My motorcycle journey around the baltic sea
BALTIC SEA 2018
In 2018, I decided to embark on a journey on my own. During recent holidays, I traveled with friends, and we had a great time together. While this kind of traveling was enjoyable, I missed the adventures more. So, I decided to undertake a longer motorcycle trip on my own. I bought my motorcycle in April 2018, quit my job at the end of June, and started my journey a few days later in July. I packed only the essentials (tent, sleeping bag, mattress, gas cooker, clothes, shoes, washing stuff). It was just me, my motorcycle, and the natural beauty of the northern countries.
Why the northern countries? I had never been there, but I had heard only positive things about the people and the beautiful landscapes. The best thing was the option for legal camping with the tent. So, I took the opportunity.
The journey started in Lörrach, where I took the train to Hamburg. It was an overnight train, allowing for comfortable travel and bridging the German highways. From Hamburg, I continued my ride to the top of Denmark, where I crossed the sea with a ferry. I vividly remember the moment I reached the land of Kristiansand in Norway. Everything looked so beautiful and unusual, like a fairytale. It felt as if I had landed on a new continent. Amazing!
To be honest, I had no concrete plan in my bag regarding where to travel or where to stay; I just followed the weather and my instincts. I bought a book about Norway with information about streets, cities, and some nice hiking trails, and had my hiking app on my phone. In the first few days in Norway, I cruised around in the south to explore a bit of the country. Soon, I realized that just cruising around with no specific intention was really boring. So, I had a look in my book and started searching for some streets and hiking spots. Quickly, I found some nice hiking spots in the south, a couple of hours away from Kristiansand, and the weather forecast predicted sunny days. So, I set off on the ride.
My first stop was Kjeragbolten, a well-known place at the Lysefjord. This mountain has a stone block between a rock crevice. You can stand on the stone block, but one step to the wrong side could be your last step on this little planet. It was a bit shaky, but I managed it and got back to my motorcycle alive. The next must-see place was just on the other side of the Lysefjord: the Preikestolen. I took the ferry to cross the fjord. The Preikestolen was an easy hike with an astonishing view over the Lysefjord. It’s worth it, but it is also quite touristy. These two trips were really adventurous, and I found a good way to see the beautiful landscapes both on the ground and in the mountains. This was the beginning of my motorcycle and hiking passion. I fell in love with this combo.
Soon, I headed to my next must-see place in Norway: the Trolltunga. It was a 4-hour drive from Preikestolen. This is an iconic place in Norway, where many people arrive to take the famous picture on this giant-looking stone tongue, with a beautiful landscape in the background. The way to the Trolltunga is not easy (around 6-7 hours), so most people take a tent or just a sleeping bag with them to stay the night. I arrived there in the evening and wanted to have a look at the starting point. I knew Norway is an expensive country, but 45€ for a one-day motorcycle parking ticket was an impressive amount. So, I headed back to the village and considered walking the 7 km to the starting point (the way is really exhausting) or putting my motorcycle somewhere in the forest. I also had no idea where to sleep while it was getting darker. I felt a bit lost and exhausted at this point in the evening. Luckily, I parked my motorcycle in front of a church in the village. Out of nowhere, some old men talked to me and wanted to know what I’m doing here. I told him my circumstances. He offered me to put out my tent behind the church (he was one of the main church members) and gave me some advice about how to park for free at the starting point for the Trolltunga. This was such a strange moment. Out of nowhere, everything changed for a good ending. So, I drove behind this church, put out my tent, and slept a couple of hours. In the early mornings (around 3 am, not getting completely dark at this latitude), I packed my stuff and headed to the parking space where this old man told me. Then I took the 7-hour walk in the early morning, with the intention to go back on the same day. I enjoyed every minute, being alone, hiking this beautiful path, and seeing how the sun rose behind the mountains. This was such a mystical path to the Trolltunga. I took some astonishing photos at the Trolltunga and hiked a new way back to my spot. I was enthusiastic at this point. The way back was harder than I thought. I took everything to get back. In the end, it was a 34 km hike with 1550 meters of rising and falling. Completely done, I headed back to the church and pitched my tent for sleeping. This day had everything.
