08.28 Now the time has come. It is time to begin the journey to the north, the journey home. Earlier this week we went to Petra and the Pyramids. Today we are going to the airport. But first I will try to get some sun on the balcony.

10.00 We are listening a final time at our favourite program at the English language Radio Cairo. The program is called "Children’s corner" and it is ever so merry It begins with "Here we go round the Mulberry bush" followed by a happy... Helloooo children....!!

Our balcony view at King Tut Hostel in Cairo.

11.15 We just finished our last meal, at least the last here in Egypt. The last of our things are being put down as smoothly as possible. Once again a question appears. What shall we pack in the cabin bag and what will remain in the backpack? Mistakes from earlier must not happen again (7/8-2004). We want everything to get home.

12.15 After saying thanks and bye to King Tut Hostel and the staff there we began our walk to the bus station. Just as we got there we met the airport bus leaving the place. Right now we are resting in the shade, sitting on a low wall. There is no panic. We´ve got plenty of time. Just as in Budapest (27th of July 2004) and Gdansk (23rd of July 2001).

12.22 I just picked up a cap that some kid lost. It lay on the road in front of us and I placed it on the wall.

12.34 We just entered the bus that will take us to the airport. Here comes a man and he is selling napkins! At the airport we will just relax and eventually check in. As that is done we might get a little to eat. I hope that the time of take off we have is accurate. It is time to pay for the ticket. A man just came in to the bus and showed the cap I had placed on the wall. He probably wondered if it was mine.

13.55 We reached terminal 2, the domestic hall. The long journey here let us know how big Cairo is. The fight against terrorism seems to be on a low level. Some policemen in a car guarded a church. All of them were sleeping. Here at the terminal it´s not much space, at least not at this side of the counters. Now we are thinking of having a cup of coffee. Is it Ok to bring the backpacks into the café? We just have to study and copy. Just as we´ve done before, and will do again.

15.05 Still on ”our” bench. Both of us have strolled around trying to get the picture of the place. It is OK to enter the café with a backpack but we plan to wait with the food until after we checked in.

15.34 Left of us are some stairs, stairs leading down to among other things, the café. At the head of the stairs and in front of a large x-ray machine is an armed guard. He has been standing there since we got here. The strange thing is that he guards the beginning not the end of the machine. We just got a hint of what he might be guarding. He, some of his colleagues and some policemen in white are using the machine as storage. They brought out soda and cookies from the machine.

16.40 Soon we will be heading for the security control and the check in. I wonder if I will keep everything this year? Last year they confiscated my pocketknife at the airport of Split.

Cairo International Airport

17.46 Checked in, stamped out and sitting at Aero Café for some soda and a sticky pastry.

18.39 We spent some of the remaining money. There are still some to get rid of. We will see if it goes to charity or something. We also managed to guide some disorientated passengers to the right gate.

19.16 We are in the last waiting room. Behind us is the check-in and ahead of us is the door that leads to the aeroplane. The cabin luggage has been x-rayed and approved by the metal detector. We are fourteen minutes from take off. Will it be done in time or? Christer has donated 7-8 pound to the Red Crescent.

19.29 Back on a plane again. Seats 27 E and F. We are wondering if and how we shall get some food here. Do they accept credit cards, dollars? One thing that wasn’t accepted was taking a picture. A security guard by the counter asked a little girl not to take any pictures.

19.41 The positive thing, Hans Christian Andersen is our co-pilot. The negative thing, the aeroplane landed late and we are missing 4-5 passengers. Their luggage is onboard but they are not.

19.44 All aboard. Time for take off.

20.02 We are in the air. Good-bye Africa, Egypt, Cairo and Sahara.

19.52 I just switched to central European time. A fly just appeared. How did it get up here? Has it hiked with my luggage or is there a hole in the plane?

21.33 I predicted wrong 24 hours ago we are above Budapest. Out in the dark it is -50°C.

22.23 Less then half an hour left. We are flying above the border area of Germany and Poland.

22.57 Touch-down. Next we will go to the gate, exit the plane and follow a classic procedure.

DENMARK

23.22 Sitting by the luggage trail and wait. When will our luggage show up? How do we get from here and into town?

23.53 After wrestling two ticket machines we finally got a ticket to Copenhagen’s Central station. It sure isn’t warm here. It was around +16° when we landed and I think it has gotten colder.

Sunday 7th of August

00.05 We are leaving Kastrup and "rolls" towards Copenhagen’s Central station.

00.20 Time to find our last home. It is somewhere outside awaiting us. It is pre-booked.

00.35 It is cold and dark. We can’t find much. We can’t find our home. All we can see are dunk Danish. Some are crying out Brööööndby..... It seems to have been a soccer game.

01.34 We turned back to the station. There we made new plans. We decided to walk in another direction. This plan took us to Egilsgade and Hotel Copenhagen. The door was locked so we called the number that was on a note on the door. It took a while to dial the correct number. We assumed that we didn't have to dial the code for Denmark but that is where we were wrong. Eventually a man answered and he came and let us in. I thought he looked typically Danish but he turned out to be from Iceland. An Icelandic that had misplaced his glasses. We helped him find us in the list. I wrote down information about myself and we went upstairs to room 503. Here we are celebrating with candy bought on the airport in Cairo and .....tap water!!

