Freedom is Calling - Page 8 of 25 - Blog about following the call of freedom

6777 Kilometers on the Road

EW August 18, 2024

Hej! We traveled almost 4200 miles (6777 kilometers). Big Paul is doing a good job, running reliably like a work mule carrying us places …

Working while traveling

We both have to do a share of online work. As reported earlier, I aquired a local SIM card to cover our needs regarding internet access.

But there is one challenge: Power became a limited resource. Of course, most camp grounds provide electricity.

However, we like to stay in the wild. A power station and solar panels are the only source to run our computers. This setting is more than sufficient for our regular tasks, but cutting video clips is quite another story. It takes time and empties our resources fast. So, there are less videos this time.

Dream cottage

We found it on our meanderings of the back roads.

I still feel the charme of its now faded glory.

You may step right in (and don’t forget to leave your shoes at the entrance as is custom in Sweden) and make yourself comfortable on a cosy bed.

Get a scenic view in a YouTube clip: https://youtu.be/OiXNhYJcO-8

That’s it for now. More to come.

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Encounters of the shyer Kind

GEF August 18, 2024

She made our day! After four weeks touring with Big Paul, we finally caught a glimpse of what most travelers want to see when they go to Scandinavia:

A fully grown, majestic moose.

We were just leaving our hidden place in the forest where we had spent the night, slowly rumbling down a narrow gravel road, when I spotted her and her little one.

They watched us from behind the bushes, their long „donkey ears“ pricked up, frozen stiff.

My partner stepped hard on the brake, but before Big Paul would come to a final halt and I could grab my camera they had vanished like ghosts.

Too bad, I cannot show you the two sweeties. But what the heck – the main thing is that we have seen them. Real wild ones, not those tame ones in the parks that come begging for carrots and apples. These two special beings will definitely stay in our memory.

Swedes make fun of these crazy Germans, who are so fond of mooses. For them, these impressive animals make good meat for the long, dark Northern winters. So, they hunt them a lot.

This is probably the reason why they are so shy, when they sense humans near them.

Actually, they are all over the place. We found a lot of droppings, neatly placed between heather and moss. But other than that – no trace.

Other creatures were easier to catch on camera, although we had to be very quiet and not get too close, as you can see in the following photos.

These are the wonderful gifts, if you stay outdoors in a natural environment, be silent and patient, and just adapt to the energy.

That’s it for now. More to come.

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With Big Paul on the go

EW August 11, 2024

I hope you are not getting bored with all the pictures and little text.

We drove north along the Norwegian border until we entered the region of Lappland.

Two nights at the mercy of its little annoying inhabitants made us decide to turn south again. See also a little video clip on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WMrsYkPmPKg

Yes, sure, we were protected by mosquito screens inside Big Paul. Leaving the safety of the car was the ultimate challenge.

So, we fled southeast until we reached the Baltic Sea.

From here we decided to go inland again where we expected to encounter a lot less tourists.

The following pictures show you some impressions we got on our way.

Cloudy skies at the seaside

And for sure you will find new video clips on YouTube:

Breakfast while the cock crows: https://youtu.be/is4SCZVXlNw
Swimming in a lake in Lappland: https://youtu.be/u022HDCjc6Y
Walking on red rocks to see the Baltic Sea: https://youtu.be/Bi3rvIC_kR0
An eagle visiting: https://youtu.be/2nCGYBm6AY8
A stormy morning at the lake: https://youtu.be/BjPa9M_KK3Q

That’s it for now. More to come.

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And suddenly the Police stopped us

GEF August 11, 2024

Was it Big Paul’s conspicuous color? Or the cocky u-turn we made?

In search of a supermarket to buy groceries we followed our navigational system and abruptly changed the direction. Just to find out that a police car behind us did exactly the same, coming up and flashing their lights.

We stopped and eagerly waited to see what would happen.

Surprise, surprise ...

A handsome young policeman turned up and gave us a friendly smile. He seemed a little puzzeled. Whoever he had thought would drive a strange vehicle like Big Paul, it was definitely not an elderly couple in leisure gear like us.

The policeman checked my partner’s drivers license. „Are you on holiday?“ he asked. We nodded. „Staying here?“ We told him we were just traveling through and actually looking for the next ICA supermarket.

„What did I do wrong?“ my partner asked. „Nothing“, the policeman replied and had a short conversation in Swedish with his colleague. For sure, we were curious, but unfortunately didn’t understand a single word.

„Routine control“, he then added and came up with another challenge. Would my partner agree to take an alcohol test?

Boring, boring ...

Since we had enjoyed our last beer with our friends on the coast about a week earlier, of course we didn’t have any objections. My partner blew into the test tube and the result, again, might have been a little disappointing for the policeman. Not the slightest hue of alcohol …

„Negative“, the policeman stated.

I was cheeky enough to ask him whether I could take a photo of the scene. „You can do whatever you like“, he smiled. And I did.

Well, Sweden is known for being one of the best democracies in the world. And for friendliness, helpfulness and patience.

Our nice policeman made it easy for us and gave us directions to the next big mall in the area, where we would find our supermarket and he wished us a good time.

Getting a peek of Lappland

We hadn’t planned it, but heading further north the next day, we crossed the boundary to Lappland. This region is shared by Norway, Sweden und Finland and is the home of the Sami people who migrate with the reindeer.

The landscape reminded us of Eastern Canada. Rolling hills covered with pine trees, birches and spruce, lichen and moss. A lot of little lakes and bogs. Some small scattered villages and very few individual farmsteds.

The weather had a Scottish note to it. As they say in the Highlands: If you don’t like our weather, wait five minutes.

So, nature surprised us again and again with amazing views. Have you ever seen a rainbow painting the forest?

We loved to take a swim in the morning. I would have never thought that I – a convinced lover of hot showers (and I mean hot!) – could get used to water temperatures around 14 degrees Celsius (about 57 degrees Fahrenheit).

See our video: https://youtu.be/u022HDCjc6Y

The real challenge

On the road there were warning signs: Moose crossing, reindeer crossing and a lot of advertisings hyping the big brown bear.

We didn’t see any of these.

What we met a lot of though were the really challenging creatures: bugs of any kind and size.

Whenever we settled at a quiet place to spend the night, they sniffed us out immediately and landed on Big Paul’s warm and cozy windshield and hood.

Apart from the well known gadflies, mosquitos and midgets we got pursued by flying ants – it was their mating season and they must have taken Paul’s attractive yellow color for an entree to their queen.

Watch them buzzing around on my short video: https://youtu.be/WMrsYkPmPKg

Thanks to our flexible mosquito screens and effective flyswatter we still had very relaxed and undisturbed nights.

That’s it for now. More to come.

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