The word "adventure" is often associated with beautiful moments and remarkable situations. Experiences that astonish. Effort that is rewarded. Plans that work out and outcomes that surpass all expectations.

But an adventure is so much more than that! It is uncertain, difficult and uncomfortable. An adventure is a surprise: Ups and downs create contrast. Challenges make you grow, difficulties make you learn learned, and creativity is always in demand. Hardships are a test for the team: Everyone needs to be on the same page in order to make it through the difficult times. In hindsight, challenges and hardships make a story worth telling. Who is interested in a smooth adventure? Accordingly, our journey to Cape North was anything but a regular check-off of the desired agenda. We were always exposed to unexpected challenges. The first day went by smoothly, without any incidents. We rushed through the motorways from Germany all the way to Denmark without a remark and took the ferry to Gothenburg in Sweden right on time. On the second day, however, things were starting to go wrong: We barely managed the first kilometers in Norway, when Jonas noticed the red engine control light on his Jeep light up.

Although mechanical issues are expected on an eight year old car, we could not conceal the concern for the incident. We were standing on the side of the road while puzzling about what the problem was. Luckily, thanks to Paul's trained mechanic's instincts, we found the problem sooner than expected: The engine’s air hose was ripped. After a telephone call with Jeep Germany and a race against time (We noticed Friday evening is very bad timing for a breakdown) we carefully drove to the nearest workshop. Our suspicion was confirmed: A defective hose - a special part in the engine, which had to be ordered from the supplier. Dang! We gathered in a circle and consulted about the next steps: Even if Jeep would send us the spare part immediately, improvisation talent was still needed for the upcoming weekend. In a tiny dealershop for lawn mowers, which was about to close, we were able to buy a improvisational hose seal, which was then „expertly“ installed by us with simple needle and thread as well as cable ties and armor panels. To our own surprise, we found ourselves on the highway again just a few minutes later: The Wrangler was killing those miles despite the heavy rain and its desperately patched engine.

We are somewhere in the middle of a Swedish forest, sitting by the camp fire, watching the stars wandering and telling each other stories of the past. The sun is low on the horizon and plunges the sky into a deep blue color which makes the lake appear the same. We are located on a sandy beach, our camp behind us.

The extraordinary? It's already midnight. The sun will disappear on this day for only about an hour. We decide to not only watch the sunset, but also the sunrise - something one can not experience every day. We do what people our age do, bring portable ghetto blasters and a draft of beer to the beach and celebrate the whole night - for one long hour. Our party lighting is the camp fire’s sparks, special guests are owl and woodpecker and the VIPs are we - on our own Beach Party. Don’t we all forget too often what life is really about? Certainly, we did not have the coldest beer, not the best music or the most guests this evening. It certainly was not the best party we ever celebrated. But what remains are the memory of an extraordinary night with friends. Not only when traveling, but in every facet of life: What remains are memories. How often did we celebrate in modern nightclubs or did we eat in excellent restaurants, only to not be able to remember a few weeks later? It's not always about how hip or expensive the things are we deal with. It is about who we spend our time with, and whether we dare to break out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Because all that remains is the memories. And if sometimes even that does not remain - Why waste time with it? It does not take much to jump in the Wrangler and go to the nearby forest lake. But memories of such nights remain for a lifetime.

We are on our way to Tromso on one of the most beautiful fjord roads we had ever seen. We stopped at a small side road to take a closer look at the mountain ridge on the other side of the water. The twilight had already begun and painted the ridge in vibrant red and blue colors.

In front of us was a small, Norwegian cottage with a long driveway and an idyllic wooden veranda. As we were standing on the bank and enjoying the fantastic view, a man came out of the house and greeted us friendly in Norwegian. His name was Ruben. He told us we’d had a much better view from his veranda over the fjord and asked if we’d like to stay with him for a hot cup of tea. Surprised by his hospitality, we happily agreed and followed him to his home. Ruben told us about the saesonally passing whales in the nearby fjord and about the circulating sea-eagles above his property.

Ruben’s house is exactly located on the 17th meridian. The interiors was lovingly furnished and a true treasure full of old, personal items - all told its own story. The picture frames in the living room showed a young couple at the wedding in an unusual attire. Ruben explained that he and his family belong to the "Sámi" - a traditional people from the north of Scandinavia. He proudly presented us his hand-knotted, red robes, full of shining decorations worn by the men of Sámi. The hems of the blue and red costume were sewn with golden fabric patterns and were buttoned with golden clasps. Ruben insisted that we’d try this gem. He threw his costumes around us and everyone became a Sámi for a moment - Ruben laughed and took photos with us. While sipping tea we talked about the dark Norwegian nights in winter. Ruben pointed to an old black and white photo taken in Spitsbergen. "I've been living up there for five full years - there is no light in winter for four whole months, and it's cold, very cold," Ruben said. He showed us a self-sewn cap made of polar fox fur - „That hat keeps you warm,". All of this happened when he was still able to walk properly, he said. We noticed is limping earlier, but no one had dared to ask. Ruben used to be an army soldier and retired due to his back pains. This man has experienced more then the five of us combined and he was properly the most open person we have ever met. We felt very comfortable with him and if we did not plan to travel another 450 kilometers this day, we would have stayed the whole evening. Ruben gave us air-dried, salted reindeer meat and described the best way south over the mountain pass. What an unexpected encounter this was! We are now friends with a real Sámi from Norway.

It was already late and we were tired. Our jeeps thirsty. Our gas would only last for another fourty kilometers. As modern scouts not a problem, we thought: GPS and Navigation system would do their magic and lead the way to the next gas station. The great shock came in Hakkas: Instead of a so beautifully described gas station, we found only remains of a demolition in Hakkas.

It quickly became clear to us: "Where once was a station, now were only heaps of rubble. We would not make any good decisions at three o’clock in the morning and so we started to look for a place to spend the night. Next morning, after a short and restless sleep, we drove back to the village - breakfast. While scanning our breakfast, the friendly lady behind the supermarket counter had a pleasant message for us: “You are lucky, today our brand new gas station opened - 300 meters down the road!" Did we hear correctly? "Our" petrol station? Are filling stations now in private hands in Sweden? However, she was not mistaken - just a couple hundred meters down the main road, a large, white tank container along with a pump as well as Peter the petrol attendant, were located. In addition - a small pavilion with coffee and cake and many terribly nice people in celebration mood. On point! Old gas station demolished, new gas station opened just in time! Peter, solved the remaining puzzles: In „Swenglish“ - a linguistic mixture combination of Swedish and English - he explained: Shortly before Christmas the old station was closed because of poor profitability. The villagers were very angry and Peter had an idea: "We build our own petrol station!" He searched and found more and more fellows in the neighboring villages. With as little as 2000 Swedish Crowns one would become a private petrol station owner. The necessary money was quickly collected, tank container, pump and dispensers quickly ordered and the tanks fready for their operation. „We plan to expand the station in the future: It will become be a proper resting area!“ Chairs and tables are already there…

REISETAGE: 19

REISEROUTENPLANUNG IN TAGEN: 2

STRECKE IN KM: 8650

DURCH LÄNDER GEREIST: 5

FÄHRFAHRTEN: 2

KÜRZESTE NACHT IN MINUTEN: 32

TANKSTOPS: 44

GEKAUFTE RENTIERFELLE: 1

FREILAUFENDE RENTIERE GESEHEN: 59

ANZAHL REGENTAGE: 10

GEZÜNDETE LAGERFEUER: 12

OFFROAD KILOMETER: 290

ÜBERNACHTUNGEN MIT MEERBLICK: 12