FF2: Filling in the Suburbs

[krigl]

Continuing the tour of southern/middle Finland, driving from Varkaus to Joensuu.












Joensuu arrival. Handed over the truck to a colleague...


...and took over this ancient vehicle. Not one of ours. Helping out a friend of the boss's, apparently.


We're carrying loo rolls, of all things.


En route from Joensuu to Kuopio. This truck hails back to the days when truck companies didn't find it necessary to pretend that the cab is anything other than a simple box on wheels above a huge engine.






Passing Kuopio. Now heading for Vitasaari.


Quite a long and complex trip this time - final destination Seinajoki.


Part 1 of the trip is mainly about Central Finland, but these first six sets or so are really Southern Finland - the ProMods' part that lies around the edge of SCS's feeble representation of Finland's south. Have to say, it's probably the worst thing SCS have ever made for their modern truck games, especially seen in the light of the other content they were creating at the time - Italy, Oregon, Washington, even the rest of the Black Sea DLC. They really dropped the ball. Hopefully when they return to Finland sometime in the future, they'll revisit the part they've already done and improve it substantially.


The road network in the south is really dense, and so we are driving east, west, north, south and diagonally, criss-crossing the land to get it all done.


Once we've completed everything on or below a line made up of roads heading from east to west through the following towns: Joensuu - Kuopio - Vitasaari - Alajarvi - Seinajoki - Vaasa then we truly will have finished the South, and be ready to do Central Finland proper - the pyramid or iceberg-shaped mass of roads that lie between that line and taper up towards Oulu, which sits alone at the very peak. Anything above that is Northern Finland in my 'head canon'.


The village of Vitasaari.




Last stop today will be Kyyjarvi.








And here it is.


Kyyjarvi roundabout.




That's it for now. Cheers for looking in!
Anni

[krigl]

Still messing about in southern Finland - the PM part.


From Kyyjarvi to Alajarvi.




There are a LOT of lumber places in Finland.


Alajarvi turnoff.


Off to the destination - Seinajoki.


Corn is the new trees.


But not for long




And here's Seinajoki.


We've arrived.








Let's get this dropped off. I could do with a break.


Break had, now we've got an empty curtainsider to take to a lumber mill north of Kristiansand.


Leaving Seinajoki, we'll be back.




Ohhhh KRAPFEN!!!






Now, this place is... let me see... Aronkyla.


Still heading west, not far now.




Forest road to the lumber mill.






Just chillin', smelling the delicious aroma of cut wood.
Cheers! Anni

[krigl]

Alright, today we finish off the southern part of Finland, with a trip from Seinajoki to Vaasa.


The 'South Finland Tour' actually started 1 year and 4 months ago, in January 2022, when I toured SCS Finland plus the ProMods' area around it. If you'd like to see that part for whatever reason - some very nice images in there, actually - here's a link. It starts a little way down the page: viewtopic.php?t=39325&start=110

There are some final posts there from previous forum member Bernhard, who was a regular for a short while but sadly discontinued posting due to serious illness. He hasn't returned, and I fear the worst. It was great meeting you Bernhard, and you are remembered here...


At the end of that tour section is a link to my visit to a previous version of south Finland made by ProMods so long ago that most people in Europe were still wearing woad and eating their vanquished enemies' hearts to gain strength. Check it out for a short trip down memory lane.


Anyway, here we are on our way to Tervajoki.






Tervajoki is quite pretty.




On the way to our destination city, the port of Vaasa. This tube needs to be taken across the Gulf of Bothnia to Umea in Sweden.


Here's Vaasa.


It's a proper ProMods effort.


Approaching the port.


Saw the route through the cones, had to take it.


Whoops, it led nowhere. Why wasn't there a sign!!!??


Oh. There was a sign.


We've crossed the gulf, and are now in Sweden.


This is Umea. We'll be back here later in Part 3 of the tour, so that will do for now. Still, I'm going to take the cab to show it the place where they make the new Volvo FHs - the Volvo plant in Umea. Not sure if this old veteran was made there, though.


Back in Vaasa, waiting for the boss's friend's minion to pick up this lovely old cab.


And a new street-smart, street-art graced cab is waiting for me to start off the tour of the central part of Finland.


I imagine a lot of people probably don't like using SCS repaints and prefer real company liveries.


I like both. I buy the SCS packs to support them, and I don't want to just leave them unused.


