Fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn! After bidding farewells to Switzerland, I was stoked about the chance to drive through Germany. Although I worked in Bavaria, I had seen very little of the Bundesrepublik (Bavaria is the Texas of Germany anyway). Now I would get to see it all – at least as a green blur while blasting through it. Germany has some of the best road networks in the whole world so driving there is a bliss. Even though the highways don't have any speed limit at all and you're allowed to drive as fast as you please, construction zones and slower drivers often limit your pace. I was able to unleash the full power of my car only until I had reached the northern parts of the country. I actually enjoyed driving SO much that I purchased a souvenir: a picture of me in my car with my trademark stupid grin! Jawohl, there are speed cameras even in Germany, often purposely placed as traps right after the unlimited zones – to "maximise road safety". Scheiße!!

Since I wasn't in a horrible hurry, I decided to spend some time as a tourist on the way. The idea was to stay one night in Schwarzwald (the Black Forest) and next one in Northern Germany (I picked Hannover). I wanted to eat a Frankfurter in Frankfurt a.M., a hamburger in Hamburg and enjoy a Beck's in Lübeck (because no-one else ever has had the same idea). However I spent so long wandering in the Black Forest that I had to speed past Frankfurt. Hamburg was organising a city marathon without my approval and the running course rendered Altstadt and St. Pauli quarters inaccessible. Therefore I couldn't take a stroll on Germany's die sündigste Meile (the most sinful mile): - Reeperbahn. Perhaps it wouldn't have been that glamorous anyway since it was an early Sunday morning and I was driving a Volvo. I ended up spending the day in Lübeck instead, and that was a great decision. Lübeck is a lovely seaside city with a glamorous history as the capital of Hanseatic League - a merchant union that once dominated the Baltic Sea. I really enjoyed my day walking and dining in the old town of Lübeck.

The last stretch of the trip was through Sweden. I could've taken a direct ferry to Finland, but driving through Finland's beloved arch-rival was cheaper. I didn't have any time for sightseeing though. Not that it would've mattered: Sweden looks pretty much the same as Finland. The people are just prettier, wealthier and happier: in Sweden even the men know what abstract concepts like "moisturiser" or "manicure" mean. I tried to hide the fact that I was "en finne igen" - "yet another Finn" - but my cover was blown by the credit card I used. Every time I paid, the user interface switched automatically in Finnish. Pahus!

It's now been two weeks in Finland and I am already having a culture shock. After living with the Swiss and the Germans, it feels that people here don't have manners. I feel like an idiot every time I accidentally greet a neighbour or even a stranger. The Finns probably think that I'm either a drunk, a foreigner, or both.