With Motorcycle to NORDKAPP-Norway
Day-10 : 13 July 2016  Wednesday
from Oulu (Finland)>>>to Inari (Finland) :-Total distance : 566 km

The breakfast at the hotel Cumulus Oulu was very rich. Before having the breakfast, I took my motorbike from the private parking of the hotel and went to the fuel station Neste just  50 meters away at the corner of the hotel. I filled it up and then I parked the bike in front 
of the hotel. 
The weather was looking to be good. No rain and partly cloudy. Also good temperature to ride. I also prepared a couple of sandwiches with cheese and ham and I took an apple for lunch. The distance to Ivalo is more then 500 kms. Today 's route will take long. I plan to stop in Ivalo even I did not do any booking. 
I departed from the hotel at 08:35 and took the North direction to Kemi. There is a good highway in the near circle of Oulu. After 5 kms I had to stop because of the rain. I put on my rain gear at the side of the highway. I was just a little wet. Then I followed the route to Kemi.
Kemi is a small town at the north coast of the Baltic sea where the routes are splitting to the border of Sweden and also to northeast in the direction to Ivalo and Inari.

After Kemi, maybe in 3-5 kms I took the route to the direction Rovaniemi. The sky was changing positively. Riding away from the Baltic Sea, the rain stopped and the sky got clear.

I saw a country road on the right and stopped there at the bus stop in order to take off my rain suite. It is 20-21 degC. Sunny. I hope that it continues like this today.

There are a lot of fuel stations. No need for being concerned about shortage of fuel. My tank is full though. I continue to ride. The roads are good but straight. No curves and no up and downs. It is boring and I felt sleepy. I stopped at the Neste fuel station in Rovaniemi. There were approx. 220 kms left behind. I filled my tank and I sat there at their coffee shop. I ate my sandwich and drank a coffee. There was also one Finnish motor rider with whom we chat a little. He is also heading to Ivalo where his brother is working. 

Around 11:50 I departed. Going further to the North the plantation turned into forest. There are tall birch trees in the surrounding. I met also a few deers on the street and also on the side of the street. I passed the city Sadankyla around 13:07. 

It started to rain again. I stopped at the side of the street wherete there was the entrance for a couple of houses. I put on my rain  gear where there were post boxes of the houses.

Usually there are several houses located at the side of the street but they are behind the trees. They are not visible from the street. Someone can only see their postboxes at the side of the street. The post service is given upto that point.

45 km before Ivalo I stopped to buy fuel at the SEB fuel station. This station is also the reception of the camping area. I asked the price. The lady offered 35.-Euro/night excl. breakfast for the "cabin". Cabin means a kind of small room or bungalow.

I rode further in the direction of Ivalo. I saw the bridge at which there is the Hotel about which Bahri from Oulu (Istanbul Restaurant) had mentioned yesterday. It is well established Hotel with a wide parking area in front of it.  It is just at the junction. Even it is 85.-Euro there was no free room for me. The restaurant in the basement was also looking nice.

Then I asked the lady at the reception to advise me another hotel. But the situation was really bad. Because there are a lot of tourists in the city and the hotels were full. I rode the the Husky Guesthouse. ıt is located far in the country side. ı had to ride about 5-6 kms on the side roads away from the main road.I came to a bad looking guesthouse in the middle of the rural region. It is 75.-Euro for one night. I decided to ride back to Ivalo in order to search further hotels. There is only one last chance. Hotel Ivalo which is located on the road Oulu.

It is a nice looking touristic hotel. Regrettfully, no free room. The lady at the reception suggested to me to ride to Inari and to look at the Hotel Kultahovi there.

The road from Ivalo to Inari is approx. 40 km. The view is very nice and the road conditions are well for riding. After 1/2 an hour I had been in Inari at the Kultahovi Hotel. The hotel is very nice not far from the main road. I made approx. 566 kms today from Oulu to Inari. It was 16:30 when I put my stuff in my room on the first floor. Someone can walk to the town centre in 10 minutes.

This area is well known by the camping and trekking fans. In winter time there is alot of snow in this area. It is part of Lappi. Even it is summer time now, it is cool outside. Something around 18-20 degrees C. 