From Asane, I then headed towards Bergen. There was also a detour to Ikea. It slowly got colder the further north I went. My sleeping bag wasn’t the best, which is why I needed another blanket to sleep on. Afterwards, I finally went to Bergen and the Bryggen district, which is reminiscent of Handel’s time in the past. There was also a market with all the products from the country in countless houses. From fish to whale and elk salami, you can buy everything there. After the city center, we went to the viewpoint in the direction of Floyden, where we stayed for a while. The tent was ultimately pitched next to the sports field.
Departure from Bergen after lunch at the Floyden viewpoint. The destination was Stahlheim, 140 km further away. From there, I hiked to Husmannsplassen Nali. It was a little bit rainy on this day, but the walk was nice.
From Stahlheim, I went to Aurlandsvangen, and from there, the national tourist route Snovegen (Snow Trail) begins, which stretches all the way to Laerdalsori. A very nice road with a motorcycle. And it was incredibly cold. The next stop was Borgund Stave Church, located 30 km east of Laerdalsori. Then I went towards Skjolden or the village of Luster. One of the best bakeries in Norway is represented there, Lustrabui. The bakeries were very tasty. My goal of the day was to get to Jotunheimen. The way there should be via Sognefjellet Street, Øvre Årdal, and Vang. But my motorcycle had something against it. The first problem occurred during a lunch break. The motorcycle didn’t start. I took half the motorcycle apart to check everything. The ignition turned on, but there was no starting impulse. Of course, I only had a few screwdrivers and no measuring device. Luckily, a motorhome parked next to me, and I was able to ask for an electrical measuring device. There was voltage, and the switch also worked. Coincidentally, I took a look under the motorcycle. The side stand switch had come loose and melted due to the heat from the exhaust. This caused the engine not to start. Thank God I found the error and was able to temporarily fix it. Then the journey continued. However, that shouldn’t have been it. Hours later, I found myself standing on the side of the road with a broken clutch cable. That was it for the day, as it was already 9 p.m., and no workshop was open anymore. Two damages in a row. That was unpredictable.
In the morning, I had to drive to the nearby town of Ryfoss without a clutch. With several starting problems, it took some time to complete the route. The workshop was not particularly well-equipped. I didn’t want to order a new clutch cable because it would cost me a couple of days here. So, we had to improvise. Initially, it was a pull from a rear-wheel handbrake of a car. Since it was too thick, the rubber on the outside had to be removed with a knife. But it was too thick for the hose. In the end, we used a thinner clutch cable, and the nipples at the ends were replaced with small screw clamps. With the motto “fingers crossed,” I set off in the direction of Jotunheimen National Park, hoping everything would be fine. When I arrived in the afternoon, I tackled the hiking trail to the Bessegen ridge. I took a few great photos again.
The story went on as I switched between walking on top of the mountains and riding a motorcycle through this scenic landscape on the west coast of Norway. My journey led me to the places Alesund, Andalsness, Kristiansund, Trondheim, Namsos, Vennesund, and Bodo. This route was special because it involved several shipping transports, from land to land. Only a few people did this route, so I was nearly all the time completely alone. It was really calming and satisfying, just walking, riding, and enjoying the quiet and peaceful nature around me. Nothing more was needed at this time. My DIY solution for the clutch did well, but in the middle of Vennesund, the clutch started getting heavier and heavier. I took a look at the clutch handle and saw that the cable was just holding on two strands. So, I went to some tiny Toyota company and asked them for help. I asked if they could order a new clutch cable, but that would take around 2 weeks to arrive. As my time was limited, I decided to do a DIY solution again. Luckily, they had some parts in the garage to fix it temporarily. This solution was better than before, and I took on the ride, hoping it would survive my whole way.
