beautiful Ta-
tra Mountains (part of the Carpathi-
an Mountain Chain) in the South,
the capital of Warsaw in the middle,
and the Masurian Lake District (pro-
nounced ‘similar’ to the state of Mis-
souri in the USA), Olstyn being the
capital of this region.
TRAVERSE 63
The roads were very good, peo-
ple friendly, and wonderful riding
without a lot of traffic. Poland offers
some great nature and unique cultur-
al foods. One of my favorite places to
visit is what is called a “Milk Bar” (Bar
Mleczny) serving food in cafeteria
style where most of the food is based
in simple soups, pierogi, and not a lot
of meat.
After Poland, I went directly into
the Baltic Republics, which were very
different to when I went there after
they first opened from communist
control. I decided to stay in the capi-
tal cities of Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius
(which I do not normally do) as they
were easy to ride in, smaller, and
welcoming to motorcycles and ac-
commodation.
Great food, warm hospitality, and
easy to experience some of the local
customs and traditions.
The Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai,
Lithuania was a moving tribute to the
lasting Lithuanian independence. On
September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II
visited the Hill of Crosses, declaring
it a place for hope, peace, love and
sacrifice.
Leaving the Baltics, I took the fer-
ry from Vilnius to Helsinki and then
north through parts of Sweden until
I made it to Norway and then ‘all the
way up’ to Nordkapp.
I am often asked about the weather,
people, and so on. First of all, there
were plenty of reindeer on the open
road and they were crossing at un-
predictable times! Over a cup of cof-
fee, one gentleman in a café told me
about an accident in his village a few
years back – motorcycle versus rein-
deer. They found the riders helmet,
with his head (only) about 300 meters
from the bike. This tidbit of informa-
tion helped me keep the speed down
and to watch the road at 360-degrees
while riding!
As I continued north, the weath-
er was getting cooler and there was
snow at the side of the road – no wor-
ries, I thought, as it was not snowing