Karlskoga night life

We finished the day with a tasty dinner in the township with 8 others. Constant noise of engines revving outside. After dinner we walked the main street and watched a constant parade of old American cars filled with people, drinking and enjoying themselves. It is part of the weekend celebrations for motors sport held annually here, of which we are a part. Then there were the bikes!

Karlskoga circuit

A short drive from our hotel, we arrive at the circuit the next day. There is a freezing, strong wind but we are in a garage so reasonably protected. The circuit is well sorted with excellent toilets, cafe and  race office. It is crowded with all sorts of cars here to race from all over Sweden. There are quite a number of Lotus Elans similar to the one Noel used to race. The Juniors are either garaged or in a huge marquee.

Free practice is actually free! It is a very short circuit with lots of tight bends. Also great: we can easily get to a stand from the pits and can see the whole circuit from there. They are quite particular about correct underwear and conduct spot checks. Peter Strauss got pinged. Noel forgot to do up the strap on his helmet and was held up on the dummy grid while an official helped him.

They also start a race with an official standing on a platform with a lowered flag in one hand. He dramatically raises the other arm above his head and then changes arms, bringing the flag arm over his head which signals the race start. Like boy scout signals.

Next stop Karlskoga, Sweden

We picked up a rental car and drove about 235k north west of Stockholm to Karlskoga for our next race weekend. Long, fairly featureless drive through flat farmland and forest. All the houses are wooden and painted a reddish brown with white joinery. They look cute. However, there is really no way of stopping to take photos.

We arrive in Karlskoga about 5pm and check into our utilitarian hotel which is better inside with a large, clean spacious room. Surrounded by busy roads and a railway line. Karlskoga is the home of Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite and possibly to make reparations for that, instigated the Nobel Peace Prize.

We have an invitation to join Nina and Colin for dinner at the Bofors hotel. Local company Bofors who made the Bofors Gun and other weapons, built the hotel in the 1930's to impress their customers. The company has now been split and sold to an American company and Saab.

We were joined by Jac and Brigitte and Peter and Jane for a delicious dinner.

Watery Stockholm

The city is built on 14 islands and it adds another dimension to life here and interest for the tourist. Flying in, we flew over island after island; marina after marina. There are thousands of islands that make up Sweden.

Stockholm bus tour

A really good way to get a feel for a new city is to take a bus tour. Everything is expensive here and the tour was no exception. However, well worthwhile. We saw a lot of the older parts of town and know what we want to see in more detail when we return next week. It is a big city with some very impressive buildings.

Stockholm

Our flight was uneventful except for a heart stopping moment when we thought the carryon bag with Noel's race helmet in it would not fit under the seat or in the overhead storage. He took the helmet out and managed to squeeze it overhead (if you can squeeze a helmet!).

With all our luggage, we had no alternative but to take a taxi to our hotel from the airport. In spite of me doing my homework, we were absolutely taken for a ride and charged about NZ$100. C'est la vie!

Our hotel is well situated, over $400 per night with a very small room - again a problem with suitcases. We walked around and after Riga, it seemed ordinary. However, we found out that in this area, over 750 old buildings have been demolished in order to make way for new. Everywhere there are cranes and

 construction. Apparently, the locals aren't happy.

Tomorrow, we will visit the older parts of Stockholm which should be a lot more interesting and attractive.

Last day in Riga

We spent the day wandering through the other half of the old city.

German influence has been very strong over the centuries, particularly related to trade. These old Gild buildings have been rebuilt after being destroyed by bombs in 1941 and further demolished by the Soviets in 1948.

                                                                                  The 14C Blackheads House was                    originally erected for the gild of unmarried merchants, shipowners and foreigners. Reconstructed in 1999.

Monument to the Latvian Riflemen.

We decided to fill up the car with fuel rather than waiting to do it on the way to the airport. We googled the locations. The first two had been shut down. The third was unmanned and wouldn't take our credit card. Another customer kindly advised us to find a Circle K petrol station as they are manned. Oddly, we found two not far from our hotel that had not come up on my initial search. When we got there, we found Jenny and Jim Blockley. Our credit card still didn't work but we were able to pay the cashier with Euros. The whole adventure took over an hour!

We finished the day with a relaxing meal nearby, followed by a major packup as we were flying to Stockholm with Baltic Air on a small plane next morning.