After the ( almost ) micro-states of the Baltics, Finland loomed large on the map of Europe. Like the Baltic countries, a place with its own distinctive culture and language ( and some incredibly long place names ! ) it has also been controlled by others over its history. The Swedes controlled it for centuries, the Russians for a period, and during WW2 the Germans even took control for a while. Finland’s geographic position means it’s always had to carefully balance relations with its neighbours but today it’s a rich, safe, clean and in many places very beautiful country. The only one of the Scandinavian countries we’d not visited before, there was much anticipation as the Viking Line ferry carefully navigated us into Helsinki harbour on a crisp but sunny Spring day. While the ferry entry to Finland is definitely scenic, the city itself ( in contrast to many others ) has a strikingly low profile. That surprised us, especially the real abscence of tall buildings common elsewhere.
Our Viking Line “ferry” – much more like a cruise ship, inside and out !It’s one of Helsinki’s popular attractions – just watching all the ships and ferry’s come and go through its narrow harbour opening.When we landed I asked the Finnish immigration folks if there was any chance of getting more time in Finland “outside “ the Schengen 90 day limit – a flat “No” !
Once off the ferry a park-up spot was located ( right by the harbour ) giving us a great base to explore the city. It was a Sunday, it was sunny, and the Finn’s were out in droves. Walking, hiking, shopping, with the dogs, sipping lattes in outdoor cafés, and just enjoying life ( apparently this was the first sun they’d seen in quite a while ).
Downtown Helsinki.Helsinki’s kauppatori, famous enclosed harbour front food market.
The day was spent doing the requisite exploration of downtown plaza’s, squares, churches and historic monuments – Suomenlinna, the historic fortress on a small island in the harbour, was a definite highlight. Just east of Helsinki lies the historic waterfront town of Porvoo, unusual among small towns in that it has an exceptionally well-preserved Old Town – well worth the extra day we spent there.
Suomenlinna Fort.Old Russian gun, Suomenlinna Fort.The historic fort was used in WW2 as a base for submarines.Porvoo.Porvoo Old TownPorvoo historic church.The outdoor cafe’s in Porvoo were great…!Porvoo
What most excited us about Finland (in contrast to the more densely populated countries we’ve been travelling in ) was the potential to get out into the country, among the lakes and forests, and do some remote camping. The kinds of places you might need a 4 x 4 to get to – after all, we had one ! That opportunity did present itself, and the potential camp spots are endless here, however, the fact that there was still much snow on the ground (and that most lakes were frozen over ) as soon as we moved north, limited some of the activities we could engage in – hiking, for example, became a challenge. We of course expected that in the north of the country, we were just surprised to see it not far north of Helsinki itself.
Yes, they have moose here. Such signs everywhere.
Finland provided us with one other big surprise – how flat it was. We had just imagined the place would’ve had more mountains and while there are hills here and there, certainly there were no mountains to speak of, and we drove all the way from Helsinki almost to the very top of the country before turning west in to Norway. It’s covered in forests, lots of birch, especially, and logging is a huge industry here, reminding us very much of British Columbia where we live.
Much like BC, where we live, logging is huge in Finland.
Travelling north took us through the Lakes District in the south, we swung out to the east towards the Russian border before continuing directly north through the castle town of Savonlinna. A prettier setting you couldn’t find and the castle just looked so picturesque on the lake, yet once again when we tried to enter, we found it was closed on the day we were there – another Monday ( getting to be a pattern here – note to self ! ).
Birch trees everywhere up here !Not far out of Helsinki and most lakes were still frozen over.Olavinlinna castle from the 15th century. Savonlinna.Ditto.Finland has famously long names – try pronouncing this !Oulu’s toripolliisi (fat policeman) statue. Scandinavia has a number of such unusual art works.A great “snowy” camp spot near a Finnish ski hill.
Probably the biggest highlight heading north, into what we often call Lapland, was crossing the Arctic circle, and spending a little time in Santa’s “hometown” of Rovaniemi. The Finn’s will have none of this “North Pole” nonsense, it’s firmly entrenched here that Santa’s hometown is the little village, just north of Rovaniemi, and a veritable cottage industry has been built around it. I’ll let the picture tell the story ( the place was absolutely packed with tourists from every corner of the globe so they have pitched it well !!).
