Our road trip alongside the Baltic Sea coastline may not seem to be as challenging in many ways as my lonely circumnavigation of the globe. There are no major dangers in the region compared to my around the world journey – the politic situation is stable, no natural disasters are expected, the crime is on a reasonably low level in the Baltic’s countries, there is no risk of tropical diseases.

For parents, however, travelling with little children sets up completely different challenges – it changes the dynamic of what is being done. Everything about the journey – the route, the itinerary, the stops, the pace, needs to be adjusted to their own rhythm. It should be a part of the trip having fun and joking around, otherwise the constant movement, early mornings, different beds for each night and the stress of driving long distances might become more than the kids can bear and their energy levels and enthusiasm might drop. This is something we want to avoid. Our philosophy is that if the trip is not fun for our daughters, it won’t be for us either.

Today was the first day of our trip. The mood was great as all the months of planning and dreaming have come together at last. A sweet 2 hours and 20 minutes flight, and a few minutes before 10AM local time the wheels of our plane touched the tarmac of the Skavsta airport. Around half past noon we were in Stockholm.