Wahey!!

Day 15, Trosa to Stockholm, 86 km

And that's that! We are both mildly proud of ourselves for managing the full whack.

But it was another long day before we got to the castle in Stockholm. Surprise surprise, it was raining when we left Trosa, but our spirits were high as we knew our final goal was so close. By the time we reached another one of those yellow ferrries, our shoes were soggy and we were cold again. But we warmed up nicely in a 7/11 type store and Neil had his very first kokt korv (hotdog) - and then another for good measure. I went for the much more stylish quiche and salad.

Trapped in Tumba

After braving the elements some more, we were making good progress until we reached Tumba, a typical commuter town along the lines of Slough or Spandau, take your pick. Unfortunately Tumba will for ever stay in our memory because we had a bizarre deja vu experience there. Leaving it from one end of town up a steep hill towards Eriksberg, we actually managed to cycle a big loop for the best part of an hour and come into Tumba from the other end. Neil was not a happy man, but there was an element of comedy in the moment of truth. We have learned a lot on this trip, but map reading is clearly not one of them.

It was getting really cold and wet again when we found the proper route and just as we were climbing one of Stockholm's many hills, we got caught in a thunder storm with hail that turned the cycle paths into rivers. So rather than get struck by lightening on our last day, we hid under the gable of a school building for a while. This was not the heroic, sunny welcome to Stockholm we had imagined...

But we didn't give up and finally found the castle about an hour later than we expected. Took a quick photo of us before the Japanese tourists took over the castle and then headed up to Vasa Park near Stefan+Gunilla's place.



Unfortunately, Neil had a mega crash in the park while looking for them, giving me a nice knock in the process. So we are feeling a bit sore in various unpleasant places. Suffice to say I feel more like Lance Armstrong than ever today!

Our Swedish hosts came out with a lovely bit of decoration and champagne, which we drank in a very short time and then went to Stefan's recording studio where he played some welcoming music that made us really laugh.



After that, we were allowed to use S+G's brand new sauna in the basement of their home, which was a fantastic way to put an end to our shivering. Stefan prepared a lovely meal for us when we finished. Thanks to you both for the wonderful welcome you gave us!

After a few beers in a bar and a little late night session in the studio, we hit the sack and slepped very well.

Today is odd. I am not on a bike. I am in a busy city full of millions of people. I am wearing clothes we sent to Stockholm in advance. I am still a lttle confused. Bikelag perhaps.

I also bought a fine top that matches nicely with the screen in the Internet cafe we are sitting at. Unfortunately it does not allow us to load photos from my memory stick, so you'll have to bear with us for the pics.



Here is an update of the tallies we've been keeping:

Total miles: 807 (haven't worked out the kilometres yet)

Neil's final sprawl count: 6.5 (including a self-confessed though unwitnessed rollover on the road after a false start, also including the athletic feat of falling backwards over a small fence after locking the bike up!)

Dry day count: a mere 3 out of 15, not including the rainy rest day

Moose count: Unfortunately nul points

Damage report: Nothing much really. One snapped pair of cycling glasses, 3 broken spokes, a few jammed chains.

Quote of the trip: "Why you come in May?!! Why not July?!!"

Was it worth it?: Course it was. Every bit. I recommend it to anyone and Neil proves you don't need to be too well prepared to do it. But maybe do it in July.

The blogging has been fun too. I'll probably do a few days' cycling on the way back to Berlin, so I'll carry on posting until I get back home. Thanks to eveyone for all the greetings and comments, which we really enjoyed. And apologies to everyone who tried to send stuff, but got stumped by the dodgy link to the email address!