The “Santa clause” brand is everywhere in Rovaniemi.Lois, downtown Rovaniemi.A typical Finn, out enjoying the cold. A foot on both sides of the Arctic Circle.Signpost, Santa Claus village.Letters to Santa.Getting a card off for Christmas delivery. We were shocked – there were tourists here from all over the world.Even had real reindeer !Pretty scene near sunset. Cold outside but we are always warm in the van !Nice scenery on our hike north of Rovaniemi.In colder weather the hiking trails offer “lean to’s” and firewood to keep you warm.Northern lights viewing requires clear skies and so far we have often had clouds. Best we have seen so far 😔.
Beyond Rovaniemi, lies the Sami ( Lapp ) village of Inari, the last Finnish town we visited before heading west to Norway. The town itself is rather non-descript but the museum depicting the Sami people‘s history and their integration into modern Finnish life was fascinating. Some interesting parallels with Canada’s own situation.
Was not aware the Sami were present in all 4 countries.Just an excellent museum in Inari.The only sign, or reference, we saw to the word “Lap”. Sami is the preferred word for the indigenous people of the far north.
Next blog we cross into Norway – we’ll head straight to Nordkapp ( North Cape ), and the very top of continental Europe.
Next blog, the drive to Nordkapp – the very top of Europe.
While Poland spent 45 years under the Soviet sphere of influence, the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were actually part of the Soviet union during that same period – an unwilling part mind you, but nonetheless an integral part of the former Soviet Union. Unlike Poland, each each of the three still has a significant percentage of ethnic Russians in their population. As such, we were very curious as to what we might find driving through each of these tiny countries.
Historic Trakai castle, near Vilnius. The first of several attractions we would visit, which were “closed” on Mondays.
Coming from the south ( Poland ) our first Baltic state was Lithuania and we headed towards the beautiful capital of Vilnius which nudges up close to Belorussia. Just prior Vilnius is the historic castle town of Trakai with its 13th century castle set on a very picturesque lake. A superb sunny Monday had us enthused to wander inside only to find on arrival that the castle ( undergoing renovations ) was closed on Mondays ( a situation we would encounter at another castle barely a week later – what is it with castles in Europe on Monday’s ? ). Enjoyed what was possible from the outside.
Trakai castle is on a most picturesque setting – could not go on so we walked the grounds as it was a gorgeous sunny day.
All three states have scenic capital cities with exceptionally beautiful old towns, and in normal circumstances, Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, is probably the pick of the three – but it was just a bitterly cold and windy day when we were there so the visit was shorter as a result.
Cobblestone street, Vilnius Old Town.Ditto.Vilnius CathedralDitto.
From Lithuania it’s just a short hop to Latvia – it was super easy driving, with great roads and it was easy to navigate our way to historic Riga, it’s capital right on the Baltic Sea. A much improved day gave us the opportunity to explore at a more leisurely pace. Again it was easy to park ( right on the waterfront in this case ) giving easy access to the heart of the city. As for Vilnius, plenty of historic sights and excellent cafe’s and patisserie’s which we took full advantage of ( easy to get hooked on that stuff in Europe ! ).
Lithuania was very flat ( like Holland )! We would soon discover it was true of most of the area of the Baltic states.. One of the more unusual overnight parking locations. A fuel station near Vilnius ( we were kind of stuck, and “any port in a storm” as they say ). Safe, flat, access to amenities and fast WIFi, just €3 per night. They saved us.House of the Black Heads, RigaHistoric St Peter’s Lutheran Church.View of Riga from St Peter’s Church spire.Wall with coat of arms of all Latvian cities and municipalitiesMuseum of the Occupation of Latvia details the period under German occupation in WW2. Another one we hit on a day it was closed – fortunately some of the material was displayed outside.Great parking in downtown Riga, right on the waterfront and just 10 minutes from the Old Town. Courtesy, Park4Night.