After 1/2 hour I started to walk to the town centre. Do not imagine a real down town. There are only a few houses at the side of the street. The town is located at the side of a big lake called Inari.

While walking at the bank of the lake I took some pictures.There are a few people around.
I saw a lady in "very pink" jogging style. I asked her where to eat. She suggested Hotelli Inari and advised me to eat trout. I walked to the Hotelli Inari. The reastuarant was looking nice. I sat there at the window and ordered some food.  
First I ordered a salad with deer meat and a GinTonic. 

Salad with deer meat.

Gin and Tonic

Then I continued with the trout.

Grilled trout

The waitress in the restaurant serving me was from Bulgaria. One year ago she came from Bulgaria and speaks good German and english. She was sympathic and funny.

View from my Hotel

After buying some small gifts from a big shop just adjacent to the Hotelli Inari I walked to my Hotel Kultahovi.There is a wide river just at the side of the Hotel. 

It could be also a nice option to visit Inari in winter,too. Snow and cold weather would be giving a romanthic atmosphere. I sat in the restaurant of my Hotel and drank a couple of shots of Finlandia Vodka with wild berries flavor. meanwhile I bought some postcards and wrote to some of my friends including my family. It is nice to get involved with nostalgic behaviours like postcard sending.

It is not getting dark here. I went to sleep to my room around 22:00 o'clock. Tomorrow will be a long day between Finnland and Norway. I will pass over the border and ride to Nordkapp.

With Motorcycle to NORDKAPP-Norway
Day-8 : 11 July 2016  Monday
from Tallinn (Estonia)>>>to Helsinki on the ferry

This morning, at 10:00 o'clock I have to take the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki. I had bought the ticket yesterday on the internet. The ferry departs at 10:00 and I have to be at the port 1/2 hour ahead. I woke up early in the morning and have got my breakfast in the Hotel. After the breakfast I walked in the Old Town and took some pictures. I walked through some of the streets. Yesterday it was Sunday and the streets were crowded. Today is much more better. On the Pikk Street close to the centre there is a fine coffee shop. I sat there and drank a coffee. Later on I walked back to the hotel and I packed my stuff and  checked out from the hotel. The weather was sunny. There was some rain during the night but it is dry in the morning. It was 09:12 when I stopped my bike at the ferry port in the queue. There were some bicyclists and motor bikers at the top. We talked a little bit. 

There was a German family and they were planning  a day trip with their own bicycles in Helsinki.

Waiting for the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki

Our ferry leaving Tallinn Port

The voyage on the ferry takes 2 hours. The weather was very nice and the Baltic sea was very calm. I enjoyed my trip on the sunny deck. I met also an Estonian lady with the name Ülli. She was very nice and friendly. We talked a lot during the voyage. She was on the road to her daughter who has been living in Finland. Ülli was a well educated lady and was giving lectures about body language and consultancy to the companies in Estonia. www.bodylanguageacademy.ee is the address of her company.

I arrived at my Hotel Cumulus Helsinki around 13:25. It was a big city hotel on the Kaisaniemenkatu. The main problem in Helsinki is parking !!! Even for bikes it is not allowed to park outside on the street or in the pavement. I talked with the receptionist and they said that I have to park my bike for 24 hours in the underground parking place. It costs 34.-Euro.

After leaving all my luggage in the lobby I took my bike and looked for parking. 

Almost all underground of Helsinki ( I may exegerate) is a huge cave for cars. There are thousands of park places in the earth. I parked my bike and came back to the hotel. It took something around 1/2 an hour to park my bike and to come back to the hotel.

Around 15:30 I left the hotel in order to walk in Helsinki and to see some heighlights.

First I walked through the big square of the Main Station.

Helsinki Main Station

On the way to the Sibelius Park I stopped in a Sushi restaurant and ate a lot of sushi and similar stuff. It is fixed price restaurant and I paid 15.-Euro plus the beverage. Someone may eat as much as he can for 15.-Euro. After the Sushi restaurant I walked in the direction of the Rock Church ,Temppeliaukion kirkko, Lutheran church in Helsinki, Finland .      