02.00 Time to go to sleep in divine beds.

08.36 I am partly awake. I guess I will sleep a little longer. After that we will think about "morgonmad", that is breakfast in the café or out on the town.

10.01 I just had a shower and have begun to await the transmission from the track and field world championship. Something is wrong with out stomachs. Is it because of the tap water?

12.08 Time to go out for some lunch. But it isn’t with delight. It is +17° and rain outside.

A rainy Sunday.

Kongens nytorv, Copenhagen.

Nyhavn

13.57 We walked around, we´ve seen Nyhavn and walked along Ströget towards the Town Hall Square, Rådhusplatsen. The town hall was being renovated. We passed the entrance to Tivoli and carried on. Now we will have lunch, pizza and beer. It´s ordered at the restaurant "Pizza & Pasta", what an original name!

15.18 Sitting in the sun on a green bench at the Town Hall Square.

A break at Rådhusplatsen (Town Hall Square), a moment of sun this rainy day.

16.10 Just got back to our room. Time to gather some strength before we go for another stroll in the town.

17.25 Here we go again. Just as we were about to leave it started to rain. I guess we can’t avoid the rain. Rain now and rain in Istanbul on the 4th of July. There is thunder here as well. Imagine that it had to be rain during two days the same summer :-)

19.10 This is enough. Currently no rain. Let´s head out.

View from Ströget, the long pedestrian street in central Copenhagen.

Den lille havsfrun, the little mermaid

21.31 We´ve just been and looked at a girl that sat on a stone an exposed her breasts. She is known as “the little mermaid”. After that we strolled back home. I bought a Danish hot dog. We carried on to the Central station where Christer bought a little to eat. As we got home I bought some coffee. Coffee I started to drink in the lift.

22.33 Time for this year´s last rapport regarding the temperature. It is not that cheerful. It is +12°.

Monday 8th of August

08.51 It is the last morning on foreign ground. There have been many mornings, countries, towns, homes and beds on this trip but now we´ve reached the end of the line.

10.51 Time to leave this our last home. Within two hours we will be on the train to Sweden. Earlier years we got home by ferry or aeroplane. At home we will empty the backpacks, wash the clothes and leave the backpacks out in the fresh air for some days.

11.24 It is time for the final meal. We sat down at Train Fast Food at the Central station here in Copenhagen. It sure will be nice with some food.

Copenhagen Central Station. No, it´s not blood on the floor.

12.17 That was one tasty burger. After that we walked around the station. We were asked if we knew Danish by a man with a video camera and saw another man taking pictures of a phone booth with his mobile phone camera. After that we found out that our train would leave from track 26. As we got there we got the news. It is cancelled. We have to find another train that can take us to Malmö.

12.26 On our way to Malmö Central station. There we will change for a train to Stockholm. It seems that we will forced to stand up on the trip to Malmö.

12.47 We are moving along over the bridge between Denmark and Sweden.

SWEDEN

13.08 We switched train. I´m sitting on seat 36 in wagon 6. Destination is Stockholm. As we get here we will change to Sundsvall, the train there that is.

15.05 I have since about half an hour a new colleague in the seat next to me. The lady with Germanic descend that used to sit here has been forced to leave. It turned out that she was supposed to leave with a train that left Malmö Central station two hours after this trains departure. How she got onboard and also was approved by the conductor is an unsolved riddle. Next it is time to visit the bistro.

16.16 The train rolls through a summery Sweden. It feels good to be on home soil again. Last time I stepped on Swedish ground was on the 19th of June around 50 days ago. I hope we will not get delayed. It is tight enough already. I had me a cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun in the bistro.

16.58 If we follow the schedule we will enter the Central station of Stockholm in about half an hour. Whenever we might arrive we must be on the northbound train at 18.30. It is when it departs.

17.35 We reached arrival time. But this is not the Central station. It is some station area though. The question is, which one?

17.37 We are in Järna. 25 minutes delayed. Onto this we must add the fact that there are some wrong with the signals and we are forced to take another track to Stockholm. This detour makes us delayed for ten more minutes. Estimated arrival time to Stockholm is 18.10. There will be no dinner at the station.

18.25 Entered track 18, full speed ahead indoors, withdrew money, bought newspapers, straight to track 7 and inside our wagon on the new train.

20.24 We finished coffee and reading the newspapers. More and more pine trees outside the train. It begin to feel like the home areas.

21.37 Within fifteen to twenty minutes we will roll into the station of Sundsvall. The place where earlier trips have begun will this year be the end.

21.48 Just about to stop. I do not want to leave the train. It is raining!! Lots!

22.35 Back where it all began. We came up here by bus. A little too much rain to be walking around in. Time for food and other stuff.

23.50 Time to sit down by the table. Before this we glanced through all the pictures Christer has taken with his digital camera. It was fun to see the whole trip concluded in a couple of minutes on the computer screen. As the last pictures faded out everything was done. This years trip is, to borrow a word from so many we´ve met this year,.....FINISHED!