Already in the early years of life, vacations and summers were about traveling, and according to me, traveling is about memories, often beautiful memories that last a lifetime. Memories often fade over time, and we need little reminders to remember events; that's where souvenirs and photos come into play.

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I don't remember anything from the first trips I went on, but fortunately, there are photos that prove they happened.

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Somewhere around the age of 6-8, I can remember certain details, and photos help me remember. Around that age, I got my first camera, a Kodak(?) made of plastic, even the camera bag, which was supposed to resemble a leather bag, was made of plastic. Some photos taken with that camera are still in the albums, but unfortunately, neither the camera nor any negatives remain.

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In my early teens, life was very much about nature, especially around the Kilsbergen area, and I invested in a much better camera. A Pentax S1a SLR with additional lenses and some accessories. I took many photos with that camera, mostly slide images, until other interests took over in my twenties.

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After that, the trips were focused about car races in large parts of Europe, but mostly in Sweden and Norway. Motorsports have taken me to countries and places that I wouldn't have been able to visit as a regular tourist. During these years, the camera was left on the shelf, and the focus was on the competition aspect instead.

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In 1999, I moved to Helsingborg and resumed my interest in photography, now with digital technology. Also, traveling as a 'regular' tourist became increasingly common for me.

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In February 2007, I visited a good friend in Karlskoga, and during the evening, he said, "This summer, I have a two-week vacation before my wife's vacation; I'm going to take the motorcycle and ride Trollstigen." We didn't talk more about it that evening, as we were probably solving other and bigger world problems. On the way home to Helsingborg, I thought that it sounded very nice. I called him up and asked, "Do you want company to Norway?", and the answer was yes. The next phone call went to Lidköping to a good friend who owned a motorcycle, and I asked, "Can I rent your motorcycle this summer?", and the answer was, "No, but you can borrow it." So, in 2007 and 2008, we went to Norway, and I rode a borrowed motorcycle. This was the start of a new way of traveling: motorcycle touring.

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In 2009, I bought myself a 60th birthday present – a motorcycle, a 2005 BMW R 1200 RT with 12,000 miles (20,000 km) on it. Then followed ten years and 106,000 miles (170,000 km) of wandering around Europe. In 2019, on the way to Ireland for a four-week vacation, the fun ended in the middle of England on the third day of travel. An accident totaled the motorcycle, but I survived with a broken arm. So there were no long trips that year.

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In 2020, I acquired another BMW R 1200 RT, a 2014 model with 31,000 miles (50,000 km) on it, and had a fantastic trip through Sweden, from Helsingborg to Abisko and back, spanning almost five weeks.

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In 2021, the plan was to make a new journey through Europe with Menorca, Balearic Islands in Spain as the turning point. However, fate had other plans, and the trip was interrupted in France. After a few weeks back home in Helsingborg, I flew to Menorca to complete the journey.

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2022: Spring starts early, and already in February, I take my first day trip, followed by a few more on and off throughout the spring.

In the first week of May, I travel to Germany, heading south on the eastern side, "circling" Dresden before heading towards the Elbe ferry and Funen. I visit the boat lift in Niederfinow, the Azalea and Rhododendron Park in Kromlau with the Rakotzbrücke, Bastei, and Harz Nature Park, among other places.