Most of our time in the Baltics, however, was spent in and around Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, the northernmost of the three Baltic states. For a few reasons, it was probably our favourite of the three – we enjoyed the best weather, found our favourite cafe in Europe so far ( 3 visits, no less ! ) and explored not just Tallinn, but a bit more of the area outside it, including scenic Lahemaa National Park. Beyond just the sights, though, it was in Tallinn that we had to arrange our ferry crossing to Helsinki ( Finland ), and a few other personal things so we just spent more time there and consequently got a better feel for the city. It definitely enchanted us.
A beautiful drive up the Baltic Sea coast from Riga to Tallinn – taking morning coffee break at a rest stop and soaking up the view.After Riga, destination Tallinn, in Estonia. Our last stop before shipping to Scandinavia.Tallinn Old TownOne of the entry gates to historic Tallinn Old Town.Same gate, from inside.A very frank and candid look at the methods of the KGB.Former KGB “interrogation” cells in Tallinn. Very interesting visit to see and hear what transpired inside.Inside the KGB interrogation cells.Beautiful old church inside the Old Town.Main square, Old Town.Main Square, Tallinn Old Town.Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church, Tallinn Old Town.Needed a prescription filled and obtained it from Europe’s longest continuously operating pharmacy in Tallinn- dating back to 1422. Fascinating to check it all out.Lois insideWe’ve become quite addicted to our morning ritual and sampling some of Europe’s best. The cafe beside the Tourist Info office in Tallinn became our “regular” during the days we spent there. Simply delicious drinks !
In all three of the countries we took in their main museums and and explored their recent history- they only regained their independence in 1994, have fully embraced it and are all firmly now in the European camp. It’s like they never left ! These counties may be small, and probably deserved more time than we allotted to them ( certainly the first two anyway ) but one can’t spend forever in every country, especially with the new Schengen rules so after a week between the three we loaded our van on the Viking Line ferry and crossed the Baltic Sea to Helsinki. More on that in the coming blog !
Farewell Estonia – on board the Viking Line ferry. It was an excellent day for the crossing to Helsinki, sunny and calm.
Our only previous experience of Poland was in early 1986 when we ( very briefly ) transitted the country on a train from London to Shanghai. It was January, hence cold and dreary, and despite the early stirrings of “Solidarity”, Poland was still firmly in the “Eastern Bloc”. That would dramatically change a few short years later so we were anxious to experience a newer, modern, and very “Western” Poland. The country is amazing and did not disappoint. We were, in fact, very impressed by it.
After the rough back road we had taken across the Tatra’s and into Zakopane, things improved quickly and the roads soon resembled those we’d seen everyone else in Europe. Zakopane itself reminded us very much of Banff in Canada, the same kind of feel, the same “look”, although we were quite shocked by the lack of snow considering we were still well within what would’ve been considered the ski season. Directly north of Zakopane lies Krakow, probably Poland’s best preserved historic city. Unlike Warsaw ( flattened in WW2 ), stunning Krakow ( particularly its “old town” ) was left untouched. Its old town square is huge and contains the typical town halls, churches and other historic buildings, monuments and the ubiquitous cobblestone streets common to such old European cities. It was a great to be able to drive right into the heart of the city and camp just by the old town, giving us easy access to everything. Sadly, rainy weather and an inordinately long queue kept us away from the Oskar Schindler factory tour ( it’s in Krakow ), only getting to see it from the outside. That’s the “Schindler” from Schindlers List.
Rynek Glowny, the main square in Kraków’s old town.Old town main square at night.St Mary’s church, old town, Krakow.Krakow, old town.
The vibrant, resort feel of Zakopane and historic charm of Krakow soon gave way to the sombre, deathly vibe of our next destination, the nearby Polish town of Oswiecim – better known around the world by its German name, Auschwitz. It’s here one can see first-hand the horrors of this infamous Nazi murder factory, along with its sister camp, Birkenau. There are few, if any, places we have been where I would say that cold, foggy, rainy weather actually added to the experience but here it did. The whole place is incredibly impactful. We’d seen Dachau many years back, but it’s just not on the same scale as Auschwitz-Birkenau. The place sees over 2,000,000 visitors a year and recently celebrated 80 years since its liberation ( yes, survivors are still with us ). Warning, some of the following images are quite graphic.
