I shared this note on Facebook. “23 countries, 15000km, more than a month, two motorcycles and two middle-aged men. Upper European Tour. I love that saying "die with memories, not with dreams". I've dreamed all my life. I tried last year but I had to return from Vienna because of the coup. My daughter would also come to Italy, but she could not. Well, I'm leaving tomorrow with a new route and new excitement. Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Lükemburg, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and of our country Turkey. I'm going to go, see, meet, eat, and come back with lots of new stories and people. ” 

The next day our plan was to make the Transalpina pass and stay in Sibiu. We woke up early and left. Our expectations for Transalpina were very high. Meandering roads, mountains, landscapes, bears, nature. Great expectations can cause disappointments, our first impression was not what we expected. But Sibiu was very impressive. We encountered a medieval European town. We made a reservation at Hostel Pangea in Sibiu The hostel was right in the center of town and we could have easily found it. 

Wouter and his wife Adina run another hostel in Sibiu. His name is Janssen Bed and Breakfast. If you go to Sibiu, you can stay in one of these two places and tell my love. After Sibiu we set out early for the Transfagarasan crossing. It was a lot of fun and a very nice ride at the beginning. The weather was partly cloudy, warm and still. Approaching the mountain and the landscape was very beautiful. The asphalt was very good for motorcycles.  Watch the video on the right to see the beauty of the scenery. 

The fartest destination of this trip is the northernmost tip of the continent, Nordkapp, Norway. Round trip is about 15000 km passing through 23 countries for 38 days. Great excitement. With Erhan Metin. Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, (Belarus * did not take due to visa, we could not go to Russia, we changed the route) Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary , Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Greece and Turkey. Great preparation, great plans, great excitement and we set out on July 13, 2017.

I cut all my hair to make it comfortable in the helmet. For 38 days I took 30 underwear, 30 T-shirts, summer and 4 season motorcycle suits and many other clothes with me. I brought half of them back still ironed :)

The first stop was Edirne. After staying there for one night, we entered Bulgaria at the Hamzabeyli border crossing early in the morning and rode straight to Shumen. There was a monument we wanted to visit. We arrived in Shumen by noon. 

We visited the monument for about an hour, there we met a group of people, among them some spoke Turkish, but I think they were Bulgarian Turks. They understood that we were Turkish, but they did not give much face.

Then we went on the road and in the evening we settled in the house we rent in Bucharest, Romania. That evening we were very tired and made about 850 km road and we had got up very early in the morning. We went to sleep after a snack. The next day we wandered around Bucharest and in the evening we had dinner in the old town.

We parked our motorbikes and took our belongings to the room and completed our check-in. We were very hungry and we asked the help of the Hostel staff for a proper place to eat. Dorina, the owner of the hostel, helped us. The hostel was right in the center of the city, on the right side of the hostel was a very pleasant cafe. She also offered that we could have a drink in the hotel cafe after dinner. Dorina's husband was an artist and the hostel was adorned with his work all over, created a pleasant ambiance. We went to a cafe nearby for dinner, it was very crowded. A middle- aged woman with a 7-8-year-old girl wanted to sit next to us because there was no empty table in the cafe. We invited them, and during the conversation, we asked the woman whether she was her granddaughter. But It was her daughter. :) She had a late marriage. We were very embarrassed but the woman said “don't worry” that happens very often to me. After a pleasant chat, we got up and went to the hotel bar. It was very crowded, we went aside for a drink and sat down. Meanwhile, Dorina, the owner of the hotel, was chatting with a group of 7-8 people and came to see us and asked if we would like to join them. It was a pleasant opportunity for us to socialize and we joined. We had a very pleasant chat and a fun evening. Wouter Janssen and his wife likened me to Paulo Coelho. I said, "Yes, I am him." Paulo Coelho jokes all night. It was a very nice evening with very nice people. 

And this was the moment when Transfagarashan killed us off. We had not got wet like that before. we had moments It was not only raining but raining cats and dogs. Water got into our helmets, we got wet from our feet to our hair. It was a very impressive experience. This is the way down from Transfagarasan.

We went down from Transfagarashan to Curtea De Arges. It was a small town as far as I remember but it had a great cathedral. When we got there, we had nothing left dry on our bodies. We stopped in a gas station to change, we asked for an empty space, we wore dry things. Here we met Atti Veri. Atti is a German and traveling on his bike. I've added it on Facebook and I'm following him. He also rides a lot to see new places. 

