Monday 13/06/2011 Stockholm to Lulea 166386-166948 = 562 miles

Early session

Well I'm "pot committed" now to use a poker term. I've probably done nearly half of the Sweden leg, which I had planned to do in 3 days. Up early at 05:15. You can sort of see the direction the sun went down, slightly to the left of the car and where it rose slightly to the right. I guess the car is facing north. It would be nice to stay up all night and watch the sun set and rise but I need to make the most of any darkness to get some sleep.

Killed three mossies in the car, so I'll probably have more bites. They're becoming a real nuisance.

I do a "pre breakfast" drive for 3 hours.

Morning session

What a change!! The weather has gone from June to October. First thing this morning was a bit overcast but within an hour it was persisting down. And it's cold. I've just put some socks on, an extra T-shirt and a fleece!

The other problem is the E4, which has changed from a motorway to a minor "A" road. This means that, instead of averaging 50mph like yesterday I'm now struggling to get up to 50mph.

I'll have to do another 150 miles, but unless the weather picks up I probably won't be able to do any more.

I've sat in the car, in the rain now for over an hour. I can't get the cooker out for breakfast and I can't really even get out of the car. So I may as well take a slow drive.

Afternoon session

The rain stopped about an hour ago. I've done 4 hours of very slow progress but the weather's looking up. I stopped for diesel (SEK534). The fuel gauge is definitely playing up, so I make a note to top up again when the mileage is 167000.

Looking at the maps, I notice that I've passed through "Angerman land" and come out the other side calm and collected. It must be the Buddhist training. I've reached Umea, which was the planned end of stage two in Sweden but as I did extra yesterday I'll have a rest then press on northwards.

Umea has a ferry service to Vaasa in Finland. I think that if I was just driving around the Baltic I would be tempted to short cut to Finland but I've come to see the midnight sun so I can't do that.

Parked in a car park which costs SEK150 but I haven't got any change. So I use my credit card. I must be tired because by the time Visa have added on charges it could cost triple that. I should have used my debit card.

There's a precinct with a McDonalds (of course), a kebab shop and even a Bishop's Arms pub (which is closed) Umea is a bit like Coventry except going back in time. By that I mean about three months! It feels like March!

I was feeling sorry for the locals. If this is summer and "as good as it gets" why would anyone live here. But then I suppose people from Barcelona/Rome/Athens etc. would say the same about Coventry (time to emigrate? south!). I haven't had anything warm to eat today, so I treat myself to a doner kebab takeaway and sit by the river. The rivers in Sweden are massive. It seems that every little town has a river Thames running through it.

I set off about 15:30. A police motorcyclist overtakes me and has a good look over the car but doesn't stop me. 10 minutes later I realise I haven't switched my lights on. I reckon I'm more tired than I thought so I find a pull-in and get some kip.

Evening session

I was tired! I slept like a log for three hours. The thing is that there won't be any darkness tonight, so I may as well sleep when I'm tired rather than waiting for night. I set off for an evening session that takes me past Lulea. I'm getting very close to the Arctic Circle now.

It's 23:00 and still perfect daylight. It strikes me that it's the height of irony that in a place where you can safely drive all night with no lights, they introduce a law that forces you to switch them on. I think I could drive all "night" but I've done an awful lot in the last 2 days, so I stop for the night. Unfortunately it's gone cloudy, so I can't see the sun setting, but I decide to stay up to see if it does get dark. I'm sitting in a lay-by in the middle of nowhere in north Sweden and I get a drive past by the local police. I guess a British registered car is quite rare around these parts (especially an old one!).

It's about 01:00 now and I get another visit. This time it's two mooses (I really don't know what the plural of moose is) I try to get a photo but as soon as I operate the door mechanism they run off into the forest.

Anyway it's late now and I'm convinced it's getting lighter but I can't be bothered to stay awake any longer. Time for bed.