This summer I have completed my longest bike trip so far. I have cycled a round trip from Croatia to Nordkapp and back. I crossed 14 countries. It took me 3 and a half months in the end.
I had a time limit of 4 months, so I had to keep the pace. Without a time constraint, I would definitely took more rests along the way and probably spent a month more on this trip, especially in the Norway.
I want to share some of the pictures and experiences from this crazy trip.
I had 13 Warmshowers hosts along the way, who provided me with the hospitality of their homes, company for the evening and allowed me to spend the night super comfortable, much more than any campsite can ever do. It was so fun meeting people from other countries and sharing travel experiences and a real life stories. Some hosts were so fun, I just wanted to stay longer 🙂
Other times I just camped wherever I liked, under the stars and the beaches (or under the roof if it rained). I find it priceless of having a roof over your head (if you can find one) on the rainy night so the next morning you are completely dry, you just pack up and go.
I used a lot of shelters (not just in Lapland) because having a table to sit in the evening and reorganize all my stuff is also priceless to me 🙂
I swam in the seas, rivers, lakes, streams, wells... everywhere 😃
Things I will miss the most from this journey:
- Never ending daylights.
I find this so convenient when cycling and not having to worry in the evening of finding a spot to sleep before it gets dark (which can be a big issue sometimes) and not using the lights on the bike and in the campsite as well.
I got so much used to all that, by the time I was coming back down through Norway and the night kept coming back slowly I realized I will have to adjust back to reality - Never ending sunsets and red skies even in the night.
The best place for me actually was not in the far north where the sun never actually sets but somewhat lower down, where the sun would still set, but you would get these amazing sunsets which would last for hours and then when the sun would finally set, you would get red skies which would also last forever. So the best places to experience this for me were the coast of Latvia and Estonia. I slept on many beaches there with a direct view of a sun setting behind the horizon, often time being the sea.
Vienna, one of those cities with unbelievable cycling infrastructure
