Ruisrock

Ruisrock is a festival in Turku. I have heard of it, when I was in Oulu and I thought, this might fit into my schedule. So I went there.

So far so good, I visited a festival like so many others.

But...

...this is not it.

Ruisrock is 41 years old and herewith the oldest festival in Europe!!!

Ruisrock is held on Ruissalo, a natural park and the scenery is just fabulous!

There even is a stage right at the beach and you can see the big ferries heading to Sweden passing by.

Because flora and fauna should be protected, the campsite is far away from the festival area, and from the bus stop it is also a two km walk to the area. You can't imagine how some people walk that march - one could call it. You can see people carrying huge speakers on their backs, today you could just as well have a pocket speaker playing as well, but I guess it is mainly to show off. So you can walk with the crowd along the shore hearing some music and of course nipping a bear.

Because...

...It is forbidden to take any alcohol into the festival area. And everybody says, alcohol is very expensive to buy there. I thought, it is just the same as buying  a drink in any restaurant or bar. So, what people do, they smuggle their bottles into the area, and also they sit in front of the entrance, drinking some boiled beer or cider, just to get rid of it and to get some alcohol. So this is what I experienced at Ruistock, it is all about smuggling and getting drunk before they would even go to the festival. And they have the wildest ideas of how to smuggle their stuff. I will not list it here, but if you need to smuggle some vodka one they, you can drop me a line, I have gained many more ideas then just putting it near your balls or between your tilts.

What was also very funny to me, was the - I like to call it 'grown up areas' - they have special secured places, where they sell alcohol and you are not allowed to take your drink out of these areas. So I was the only one watching a concert with a beer in my hand, since I also know how to smuggle ;)

Comments

I found out, I could ease commenting - Thank you Tu!

So next time I log in, I hope to find many comments ;)

Finland

Let me tell you one thing valued reader, Finland knows how to treat the son of a sundaychild (that I am) ;)
Ever since I entered this country, I have had great weather with just a few drops of rain every now and then.

- when talking of valued readers, also your comments are welcome. -

I enter this beautiful country in the very North and take the roads through Lapland first.
I meet a gold digger in Sukkola and learn my first Finish words.

There are rain dears all over.

I visit the Santa Town in Rovaniemi. I don't go to say hello to the old guy, but Nightwish did.

I have a great time in Oulu, tasting rain dear tongue and watching the Zoo Fighters playing Foo Fighters. Also here I see (for the first time), that it is very true, that fins enjoy the short summer they have partying all night.
Finland is called the country of the thousand lakes (actually they have almost 200'000, but that's mere detail). So I head to the east and see the beauty of the landscape they have here. I indeed also meet some mosquitoes.

Heading south, I have good times and parties here and there. I enjoy the Finish Beer (mainly Karhu, since this is the bear beer and should actually be brewed in Bern) and meet a lot of great people everywhere, some of them are a little drunk, but most are OK;).

 They have 1Liter Cans

The roads

Lakes

 Route 66 ;)

Wodden church in Kristinestad

And wodden houses

in Helsinki they have a Pub Tram

Camping at the Baltic Sea near the Russian border

In Turku I visit Ruisrock, but this is worth a separate post.

After spending some time in Helsinki, I head to Russia.

Norway II, The Northcape

Still having loads of rain, I decided to skip the Lofoten and Tromso.

This is the first trip I have actually reached my destination - if there is such a thing on my trips, because usually it is all about the way and the road.

But on 24. 06. 2011 after almost 6.5 Megamiles, I reach the Northcape.

For a long time the only sunny day I have spent at the Northcape, taking the picture everyone takes.

Now I am just dreaming about the Bahamas and planning to head south, desperately hoping for some better and warmer weather.

I guess we will see what the future brings...

Sweden II

Sorry Folks, not much to tell. I saw a few trees and had lots of rain...

Norway I

As I already told you, I headed from Stockholm to Oslo directly. Oslo is quite a rocking city, definitively worth a city trip as well. I stood there for two days and had good fun...

