Arriving in Tallinn after the calm, safe, tranquillity of Scandinavia is like the start of a fireworks display on a previously quiet night. Suddenly there’s life all around, cars coming from every direction, people, heat, trams, buses, sirens, horns, screaming motorbikes, the old fashioned bells of trolley buses. Driving ArchieVan becomes demanding for the first […]
Farewell Soumi.
We’ll miss Finland for many reasons, though we may never master pronunciation of any of its language. Double vowels abound, and to add confusion many west coast places speak Swedish as their first language, even though they’re in Finland. Helsinki. But first, a flying visit to Helsinki. We drive through the middle of Helsinki with […]
Finland. Heading south, and west
We have the luxury of time to travel slowly. But it’s not limitless. We want to be a long way south by late autumn, and so we had to resist the temptation of taking root in our well placed Oulu car park. High temperatures. It’s hot when we move off. The van shows 36 degrees […]
Oulu. Youth. Tattoos. Coffee. Bars. Life. Markets. Culture. Islands. River. Sea. Beaches. Boats. Beauty.
Oulu. Youth. Tattoos. Coffee. Bars. Life. Markets. Culture. Islands. River. Sea. Beaches. Boats. Beauty. Ah! Life. Oulu has so much, and after the forested wilderness it’s all the more welcome. Finland. It’s exciting to cross a border and immediately know you’re in a new and different land. Cross from Haparanda in Sweden, to Torino in […]
Rotting Volvos, and underpants. Musings from the E10.
For me Sweden will for ever be synonymous with trees, thousands of miles of trees. We’ve seen a few cool sights. Elk. Three of them, each on separate occasions. Huge and lumbering, they look like creatures from a different time (as indeed they are). Reindeer. A single male, and then a complete delight as a […]
Commissioning your camper van. Hints and tips from the road.
Thanks for all the van spec questions on text and email asking what’s good and what’s not about ArchieVan. If you think that we can help you to spec your van better just drop me a note on kelvin@kelvincollins.com As we’ll be gently cruising down through the forested tunnel of northern Sweden for a few […]