Entry to the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex.Entry passageway to Birkenau, through which many walked.Typical rail cart/carriage into which millions were crammed for the journey to Auschwitz.Entry pathway to Birkenau.Section of electrified fence.Picture of inmates on the day Auschwitz was liberated. Note the quote – frightening to even consider it.Possibly the image most synonymous with Auschwitz and the Nazi’s biggest lie ( “work shall set you free”).Most who were marched through it ultimately died.Auschwitz guard tower.Inmates uniforms.Sleeping quarters.Sealed concrete bunker where inmates were gassed.Next door was the crematorium where the bodies were incinerated. An estimated 1,000,000 in total.
Warsaw is 5 hours north of Oswiecim and it was a quiet, uneventful drive – I think for most of the journey we both sat thinking about the experience of the day before – Auschwitz just has that kind of haunting feel about it. Getting into (and out of) Warsaw was easy – the highways and roads were easy to navigate and again we opted to drive right downtown. Fortunately we were tipped off to a great App ( Park4Night – the “bible” of European RV’ers ) that identifies suitable 24 hour overnight parking sites all over Europe and it has been an invaluable tool for us. iOverlander saved us in South America, Wikicamps in Oz and it’s been Park4Night so far in Europe- good for camp spots and a host of other essential services for those like us.
Highways were excellent in Poland with many Poles now driving exotic cars ( and they like to drive fast ! ). No more Lada’s or Polski Fiat’s in Poland ( that we saw, anyway )..!Warsaw’s beautifully rebuilt old town, which had been flattened in the war.Street scene near Warsaw’s old town.Warsaw old town.Main square, Warsaw old town. It was a beautiful sunny day, too.Poles enjoying the sun in the old town.More old town. So much to see, it was great getting lost in its cobblestones streets and alley’s.
In addition to Warsaw’s beautifully restored old town, there are a few other sites, including some great museums, two of which we saw – the more mundane Museum of Warsaw and the immensely interesting, if slightly eclectic Museum of Life Under Communism. Poland is a super interesting country with a complicated history but has developed in leaps and bounds in the past few decades. You’ve got to look hard now to see any evidence of the old days. This Museum takes a frank, and at times humorous, look at how difficult life was in Poland during the almost five decade long communist era.
Easy to miss – a rather non-descript entry to the museum, but it was fascinating.Samples of old Eastern bloc technology – back in the day little was imported from the “capitalist west”.Lenin and Brezhnev.The Soviet influence was pervasive in the communist era.Typical communist propaganda poster urging young workers to produce more for the state!
As we moved north in Europe, only the three tiny Baltic states lay between us and Scandinavia (our primary destination).. More on that in our coming blog.
Till next week….
PS: given the solemn nature of some of the images in the weekly video I thought a less upbeat and more philosophical tune might best capture the moment. Enjoy “Imagine” ( https://youtu.be/iJt3sbCuiEE?feature=shared )
From Celle we continued south-east towards Dresden, a cultural mecca which had for 45 Cold-War years been under the yolk of Soviet directed communism. One is reminded of that terrible era when driving to Dresden as you pass through the town of Marienborn, one of the places that was right on the former East/West frontier. The name definitely rang a bell and I remembered why shortly after we pulled up at the monument to that era. It was through this very place that we passed, back in 1985, when we drove our old Volkswagen Kombi across the former East Germany and into West Berlin. Many of the search light towers and military control buildings are still visible, but now all enclosed in a type of outdoor museum to an era that once was. Fascinating, as a student of history, to walk around it and think that we lived through it all. At the same time, hard to believe today, looking back 35 years, that there ever was once two Germany’s.
Marienborn memorial to a divided Germany.Display at the memorial.
We had some concerns coming to Europe that getting good overnight parking near the big cities might be a challenge but Hildesheim and Celle proved that fear to be unfounded. Dresden, much larger, might be tougher. Not at all, as it turned out, the city provided a huge parking area for campers right by the Elbe River (within minutes of the old city) that was very popular. Probably tough to get a spot here in the middle of summer, but right now, in March, there was plenty of space. An easy walk along the Elbe got us right into the middle of a busy Saturday afternoon in the old city and it was wonderful to walk the streets and admire the baroque architecture for which the city is justifiably famous. Especially so when one realizes that Dresden was practically obliterated during the final days of WW2, so much of what can be seen has actually been substantially rebuilt. Prior to the war it was called the “Florence of the Elbe” and considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities due to its architecture and art treasures.