The next stop was Kiev. We moved from Chisinau to Kiev. Ukrainian customs were very troubled. They opened and closed our bags 3-4 times. They got us wait a long time. Then we were asked to fill out a form in Russian language, but no explanations in English. “How can we fill?”, we asked. They asked 50 Euros from me and 30 euros from Erhan. When we asked why, they said it’s for filling the form. They were asking for bribe. They also stated that there are English forms at other customs 300km away. It was a joke. We resisted a little, but then we had no other logical choice. After riding an empty road about 10km from the customs he arrived at another custom office again and seriously re-checked us one more time. We really got tired and upset. We finally got out of the customs, but we started riding on such a bad road that we can't tell with words. The asphalt was very old and falling apart but under the asphalt was concrete old road.  The asphalt is riddled with holes everywhere and we are constantly falling into the pit and we have no chance of escaping and drove like this for 80 km. It sounded like the bike was torn apart. Suddenly, the side bag broke. The plastic parts that holds the carriage were broken from the bottom. I tied it up with a rope. There was strange sounds coming from the suspension. At the end of 80km we took a highway. Our morale was so bad that we stopped at the first gas station where we saw the people and civilization. Then we relaxed a little.

We reached Kiev in the evening on Sunday. We moved to the hotel and I started looking for a motorcycle mechanic on the internet. I want to get the suspensions and the bag repaired. Because there are more than 12000 km to go ahead. The suspension could somehow be repaired but the aluminum bag was difficult to fix. I found a lot of mechanics on the internet, but I was interested in a garage called Only Metal Cycles because they were making custom motorcycles. I thought they could make my side bag and I wrote a message on facebook pages. Half an hour later, he texted his number and said, "Call me." When I called the garage, it turned out that someone who spoke English very properly. I told him the situation, he said come to garage on Monday morning. I was so glad.

Transparent, sharper bends (better to watch in HD). As if Earl Dracula's demon caught our souls, we started to rid in racing mood. However, it could be enjoyed sightseeing. Don’t know the reason but the road and the scenery motivated us to ride fast. 

We went on riding the same day and reached Brasov. In Northern Romania,  as if it has not changed since the Middle Ages, the ancient appearance of buildings and streets impress people. As we approached Brasov, we passed Bran Castle. The place of Vlad the Impaler, or the well-known Count Dracula. But we didn't go in, just in case :) We only stayed one night in Brasov. The next morning we set off for Moldova Chisinau. We generally took intermediate roads from Brasov to Chisinau. It wasn't our choice but navigation choose it because it is short. It was a long and bad road, but scenic, passed by villages, towns and couldn’t ride fast. It took too long to reach to Chisinau.

Transfagaraşan soft bend passes

Transfagarashan assessment with Erhan on the right. Erhan put an end to the point and he said “ Those who don’t ride here in Transfagarasan yet can not claim to be a good rider.”

We saw a big and beautiful cathedral in Curtea De Agres and we wanted to visit. I parked the motorcycle at the entrance. At that moment, a bride and groom and with their families walked past me to the monastery. And I was in riding clothes, and very sally. As soon as we met eye to eye with the groom to be married, I looked at his eyes directly and said seriously, “Are you sure you want to do this?, You still have time to think one more time. It may be too late if you get in. Think again.” He was stunned, shocked and his eyes opened wide, and then he thought I was joking and murmured something meaningless and went a way. I walked after them, they stopped at the monastery door with a small ceremony, I was rocording video, and at that moment he saw me again, pointing with his thumb, he entered. So we went in and witnessed their wedding, but I'm sure he’ll never forget me. He’ll remember me every time he has a problem with his wife. :)

We only spent one evening in Chisinau, as we arrived late, we didn't have chance to travel much. Two of our only memories were that we sat in a cafe and everyone in the cafe was very beautiful (women) and the other was a sticker bargain. A few sellers were selling stickers at a market in the center of Chisinau. As I recall, They asked 130 Moldova Lei for each. I wanted to give 300 Moldavo Lei for 3. But I'm surprised no one accepted. Bargaining is what we used to do in touristic places. A seller came to me who had gone  to Antalya and said “ın Antalya you ask 1 euro for each, here 3 of them is less then one euro and you still triyng to make a bargain.” I was surprised to learn that then Moldavian Lei is not too much against Tl. Turns out I was working that hard for 3-5 cents. Embarrassed very much.

