21-22 June - Jyvaskyla to Lubeck. 944 miles

I am sitting on the top deck of the boat to Travemunde as I compose much of this (because of Finn Lines’ wi fi charge of €70+ for the crossing, no doubt priced to exploit parents whose children cannot manage for more than ten minutes in an analogue world, this blog will not be posted while we are on board and will go live on 22 June). There is a light breeze, the temperature is in the 20s, and the view from this side as we await departure from Helsinki is more than good.

Less so on the other side.

We are on the way to what I think of as mainland Europe after a short drive this morning (with apologies - Google maps does not like sea crossings, so this was pulled from TomTom). 

TomTom decided to avoid motorways and take us through pleasing countryside that could have been Hampshire. Mile after mile of roadside Lupins. 

And at last we found a sports car (Cayman) but he did not want to play. What is the point of having one if it never exceeds 60? 

Blue skies and very warm - that insulated woollen hat that I had to buy when I lost mine in Lofoten stood me in good stead at the top of Norway but was like a greenhouse now.

My thoughts were on getting the indicator pod fixed. We found a place that sold Loctite, but the application area is too small to hold the pod firm under the vibration to which it is subjected, so we fear that we will have to order a new one. But we thought that maybe we could find a workshop that would help me out, so for two hours we drove around the outskirts of Helsinki from one garage and dealership to another. Everything was shut. Why?, it is a Friday. Then it dawned on me that maybe, the Summer light being so important to the Scandinavians, Midsummer’s Day might be a public holiday. And it is. 

We will have another go - Araldite, perhaps? - when we return; but, fearing the worst, that brings the casualty list for this trip to

Laundry bag containing Day 1’s clothes - left behind in Haarlem

Favourite tweed cap - see above

Quilted waistcoat - popper gone

Wallet - stitching gone

Laptop - replacement required thanks to Grade A stupidity

Indicator pod (probably, but at least that one was a stress fracture and not my fault) 

Thus far. We are still in transit. 

Helsinki is a lovely place. We drove around the sights

Largely unnoticed

It was so hot that we found a shady place in a park by a river.

We now have to kill 29 hours. No books left to read (note to self - buy an eReader and load it up for future trips). No internet, so no radio, papers, and of course TM. Inside cabin so no view. Those as badly prepared as me will probably purchase a so-called "meal package" and spend most of the time eating.

Just killing time.

After three hours, we lost sight of the Swedish coast. Talking to a Finn while we were waiting to board, he said “we all wonder why Norway got all the scenery while we missed out”. It made me ponder whether a return via Sweden would have been more entertaining than our drives of the previous two days. It would have made for even longer behind the wheel, and this way The Toad gets a rest; but there would have been no restless wandering about on a boat. I even had an imaginary conversation with Paul McCartney at supper (Germans at the front of the queue) - out loud - just for something to do. 

An excellent breakfast (Germans in first; people having profiteroles and ice cream at 09.30!) left me with eight hours before supper (beat the Germans to it this time) and ten before we could start loading up. What to do? Skulk in my windowless cabin and watch CNN repeating its items every couple of hours? More blog drafting? Wave/wind turbine watching? Endless rewriting of lists to be crossed off when we return?

At last the coast approached. We ploughed through a regatta

And saw this handsome thing, named Passat, as we crawled to our berth.

That’s over and we have now (it’s 22.00, returning to CET) made it to Lubeck, but only after TomTom thinking we were still in Helsinki and telling me we had 693 miles to our hotel.

Tomorrow we head for Ahaus on the western edge of Germany.