There were probably 20 or 30 campers near us us, right by the Elbe, in the heart of Dresden.Old town, Dresden.DittoThe father of all Lutherans himself.Old town, Dresden.The Europeans love an outdoor cafe and the weather was perfect for it. People were out in droves.Dusk shot, Old Town roofline.Dresden, seen from a bridge on the Elbe.What we do late in the day – FaceTime to family and friends . Well, mostly to our granddaughter who is just waking up in Canada as we wrap up our daily sightseeing in Europe !
As wonderful as Dresden was, our next destination was one we had anxiously anticipated visiting for many years – Prague. While Dresden was a little bonus of sorts ( we did not initially plan on stopping there ), Prague was always high on our European agenda. Of all the cities we’d previously not seen in Europe, it was one we were really looking forward to.. Don’t know how many times we had heard from others ( who’d been ) just how beautiful it was, and it did not disappoint. An absolutely perfect couple of sunny days showed the city in all its historic glory and it was, unlike the other cities we’ve been to so far, absolutely jam-packed with tourists. Not so many that you couldn’t enjoy it, but certainly enough that it made you wonder what it must be like here in the middle of the summer high season. Taking in all the sights, using its Metro, sampling its famous beers, its unique ice-cream filled pastries, as well as simply soaking in the atmosphere occupied all our time there. It’s fairly compact so an easy city to walk – our high Prague expectations were definitely met !
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Wenceslaus.Some absolutely beautiful old hotels on Wenceslaus Square.Sipping a Pilsner, Prague !Looking down Wenceslaus Square to the National Museum They were serving these everywhere in Prague – “trdelniks”, a hot pastry-type cone with ice-cream. The pistachio flavour was divine. They are very famous here and the recipe goes back 200 years.Specialty shops prepared them.Astronomical clock, Old Town.Old Town scenes.DittoUs, on Charles Bridge.Church inside Prague Castle grounds. St Vitus Cathedral is home to the Czech crown jewels and burial place of many former kings.Trams give Prague a quintessential traditional European feel.Winding our way back from the steep climb to Prague Castle.The “John Lennon Wall”, which has become a magnet for tourists in Prague.
Prague was quite an assault on the senses- almost overwhelming in its attractions. We were not sure what could top it but a day later we would visit Cesky Krumlov – the second most visited place in Czechia, and it certainly gave Prague a run for its money.
En route to Cesky Krumlov we made a brief stop in Cesky Budejovice, ostensibly to see the famous “Budovar” or original Budweiser brewery. Missed the tour unfortunately, but enjoyed the town.
While Prague had all the offerings of a large, historic European capital city, Cesky Krumlov was the very definition of that small, traditional European town/village, with a castle, big protective wall, classic bridges, spires and delightful cobblestone streets and the most stunning traditional Bohemian architecture. The kind of place you could wander for hours just finding interesting side streets and boutique shops and stores. Unlike Prague we managed to avoid the worst of the crowds here which only added to its appeal. Easy to see why this place is so popular.
Entering Krumlov through what appeared to be aqueducts, above which was a covered entrance to the castle.The setting was almost fairytale-like.A village of many interesting and historic doors.Cesky’ Krumlov’s famous St. Vitas church, dating from the early 1400’s.Rooflines of Cesky Krumlov.The castle from the village.When one has a castle, one needs bears to guard it I guess !Coffee and hot chocolate has become a bit of a daily ritual, especially when the setting is so beautiful.Cesky , as seen from the castle.Another view.
As hard as it was to drag ourselves away from the picturesque setting of Cesky Krumlov, there was still a bit more we wanted to see in Central Europe before heading more or less directly north up through Poland and to the Baltic states. Poland could be approached from the west or the south and while it took a bit longer, the southern route gave us the chance to ( briefly ) explore the High Tatra’s ( mountains ) of western Slovakia and then enter Poland through its legendary ski area of Zakopane. That all seemed like a great idea ( and it was ) except that two consecutive days of cloudy ( and slightly rainy ) weather really put a bit of a damper ( excuse the pun ) on the experience. We saw enough to appreciate what a beautiful part of Slovakia and Poland it was ( or could be, in ideal conditions ) but the incredible weather we’d enjoyed so far just did not hold up.