The library of Last Train

North of Oslo the best spots were unreachable because of floods. So I had to take a little detour to reach Ålesund.

A Kajakers emotions...

Riding over the mountains, I got into terrible rains and this is where I interpreted Leona Lewis' song Run a little more literally

Light up, light up
Pretend the rain could stop
Of all the beauty here surrounding me
I can hardly see a thing!

I know this is not perfect, but what do you want, I am a coder, my lines don't need to rime.
And imagine yourself on some mountain road, above your head only black clouds, rain poring worse than under the shower, 10 degrees and winds of 120 km/h (100 produced through speed and 20 wind)
And then, all of a sudden, you can see whiter clouds far in front of you. I tell you one thing, now you can let out your emotions, you would convince every Dieter in this world:

BRIGHTER, BRIGHTER!
And let me see the sun
...

This song would be following me along the road and I'd be desperately longing for some sunshine very often.


The next day I was heading back a part of the same road and it was partly sunny. And yes, it WAS a beautiful landscape.
On the ferry crossing the Moldefjord, I met Rolf with his Road King. He took me along the Atlantic Road and invited me for a drink in the clubhouse of Hunters Kristiansund. These guys bought an old bunker, they call it The Cave. Quite unique.

The beer stays closed!

I spent two nights in Trondheim and then headed towards Sweden already again...

Sweden I

What to tell?
I mainly did some city hopping. Been to Gothenburg, and Stockholm and indeed visited the Hard Rock Cafe's there.
In Gothenburg I had to rest and get a massage. Sofia did a very well job but she also told me not to put my feet up on the highway pedals...
This is about it, from Stockholm I headed directly to Oslo and this would be the next chapter...

Getting there

I had to wait a bit for my Russian visa which I could get on Tuesday evening. And then Wednesday, it was raining like hell and I decided not to start my trip like this. Thursday the weather was still not too good, just very cloudy and damn cool. But the forecast said in the north it was better. So I started my little jurney...

In Basel a farewell picture was taken from me, but I think only from the front, so I shouldn't receive any mail.

Heading on through Germany, with each and every kilometer it really got warmer and also brighter. I mainly took the highway and later some nice roads through  the Sieger- and Sauerland. Taking the ferry to cross the Elbe soon brought me to the border to Denmark.

passed an important town...

Sitting at the snack bar just bejond the border, a minivan appears and the guys jumping out all wear wests from MC Insel Föhr. We start talking and they tell me, they are going to a little biker festival. They invite me to join, so I simply follow them. We are having a great little party with hot Manhatten, Black Pig and indeed a few beer. I even win a price for the longest arrival!

The next day I head on to Copenhagen, where they have a nice little Hard Rock Cafe.

From Copenhagen it is only a bridge and I am in Sweden and I reach it after almost 1600 km.

Storebælt

So, let the jurney begin...



By the way: ich würde Ines liebend gern ne Stulle organisieren;))

News

After over 4 Megameters on the road, I have already reached Trondheim in the middle of Norway.
This the current status, so you all know where I am.

But - first things first!

6 days left...

... until I'll take a seat on my bike and head north.


After a 3 year long,  intense but also very interesting working period, it is about time to explore some new corners of our world again.


This year the plan is to head north via Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to the most northern point of Europe's main land. Once reached, the road should hopefully lead back via Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and again Germany. And I will be back to Bern the beginning of September.


Since I have only been as far north as Roskilde, Denmark, I am indeed excited to explore Scandinavia. Also I am very curious about the Baltic Area.
I am looking forward to the long days with 24 hours of sunshine. Just imagine that, you can ride whenever you want and in the morning there is no argue to get up, because you would like to reach the next place before it gets dark. I think this will help me find my very private regularity ;)


One last thing to explain:
The profile pic is old. Ina, my old bike you can admire there, remained in Mongolia after my last trip. This journey I will tackle with Tara, my new Softail Custom by Harley Davidson.
I will - someday - add a more recent picture.