From Bodo, I took another shipping transport to the Lofoten Islands. Many people suggested this island, and I was really amazed and couldn’t imagine that the landscapes are more beautiful than on the normal countryside. The cross with the ferry took about 4 hours, and I arrived at the harbor in Moskenes. I planned some hiking tours to the Herrmannsdalstinden, Kvalvikabucht, Nusfjord, Ballstad, and Reinebringen. The first hiking trip to the Herrmannsdalstinden was a 6-hour tour, and I started the day early. On this trip, I could understand why all people talked about the Lofoten islands. It had everything for a scenic hiking trip. Every second felt like walking in a fairy tale. It was so shocking, and I couldn’t believe my eyes that these landscapes even exist. That was a mind-blowing experience. I moved on to the next hiking trips, and each of them was absolutely a dream for every hiker. One of my favorites was the Reinebringen. This is a typically postcard motif, and it had everything for a nice picture. Beautiful mountains, the sea, and the sunset in the background. It felt like heaven up there, and I went there twice because it was so beautiful, and I was so touched at this peaceful place. This was absolutely the best moment of the trip so far.
I moved on to the north and visited some nice places, beaches, and hiking spots. At the beach near Henningsvaer, I met some young Ukrainian boy Anatoli with his 125ccm3. He was also on a motorcycle trip on his own. This guy was funny; he had packed some prepared meals for every day and calculated it for the whole trip to travel low budget. He mentioned that in Ukraine, they don’t earn that much, and otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to travel. In addition, he had a bottle of alcohol with him to sip every day a bit and keep him healthy. That’s what they do in Ukraine, he told me. We had a great day together and enjoyed the sunset at the beach. It was really cool to see that he took on the ride just with a small motorcycle, some prepared meals, and a low budget. Everything is possible.
My trip continued further to the northern landscapes, getting colder from day to day. I did some hiking spots in the Vesteralen and Andenes. The landscapes were different than on the Lofoten; the mountains were greener and more rawly shaped than on the Lofoten. But still beautiful. I already hit the end of my Norway tour and planned just one more hiking tour on the Senja islands. The only additional thing that I thought about was driving to the Nordkapp. But that was just an idea. The weather was absolutely amazing this time. During my journey, I had literally no day with completely rain. The northern parts marked the days with clouds and rain, making traveling not so fun anymore. Everything was wet and soaked with water, while it’s getting freezing cold in the nights. I started thinking about going back through Sweden and having some nice days there.
But plans changed. I saw a guy with a Swiss plate at a ferry. He had nearly the same motorcycle as I had. His bike was just the off-road version of mine. We didn’t get in contact first, but later we met each other again at the side of a street to take some photos. Originally, I thought he could speak German, but he’s Canadian and a foreigner in Switzerland growing a music school and teaching people to play the violin. His name is Justin. Funny. I asked him for his plans and where he wanted to drive. He wanted to go to the Nordkapp and then do some off-road action at some TET’s (Trans Euro Trails). That sounded interesting, and I had actually no plans anymore. So, I thought about 2 seconds and then I decided to follow him on his journey. “Why not?” I asked myself. I had absolutely no experience in getting off-road with my motorcycle, but I wanted to try. That was the start of a nice adventure with a stranger I just met at the side of the street.
Soon, we moved on and hit the streets to the Nordkapp. It was freezing cold, and it started to rain heavily. We did a couple of kilometers and then searched for some space where we could sleep. We headed to a village and found some rustic place in front of a government building. It was just a simple roof, but it should protect us from the rain. It was late, and we decided to put out the tent there with the intention to wake up early and not interrupt some people in the village. We had some nice meals, prepared on the gas cooker, and soon got to bed. That was a great day. It started with the intention to head back to Germany and ended with meeting a stranger and riding with him to the Nordkapp.
The next days we headed the way to the Nordkapp. It was a classic road trip. Just us, the long way to the north, and our reliable motorcycles. We planned that we reached the Nordkapp in the middle of the night so nobody would be there, and we could take a picture in front of the massive globe. Afterward, we went on the hiking trip to the northernmost point of Europe. Everything was soaked up with water from the past day; it was freezing cold, and we thought it would be an easy walk to the northernmost point. But we did it, and it was a fantastic experience. As we reached the northernmost point of Europe, we celebrated it with a can of beer, and we were happy like a child. That was a memorable moment on the tour.