One can easily miss crossing a border in Europe these days – no checks, no stopping – you have to look closely even to see the border sign. Here, entering Slovakia.On the south side of the Tatra’s, in Slovakia, was Stary Smokovec, a renowned winter playground. More snow than Zakopane, but still equally lousy weather for us. We moved on.Took somewhat of a backroad into Poland and were almost forced to turn back by a 3.0m height barrier. We just managed to clear it !Trendy Zakopane, just on the north side of the Tatra’s and Poland’s premier winter playground, reminded us of Banff. Sadly the area had very little snow, a trend that is happening in other European ski areas. Just very wet and foggy, too.
Coming in through Zakopane did have one other advantage – an easy drive on to historic Krakow, truly one of Poland’s highlights. More on that in our next edition.
There must have been quite the tailwind pushing us north as we departed Mauritius – our scheduled 12 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany only took 11 hours. The hour saving really only translated into a longer layover in Frankfurt, though, as we still had the connection to Hamburg ahead of us. What was particularly notable, however, was the fact that after 12 hours in the air in total, we had absolutely no jet lag the next morning, a fact we put down to the route being pretty much north-south and us only moving three hours in time zones ( being a daylight flight helped, no doubt !).
A long but easy flight with no jet lag ( we crossed only 3 hours of time zones ).
Rather than pick up our van early the next day ( tempting as it was ! ), the gorgeous Spring day screamed out for a little sightseeing around Hamburg first. With our downtown hotel close to all the sights a walking tour made sense – Hamburg has a rich maritime history, is Germany’s major port, and it was really interesting to wander the canals, the warehouse district and the city’s thriving downtown. So nice to be back in Europe.
Hamburg’s beautiful Rathaus ( Town Hall ).Ornate traditional buildings everywhere in the old part of Hamburg.Warehouse and canal district, downtown.Almost like Venice in places.
The RoRo port terminal is close to downtown and the next day, with much anticipation, we headed to the port to collect our vehicle. For those interested in all the details of that process, I’ve added a segment at the end of this blog (but for those not interested it’s a skip).
Our plans for the first few days in Europe had been simple. See a bit of Hamburg, collect the van, then repack and reorganize everything and finally head towards Czechia. Repacking was quite the job since literally everything we carried in the van was moved into the garage area (so as to secure it ) just before we left Baltimore. This all had to be pulled out and placed back in its usual area in the living space of the van. A ton of cardboard boxes to recycle as well ! In any case, given that the van was picked up this time in perfect condition with nothing at all stolen, it was really a labour of love on this occasion. Fortunately, we identified a great place to pull up not too far south of Hamburg in the quaint town of Hildesheim. It offered a municipally provided area for campers to park, right by a pretty lake, on flat ground with the basic amenities nearby. Not only a great spot to get ourselves reestablished in the van, but we met up with a couple of fellow travellers in campervans who gave us some excellent tips on the ins and outs of free camping in Germany. Seems that may be a little easier than we had feared, which was nice to know.
Free municipal camping by the lake in Hildesheim.Time to reorganize !
Many years ago, I remember meeting a German fellow who told me if we ever got back to Germany and were in the area of Hanover, to be sure to visit Celle. To be quite honest I had forgotten about that advice until we were getting close to Hildesheim ( which is just outside Hanover ) and I saw “Celle” on a road sign – recognizing it as significant, a quick Google search brought up all the details and I then remembered why he said it was very much worth seeing. If you always wanted to get that classic picture of a traditional German village, you would look very hard to find a better a place to get it than Celle…! It contains one of Germany’s best preserved “old towns” (or Altstadt) many of the houses within it date from the 1500’s, almost all in excellent condition. As the town was not a military target nor a large population centre, it was more or less undamaged during the heavy bombing raids of World War II. Thus, much of its historic architecture is very well preserved. We loved the town and wandered around it for hours – a great place to sit, relax, soak in the atmosphere and engage in that most European of past-times, people watching !
