The Trip Proper

The trip proper doesn’t start until late Monday, but even during the English stage of this pre trip, I still find enjoyment from the scenery and pass through, and people I meet.

Sliding Doors

Rushing through the hotel foyer with the remnants of my luggage I just managed to press the lift button as the doors closed. They immediately opened to reveal just one person in the lift, a small and fairly rotund lady, in her late 70s I would say. I asked her if it was ok for me to share the lift with her, and was surprised to be greeted by the broadest of Australian accents, had I not seen her first I would’ve sworn it was Dame Edna! She welcomed me aboard and in the very short journey to the top floor (of two), we both got a glimpse of each other’s lives. What a lovely friendly lady she was, probably helped by the consumption of a couple of gin and tonics which she confessed in having, not that there was a suggestion of any tipsiness. After the briefest of connections with yet another stranger I smiled inwardly at how lovely most people are. 

The Arctic Adventures of Sven the Moto Moose

Hi,

My name is Sven, I was adopted in Sweden in 2015 by Rachel and Brian, and stayed in the van for all of their remaining travels, but the last two years I’ve just been sitting at home gathering dust.

When Brian said he was heading back to my homeland I pleaded with him to take me. He said on one condition, that I wrote some blog entries. Well I’ve never written a travel blog before but I’ll give it a go, as it’s my ticket north.

Oh, and I’ve also never been on a motorbike before either, so that should be fun! And before you ask, moose are exempt from crash helmets, which is great as it will give my antlers the freedom to waft in the turbulence, hopefully of just the bike!

The appropriately named ‘Polarsteps’ app will go live from Monday 20th June. For those who are interested it’s a live tracking app where I will post photos and brief comments. The blog will run as normal though. Message me (Brian, not Sven) if you want the link.