    

Rock Church

"The Temppeliaukion kirkko is a famous church in the heart of Helsinki, it was built out of solid rock in 1969. Natural light enters this cave-church through the skylight in the dome. There is an organ at the church, but there are no bells - the chimes are imitated by loud-speakers. "

After visiting the Rock Church I walked to the Sibelius Park which is only 30 minutes walk from the church. It is a big park at the sea side. Right in front of the Sibelius monument it started to rain. It was not heavy though.

Sibelius Monument

Then I walked down to the sea side and I went the path all along the coast. I walked through a playground and watched te children playing football. Then I took the street Arkadiankatu.Throgh the Mannerheimvaegen I walked down to the Esplanadi.There are a lot of shops and luxury brand shops. In a change office I changed some Euro into 450.-Norwegian Krone. Then I walked to the Halli Square.

With Motorcycle to NORDKAPP-Norway
Day-7 : 10 July 2016  Sunday
from Riga (Latvia)>>>to Tallinn (Estonia) :-Total distance :  312 km

The breakfast was wonderful at the Hotel Avalon. There was a seniors' group of tourists from Germany. They were manouvering very slowly while picking up breakfast items . After a nice and fine breakfast which lasted a little bit longer, I packed all my stuff and took them down to the park. My motorbike was in the closed private parking place in the basement of the hotel. 
I departed around 08:50 from Hotel Avalon in Riga. The weather is grey. There is no rain though. To get rid of the downtown and the streets of the city it took around 20 minutes.
On the outer skirts of Riga on the way to Tallinn it started to rain. 
There are sheded bus stations all along the way at every 2-3 kms. One of them was good to stop. I put on my rain gear. It was something 67 km away from the city Riga. It was approx. 09:45 a.m. 
The route is fully in green forest even it runs along the coast of Riga Bay. I was presuming that I can see blue water on my left hand side but it was not possible to see the sea. On both sides of the road there are tall trees. Sometimes I saw some signs showing marine connections and beach facilities. 
Very seldomly I saw dark braunish water on my left through the trees. The view was not appealing. Riga Bay is part of the Baltic Sea.

Somewhere around 167 kms after my departure I rode into the forest on the left hand side. I wanted to discover the coast. But there was no connection to the beach. So I rode through farmers' houses parallel to the main road. After a while I merged again the main road where I stoped for taking off my rain gear and ate my apple which I hade taken from the breakfast banquet. It was 11:00 o'clock a.m.

The weather was sunny after this point. There was no rain any more. Parnu is the Estonian city far in the Riga Bay. I rode through Parnu heading Tallinn. Approx. 50 kms  to Tallinn I saw dark grey and dark bluish sky above Tallinn. I found a Statoil fuelstation on the left hand side (the place name is Marjamaa) and I stopped there in order to watch the movement of the bad weather. It was 12:16. Most probably there was a heavy storm and rain in Tallinn.

I bought a coffee there and ate my sandwich. Meanwhile, a Finnish couple with their motorbike arrived at the point where I was resting. They were coming from Tallinn and heading Parnu. They explained that the weather is really bad and rainy in Tallinn. So I waited some more time there and we talked. Approx. at 13.06 I departed from the Statoil fuelstation fully equipped with my raingear. 

The storm had passed and there was no rain but the streets were wet. I came to my hotel on the Pikk Street in the Old City. I had arranged the hotel through booking.com.

Great Coastal Gate

Right pink coloured building is my hotel

Holy spirit church

Raekoja Square-Townhall Square

St.Alexander Nevsky Catedral

View over the old town to the East

At the top-Kiriku Street

View over the old town to the North

Park in the Old Town of Tallinn

Somewhere at the Street Laboratooriumi

Entrance to the Old Town:- Great Coastal Gate

In the coffee shop

Townhill Pharmacy on the right

With Motorcycle to NORDKAPP-Norway
Day-9 : 12 July 2016  Tuesday
from Helsinki (Finland)>>>to Oulu (Finland) :-Total distance : 610 km

It was 08:15 when I left the Hotel Cumulus in Helsinki. Breakfast was not included and I decided to have my breakfast on the way to Oulu.It was wet on the streets because of a short rain during the night. There was a clear sky and sunny weather. I am lucky today. I have long way to ride and the weather looks to be fine.

