We're back in Europe! The 40th stage of the XWORLD tour took us from St. Petersburg in Russia, via Murmansk, the North Cape, and down to Helsinki, the capital of Finland. One of the travellers gives her report, which covers everything - from sacred buildings, some slightly dilapidated vehicles, to a horde of huskies.

The travellers arrived for the long stage from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, via Murmansk and the North Cape. In the late afternoon we all met up in the garden of the hotel garden, for an introductory session about the tour. After that we travelled by taxi through the St. Petersburg evening to our restaurant which was situated above the city's rooftops. At the "Moskau" restaurant on the other side of the Neva river we enjoyed dinner and the view over the city, which by now was brightly illuminated.

We all met up early in the morning to embark on our prebooked tour of the city. We headed off in a minibus in the direction of the city centre. Our first stop was St. Isaac's cathedral - considered by St. Petersburg residents to be the most beautiful church in the city. With its gigantic gilded dome it is the third-largest domed cathedral. We were all very impressed by the size and height of the church; covering an area of 4,000 square meters, it is able to accommodate 14,000 people.
Still spellbound by the church we crossed the Neva, past the Hermitage, the art museum with over 1,000 galleries, to the Peter and Paul fortress. This 18th century fortress is the original foundation and the historic centre of the old city. We visited the cathedral of St. Peter and Paul where most of the Czars are interred in marble tombs, and spent a magical afternoon listening to very special church music. Our city tour ended with a visit to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, the only church in St. Petersburg to have the typical onion domes.
Completely overwhelmed by the city's diversity we all enjoyed some welcome free time in the late afternoon. In the evening we met up for dinner at a typical Russian restaurant to try out some special regional dishes.

We breakfasted together at the hotel and we were all happy that today we would finally be getting into the cars and finally setting off on the first kilometres of our long journey. We loaded the cars, and noticed the first problem. The rear left tyre on one of the cars was completely flat. Fortunately, we had our mobile pump handy and pumped up the tyre.
Then we could finally get going. We travelled out of St. Petersburg and quickly reached the road that would take us to the north. Along the biggest lake in Europe, Lake Ladoga, 220 kilometres wide and 120 kilometres long, we travelled into the region of Karelia. The roads were good and we made good progress accordingly. The only thing that caused us a bit of anxiety were the thick rain clouds above us. In fact we had intended to pitch our first camp that evening, but when the rain clouds finally unleashed their contents, we very quickly decided to look for a hotel in Medvezjegorsk. Fortunately we found one very quickly. An hour later, after the complicated checking-in process, we met up for dinner together, and the obligatory vodka.

We set off early in the morning with no breakfast. No kitchen staff was yet available in the morning. We set off towards the north on the M18. The route took us alongside countless lakes. The weather was still rather unsettled, but the sun showed its face now and again. At 66 degrees and 33 minutes we crossed into the Arctic circle, and we stopped for a group picture. For many of us crossing the Arctic circle was an awe-inspiring experience.
At sunset we looked for a place to camp and found one close to the M18. The advertised camp-site turned out to be a wonderful place in a forest with a lake. Rather than pitch our tents, we took up the offer to hire the huts. Over pasta served with a tasty mushroom sauce we enjoyed a pleasant evening enjoying the sunset and a camp fire.

The aroma of coffee and scrambled eggs and bacon urged the late risers from their beds. A few started the day by jumping into the ice-cold lake before we set off once again towards the north. Today's destination was the city of Murmansk. With just under 400,000 inhabitants Murmansk is one of the biggest cities inside the Arctic circle. We reach Murmansk in the early afternoon and soon discovered that the city is not exactly a jewel. Unfortunately we were not allowed to make the planned visit to the secret Russian naval base where the submarine fleet is harboured, but at least we were able to visit the war museum on the outskirts of the city. We saw a reverential display of Russia's war history. It took us a while and a few diversions to find our hotel. It was outside the city, so we had a great view.

The sixth day was our last in Russia. We started off early in the morning, because we didn't know how long we would need to cross the border and travel into the west. The weather today was just the same: heavy clouds and a lot of rain. We reached the border at noon and we were all very tense before the border formalities. The Russian officials gave their all, and we were full of confidence. The first three vehicles with their passengers got through very fast, but bureaucracy struck at the next three. The customs document for the vehicles was written out in such small writing that even the official couldn't decipher the numbers let alone read the document. The result was that they determined that the vehicles had left the country over a year ago. Several officials were brought in and they all checked the documents. It meant that they had to telephone their colleagues in East Russia who had filled in the forms. By now it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon and it was obvious that due to the time difference they would not be able to reach the officials in the east. We refused the officials's offer to come back tomorrow when their colleagues would be awake, and threatened to put up our tents right there at the border post. So we spent four very full but not all that pleasant hours at the border. And then wonder of wonders! After the chief inspector had received a "telephone order" from Murmansk, we were finally allowed to leave the country.
The formalities to get into Norway were child's play and we were happy at last, after more than 12 months, to get back onto European soil. We enjoyed the continuation of our journey along the fjords to Kirkenes and to Tana Bru.

