La Grande Vadrouille ENG

It's official: we've arrived in the Arctic! We crossed the Arctic Circle on June 10th in Finnish Lapland, and we're only just beginning to discover the extraordinary landscapes of Norway's fjords 😍. The sun no longer sets at all, and it feels as though spring lasts forever. Since March 21st, the official first day of spring when we were in Romania, we've had the feeling that we're carrying spring along with us in our luggage. The lilacs and tulips that were blooming in early April in Hungary are still blooming in mid-June in Finland, 2,500 km farther north... It feels a little strange, but it's also very pleasant. It's such a beautiful season, full of color and life 🌸. After leaving Lisa's place, we headed west and traveled along part of the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, which separates Finland and Sweden, before turning back inland for a while and then continuing farther and farther north... Like its capital, Helsinki, Finland is beautiful—beaut...

For the past few weeks, we’ve been experiencing a wonderful sense of well-being, a kind of Nordic dolce vita... This may be becasue of what is called Allemansrätt in Swedish, allemannsrett in Norwegian, jokamiehenoikeus in Finnish, and igameheõigus in Estonian. In each language, the word refers to the same concept: the right of public access to nature. This legal right allows everyone to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings and their bounty, even on private property (under certain conditions, of course).  Not only is nature accessible to everyone, but great care has been taken to organize and equip places so people can enjoy it to the fullest. For nomadic travelers like us, it’s a little paradise. It’s easy to find wonderful places to settle without restrictions, sometimes even equipped with a lovely picnic table, a small barbecue for grilling,  and a supply of firewood along with an axe and a saw available for use—everything needed to build a campfire. Absolutely fant...

Our journey north continues, kilometers are adding up on the odometer, we’re now at 26,700 km since we left on July 31st last year. The days are getting longer and longer. The first light of day appears around 4 a.m., and true darkness doesn’t arrive until about 11 p.m.  We really can't forget to close the blinds! As for the temperatures, they’re still a bit chilly for our liking. It’s true that we’ve now crossed the 57th parallel, but we still wouldn’t mind a few extra degrees. Still, we entered the Baltic countries under beautiful sunny skies, starting with Lithuania, the first of the three on our route. As soon as we crossed the border, we headed straight for the Baltic coast without stopping in Vilnius, the capital, because we wanted to make the most of the good weather with outdoor activities rather than city visits. We did have to make a “small” detour though, because the most direct road would have taken us through Kaliningrad, a Russian territory. Not exactly recommended t...