Main square, CelleDittoCastle, Celle.By all accounts tough to get a table in summer. Nice to be here in Spring. Main Square, Celle.
Next week we’ll explore a bit more of historic Germany – both recent and not so recent, before heading south to Czechia ( Czech Republic ).
Till then……
Shipping- Collection:
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Anke from Sea-Bridge assured us the port was very organized and that things generally went smoothly with most customers on their way in less than 2 hours. A few days earlier she had emailed me a “port release”, a document that gives me permission to pick up my vehicle from the port, lists me as the owner and identifies the vehicle. All digital, I was not even required to have a paper copy. Sea-Bridge is recognized as one of THE preferred shipping agencies in the overland community, and they certainly know how to make things easy. They think of everything, provide super detailed guides re the process, and are super responsive via email at all times. Highly recommended !
Our van in Hamburg port. Exactly as we’d left it in Baltimore.
We actually had our vehicle, had all our documents reviewed and had cleared customs in just less than two hours so we were naturally thrilled – wonderful to be reunited with the rig after a full month apart and to see it undamaged with everything exactly as it was when we left it in Boston. Phew !
Found this wrapped around our windshield wiper – perhaps it helped !
In Hamburg, one arrives at the port, takes a ticket, waits to be called, shows ID and vehicle documents to the port staff, and then gets chauffeured to your waiting car inside the port. No paid escort required here but you are accompanied at all times. A quick perusal of the vehicle revealed all was well at which point we had to drive to customs to have the van inspected. This was fast, a voluntary declaration only, no physical inspection in our case and no special bio- regulations to deal with, thank god ! The Germans, to no-ones surprise, are extremely well organized and anticipate your every need. Could not have been easier – they even waived what should have been over €200 in storage fees since the vehicle had been in the port beyond the first free week. Happy to escape that, our first week off to a great start.
Lots of paperwork – wait here, go there, get this stamped, sit there, etc etc. That said, all very organized and it moved fast. No one, at any point, even looked inside our vehicle !Every vehicle gets a destination sticker once delivered to the port ( in Baltimore for us ). This tells the dock staff which ship to load it on and cross references the vehicles VIN number to ensure the right vehicle goes to the right place at the right time. Much like bay tags at an airport.Parked at Customs. Ironically in Hamburg, German Customs is outside the secured port area. We had to leave the port to see them and then return ( but port staff keep your passport or drivers licence to ensure you DO return ! ). The officer was far more interested in our journey than any goods we had. Very friendly and efficient ( becoming a theme in Germany ! ).
As I mentioned in the Baltimore “shipping” blog, there were no additional, separate, port charges in Europe since Sea-Bridge had built them into the original quote and I paid it when I paid Sea-Bridge for the freight. Incidentally this was done just after the ship left Baltimore once confirmation had been provided that we’d been successfully loaded. Wired the funds to Sea-Bridge direct, easy peasy. Once we got my licence back we were free to go – Europe awaits !
Turns out that Zanzibar ( a scheduled port visit that was skipped due to a local cholera outbreak ) was not to be the only scheduled port that the Norwegian Dawn would miss. While a public health risk was the culprit with Zanzibar, it would be the weather gods that wreaked havoc on our itinerary after Madagascar. There was to be one final stop prior to reaching Port Louis in Mauritius – the French island of Reunion ( which is very close to Mauritius ). Unfortunately Cyclone Garance had other plans. As we were departing Madagascar, the captain came over the PA system to advise that there was a dangerous cyclone just ahead of us ( it had all be so calm up until then ! ) and that, since Reunion had closed both its port and airport, we would take an extra “sea” day and navigate around the rough weather. This he managed to do and apart from one evening where we encountered larger than normal swells, the ship was unaffected by the cyclone. Reunion, though, was hit hard and very sadly at least 4 people were killed.
The cyclone we avoided was quite deadly.
