For weeks the needle has pointed north, now it turns around: we have a workshop appointment in Schladming and a few thousand kilometres to cover before it. Three stopovers lie in between - with reindeer right outside the door, salad on the pizza and a Finnish invention Sven falls in love with on the spot…

The welcoming committee in Suomussalmi

We had actually wanted to visit a friend in Helsinki. He, however, was on holiday - at his cabin by a lake in the middle of Lapland. So we reprogramme the sat nav, drive a good way north once more, and Sven spends the rest of the day building a jetty…

The last kilometres to the cabin

Time for the next country. On the way there we briefly become involuntary animal rescuers, at the border we miss out on the cheap diesel, and in the Korouoma we do not meet a single other person for hours. What we do find instead, over and over again…

An encounter in the Korouoma

Straight back through Sweden or the big loop via Finland? In Umeå the decision falls. After that the east coast shows us boardwalks, skerries, a lighthouse and an evening sky you would happily end a meeting early for - Sven, at that point, is still on a call…

Evening sky near Lövånger

The mountainous west is behind us, now we head straight across Västerbotten to the sea. Two stopovers, two hikes, a surprisingly good pizza - and at the end a campsite that is really not our thing…

Evening light in Fredrika

Back in Steinkjer we faced a decision: north, west or east. By now we have worked through all three - and now we cross the border into Sweden, heading for the famous panoramic road through the wilderness…

Climbing up onto the high plateau

The decision is made: we are carrying on north. Along the way we hike across four suspension bridges, reach the one place in Norway I absolutely wanted a photo of - and then a landslide closes the road…

Mission accomplished

Quite how big the staircase actually was got carefully kept from me beforehand. Afterwards we drive one of Europe’s best known coastal roads - and finally stop in a city we had previously only ever driven past…

Over 3,000 steps

We restock straight from the farm, stand beside a lake that is just as beautiful as it was ten years ago - and then finally drive the one place we had skipped on every previous Norway trip…

The Trollstigen at last

A new noise keeps us company over the pass, so in Bergen the workshop comes before the sightseeing. And at the Briksdalsbreen we stand at the same glacier we visited ten years ago…

Back here ten years later

After a few lovely days in Denmark we cross to Norway. What follows is the country’s southernmost town, a place that forces you to think - and a rail bike ride where giving up is not an option…

Off to Norway

The second season begins. We meet the podcast crew in their natural habitat, stay longer in Aarhus than planned - and in Vejers Strand finally take a photo we completely forgot about in Morocco…

The beach photo at last