Although we are in the far north and the season is changing fast in the direction of winter, we are woken in the early morning by the first rays of sunshine. This was the first day on our journey when we felt that the sun would stay with us all day. The journey to North Cape was just wonderful. We journeyed along fjords and saw our first reindeer. But half way to the North Cape we experienced a bit of a shock. One of the cars caught fire - the result of a short-circuit at the steering wheel. We needed several litres of water to put the fire out, and we were really happy that the car wasn't completely burned out. After a quick check to see whether the car was still drive-worthy, we reached the North Cape in the late afternoon.
Here we experienced something that visitors to the North Cape rarely see: We were the only ones on that day who had made the long journey to the North Cape. For Reiner, who was making the trip here for the fourth time, it was the first time that he saw no other visitors at the North Cape. We greatly enjoyed the peace and quiet and being on our own and pitched our tents at the car park there. Over pasta, salmon and mushrooms we passed a pleasant evening together until late.

The weather gods were being kind to us. We were woken by the first rays of sunshine and none of will forget breakfast at the North Cape in a hurry. We travelled along the Porsangerfjord into the Finnmark. Reindeer were constantly crossing our path and we had to look out to make sure we didn't hit any of them. We spent the night in a hotel at Karasjok, close to the Norwegian-Finnish border.

At last we were back in the Eurozone and no longer needed to struggle with foreign currencies. The border crossing to Norway was merely marked by a sign on the roadside. We travelled via Kaamanen to reach the town of Inari on the lake of the same name, and we took possession of our rooms at the Engholm Design Husky Farm. We were all very pleased to get there early so that we could take stock of our surroundings under our own steam. With 56 adult Alaska huskies and 14 puppies, the farm is one of the biggest in Finland. And to top it all, the owner of the huskies - Sven Engholm - is one of the most successful "mushers" in the world. He has won the Finnmark Sloepet race - the longest sled race in Europe, covering more than 1,000 kilometres - eleven times, and is one of the best "mushers" on the legendary "Iditarod" race in Alaska, over 1,800 kilometres. He has built his Design Lodge with loving care down the last detail, and we were all very impressed by the welcome we received. First of all we were thoroughly spoiled with delicious food, and secondly we discovered a lot about husky breeding and life at the topmost corner of Finnish Lappland.

Early next morning we were woken by the huskies and by the first rays of the sun. After all that husky theory the evening before, it was very interesting for us now to be able to watch their training. Since there's not yet any snow for sledding, the huskies are hitched to a quad bike. We had the impression that the huskies had been waiting all night just for this moment. Fifty-six huskies all barking at once and every one of them wanted to get to the training session.
A little later we set out to our training too, and travelled on in a southerly direction. On our journey southwards we stopped at an old gold-mining town, and Richard tried a bit of old-style gold-panning - not without success. Sure, it wasn't a very big nugget, but he was able to filter 4 or 5 small grains of gold from the cold water. A little later we reached the edge of the Arctic circle once again. This time, however, on the Finnish side. The seemingly bizarre Christmas market on the Arctic circle interested us rather less; we haven't yet caught the Christmas spirit. We journeyed on, leaving Lappland, and pitched our camp between Rovaniemi and Kemi.

Then we travelled on southwards, and drove along the coast of the Baltic. We drove along the typical Finnish roads through the scenic lakes and forests, and reached our destination on Lake Pielinen. We seemed to have completed a small circle here, because we had arrived in the Finnish part of Karelia. We rented two cabins on the lake and experienced the most beautiful sunset of the whole trip. With no mosquitoes and sitting round the campfire, it was an unforgettable evening.

The first highlight of this day was climbing up the Koli mountains close to our overnight accommodation. At 350 metres, for the first time we had a view over the entire lake region and were totally astounded at how many lakes there actually are. As we continued southwards we reached Savonlinna in the afternoon. With some 30,000 inhabitants the town isn't one of Finland's major cities, but it's well-known nonetheless. Firstly because of its annual opera festival and secondly for Olavinlinna castle, built in the 14th century.
Since we wanted to be in Helsinki early the next day, we decided to travel further today than we intended. At Puumala we were fortunate once again to be able to rent two log cabins. With the sun going down, and with some delicious food inside us, we relaxed as the day came to a close.

Our last travelling day. We drove on towards Helsinki on well metalled roads. We reached Finland's capital shortly after midday and soon afterwards were checking into our hotel. With some 600,000 inhabitants, Helsinki is a young, lively and open city - and so is also manageable, charming, and endearing.
After a quick shower we all met up again in the hotel lobby to take a guided tour of the city. Our first stop was the famous church on the rock, which was completed in 1969. The archaic church emanates tremendous peace and offers a delightful moment's rest to anyone seeking a little solitude and reflection. Other destinations on our tour were the Finlandia Hall and Senate Square.
In the evening we all met again for dinner. We enjoyed our last dinner together by candlelight.