We are sitting in a car on our way to the small town of Kirkenes. Without bicycles. We hoped until the end that the bikes were somewhere in the small airport, but they had not arrived on the plane in Oslo. Now all we can do is wait until the next day and hope the bikes arrive. We look out the car window. The reindeer cross the road as the most natural thing. We smile at each other. Now the adventure begins.

Our dream is to cycle from the Nordkapp in Norway to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. We dream of cycling from the north through Europe, sailing across the Strait of Gibraltar and continuing through West Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. Experience how nature and culture change from north to south as we pedal.

There can be all kinds of good reasons why a dream cannot come true. For us, there were also lots of roadblocks, which in principle stood in the way of us being able to cycle from Cape to Cape. We weren't done working. In fact, we were both working on good and exciting projects, which we are sad to say goodbye to. Missing family and friends while we are away. On top of it all, Kenneth got a vaccination that went horribly wrong, and therefore ended up with an abscess the size of a table tennis ball before it was cut open, leaving an open wound on the upper arm that will take several months to heal. Marie fainted, fell off the couch and suffered a concussion during the same vaccination. So in principle we should stay at home safely.

But Africa is a big dream for us and we decided that we must make it succeed as best we can. This means, among other things, that we spend the summer holidays cycling from the Nordkapp to Copenhagen, where we press pause while we finish our jobs. Kenneth has to work for a month and therefore cycles through Europe alone, while Marie works for two months and flies to Spain, where we are reunited.

We have made a plan which means that we will go and fulfill the dream, instead of letting the challenges limit us to stay at home.

Our route to Nordkapp is easier than the one most other cyclists have taken to Nordkappklippen. Most have cycled for weeks or months. We reach Nordkapp after a sailing trip and 35 beautiful kilometers by bike. It is still a huge experience to stand on the edge of the cliff and look out over the sea, and we took our time to take in the moment.

We love to experience cultures that are different from our own, but in our dear neighboring country it is especially nature that we have come to experience. We look at the map and the many peninsulas, islands, fjords and mountains along the west coast. We zoom in on the map and see the white peaks, few roads and many ferry crossings.

Everything is fresh and crisp like it was spring, even though it is the month of July. There are lilacs and other spring flowers. It all shines bright green.

The midnight sun shines on us, and we quickly have to turn a little upside down during day and night. It's hard to crawl into your sleeping bag when it's bright and there's so much to experience.

The islands of Senja and Lofoten live up to their reputation as some of the wonders of the world. The raw and dramatic mountains descend directly into the water, which are the feet that step into the lagoon-blue fjord. There are sandy beaches and idyllic red wooden houses adorn the countryside. The evening light dances in different shades over the rocks, and when it shines on a boat in the water, you have to pinch yourself to make sure it's not a dream. Here we also found the most beautiful places to pitch the tent, with a view of the mountains.

The most beautiful town on Lofoten, in our opinion, is Henningsvær. It is so beautifully located that just the journey out there is worth it. To get there, you cycle all the way out on the tip of the furthest pinnacle. The road winds past white sandy beaches, vertical cliff sides, we had a view of small islands in the most beautiful blue water and finally we cycled over two small steep bridges to reach the tang where the town is located. You really can't get any further away.

The town itself is really cozy with a small harbor and good coffee on every street corner.

From Lofoten we continued along the coast to Trondheim. A city that pleasantly surprises us. Small cozy streets with colored houses, a wonderful atmosphere and with the Nidaros Cathedral, which manifests that Trondheim has been and still is an important city in Norway.

In Trondheim we are at a crossroads. There are many roads that lead to Rome and also to Copenhagen. We both wanted to cycle along the coast and also over the mountain. We chose to cycle over Dovrefjell, as we wanted to see Muskox.

We waved goodbye to Trondheim and cycled to the beautiful old train station at Kongsvold. From here, a hiking trail goes up to Dovrefjell, where you may be lucky enough to spot musk oxen. We packed a backpack with snacks, water and clothes and crossed our fingers as we started walking. We could read that there were often good opportunities to see muskrat near the Høgsnyta top. So we navigated that way through the trail system. We met people who were coming down from the mountain without having seen musk. But who hadn't been to Høgsnyta. So hope still lived. After approx. 700 meters of altitude, we approached the top, just as a Swedish family was packing their backpacks. "Join us. There are 4 musk oxen further down here”. We followed and sure enough, 2 small brown dots appeared at the bottom of the valley. The other 2 had wandered on.

We walked to a rocky outcrop about 200m from the two musk oxen, just as they were laying down for a midday nap. It gave rise to some biscuits for us, while we sat and enjoyed the view of the valley, the mountain massif, and the two huge animals.

When, after a while, the cold wind told us that we were ready to go again, the two musk oxen got up and started to graze and wander around a bit. After 10 minutes they set off in a violent run down through the valley and disappeared out of sight.

It was a really nice experience to see the big animals walking freely on the mountain, with plenty of space. It is the only place in Norway where musk is found.

Later in the day, luck reached new heights when, for the first time on the trip, we could finally drive on dirt roads. We probably missed that. Until then we had only driven asphalt. There are not many options in northern Norway. The roads are few and far between. It was good for the soul. Our euphoria echoed in the universe, because not long after, a rainbow stood behind us as we drove in beautiful sunshine and torrential rain. Magical.

The plan was actually for Marie to sail home from Oslo, to be able to get back to work when the summer holidays ended. But we arrived two days earlier because the mountain was easier to cycle than we had expected.

So at a roundabout, on the outskirts of Oslo, we looked at the map one more time. If we increased the mileage, we could reach Kenneth's father's birthday on Saturday. So from here we gave ourselves a new challenge. To get home to Copenhagen on Friday evening, we had to cycle approx. 200km every day for four days. We thought it sounded like a fun new plan and set off. The weather gods thought we should be challenged a little extra, so they spiced up the trip with heavy rain and strong headwinds. Everything was soaked. We set up the tent in the rain and packed it down wet. The experience road was replaced by the straighter road, and Cirkle K became our friend to fill up the machine quickly. It was a fun contrast to the way we normally travel, where we love to stop often, meet people, eat local food and take lots of detours.

As we approach Scania, the weather finally changes, and we once again experience the beautiful bright warm Scandinavian summer evenings, which cannot be better. It also turned into an absolutely fantastic baker's stop in Halmstad, where Kenneth had found a really nice baker with the best cinnamon buns. You have to have that when you are in Sweden.

We got to the ferry in Helsingborg, sailed across Øresund to Helsingør and cycled along the coast to Copenhagen in the most beautiful sunshine. Stomach full of potato salad and heart full of joy and gratitude for having cycled from Nordkapp to Copenhagen. The last four days we cycled 800km, and we reached the family birthday, where the cake table was cleared well and thoroughly for lack of calories.

It has been a dream to cycle to the Nordkapp for a very long time. It is one of the world's most iconic cycling routes. The nature on the coastline in northern Norway is very very beautiful. The rough rocks that stand in the clear water of the fjords give a stomach ache. Sitting and eating a simple dinner on a rock at the water's edge, while we could see porpoises swimming quietly around a small cove, gives peace of mind. The mythical landscape of Lofoten, bathed in the midnight sun, cannot fail to put a big smile on your face. And hiking out to a ledge to watch musk oxen roam free connects the soul with the urinary instincts within us.

We experienced all this on our way from Nordkapp to Copenhagen. It was exactly what we hoped for. To discover the magnificent nature of our neighbors to the north.

But the trip from Nordkapp does not even stand alone, because now that we finally completed it, it is part of a larger journey. A dream within a dream.