Northern Adventures

Just another drive up north to Sweden! To begin, Mozy-dog met his traveling companion "Linguini" the roadtripping rat. It was decided that Ratatouille needed a staycation back in Milano. Little did Mozy realize, that this would be his greatest adventure yet. One of many roadtrips to come. Spending 2 days in a RV with us...we were unsure who would become stir-crazy first. As we left Milano, picked up the RV and drove through the countryside between rice and corn fields. Our first quote of the trip worth noting...Michele: "We are going the wrong way, by the way!" :) "We are?" who knew. We were so excited to start our trip that we started in the wrong direction. Once again, back on the right path, we passed Lago di Lugano, climbed up Splügen pass...the clear air, vivid green grass & trees, blue-green serene glacier sprinkled with waterfalls along the alps. Oh so relaxing. The dog was already asleep. In the alps, it was 14°C (57°F) with cool crisp mountain air. What a welcome after such hot weather in Milan the past month. (Sorry Oregonians). It's not the sun we complain about, it's the humidity! Next up, it was time for some gorp. Michele is always excited to see the "squirrel trail mix" reappear when it's time for travel. We traveled through Switzerland, entered Germany and  Hamburg. Oh Hamburg. Somehow one quick decision led us to a 3 hour detour. No joke. We took a wrong turn and then...could not for the life of us EXIT this city. The road signs are nearly nonexistent. Yes, we had a map, compass, gps etc. However...for some reason all the forces were against us in this moment. N-S-E-W, tried them all. Those memories of "European Vacation" with Chevy Chase flashed through my mind of when they got stuck in a round-about in London. We all know the infamous phrase..."look kids, Big Ben!" over and over again. Although in real life, there was no laughing, just a lot of cursing in more than one language. Just when we were about to give up...a sign appeared for "Lübeck" and we continued on our way north. Uggh! We celebrated as Michele floored the gas pedal and I juggled making sandwiches. About this time, I lost my co-pilot seat to Mozy who proudly took his new post until he barked at the attached bicycles atop a car who were passing us. Back to the "transportino" (crate) for him. Short tour. Parked bicycles no problem. Moving bicycles with or without people in this case...are troublesome. We couldn't help but laugh it was so ridiculous. Continued on through Germany, caught the ferry over to Denmark, then Sweden. When we arrived in the south of Sweden, we are officially half way on our tour. As we navigated through South of Sweden, we (ok, I) saw what I thought was a very large draft horse...it was a really BIG moose! A few wild rabbits and then more moose eating in the fields. Approx. 1615 miles (2600km) each way...not including our unplanned detour in Hamburg or planned detour just outside of Sundsvall (Viskan) to family. Arrived on the High Coast, welcomed by sun and a lot of wind! It's nice to be back! In the short time we've been here, we find ourselves absolutely exhausted (dog included) at the end of the day from moving nonstop, at the marina, at home, out and about. :) Mozy has been playing in the waves, trying to meet the swans who parade the fjord along with the neighbor sheep and cows who just wait at the fence in silence in bewilderment at him. Such a city dog. Now if we could just adjust ourselves to the endless daylight hours...this waking up at 4am with sunshine is a bit confusing. :)  More to come as we continue our adventures in Sweden.

Mozy meets Linguini

Lago di Lugano

Switzerland

The Alps

Co-pilot replacement

A new perspective on the High Coast