We transit pass Lthuania to Latvia, Riga. By the way, we were heading north, we were sure of it, but the sun was always ahead of us. We expect to see it on the west. The nights got shorter and the days got longer. I wondered how many parallels of latitude up we went. There was something weird, and it was getting colder.

It took a long time to move from Belarusian customs to Poland, and on the way rain started and we had to wait in a long queue for Polish customs. We couldn't stay in Lublin much, we came to the hotel late at night and we left for Lithuania in the morning, and we took a picture when we met a part of Lublin University on the way. 

It didn't take long to move from Riga to Tallinn Estonia. We settled in a nice hotel and wandered around the city. The places where European culture is dominant come to be ordinary for us. There is always an old town ve and generally there are entertainment centers. A big cathedral. Churches. Historic bars and similar foods. 

The next day we went to the harbor to get tickets. Ticket booths are not open all day time, they only open at certain times. It was closed when we went and not many people were around. Only a man was arguing with the security guard. We would ask the security guard when the booths opens, but the discussion took long. We waited. In the meantime, I was chatting Erhan. A little later, the man arguing the security guard came to us, holding a bottle of beer. “Are you Turkish?” He asked in Turkish. We were surprised. “Why are you arguing” we asked. He missed the ferry with 1 min. He said the door was closed, he asked the security guard to open it. He didn’t and the ship was gone. We said you'd go tomorrow. The hotel he said a lot of money. Everything here is expensive. He said he wanted to be detained. At the police station, the beds are free, and they pick up and bring back here in the morning. Food is free. Our eyes opened with surprise. He's trying to get arrested so there's no expense! After a while, the police came, arrested and took him away. 

The next day we boarded the ferry, the weather was good and we went up to the top deck and enjoyed the trip. We started to travel by ferry and while moving away from Tallinn, watching the wav 

After a 1.5-hour ferry ride, we arrived in Helsinki, Finland. The view can be seen on the right as the ferry docks.

Everything is expensive for dinner, let's get ready pizza, we thought we'd cook at home, but for some reason it was a bit harsh. Erhan's pizza review “There is a cutting board in the kitchen and I realized that the board made from poplar wood is more flexible than our pizza.”

We arrived at Tornio between 9-10 in the evening. We went to the shops to buy something at 10.30, all the shops were closed and the streets were empty. Nobody around, but it's like a day time. I even looked at the street when I woke up at 2 o'clock at night, it was still not night dark. It looked as it it never got dark. 

We woke up a little hard the next day . Because our biological clock is out of order. I needed to change engine oil. I found a Yamaha service at Tornio. Craftsmanship 70Euro. Only oil change. It didn't take 15 minutes. I could change by myself but felt a little lazy. Destination Norway and Nordkapp. We would have achieved our goal and we would start riding on our return route. 

I left the hotel early in the morning. We had come to Kiev on Sunday evening and we haD the euro and dollar but we didn't have Ukrainian money. I found Only Metal Cycles garage very difficult because navigation led me to the garden of a factory. I thought it can't be here, I turned around in vain. Nobody speaks English, so I called the garage again. I described the factory, they said okay wait, someone came from behind the factory and took me. Turned out their store is somewhere behind the factory. We met Yuri. Very hot blooded, long hair on top and woven. Very sympathetic, speaks English very well, I explained the situation. He got on the bike and rode around. The front fork he said, a screw in the middle was loosened and after 15 minutes it was over, repaired. I couldn't believe all those sounds were made by a loose screw. He said he would do the bag, but it would take a long time. He said, "Take the motorcycle, go to city, rode around and come back in the afternoon and take the bag." I was so happy that all my problems were being solved. I said okay, but it was 9:30 in the morning. I said I'm not in a hurry. I spent some time in the garage, it was. and interesting place. 

 I was so hungry I wanted to get something to eat and drink. Unfortunately, the surrounding markets do not pass credit cards, do not receive euro or dollars. They said go to the bank and cash it out. I turned back to garage. Yuri asked me where I went, I told the situation to him. He said, "Come” and we went together, he bought me donuts from the store and coffee from the peddler outside. My motor was being repaired, my stomach was full, I was very happy.  Time passed a bit and I returned to the hotel, I woke up Erhan. We wandered a little together. In the evening we bought a ticket to the Depeche Mode concert and returned to Yuri’s garage in the afternoon.

