Saturday, August 9, 2008

Finland to Macedonia

Sorry for the delay in not posting sooner, but I either haven't had proper internet access or have been on the road. So, how goes the next story of pictures.

I was held up in Finland waiting for my rego certificate, which was just as well as I came down with a middle ear infection so wouldn't have been able to travel anyway. My next door neighbor at the cottage was a really nice blond Scandinavian who, along with it's owner(also a very nice blond Scandinavian), went fishing and sunbathing with me.

















Me and the blond Scandinavian suntanning on the rocks. Pity it was a He. His name is Koda. Magic dog















The other blond Scandinavian, Anne', who taught me proper sauna etiquette. She wouldn't sunbathe with me like Koda did.



It was sad leaving the island but time was moving on, so I rode to Helsinki and spent a couple of days there















The market square in Helsinki















I stayed in a hostel in Helsinki and met Nick, an American, who has seen most of the world. Here he is with our bikes. His is the 1st generation GS(1988) and mine is the latest.



















One of the guys staying in the hostel room(who I nicknamed Mr. Smelly for obvious reasons) turned out to be a street busker. I spotted him in town trying to get people to donate him enough money to buy a bar of soap!!































I then went on a ferry across the Baltic Sea to Estonia. This is the ferry and the next is the view of Helsinki as it departed















Whilst in Tallinn, I went to a great music and beer festival with Anne's brother, Peka. It was amazing- more than 100 bands on 10 stages playing every sort of music imaginable



I then went into Lithuania and stayed in Riga















In Riga I saw a Ute that puts all Aussie Utes to shame! It's actually a tram















Another music festival in Riga. This one was with choirs singing traditional music














On the way into Lithuania and I stopped at a tourist attraction called the Hill of Crosses. All sorts of myths circulate about it















I went to Auschwitz/Birkenau which was a sad experience but something everyone should do















Birkenau















Whilst travelling through the Czech Republic, I was befriended by a really big bloke whilst sheltering from a storm. After the storm had finished, he invited me to coffee at his “office”. It turns out that the office is the local Traffic Police Station, and he was the main man. The kindness of people again.















I went back into Southern Germany(Bavaria) and spent a few days with my mate Benny. This is Wurzburg, the biggest town in the area.















Ochsenfurt, where Benny lived with his Dad. It's a really old town















Benny on the day I said cheers. I was sad to go, knowing that I won't see him for a while.















I stopped in Stuttgart and went to the new Mercedes museum. Very impressive















The 1st motorcycle ever made















The 1st ever “Boxer” style engine ever made, but the principle is still the same. For those who don't know, my BMW motorcycle has a “Boxer” engine(horizontally opposed pistons)















Ho hum!! Another beautiful lake in Switzerland.















I rode a few mountain passes through Switzerland. Talk about twisties!! I was a bit dizzy after all those corners. And yes - I rode them!!















The view from the top of another pass - About 2400m above sea level

I didn't spend much time in Austria as it was raining very hard and seemed to have been invaded by American tourists, so rode through to Slovenia.















The Old Town centre in Ljubljana. Very pretty town and great people. It's a really relaxed and casual place















On to Croatia and I followed he coast road to Dubrovnik. Other than the traffic, it was a pleasant ride















The view as I came into Dubrovnik. another nice and relaxed town















The view from outside the Old Town walls in Dubrovnik















I rode into Montenegro then turned inland and rode this great mountain pass.















I rode through Serbia and into Kosovo. I took this clandestine photo(sshh don't tell anyone!!) of a UN vehicle while waiting at a checkpoint. Was stopped many times by both the UN and Kosovo Police. I was quite relieved to get into Macedonia.















One of the better suburbs in Kosovo

I am now in Istanbul, Turkey, sorting out visas for my onward journey. I'll update again when I can.

1 comment:

Cara said...

Hey Kenny, this is ashby and cara. You met us in dharamsala. We were the american couple. anyways we just wanted to tell you that we really enjoyed talking with you. and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your amazing trip! have fun and take care!