Many of them are nicely made, and I appreciate the artists' work. And some mod skin-packs don't work properly, or at all.


In the case of Finland, I've seen a lot of photos of custom and 'tuned' lorries with Finnish owners. So I'd say such paint jobs are appropriate enough.


In any case, these days I'm kind of like an old lady who has long been'invisible' to the young men she still desires, and deals with her sadness by simply wearing what she wants and dyeing her hair blue, and keeping at least her family interested via babysitting and cakes. In other words... if people don't like the SCS skins, too bad. That's the spirit. Rebel, granny, rebel! Still got plenty more paintjobs to feature... : D


So, off we go, then. Central Finland awaits!
Cheers!
Anni

[krigl]

Starting Central Finland today, with a trip from Vaasa up the coast to Kokkola.






Let's fill 'er up.




Arriving in Kokkola.


Tradition is tradition.


Nice little place, Kokkola. We'll tour it a bit more another day.


Time to deliver the goods.


We have unfinished business in the south: this trip will take us diagonally south-east down into southern Finland for the last time, destination Jyvaskyla. Here we are shortly after picking up our new consignment in Kaustinen, near Kokkola.


Kaustinen.




And we're off to Kyyjarvi.








Kyyjarvi roundabout.


- Ooh, the scenery round here is so nice, it's got me all emotional.
- Yes, I too find it deeply moo-ving.




And this is... sorry, I don't know.


Ah, the buzzing turboprop. Must be ProMods' Jyvaskyla!


And here is the only jobsite in what is otherwise one of the best locations in south and central Finland.


Alright, time to change cabs again.




When it comes to making use of one's Australian paint jobs within Europe, Finland is as good a country as any.


I toured Jyvaskyla back in January 2022, so no need to do that again. We're here for the routes to and from the town.
Next time: from.
Anni

[krigl]

Today - mooching around Central Finland, starting out in Jyvaskyla.


Last couple of shots in PM 2.64. Off to grab a new cargo in Jyvaskyla.


Getting out of town with something big and yellow, destination Karsamaki.


Heading northish.


Passing through Vitasaari.






Arrival in Karsamaki.


Time for beddy-byes. Tomorrow we'll wake up in 2.65.


And here it is. Spent a couple of hours installing everything, including all the traffic mods, and now we're ready to go.


Taking this to Seinajoki. As with southern Finland, there's a dense network of roads, so we'll be criss-crossing the countryside in all directions, visiting new places and revisiting old, for the next few days before definitively finishing the first part of this tour in Oulu.


Nivala, yep.




Next place: Sievi.




Sievi.


Now seems a good enough time as any to give a big shout out to Kass for his Brutal Weather mod - the only available option (aside from Grimes' seasonal packs) if you want a weather mod these days. The standard SCS skies are good, but there are only 8 options, I think. Brutal Weather takes it up to 30. Variety is always good, and beautiful skies add a great deal to an image. Thanks, Kass!!!


Last place to come in this set: Kaustinen.






And here's Kaustinen.




Another pleasant location.






Kaustinen behind us, the next port of call will be Evijarvi... next time.
Anni

[krigl]

Today - travelling once more to Seinajoki, via Evijarvi and Kauvala, and then on to Alajarvi.


A beautiful moment on the approach to Evijarvi.


Evijarvi.


Kauvala.






Now for Seinajoki, for the third and last time.


It's a lovely region.


A road scrubber? Interesting.


Delivery at Seinajoki.


Time to swap cabs again.


Back with this one. I do like it.


Off to Alajarvi now. There are a few side roads in the area we haven't travelled along because they seem to have no real function - they are not the quickest ways of getting between towns. Perhaps they are intended as alternatives in case of random accidents, or the creator just liked them, or felt they should be there, or intended to put towns on them and never got round to it...


Whatever. We're going to check them out before heading once again to Karsamaki and from there up to Oulu.


More idyllic Finnish vibes. It's a very relaxing country to travel in.








Okay, here's Alajarvi. Let's make our way to the lumber mill, then.






And off we go. Taking the wood to Kokkola via Lapuanjoki via a meandering route down those side roads.


It's a bit late in the day, and the sun is golden. Hope we can make it by nightfall.


Splash, plop, buzz, splash, buzzz.




Approaching Kauhava again. To Be Continued.
Anni

[krigl]

Getting another set in today. Lots of ground still to cover on this part of the tour. We visit Kokkola this time.


Approaching Kauhava, Central Finland.


