The Swedish Experience
To race in 2000 we had to have our Whipple/Autorotor supercharger re-certified ...... this meant that I had to get the "not so light" blower to either Fresno, California or Stockholm, Sweden (where they are made).
We decided to go to Sweden:-
1/ It's closer (but it takes longer to get there!)
2/ We had never been there before
What follows are possibly some invaluable travel tips (?)
When I called into the local
Post Office to collect my Swedish money ...... the guy behind the counter
said .........."Are you going by boat?........ you'll love it ........
it's just like going on a cruise .......... they have a Casino and everything"..............
mmmmmmmm ................ what followed is not how I imagine the QE2
to be ............ We boarded the ship and within 15 minutes had explored
every square inch!.......... yes it had a Casino ........ it was about
the size of our kitchen ............. only another 25.75 hours to go!
......... I also realised then that there is not a lot of scenery between
Newcastle and Gothenburg ......... After making my expensive but "duty
free" (I was to find out later what +duty was) pint of lager last
about 5 hours ...... time to go to bed .......... Now I am not a sailor
but if you ever find yourself in a similar position this advice may
be invaluable ........ consider carefully when booking a "cheap"
inside cabin ............ outside cabins are expensive not only because
they have a view (not applicable Newcastle - Gothenburg) but consider
the action of a ship at sea (especially the North Sea in winter) ......
the rolling action is about half as bad as that experienced in an inside
cabin, + they have a porthole for those little emergencies!
The next night ....... we arrive in Gothenburg ..... one good point ...... "boat lag" is only 1 hour! ..... After hectically negotiating the Gothenburg rush hour with the aid of a very poor,faxed map we arrive at our hotel ......... but the first thing I noticed when driving in Gothenburg, was the complete absence of road markings at road junctions ...... on closer scrutiny ....... the lines would come out from the kerb about 18" then nothing! ....... also all the cars sounded as if their thrust bearings were about to give up ........ then it clicked .......... they were all running on studded tyres and had scrubbed off all the road markings! ........... the people of Gothenburg are probably still talking about the mad British Vauxhall that never stopped at junctions .......
The next day we traveled
across Sweden to Stockholm passing Mantorp Park ....... uneventful journey
(we were locals now!) ........ where we met up with our "Internet
friend"
and fellow racer Peter Axeldal who
came to meet us with his little boy, Glenn ...... who had asked Peter
(on the 5 minute journey to meet us) to teach him English so he could
talk to us! ......... surprisingly (to Glenn) Peter couldn't do it!
..... but Glenn picked up enough to beat Angie consistently at cards!
(he's only 8) ........ Peter proceeded to give us a quick tour around
Historic Stockholm (unfortunately we did not have a lot of time), sorted
out the blower re-cert and introduced me to lots of the local drag racing
fraternity ....... who all seem to be located in underground car parks
(?) ...........
Talking
of car parks - another Swedish anomaly (to us) is that it seems perfectly
ok to own a car - in fact we spotted quite a few late model Yanks -
but you try and park it ....... if you are lucky (?) enough to find
one of the 3 or so available spaces in Stockholm be prepared to contribute
a sizeable amount to relieving the National Debt! ............
On the return voyage
our cabin was located next to the engine room, below the waterline,
down an 18" wide corridor ............. what was that film called
..... "Titanic" ....... maybe we'll fly next time?..........
So Things to remember when traveling to Sweden
1/ Take plenty of money
2/ Take a plane (or take a good book, like ........ War & Peace)
3/ Take plenty of money
4/ Take plenty of beer
5/ Take plenty of money
6/ Don't even think about parking
But most of all ......... take plenty of money ............. it's expensive.
We can't thank Peter and Monica enough for their hospitality and making our Swedish trip so memorable - we will be back.
Take our advice - go if you get the chance - it's worth it
Links to “Old News”:-
Main Event 2000 - Santa Pod - Our Best Ever -Then…...
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