By camper to North Cape (2)

In this centre concerts, conferences, etc. are held; there are shops, restaurants, pubs, stage facilities, fountains, and... 2 giant screens (8 x 16 metres). Now it is raining but we continue our visit, going to Alexanderplatz to see the TV Tower (very tall, 365 metres, the second tallest in the world after the one in Moscow) and then the Cathedral, which seemed to us truly beautiful; from its dome we could see the whole city below us. Now we devote ourselves, in the pedestrian area, to seeing the big and luxurious shops, where we make a purchase: a chocolate shaped like the Brandenburg Gate which, besides being a work of art in chocolate, is truly exquisite. In Friedrichstrasse we go to the Lafayette gallery where there is everything and more, even a sculpture made of old car bumpers.

It is dark, we are tired, we decide to return to our camper where we have dinner, rest and then take one last peek at the city of Berlin. WEDNESDAY 31 MAY Berlin - Sassnitz - Ferry - Trelleborg (Sweden) 380 km Today is a transfer day to Sassnitz, where we will take the ferry that in 4 hours will take us to Trelleborg in Sweden. The night was cold but we rested well; after breakfast we set off and find the usual scenery again, immense expanses of yellow and green fields and many, many wind turbines, useful and necessary to harness the energy of the wind. Along the road we stop to buy the ferry ticket and this will allow us to have priority over the other travellers we will find at the port.

We arrive in the early afternoon and while waiting for the ferry we go to see a duty free where mountains of beer, wine, spirits and chocolates are displayed at very convenient prices, and from this moment and throughout Scandinavia these products will be very expensive. The ship arrives at 5.30 pm; it is enormous and has 3 decks and begins to swallow 3 trains, 30 trucks and on the upper decks all the other vehicles. The crossing is under the sun and we enjoy it sitting on the ship's outdoor armchairs. We arrive at 10 pm at Trelleborg; the city is lit up; we go looking for a parking spot where we can rest for the night and find one almost immediately, at a petrol station. THURSDAY 1 JUNE Trelleborg - Lund - Kalmar - Oland Island 470 km It rained all night but it did not bother us; today we begin our visit of Sweden.

We stop at Lund in a car park where you can only pay by credit card but it does not accept ours; we decide to visit the town all the same and head for the centre. We see old houses with balconies full of flowers and many lilacs, narrow cobbled streets and, on every street corner, bicycle racks. The Cathedral, which we visit, dates back to 1080, a sign that this town was very important in the Middle Ages. After lunch we resume our journey to Kalmar to visit the Castle but find it closed; for the moment we make do with seeing the outer gardens full of flowers of all kinds and also a small cemetery, reserving the visit of the Castle for the next day. We head for Oland Island, where the Swedes spend their summer holidays.

Indeed, the island, 90 kilometres long, has an almost Mediterranean climate, is equipped to host a great many holidaymakers and is connected to the mainland by the longest bridge in Europe. The island is narrow and long and along the road there are no fewer than 300 windmills surrounded by fences full of brightly coloured flowers. The Baltic Sea is calm, the sky clear with the sun shining high, so much so that, at 11 pm, with a wonderful sunset, we take a few souvenir photos and decide to sleep here by the sea. FRIDAY 2 JUNE 2006 Oland Island - Kalmar - Wimmerby - Linkoping 275 km At 7 we are already up with beautiful warm sun; the calm sea invites us to take a walk along the Baltic Sea, after which we set off to return to Kalmar and visit the oldest castle in Scandinavia, built by Henry XIV.

We visit the interior, its furnished rooms, the fine frescoed halls, the courtyard and finally the underground dungeons with the prisons. Here the women who fought for independence against Russia were imprisoned and here they suffered the cruellest tortures, as the displayed photos remind us, which truly impressed us. We continue towards Wimmerby - the town of Pippi Longstocking; everything recalls the story of the Swedish girl with the long stockings and red hair in braids and freckles on her face. Here a village has been opened entirely dedicated to her stories; it is an amusement park for children where, besides playing, they can take part in educational, recreational and sports activities.

The entrance seems expensive to us and the place not suited to two grandparents without grandchildren in tow; we decide to take a few souvenir photos and then set off again to reach Linkoping, where we look for a campsite. And here come the first difficulties: the campsite is open but there is no one at reception, since the staff is present only in the morning from 8 to 12, and after that time the access barriers are closed, operating only electronically. At the gate we find a phone number that we can dial with the intercom; at the other end of the line a lady answers who, in perfect Swedish, explains how to get in... from the whole conversation, then done in English, we understand that we can enter by typing a number somewhere, but we cannot understand where, even though the lady repeats it two or three times.

We don't know how to get in, we are discouraged and it is late; we would like a nice shower and some rest. Fortunately two motorcyclists arrive who do as we did, but right after talking to the lady they head for the barriers and, to the side, hidden from view, they find a panel where they type a number. At once the barriers go up... so that is what we had to do; instead of saying open sesame (or something else) we had to find the panel and type the number the lady repeated to us, namely 4545. We did it and.... at last we got in. Nice, big, clean and quiet, the campsite, immersed in an immense park. But everything is locked: the toilets, the showers, the kitchens, the rubbish bins etc., and everything opens by typing the famous number into the panel beside each facility: 4545.

SATURDAY 3 JUNE 2006 Linkoping - Stockholm 230 km The day looks splendid, the sun accompanies us throughout the journey; at 11 we are already inside the Stockholm campsite, near which there is the metro, which we immediately take for a visit of the centre. It is easy to see Stockholm by public transport because there are many and all well organised. Arriving in the centre we are caught up in a competitive race: the Stockholm Marathon. In an enchanting little square by the sea we take our lunch break in an open-air bistro where they prepare typical Suomi (Lapland) food. We want to take the opportunity and decide to savour a typical dish and we eat, for the first time, reindeer stew with potatoes, all seasoned with spicy little sauces and... jam. We find it tasty and good, so much so that we are satisfied with the choice we made.

Before taking the boat to see Stockholm from the sea we slip into a large park where there is an Octoberfest-style festival with rivers of beer. At 4 pm we take the boat; the sky is clear and accompanies us throughout the crossing; with headphones we listen in Italian to the explanations about the buildings and the various monuments we see. The excursion lasts two hours; once disembarked we are in time to go and see at the boarding port