Touring Scandinavia

August 2024

Hello dear followers!

Yes, Peter and Marilyn are off on another adventure!  We plan to explore Finland and Sweden over the next seven weeks.  Molly (our MOHO) is loaded to the gills with four seasons worth of clothes – it may be chilly when we get north of the Arctic Circle! 

We relaxed on the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland – it was our lucky day (?night) as we were almost the last to board, but that meant we were third to disembark, and there was a passport control man waiting for us!  .  Brexit rules dictate that we should not bring any meat products, dairy products or plant products into Europe.  Absolutely NO MENTION OR CHECKS of what we had onboard! We would recommend this ferry link – you arrive at 8am, the local supermarkets are already open, you can stock up with delicious Dutch food, and set off on your adventure. 

We had forgotten how much we like The Netherlands  – everywhere – even the industrial estates! – are clean, tidy and beautifully kept.  The roads are good, the traffic (even on a Saturday in high season!) is not heavy, in contrast to the dreadful traffic we had in UK yesterday!  There are frequent service areas on all main roads – clean and well laid out with plenty of parking.  Because there are so many, they don’t seem to get overcrowded.  The open countryside is lush and green with huge dairy herds on every farm.  Beautiful weather has added to our enjoyable journey today – we’ve travelled past Rotterdam to Arnhem, where we stopped to visit a very good Open Air Museum. 

We then turned north past Zwolle and Emmen and have stopped for the night at a favourite campsite (used twice in the past) in Bourtang on the Dutch/German border. 

We continue across Northern Germany tomorrow, to catch a ferry from Travemunde to Helsinki.  Lots more to come  – good to have you back with us.