Our Route

30th July

Home again. Another scorching day, the good weather has followed us for our entire holiday. We docked at midday at Harwich and made good time to get home at just past two. We have covered over 2200 miles on our little trip. We've had a great holiday.

29th July

Good breakfast at the Grand Park again. We drove off just before midday towards Esbjerg to catch the ferry. The first English car we over took had a Fox Garage of Bisley sticker, which is only about a quarter of a mile from our house. On the way we stopped at Kolding, a larger town, full of interesting buildings and clean streets. Just about everything is closed on a Sunday here, which was a reminder of the way things used to be in England before universal Sunday opening came along. It was sunny and warm and Dan walked a very long way, nearly all in the opposite direction to the one we wanted to head in. Once on board Dana Anglia, we watched Dan demolish an enormous Spaghetti Bolognaise. He has changed so much in just two weeks. He is now keen to go walking round the boat, whereas he spent most of his time on all fours on the way out, he is also drinking with a straw, eating quite well with a fork, making faces at himself in the mirror. All of these marking his progress from baby to little boy.

28th July

We said our goodbyes to Birgitta, Lennart, Eva and Mats , wishing Eva and Mats the best of luck with the baby due any day now, and left Vadstena this morning. It's another sunny day and we made very good time for Korsor in Denmark. We stopped at Orkelljunga, where Dan had yet more PyttiPanna, I detected a trace of despair in Asa, as Dan seems to be developing a taste for the good things, which are all bad for you. We stopped for petrol on the Danish side in Ringsted, which is a quiet country town, just shutting up for the rest of the weekend at around 2:30 on the afternoon of the Saturday. After we checked in to the Grand Park where we had stayed two weeks ago, we went driving away from Korsor to the town of Slagelse. We went to a "Quick Bistro" which was a little strange, I had a very peculiar Pork Burger, deep fried slices of pork with beetroot topping in a bun. Slagelse is another pretty small Danish town, very orderly and tidy, with a good few bars.

27th July

Sunny again! We've been very lucky with the weather on our trip. Having PyttiPanna for lunch. Dan had a great time messing about in the garden with the hose again. We went down to the shore of the Vattern lake for a splash about this afternoon. The water in the lake wasn't nearly as warm as the sea at Tammisaari. Dan had another cone and then tried to eat Asa's normal ice cream, which made for a good photo opportunity. Dan's Gran took him on one of the fake train tours of the town. The wee fella was a bit tired by the end of the journey, producing another Kodak moment.

26th July

We took a trip into Norrkoping in the morning to see Rickard. Danny stayed in Vadstena with his Gran. Rickard cut our hair and made us lunch in his new flat. I visited the System Bolaget to buy some wine, which was quite an experience. All bottles are on display in glass cases, you take a number, wait your turn and describe what it is you want to the assistant. Saying you want to get pleasantly sloshed is not a valid option. Once again we were lucky with the weather, it was close to 30c. We stopped on the way back in Linkoping, where we bought important provisions, like DVD movies and GT3, all of which are cheaper in Sweden.

25th July

Another fine day. The teletubbies had their usual hypnotic effect on Dan, even though they were talking Swedish. We took a walk down into Vadstena around midday. Danny splashed about in the paddling pool her aunt Eva bought for him in the afternoon.

24th July

Ingrid's birthday - she was 83 years old today. She is flying off to Switzerland this Friday. Another warm day, spent lazing about in the garden of Ingrid's house. We went for a walk down into the town with Dan's granny this morning. We stopped for an ice cream and cake in the Gamla Konditorei, where granny got Dan just a cone when Asa explained that was his favourite part of an ice cream. There were a few visitors, some of Ingrid's family and friends. Birgitta laid on a large spread for everybody, Lennart had tidied up the garden the previous weekend, starting at half four in the morning working through the day. We wondered down to the lake shore just as the sun was setting, the sky full of beautiful shades of red.

23rd July

Arrived in Stockholm, drove to Vadstena via Norrkoping. Stopped for lunch at Spiralen, which was good, Dan was very noisy once he noticed how good the echo in the dome was. We briefly talked to Asa's friend Rickard at his salon, which has been redecorated once again.

22nd July

Set off early this morning after another good breakfast in the Hotel Tammer. A really good hotel, the only problem being the lack of air conditioning. We headed down to Helsinki, the forecast had been bad but it was clear weather all the way. We met up with my aunt Sanna and uncle Kari at Riihimaki Citymarket car park- something of a theme with Sanna and Kari, meeting in car parks. We drove in convoy down to Sanna and Kari's house in Vantaa. They were just heading back from Petroskoi, where they had been visiting their daughter-in-law Olga's parents We had a marvellous lunch made all the better by the last minute appearance of my cousin Tuomas and his wife Olga. We caught the Viking line ferry, Mariella, from Katajanokka headed for Stockholm. No complications with our cabin this time.

21st July

We headed off to Vilppula to see my aunt Rauni today. My aunt has been spending her enviably long summer holiday largely in Vilppula in the house where my Mum and her sisters grew up. We visited the grave of my grandparents in the serene grounds of Vilppula church and laid some flowers. Rauni made us some delicious Makkarasoppa, a favourite of mine from early days. We had a look at the plans for the new house which will be built in the garden of the old one, they look really good. The old house and its immediate surroundings will be preserved, but there will also be a new property enjoying the benefits, as estate agents would put it, of running water and a toilet. It was a very rainy day today. We wondered around Tampere in the evening as the weather had cleared up after getting back from Vilppula. Dan had his lunch in the Stockmann's restaurant, where he demonstrated his new skill of drinking through a straw by polishing off a "Trip" drink entirely on his own. Danny walked down Hameen Katu in the harness we bought him yesterday.

