We are sitting in a car on the way to the small town of Kirkenes. Without bikes. We hoped until the last that the bikes were somewhere in the small airport, but they had not arrived on the plane in Oslo. Now we can do nothing but wait until the next day and hope that the bikes will arrive. We look out the car window. The reindeer cross the road as if it were the most natural thing. We smile at each other. Now the adventure begins.

Our dream is to cycle from North Cape 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. Experiencing how nature and culture change from north to south as we pedal.

There can be all sorts of good reasons why a dream cannot come true. For us, there were also plenty of obstacles that basically stood in the way of us being able to cycle from Cape to Cape. We weren't finished working. In fact, we were both working on good and exciting projects that we are sad to say goodbye to. Missing family and friends while we are away. On top of all that, Kenneth got a vaccination that went completely wrong, and therefore ended up as an abscess the size of a ping-pong ball, before it was cut open and left an open wound on his upper arm that will take several months to heal. Marie fainted, fell off the couch and suffered a concussion during the same vaccination. So basically, we should have stayed home to be safe.

But Africa is a big dream for us, and we decided that we must make it a success as best we can. This means, among other things, that we will spend the summer vacation cycling from North Cape to Copenhagen, where we will press pause while we finish our jobs. Kenneth will be working for a month and will therefore cycle through Europe alone, while Marie will work for two months and fly to Spain, where we will be reunited.

We have made a plan that will allow us to go out and fulfill our dream, instead of letting the challenges limit us to staying at home.

Our route to North Cape is easier than the one most other cyclists have taken to the North Cape cliff. Most have been cycling for weeks or months. We reach North Cape after a boat 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 experiencing cultures that are different from our own, but in our dear neighboring country it is especially the 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 as if it were spring, even though it is July. There are lilacs and other spring flowers. Everything is radiant with light green.

The midnight sun shines on us, and we quickly turn day and night upside down. It's hard to crawl into the 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 go straight down to the water, like the feet that step into the lagoon-blue fjord. There are sandy beaches and idyllic red wooden houses adorn the land. 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 be sure it's not a dream. We also found the most beautiful places to pitch a tent here, with a view of the mountains.

The most beautiful town in Lofoten, we think, is Henningsvær. It is so beautifully situated that just the journey there is worth it. To get there, you cycle all the way to the tip of the furthest islet. The road winds past white sandy beaches, vertical cliffs, we had views of small islands in the most beautiful blue water and finally we cycled over two small steep bridges to reach the islet 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 wanted to cycle both along the coast and also over the mountains. We chose to cycle over Dovrefjell because we wanted to see Musk Oxen.

We waved goodbye to Trondheim and cycled to the beautiful old train station at Kongsvold. From here there is a hiking trail up Dovrefjell, where you might 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 musk oxen near the Høgsnyta peak. So we navigated that way through the trail system. We met people who were on their way down from the mountain, without having seen musk oxen. But who had not been to Høgsnyta. So hope was still alive. After about 700 good meters of elevation gain, we approached the peak, just as a Swedish family was packing their backpacks. “Come with 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 walked on.

We walked to a rocky outcrop about 200m from the two musk oxen, just as they lay down for a midday nap. This gave us some biscuits while we sat and enjoyed the view of the valley, the mountain range, and the two enormous animals.

When the cold wind told us after a while that we were ready to go again, the two musk oxen got up and started grazing and lounging around a bit. After 10 minutes they started a fierce run down the valley and disappeared from 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 oxen are found.

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

The original plan was for Marie to sail home from Oslo so she could get back to work when the summer holidays ended. But we arrived two days earlier because the mountains were easier to cycle in than we had expected.

So at a roundabout on the outskirts of Oslo, we looked at the map one more time. If we turned up the kilometers, 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 about 200km every day for four days. We thought it sounded like a fun new plan and set off. The weather gods thought we needed a little extra challenge, 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 adventure road was replaced with the more straight road, and Cirkle K became our friend for quickly refueling the machine. It was a fun contrast to the way we usually travel, where we love to stop often, meet people, eat local food and take lots of detours.

As we approach Skåne the weather finally changes and we experience again the beautiful bright warm Scandinavian summer evenings, which are the best. It also turned into a fantastic bakery stop in Halmstad, where Kenneth had found a really nice bakery with the best cinnamon buns. You have to have that when you are in Sweden.

We got to the ferry in Helsingborg, sailed across the Øresund to Helsingør and cycled along the coast to Copenhagen in the most beautiful sunshine. Our stomachs were full of potato salad and our hearts were filled with joy and gratitude for having cycled from the North Cape to Copenhagen. In the last four days we cycled 800km, and we reached the family birthday, where the cake table was thoroughly cleared for lack of calories.

It has long been a dream to cycle to the North Cape. It is one of the world's most iconic cycling routes. The nature on the coastline in northern Norway is very, very beautiful. The raw rocks that stand down in the clear water of the fjords give a feeling of hunger in the stomach. Sitting and eating a simple dinner on a stone at the water's edge, while we could watch porpoises swim quietly around in a small cove, gives peace of mind. The mythical landscape of Lofoten bathed in the midnight sun, cannot help but put a big smile on the lips. And hiking out to a rocky ledge to observe musk oxen wandering freely, connects the soul with the primal instincts within us.

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

But the trip from North Cape doesn't stand alone, because now that we've finally accomplished it, it's part of a bigger journey. A dream within a dream.