On our way to Kokkola now.




Lapuanjoki. Not a town but a river.


Here it is.




Onwards, onwards.


The light is fading.






And we're back in Kokkola.


Parking up for a well-deserved rest.


Next morning, we saw a bit more of Kokkola.




But soon we were off to pick something up.


The jobsite's out in the countryside.




I wonder. Will it be a lumber mill, oh, pray tell...??


It's not around here. Or perhaps I just can't see the wood for the trees.


A sign for Ylivieska. We'll be passing through there on the way to Karsamaki.


Old-skool fieldage looking decent here.


Jobsite. A lumber mill, I think.


Nah, can't be. Well, off we go.


Ylivieska is the first port of call as we head eastwards once again.






And here it is, Ylivieska. Next time - to Karsamaki and then up to Oulu!
Thanks for looking in!!
Anni

[krigl]

Alright there, back again once more sharing the love for ProMods' Finland...


Today we're starting in Ylivieska and driving to Karsamaki before taking the most easterly route up to Oulu.




Ylivieska seems to be some sort of railway hub.






Now we've made a short hop over to Kalajoki.


Continuing eastwards.




Closing in on Karsamaki.


And here we are again.


Big load this time for the short trek up to Oulu.


Northwards ho.






Oulu has an airport! Awesome. I love it when jets fly over when you're driving.


Busy spot.


And here's Oulu - in my head canon, it's the start of the North, end of the Centre.


Fish Poo? Really?


Now to get the trailers dropped off.


It's getting late. Time to find somewhere to kip.


Early start the next morning.


We're not quite done with Central Finland. There are 3 routes from the south up to Oulu, and so we're going to take the middle one down to Kokkola, and then the western one up the coast from Kokkola back to Oulu.


So, let's get something to haul.




Hmm, the job site is out in the forest. What could it be?


A rough and dusty track, with a wrecked cistern... getting Snowrunner vibes a little here. The last part of the Central Finland tour shall be next time.
Anni

[krigl]

Heading south from Oulu to Kokkola this time.


First reindeer! I knew Oulu was the end of Central Finland and the start of The North. This confirms it.


Whaaaaa... Snowrunner vibes disrupted. There is seriously another vehicle on this dirt track. Better shift over a bit, make some space. Wait... it's a scrubber! Maybe when we leave the jobsite in a couple of hours the whole track will be clean, well-scrubbed asphalt.


Here we are. It's a lumber yard!


Got my knickers in a twist here. The trailers were parked up on the other side of that large building, and I was just about able to get it round the corner to this middle bit, but found I was too close to the fence to turn and get it through the gate, so decided to turn around here...


Well, managed to find our way out of the woodyard without shearing off the trailer connection thingy. Hmm. Looks like the scrubber still needs to make a few more passes.


North to Oulu.


And now south - southwestish to Kokkola.






Oulainen.






Ylivieska.






Still Ylivieska.


Last stretch to Kokkola now.






Delivery at Kokkola.




Time for a new truck, methinks, replete with not two but six Bibenda chilling on the bull bar. Nice.


Now we pick up our final job in Central Finland. We're taking these chemicals north to Oulu.


Just look at those Bibenda, getting some sunlight and plenty of bug-splatter. Living their best lives.




That's it for today.
Anni

[krigl]

Today we head up to Oulu and beyond, ending the first and starting the second part of this tour.






A rare view of the sea.


This place is called Raahe.




Back at this busy roundabout just outside Oulu.


Finnair jet roaring overhead.


Taking the main road past/through the city centre.


Heading to a jobsite just north of Oulu.




Here we are. AkroNobel.


Making tracks to the city centre.


Where a new, more modern Volvo FH truck is waiting for us for the next stage of the tour.


Alright, let's get started.


Final Oulu view.




A massively heavy locomotive, lightweight packets of crunchy Czech crisps, or a trailer stuffed with Martell cognac. Not a difficult choice. They wouldn't miss one bottle, would they? Nah...


Ah, these terrifyingly large giant white plants again. They're all over the Baltic States DLC, and I still can't believe they weren't oversized somehow by the developers. These things are huge.


And now - NORTH! Here we go!




A place called II. Have to say, I find this name a little strange, but then again Dutch rivers have some similarly short names, and they even have that river written with two capital letters, the IJ. So why not.


A colourful location, II.






This is Kemi.


The trek north will continue in the next set.
Anni