20th July

Another day in Tampere. We bought Danny some reins after his first real temper tantrum this morning. He insisted on heading into the street and totally lost it when we tried to turn him round. More good food in the Tammer summer restaurant. We went for a long walk in the afternoon. We saw a man fishing for crayfish on the shore at Paijanne, which I thought was quite interesting, surely more confirmation of slipping into middle age.

19th July

We went to Sarkanniemi this afternoon on the number 4 bus. Danny walked all round the children's zoo in his new sandals, by far the furthest he has walked so far. He was lightly chewed by the goats, but this didn't seem to upset him. We then went up the Nasinneula tower. There was a light fog in the tower when we stepped out of the lift. When the fire alarm went nobody took any notice. Minutes later, just as I was starting on my beer, we were told to move to the outdoor observation deck. This was a little worrying. I had to finish my beer very quickly. We waited on the windy deck whilst the firemen climbed the stairs, had a look round and gave the all clear. This was good cause to have another beer.

18th July

Checked out of the Kaupinginhotelli this morning. Drove up from Tammisaari to Tampere, we stopped at the Iittala glass centre on the way up. This is the first time we've stopped there without buying anything from the shop, we must be getting sensible in our old age. We passed a small coach from Suffolk on the motorway, we realised later that they were probably on the way to watch Ipswich play Tampere in a pre-season friendly, now that's dedication. We arrived at the Tammer Hotel in the early afternoon.A rare navigation lapse from Asa meant we had a little wander round Tampere before finding the hotel. It has been recently restored to it's original twenties grandeur. There is a beautiful restaurant and lobby, full of real atmosphere. Our room is really large, but only has one small window. Popped down to the terrace restaurant for a mid-afternoon lunch, which was very good. We bought Danny his first pair of sandals in Stockmanns department store, a sturdy set of walking sandals, no cloister creepers for our boy.

17th July

Slightly grey first thing, so we got in the car and drove down to Hanko to have a look round. It's a real seaside town with some very pleasant wooden houses, possibly not as picturesque as Tammisaari. We bought Dan a bucket and spade. We drove back to our hotel, just making it back in time for the sun to come out. We played down on the beach, giving Dan his first taste of the sea. He really enjoyed splashing around in the warm water. We had another good meal in the hotel, even if Dan's patience was a bit stretched. There was a really big thunderstorm late in the evening.

16th July

Mariella arrived in Helsinki this morning exactly on schedule. It seemed a little strange to be driving up Pohjois Esplanaadi and past some of our favourite places in Helsinki like the Kauppahalli knowing we wouldn't be stopping there this year. We arrived in Tammisaari just as the sun was breaking through the clouds and checked into the Kaupinginhotelli, which is just across a small park from the sea. We have a small suite which is decorated in real seventies style. The prints by Mr Claus D Biswanger deserve special mention. We had a buffet lunch whilst waiting for our room to be ready, which was very reasonable, later on we tried out their a la carte, which was pretty good if slow in arriving, which is a bit of a problem when trying to keep Dan entertained. Afterwards, we went for a pleasant walk round the town, which is much prettier than we expected.

15th July

We left Vadstena just after midday and headed off for Stockholm to catch the ferry for Helsinki. A bit of a problem when we arrived in our cabin onboard Mariella because we found the bunks didn't fold up, despite having requested space for Dan's cot. We spoke, well, ranted, to the fellow on the information desk, who was a nice young man called Vesa, after Asa had finished in Swedish, I tried in Finnish. This seemed to do the trick as we got upgraded for free to a forward facing cabin with large windows, a three piece suite, etc. We had a marvellous meal in the food garden, although Dan wasn't being particularly co-operative. Whilst one of us tucked into the buffet full of Scandinavian specialities, the other was busy carrying Dan around. The lax was delicious, in fact everything was very good.

14th July

Breakfast in the Grand Park was really exceptional, a standard buffet style affair with lovely warm bread and generally very good cheeses and sliced meats and other ingredients. A long drive from Korsor to Vadstena this morning, over three hundred miles, including a longish stretch on non-motorway road on the Swedish side. We crossed over the Aresund bridge which is actually not as impressive as the bridge before Korsor. Danny really enjoyed running around the garden once we got to Vadstena.

13th July

A smooth crossing. Breakfast failed to materialise on time, which was a little disappointing. This turned to embarrassment for us when the stewardess pointed out we had hung out the"do not disturb" sign on our door the night before. Out on deck in the morning sunshine it was warm and because we were sailing with the wind, it felt calm. Dan had fun wondering round the deck, part walking, part crawling. Arrived in Esbjerg, quickly got off the ferry and drove up to Korsor just across the Great Belt Bridge. We checked into the Grand Park, which is a pleasant enough business hotel. We went for a wonder round the town and had a really good lunch in an Italian restaurant. Korsor is a surprise as it is a very nice Scandinavian town with real history.

12th July

First day of our holiday. We drove up to Harwich to catch the ferry to Esjerg in Denmark. We got to our cabin, which is just great, it looks out over the bow of the ship and has lots of space, friendly steward service. Dan finds the motion of the ship a little disturbing, as he isn't very steady on his pins yet.