The location of the Hotel Cumulus Helsinki is well. The price w/o breakfast is around 45.-Euro. But the most expensive thing is parking for my bike. In the downtown it is forbidden to leave the bike on the pavement or on the side of the street. Parking is only under the ground. I paid 36.-Euro for 24 hours of parking. It was shocking. I paid the amount to the hotel reception. The Hotel has some kind of agreement with the car park management and someone can pay at the reception. 

I rode in the direction of Lahti. I found a nice place after 55 kms to have breakfast. It was 09:00 when I stopped there. There was open buffet breakfast including sousages, various cheese, salads, varios juices etc. I ate more then enough for the long road and took 2 apples for the road. It was 09.35 when I started to ride. 

Day-9 Route : Helsinki to Oulu

I made another stop after 280 kms from Helsinki. It was a big fuel station. I took off my rain gear and enjoyed the view eating my apples.It was 12 o'clock and the weather was sunny. One guy came closer to me and we started to chat. He was a funny guy and appreciated my long tour. I met also an italian couple here who were also heading Nordkapp as me. We also talked a little bit and they went away.

The road and the surrounding view was wonderful. Green fields and blue-shining lakes were completing the scenery. At 367 kms leaving Helsinki behind me, around 14:00 I stopped at the leg of a bridge in order to rest and to enjoy the view. The name of that place is Lansi-Suomi, Viitasaari. I rode down from the main road and came to the bank of the lake underneath of the bridge. There were two people on a small fishing boat. 

Lake Laensi-Suomi, Viitasaari

455 km away from Helsinki, around 15:00 I saw on my right hand side a nice place decorated with big variety of brass bells.The name of this place is probably Vaskikalle Physalmi. There was also a Neste fuel station. I stopped there for a coffe. The italian couple was also there. We saluted each other and then I sat together with the two motor riders from Finland. They were really surprised when I told them that I am coming from Istanbul and heading Nordkapp. 

We drank coffe with two motor riders from Finland

Painted brass bells everywhere.

Blue bells and rider in red.

It was around 17:30 when I arrived at my Hotel Cumulus Oulu. I had booked the Hotel through booking.com when I was in Helsinki last night. It is 85.50 Euro for one night including breakfast. There was also a free private parking within the hotel building.

Right after putting my stuff in my room I went down to the sauna. The sauna is located in the basement and I relaxed half an hour there before going back to my room. Since I am far in te north, the day is longer and there is no hurry for having day light outside. Just around 20:00 I went out and walked to the down town of Oulu. It is something around 500-600 meters from the hotel. The streets are wide and clean. There are not so many people like I am used to see in Istanbul. 

One of the main streets in Oulu.

I saw a Turkish Restaurant on the street Kauppurienkatu. It looks good and exclusive with a very good location. I decided to dine here on the way back to the hotel.

Turkish Restaurant of Mr. Bahri in Oulu. 

At the end of the street Kauppurienkatu, close to the sea side there is a famous sculpture called "Policeman". It is the characteristics of Oulu  and most of the people are having picture at the side of him.

My blond model and the sculpture Policeman

Policeman and me.

Kauppatori Square and Café Houses.

At the bank of the sea.

I walked over the bridge Pikisaarensilta to the small island. I took some pictures on the island. It was nice sun set lighting around 22:30.

After a while I started to walk in the direction of my hotel. I stopped at the Istanbul Restaurant where I ate delicious Adana Kebap. I recomment to everybody to stop and to eat there Turkish food. The owner and the cook of the Restaurant is Bahri. He had moved during late 80 's from Ankara to Oulu.

Adana kebap of Istanbul Restaurant in Oulu

Bahri Bey and me.

After the dinner, I walked to my Hotel Cumulus. It was still day when I sat down at the lobby outside of the reception and took a drink from the bar of the hotel. After that I moved to my room in order to sleep and rest for tomorrow. Good night !!!