Tuesday 20th September
The
stench and deafening roar of Alf’s morning farts weren’t the most welcome wake
up call in a stuffy bunk bed cabin. Nevertheless we hopped out of bed and
ascended onto the front deck just in time for the port of Stockholm to creep
into view. As we disembarked the ship the Kenari continued to have ignition
problems and Marigold’s front right was again flat. A quick kiss of life from
the electric pump and a successful bump start later, we gallantly fought on. We
weren’t going to be downed that easily. Whatever delivery the rally bowled to
us, whether it be a pacey leg cutter or a bamboozling doosra, it would receive
the same treatment – tonked into deep extra cover.
 |
| Stockholm |
There
are three things I’ll take away from our time in Scandinavia, expensive
parking, attractive women and all you can eat buffets. To park Marigold
anywhere remotely near the city centre of Stockholm was nothing short of
daylight robbery at £7 an hour. However, this was more than made up for by the leggy
blonde hair blue eyed angels whose pendulum hips swung side to side all around
us. It’s no coincidence that Sweden’s women are so beautiful, they work hard to
maintain a plateau of at least an 8/10. The Swedes find any excuse to get
outside and live an active lifestyle.
Bicycles,
roller skaters and runners are everywhere in Stockholm thanks to a city built
around cycle lanes and pedestrianized areas. Even something as restful as
lazing on a piece of furniture Ikea turned into a pulse raising activity. “How
can we make this into a workout, I know let’s make them assemble it
themselves”. They really have cracked the healthy living code. As 3 bearded
out-of-shape slobs on the verge of deep vein thrombosis, we certainly felt out
of place in the city. By this point Alf could barely complete one press-up,
Rich’s alveoli looked like a singed broccoli and Caleb had a cardiac arrest
just at the sight of a bike. Inspired by what we saw around us, we headed to a
nearby Chinese for our second all you can eat buffet in as many days.
Once we’d set our healthy living body clocks back a few more weeks we drove out of town in the direction of Oslo ready to enter our 23rd different country on the rally so far. By dusk we found a dense forested area roughly halfway between Stockholm and Oslo, near the town of Mobacka, and pitched up for the night. A heavily overgrown single-track pathway led us through thick undergrowth and shrubbery to a small clearing in the woods. It was like something out of a scary movie, but so rally!
Once we’d set our healthy living body clocks back a few more weeks we drove out of town in the direction of Oslo ready to enter our 23rd different country on the rally so far. By dusk we found a dense forested area roughly halfway between Stockholm and Oslo, near the town of Mobacka, and pitched up for the night. A heavily overgrown single-track pathway led us through thick undergrowth and shrubbery to a small clearing in the woods. It was like something out of a scary movie, but so rally!
Posted by: Rich