recent posts
- 19. AI translation and silent wedding bells on the back road to Erzurum
- A New Year’s Update
- 18. Kars vs. Bicycles – getting acquainted with Turkey and its legendary shepherd dogs
- A walking tour of Vatan: Istanbul’s inner city plastic recycling neighbourhood
- 17. A journey into the volcanic and ancient Armenia
Category: Uncategorized
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Sweden represented a bit of an unknown quantity for me. I knew Denmark had the shelters, Norway the epic mountains, but what about Sweden? In all honesty I didn’t really know much about the country at all. They’re not short on big brand exports: IKEA, Volvo, Spotify, ABBA. But I’ve never had a clear image…
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I was given stern warnings about the weather in Norway before I left. First there was the cold – if I arrived too early in spring there could still be snow on the ground and subzero temperatures at night. The second (and more likely given my late-May ETA), was the rain. People say Norway’s west…
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WarmShowers was just what I needed. My host Rob treated me to a hearty dinner and a warm, dry haven from the torrential rain hosing its way down the cobbled streets of central Bergen. On top of the recuperation, it was refreshing to have some more extended conversation after a stint of solo wild camping,…
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Let’s get this straight, Norway is the main reason I have come to Scandinavia. Although intrigued by what Denmark, Sweden and Finland would be like, I’ve had a clear vision of Norway in my mind’s eye ever since laying eyes on the glossy, colour-saturated images of Lakes & Mountains package holiday brochures as a child.…
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The challenge that lay before me now was no longer one of physical endurance, but of logistics. My goal was to get to the west coast of Norway and begin riding again through the fjords, but having turned east to head further into Denmark I was diverted from my original plan to take the ferry…
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Fair warning: this blog post is a bit longer than the others, and I expect longer than any future blog post I will publish on this trip. —————– Have a search for “shelter” on Google Maps in your local area. If you live in the UK or USA, the results will generally yield temporary accommodation…
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After medicating myself with an early night I woke from my long sleep with the usual tent dilemma: being warm, comfortable, and busting for a wee. I’m more of a night owl than a morning lark so having such a forceful alarm clock is actually quite handy. I thought the trip might re-tune my circadian…
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Hello everyone (or should I say ‘Hej’? One of two three-letter Danish words I can just about use in a conversation without the recipient looking confused at best, and occasionally in actual pain). This post is not an official ‘episode’ of the blog but more of a general update and a bit of housekeeping. I…
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I crossed the Dutch border and entered the German state of Lower Saxony on the 30th of April. Why Lower Saxony is higher up than Saxony on the map I’m not sure, maybe they were rebelling against the ‘north bias’ emerging in 16th century European cartography – preferring to see the world from south-up –…
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There will be no shortage of royal hangovers the morning after King’s Day, but the price of beer had done a good job in limiting my own consumption and I even managed to pack up and set off in good time. The plan was to try and join my pre-planned route in Flevoland, but to…
The Cycling Brit 