Riga is a very beautiful city, colorful. The spire towers add a distinct beauty. For some reason, the most beautiful one among the countries that left from Soviet rule. Others have not been so colorful and aesthetic. Of course, this is probably due to local culture and circumstances rather than the Soviet regime.

Children everywhere children, they do not distinguish the language, the race or the religion. Discrimination is taught by traditional culture and education. 

We traveled from Finland to Norway for a long time parallel to the Swedish border. There is no door between them like customs etc. We recorded the video on the left at the exact border point on a bridge with the Swedish border in Finland.

Also nature is spectacular, as it is told, everywhere are lakes, thousands of lakes, lush nature and flatten. Never forget the mosquitoes. Incredibly it falls 1000 mosquitos almost each cm cube. When breathing, they get into your mouth. And below the Norwegian border.

The concert was very nice. People were entertaining. They just had fun. I had never listened to Depeche Mode before, but I liked the performance very much. After Kiev, our route to Belarus, we woke up in the morning prepared and set off. After a few hours of travel, we reached the border. Erhan and I handed over the papers. We started waiting. After the passport control, we were waiting for customs procedures. Soon after the officer returned, he gave me my passport and said you can continue. He said “you can not enter because you do not have a visa” to Erhan. What visa! I am an American citizen! Erhan said. but the officer replied “You need a visa because you are an American citizen!  I had  special passport so I hadn’t need  visa for Belarus. We were surprised. We asked another easy. way to enter, but it's futile. He said “you can go and get a visa from Kiev but it would take at least a day or two. Then we changed our course. We decided to turn around Belarus and move on to Riga and Latvia over Poland and Lithuania. Later, we realized that we could not even enter Russia. Russia wanted visa from both of us. We then re- updated our route to Helsinki Finland by ferry over Tallinn, Estonia. 

Of course I also took the opportunity to hang out Erhana. American citizenship did not work everywhere. My special passport was more valid, Great people, Great State! :) The rejected American citizen can be seen on the left.

We had our first meal in Helsinki in a market area, the plate we bought at a booth in the market was close to 60TL. It was quite expensive. We encountered the first Scandinavian reality in Helsinki. Everything is very expensive. We rented a house, and because the options were so expensive, we rented the most suitable one. We didn't pay attention, the house was 50km outside the city. 

When I was chatting about the trip with Erhan in Izmit, he asked me how many liters of your tank. I answered 19 liters. Take 1 meter hose from the hardware store, he said, we will transfer from my tank if gasoline runs out on the road. His own tank is 32 liters! I said it wouldn't be necessary, with a tank of gasoline, the bike  goes about 300-350 km. Surely a petrol station would be that distance I said, we laughed. After wandering in Helsinki, Erhan disappeared in the middle of the ring road. When I realized that Erhan did not come after a while, I stopped to the left of the road and waited. I would go back, but I couldn’t ride the opposite way. Then he appeared on the horizon, but Erhan was pushing the motorcycle. I was surprised. I waited and thought that the motorcycle broke down. I asked what happened. He said he ran out of gas. I started laughing with laughter. I asked if you have a hose. We laughed together. Out of gas! :) Despite the BMW  has the two cylinders, it does not burn the gasoline but drinks it liter by liter. The photo on the left shows a poor Bmw rider out of gasoline. I had a lot of fun, burned the wheel, took a tour around. Erhan had a one-liter thermos, I bought him gasoline from the village nearby and went on to the house we had rent.

Different sections from Erhan's camera. Roads and roads. From early in the morning to late in the evening. we rode day and night on the way north. After Helsinki, our direct Nordkapp destination is only 1500km away, so we planned to spend one night in Tornio. We would make about 750 km and we wanted to reach Nordkapp in the evening the next day. 

On the way to Tornio we found an interesting open air museum. An old bell-making workshop has been converted into a museum. Hundreds of large and small bells are on display.

We are passing through such beautiful places that it is a natural wonder. Human is affected by green and the wonderful color of water. It seems like a fairy tale geography but the mosquito density has increased too much. We can't even stop and breathe. I'm not exaggerating as soon as we stop all over us, nose, ear, mouth. I don't like mosquitoes. I'm not taking off my helmet, but they're getting in. The weather is very cold. I never expect so much fly in the cold.