The sea days were fine, always lots to do anyway, and the captain kindly threw us all a $100 on-board credit for the inconvenience – covered the cost of a few more cocktails to celebrate the imminent end of what has ( overall ) been a really wonderful cruise. We’d both had doubts about our ability to last for 17 days at sea but in reality it flew by. Norwegian did a spectacular job, the ship was great, the staff were outstanding and the ports ( mostly ) offered outstanding sightseeing options, if at times a bit rushed. Would we do it again ? Yes, in a heartbeat, although we don’t have any plans to do another for a few years. As mentioned before, this route ( and schedule ) just filled a very specific void in our larger “van” plans and we don’t think we could have found a better option to occupy the 3 weeks van transit time.
Our favourites – thanks to the captain for providing a few extra on the house !Cruise finale- the whole crew came up on stage and got a standing ovation ! They were outstanding.
Right on schedule the Norwegian Dawn pulled into Port Louis harbour in Mauritius. While most guests ( and a number of crew ) got off here, many sailed on to Cape Town and some even on to Lisbon, Portugal . We’d made some wonderful new friends and were sorry to say “au revoir” to them but at the same time we are looking forward to 4 days in Mauritius before flying on to Germany to pick up our van. Speaking of the van, I had been tracking its progress across the Atlantic- via Halifax, Liverpool and finally on to Hamburg where I could now see that it had been unloaded on to the dock.
The van is in Hamburg !Hardly surprising, I suppose, that the weather would initially be a bit ominous, arriving in Port Louis as we were, at the tail end of a cyclone. Fortunately it quickly improved, and 3 of our 4 days there provided clear, hot, sunny weather.Our hotel in Grand Baie, Mauritius. The roof- top terrace provided great views of the bay and beaches every morning at breakfast.View from the hotel.We did have a little drama one night. Lois slipped and fell getting some very nasty bruises on her chin and arms. An XRay revealed no breaks or fractures fortunately. Speedy and professional help from the medical clinic in Grand Baie.Downtown Grand Baie, where we spent most of our time.
First, Mauritius. Accommodations and stunning beaches virtually ring the entire island – ours was a little boutique hotel across from the beach in popular Grand Baie in the island’s northern west. Probably as nice a part of Mauritius as any if perhaps a little more “touristy” than some other areas. A two day car rental gave us ample time to sample most of the attractions, although a sudden downpour on our last day dashed any hopes of seeing the famous waterfall and “7 coloured hills” of Chamarel.
Typical scenery when driving across the island.
The west coast of Mauritius has more development and is home to Port Louis, where we arrived. Refreshing, after Mombasa and 2 Madagascan ports, to disembark in what one could honestly describe as a nice, historic and well maintained city. Throughout our time in Mauritius we mostly explored, driving all over the island, and when we came upon them sampled a selection of its famous beaches – Peyrebare, Flic en Flac and a few smaller east coast ones were our pick but a visitor would literally need weeks ( or months even ) to sample them all. Two things were consistent everywhere, the warmth of the water and the soft white sand.
Pretty La Cambuse beach near the airport.One of many wide open and almost deserted east coast beaches.A small east coast beach. A “fly in” beach obviously !Here at Flic en Flac beach.
Had a chance to sample traditional creole food and found it delicious, if perhaps a little spicy and also enjoyed some of their renowned craft beers. Some have said Mauritius is expensive – we didn’t find it to be at all, and would happily return here for a “sun and surf” vacation. Hot and humid, as one would expect, and although there are mosquitoes, the island is fortunately dengue and malaria free.
Mauritius is famously a country of many cultures, Indian, Chinese, Malay, African and European. Here one of many Indian temples.
All good things must end, as they say, and with our time here having quickly passed, we readied ourselves for the 12 hour flight to Germany. Fortunately it was a daylight one meaning we did not have to try to sleep sitting bolt upright. Hard to believe after a life of relative luxury on the high seas we will be back with our van in two days..!
We flew out on the German airline, Condor – quite the bold livery !
The PanAm completed in April, 2022 and with the truck camper sold, we shipped our new Sprinter van to Australia in late 2022. We travelled there through all of 2023 and into 2024 before shipping it up to North East Asia where we travelled for 4 months between Korea and Japan, before shipping it back to North America. It’s our plan to continue exploring the world in 2025.