After the amazing trip to the Nordkapp, we started our off-road tour. This journey started in Norway, went over to Sweden, and ended in Helsinki in Finland. At first, it was a bit shaky on the first kilometers, but as the time went by, I figured it out to drive on bumpy roads. We drove lonely roads in the middle of nowhere. Civilization was many kilometers away, so we were on our own. And as it was too beautiful, the back tire of Justin’s motorcycle caught a nail, and he had a flat tire. We didn’t think that much and started immediately figuring out if we could fix this problem. Luckily, Justin had a bit more tools on his bike than me, and we could move the tire from the wheel. It was not easy because the off-road tires were really stiff. A couple of tries and errors, we managed it. We used a little water lake to see where the tire was pinched. Then we took a fixing set from a bicycle to fix the whole. It was a temporary solution, but it worked out. Later, he had another flat tire on the way back home. But that’s another story.
We managed to fix the tire and moved on the other day. It was a really nice experience to drive off-road, and it was much more fun than driving the normal roads. We had also a little river cross on the way. I nearly dropped my motorcycle in it, but Justin jumped into the water and helped me, pretending the worst-case scenario. That would be the end of the journey, for sure.
As we left the bumpy roads in Norway and Sweden, we continued the trip in Finland, where it went over to gravel roads. This was another terrain, but much easier to handle. Our way went along the Russian border, and there were parts in it without the opportunity to fill up the fuel. We had a little tank for reserve, which we needed to use one time. It was so close that we ran out of fuel. We both were on tank reserve and had a couple of kilometers to drive. With both fingers crossed, we managed it to get to an old fuel station in the middle of nowhere. This time we were really lucky.
The days were long, and we did 400km a day. It was very intentional. One moment not fully concentrated and it can be the last. It was always a risk. We did it nearly without any damage to Helsinki. But a couple of kilometers before, we had a little crash. It was a cross at a street, so we were both slowing down. I thought he would accelerate with his motorcycle to cross, but he slowed down. I did the opposite and didn’t watch carefully. So I drove with my motorcycle into his back tire. He lost the balance and fell in front of the cross. Luckily, everyone around was attentive, and nothing happened. Just some little scratches at the bike and a broken backlight. At this moment, it was too much for me. The restlessness driving all day has left its mark. We slowed down the speed and went to the ferry in Helsinki.
I remembered the moment when we moved into our room in the ferry. We had a room together and we didn’t shower a couple of days and everything was wet and soaked with sweat. It was a smell inside this tiny room, it was breathtaking. In that moment, we both realized it was time to go home. Have a rest, a comfortable bed, and a nice shower and some fresh clothes. The adventure was astonishing with Justin. We had some great weeks together, and we both learned a lot. From meeting as strangers to becoming good friends. The journey had it all. In Tallinn, our ways split, and we moved separately home (Justin had to be back in Switzerland in a short time).
I decided to travel a bit slower back to Germany. I loved the journey so far, but I also felt tired of traveling and started missing the normal surroundings back in the hometown. My way back to my hometown led me through the countries Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Czech Republic. I did some hikes here and there and visited some cities like Warsaw and Prague. Then I took my last trip from Prague to my hometown. A couple of kilometers before I arrived back home, I took a last break and reflected on the last two months.
This journey was the ultimate way to live with just a few essentials. It showed me that it is possible to live with a tent, sleeping bag, mattress, gas cooker, a few clothes, food, and water in my bag. It only needed a few things. I fell in love with this lifestyle because it committed a feeling of freedom and independence, which I won’t miss anymore. I’m happy to have met these amazing people down the road. Without the help of others, it wouldn’t be possible to finish this journey. It was a pleasure to meet each of them, and I’m thankful for their support. I also learned a lot about myself. I got many answers to these questions: How to live completely alone, How to deal with loneliness, How to solve problems by myself, How to manage my own thoughts, How to appreciate the life I have. For sure, there were more questions that are unanswered, but it was a good starting point. Questioning myself and my intentions helped me to get a better understanding of who I am. It was an unbelievable journey, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to make a dream come true. At the beginning, I felt a bit unsafe with my decision to travel alone with a motorcycle, but in the end, I was happy that I took on the ride. “Just start something, and you’ll figure out a way” is a good description of my journey. That motivates me now to always try something new.
