Ian & Julie’s Slightly Less Big Bike Trip

We left Sophie, Chris and Jimmy in Altendorf after a lovely few days of R&R, which included enjoying their company, a day trip to Lucerne, local sightseeing, eating and much washing of clothes. Sophie seeing us off from her apartment in Altendorf Back on the road, we headed north towards the outlet of Lake Constance. Our first proper day on the road in Switzerland felt great. My bike even felt like it was going faster. It may have been suffering from depression while in Finland. That or FAD - Finnish Affective Disorder - like SAD, but with more trees. Coming back to Switzerland after more than 20 years feels like meeting up with an old friend. It’s all very familiar and we slotted straight back into it - an easy rhythm of getting up, showering, having breakfast, packing up our campsite, getting on the road (or, more accurately, the cycle path) and joining the dots between bakeries, supermarkets and the next campsite. My most common Google searches have now become “bakeries near me”...

Although it’s less than two weeks ago since we arrived in Turku in western Finland, it feels a long time ago. We’ve now left Finland and, rather than head south into the Baltic States, we’ve changed our plans and gone elsewhere. Such is the pleasure of having no fixed plan and plenty of time to facilitate changes. But there’s a story to tell around this… Our night ferry crossing from Stockholm to Turku was a real pleasure - comfortable bed, room to spread out and wander straight from bed to the shower and vice versa. The knock on the door and a crew member coming in to wake us up at 6:30AM (that’s 5:30AM Swedish time) in the morning was a bit a a rude awakening, though. Getting off the boat in the early morning, we cycled along the river into the Turku town centre. Although after 8:00AM, the city still seemed to be asleep. We did manage to find a cafe that provided a two-course breakfast deal (+ filter coffee) which we enjoyed outside in the sun. The rest of the day was spent mooching ...