The End: Reflections

We loved our tour in Scandinavia and the people we travelled with couldn't have been better. A big thank you to Mick, Kate, Ken and Maree. Greg always wanted to show Wendy where he'd toured years ago and have a look at some other places in the region so this is why were in Scandinavia. However, if you are considering doing a cycling tour in these countries here are a few pointers:
1. It is expensive, VERY EXPENSIVE, so do your sums carefully before you go. Greg was there in 2006 and didn't notice it that much; maybe because it was a "boys tour" and they weren't that fussy about where they stayed or ate. If you are camping and cooking your own meals, then it wouldn't be much more expensive than other parts of Europe. However, if you're staying in hotels and eating in restaurants be aware it will cost you. Examples, equivalent to in US$, hotels US$200 per night, glass of house wine US$10, main course at a normal restaurant US$26, cup of coffee US$5. 
2. While the big cities are full of museums, galleries and interesting things to see the smaller places we rode through didn't seem to have much worthwhile stopping for. If you are expecting old and quaint little villages similar to Western Europe you'll be disappointed. 
3. The countryside is really nice in places but it is nearly all the same no matter where you are in Scandinavia. So, the pine trees, forests, lakes and crops started looking similar after four weeks or so. What we are trying to say here, instead of whipping around four countries, just concentrate on two. 
4. The hotels are geared up for cold, not heat, (like some other European countries we've been to) needless to say we spent a few uncomfortable nights in stuffy rooms (can't open windows in some) with not even a fan to circulate the air. However, we did notice that more hotels were supplying portable fans upon request, once we caught on. 
5. For what you pay for a room we expected more space (some were tiny), decent aircon and tea/coffee facilities. Maybe we've been spoilt by hotels back home and shouldn't compare. 
6. We couldn't avoid a few days driving, however we wouldn't do it again anywhere in Europe. The price of fuel, the traffic and the pay parking everywhere is just not worth the hassle.  We had to hire a car as you can't take your bike on Swedish trains. For that reason, on principle we wouldn't tour there again unless they changed their policy. However, Swebus were excellent when we used them; and welcomed bikes which were in a bag. These guys need to run the railways too!
7. Don't expect sunny, hot days even in mid-summer. While we were lucky to dodge the rain most days there were an awful lot of dull, grey skies overhead for a vast majority of the time. When the sun did come out it painted a lovely picture though. We expected more rainy days so we're very lucky in that respect. 
On a positive note, we must say that we never struck a rude nor impolite local person the whole time we were there. On the contrary they all went out of their way to be helpful.