This year (2022), I decided to go on a motorcycle trip at the end of August, in fact, at the turn of the month, for which I would make no plans. The day before I left, I hadn’t even decided on the direction I was going. On the day of departure, the front wheel of my motorcycle was pointing north, so that’s where I was going.

I drove a total of 2500 km to Norway through northern Finland. I spent the first day of the trip on a straight road. Straight and boring. I’ve driven this same stretch of road so often that the journey feels long. The only joy was my motorcycle, which makes even a long journey seem less complicated, even enjoyable.

I spent my first night on this trip with my brother-in-law in Rovaniemi. We had a sauna and talked about things men usually talk about. I went to bed early to make tomorrow’s long day of driving less tiring. In the evening, I still didn’t know where I was going.

By dawn, my brother-in-law had already left for work. I stayed to make breakfast and pack my motorcycle for the ride. I’m in no hurry to go anywhere. I considered my options for the direction of my journey. Whichever way I went, I would have to take the familiar roads. At least, at first. So I decided to head straight north.

After a 10-minute drive from my accommodation, I crossed the Arctic Circle. I only stopped to refuel at this point. I have already lost the charm of crossing the Arctic Circle after so many visits to the north.

I stopped a couple of times on the way for a coffee and a snack. My first longer break was before Ivalo, a northern town in the middle of the Finnish wilderness. Before the town is the tourist resort of Saariselkä and the high peak of Kaunispää. I drove up to the top, where I had a great view of the surrounding wilderness. I looked around and took some photos. Meanwhile, three French cyclists had also reached the summit, heading south. They said they had been on the road for four months, and the northernmost turning point had been Nordkapp.

After talking to the cyclists, I continued north. I refuelled my motorcycle in Inari and helped a Swiss biker tighten the chains on his motorcycle. From Inari, I drove north for about twenty kilometres and turned west towards Karigasniemi. Before reaching the village of Karigasniemi, I stopped on the right side of the road in a large sandy field. I took pictures of the area and took the drone into the air.

After the photo mission, I drove to the hotel I had booked. It was located right in the centre of the village and was of a high standard. The room was clean and quiet, and the breakfast was rich and varied. As the room price was not too high either, I can recommend this place to travellers. In the morning, I headed to the nearby border crossing and drove to Norway. The first 100 km was an unknown road for me, and I had never driven this stretch. The road was in good condition and meandered nicely over the plains. There were sparse settlements along the road and many probable houses of the indigenous people of the north, the Sámi.

https://youtu.be/DKBIjVFAnBU

I came to a road junction and turned right, heading north again. Now I was on a familiar road, and after a while, I passed a coffee shop I knew. I had a coffee and a delicious rhubarb pie with whipped cream. I soon continued my journey, and after a while, I arrived in the big northern city of Alta. This time, however, I didn’t have time to visit the sights of Alta but headed immediately west from the city. After a few kilometres, I saw a sign pointing to the Tirpitz Museum. As I had never been there, I turned off the road and drove into the museum’s courtyard. The museum was small and quiet. Besides me, there was only a receptionist and one guest. I wandered through the exhibition, thinking about that time of World War II here in faraway Norway.

I have found a new destination for my travels; the military history sites. A friend who rides a motorcycle has sort of introduced me to this “hobby”. He has told me many times about places to visit. I have also read related texts on the internet and watched Youtube videos. Many sites are just ruins, but some give you a sense of the events of the time, and of course, the horrors of war.
From the Tirpitz Museum, I continued my journey westwards along a familiar route. It is for this road and the views alongside it that I have driven here many times. I never get used to the spectacle of the fjords and the fells and mountains that rise beside them. I grew up inland, and the sea is a great peaceful sight that I love to look at. The high, steep and sharp mountains, of which Norway is rich, are always a new experience for me.

I stopped a few times along the way to rest from driving and to take photos and videos of what was around. Traffic on the road was mostly local, but I did encounter a few tourist caravans. Judging by the registration number, mainly Norwegians and Finns.

It was around 6 o’clock when I arrived at my chosen place for the night. In the town of Skibotn, there is a campsite right on the fjord, which I had never been to before. I got myself a cabin and moved my stuff from my motorcycle. I changed into more comfortable clothes and settled into the hut. The cabin was small, with only basic equipment, but it was clean and quiet. The wind blowing from the fjord through the open window had cooled the hut, but I turned on the heating, and as the evening wore on, the inside temperature of the hut rose to normal.

I made myself a quick dinner of hydrated food and fresh ingredients I had on hand. I then used the computer to download the photos and videos I had taken during the day from memory cards to my hard drive. This operation always takes at least an hour each evening. By the time I finished these operations, it was time for bed. I wanted to get up in time to photograph the morning of the fjord.

In the morning, I woke up before 6 a.m. After a shower, I made coffee and ate breakfast. After that, I photographed the scenery of the Lyngen Fjord next to the hut with both my camera and drone. It took me about an hour to shoot, during which time the few clouds around the mountains increased, and the morning light disappeared. I packed my things and set off toward the next stage. I turned from the village of Skibotn towards the south and my home country of Finland. After a while, I crossed the border and continued towards the next village. In the village of Kilpisjärvi, there is a great place to eat where I thought I would have an early lunch. But the place wouldn’t open for another hour, so I kept driving and thought I’d stop at the next village.

After driving for two hours, I arrived in a small village on the road. There was a petrol station and a bar in the village, where I bought myself lunch. I then continued driving south. The road ran along the border between Finland and Sweden. After a while, the border river, the Tornionjoki, came up on the right. It is a border river in some places, but not all the way. The river is one of the longest free-flowing rivers in Europe.

I drove for a day, and in the late afternoon, I stopped on the right side of the road to look at the rapids in the river. The spot was marked out from the road, and I could leave my motorcycle in the flat parking area. There was a small path leading off from the site which, 100 metres further on, led to a viewing area right on the river bank. The river roared and gurgled at the rapids, and the sun shone on a cool autumn sky. I took a few photos of the waterfall and walked back to my motorcycle to continue my journey.

Once again, I crossed the Arctic Circle. This time from north to south. At this point, there was only one souvenir shop on the side of the road. It was not as grand as the village of Santa Claus north of Rovaniemi.

After another hour of riding, I arrived at my next overnight destination. It was an area of a few log cabins right next to the river. I had rented half of one of the log cabins and quickly settled in. I performed my evening rituals again; a quick dinner and downloading files from memory cards. The night passed peacefully, and in the morning, not so early, I packed my things and continued driving. Today was the last day of the trip, and I would be home for the evening. I stopped by to photograph another rapid. It was the Kukkolankoski which is a famous tourist attraction and also the longest free-flowing rapids in Europe. Luckily for me, the rapids were being fished with the traditional method of catching fish. I filmed the fishing for a while, stopped for a coffee at a café and continued my way home.

The rest of the journey was a meaningless drive on a very familiar road. I arrived home around 6 pm and drove the motorcycle to the garage. Thus ended another trip. The trip left me with fond memories and gigabytes of photos and videos. I will again produce a video, a vlog, of my trip. This story is just a short note of my trip.