Sweden – 2024 – Part 3 – Tracks #2,996-#3,003

Sweden

You made it this far…Sweden…this is the finale.

 

 

Carol and 3,000. 3,000 and Carol. Which was most important?

The two most important items of the last part of my trip to Sweden were essential but on different levels. First, Carol would be joining in on the fun. Secondly, if everything went well, I would see racing at my 3,000^th-lifetime auto racing track.

 

 

Some folks have told me they like the color coding idea I’ve been using to separate the touring and the trackchasing parts of these trips. That way, you can quickly move to the parts of the story you like best.

 

 

Remember, this is a finance and travel and trackchasing newsletter. I have several readers who come here for different reasons. I hope you enjoy my “version” of Sweden, whether you’ve been there or not, and whether my travel style is like yours. If you are entertained and/or pick up a tip or two, that makes my day. As always, feel free to write back with comments, suggestions, or whatever.

 

 

Buckle up!

One final note of caution: I struggled to decide whether to make this Swedish trip review a three-part or four-part series. I decided on three parts. This is the third of three. It’s a long one. But you have been conditioned, so I expect you to do just fine. Just drink some black coffee.

July 16, 2024

 

 

Things are not always easy. I can deal with that.

Sometimes, things are not going to be as easy as I think they should be…especially when I am traveling in a foreign country. I’m not complaining; I am only explaining. I don’t want things to be easy or the same as they are at home when I travel.

 

 

In Stockholm, I stayed at the Story Hotel Riddargatan, which is affiliated with Hyatt. Yes, the pictures in the room were a little on the weird side. I parked my car at a nearby private parking garage. Just getting into this parking garage with my car was difficult. First, I couldn’t find the door. Then, when I found the entry door, I didn’t know how to operate it.

 

 

Never say never.

By the way, I always tour Europe with a car. Sometimes, I hire drivers on other continents and countries. I would never drive in India, Russia, or China. I didn’t think driving in Japan would ever be a good idea (wrong side of the road, non-readable language), but I did. It’s rarely a good idea to say never.

 

 

Today, when I was checking out of the hotel, I had to enlist the receptionist’s help to get my car out of the garage. She snidely reminded me this was not the hotel’s parking garage. I replied to her comment by saying that most of the hotel guests parked there. To me, that meant she needed to be able to help her guests use the parking garage facility.

 

 

I explained the difficulty I was having. I couldn’t even get into the garage to get my car! She couldn’t believe I was having such a hard time. To that point, she came down with me to quickly correct my shortcomings. Then, she couldn’t make things work. That made me just a little bit joyful. Our next option was to use the hotel’s “Secret Passage” in the garage. That worked. The woman bid me farewell. Then I couldn’t exit the garage with my car. I called the woman one more time. She had to return to the garage to help me. By this time, she was furiously taking notes to improve things for the future. Me? I just wanted to get on the roads of Sweden for the next step in this adventure.

 

 

Dunteburget Motorstadion – Motala, Sweden – Lifetime track #2,996.

 

 

I had a three-hour drive down to Motala, Sweden. I would see some folk racing there. I hoped to go to the Motala Motor Museum when the race was finished. Afterward, I would return to Stockholm and stay at a different Hyatt hotel in the city. By doing that, I would have stayed at all three Hyatt-affiliated properties in Stockholm. Based on those experiences, I would know which Hyatt was best to use when Carol comes to Sweden in just a few days. Aren’t I a thoughtful husband?

 

 

Today, I was trackchasing at a racetrack named Dunteburget Motorstadion in Motala, Sweden. This was my ninth trackchasing stop in Sweden and Norway of the trip.

 

 

Maybe the most unusual spectator seating I’ve ever seen.

Probably the most noteworthy aspect of today’s location was the spectator seating area. Spectators had to sit on a very steep hill in chairs or blankets they brought to the track.

 

The grade on this hill had to be 45° at a minimum. I saw people bringing claw hammers and other gardening tools. They used these tools to dig into the ground in an attempt to make their lawn chair seating arrangement more level. That’s commitment!

 

 

Today’s weather was cool, at about 70°, with a little wind and sun. That was perfect for today’s racing. I would find out that tomorrow, they would have a major rainstorm that drenched the place. They still raced, but it would have been an extreme challenge to get up and down that spectator hill in the mud. Welcome to my little world.

 

 

The food choices at today’s track were unusual. Concessions were sold in professional-looking upscale food trucks. Donuts and tacos were on the menu, along with the generic offering of “street food.”

 

 

This is Swedish folk racing. Once again, the events were well organized, like all the folk races I’ve seen here. The promoters ran one race after the other with no delays. About every hour and a half or two, they stopped to do some track prep, which gave the drivers and fans a little break. It was a good day of racing, but the seating was beyond uncomfortable.

 

 

Motala Motor Museum.

When the racing was finished for me, I stopped at a unique Trackchasing Tourist Attraction. It was just my good fortune that the Motala Motor Museum was less than five miles from today’s racing. I stopped in there to see a very eclectic museum offering displays of cars and motorcycles and Beatles’ memorabilia, TV sets, and typewriters, amongst many other things.

 

 

From there, I made it back up to Stockholm for the evening. I was staying at the Hotel Story Riddargatan in downtown Stockholm. This hotel was only a few blocks from the Hotel Reisen I used a few days ago. Both hotels are affiliated with Hyatt.

 

 

I’m a sales guy.

As a Hyatt Globalist frequent stay member, I was able to talk myself into one of the hotel’s suites. They only have 60 rooms in total. There are only two suites.

 

 

This was a classic old-style retro hotel. My room had two bathrooms, three sinks, a balcony, two large flatscreen TVs, robes, a two-foot-long shoehorn, and an umbrella. I was here for two nights. Next week, Carol will join me at this hotel for two separate stays of one night each. It would be lovely if I could upgrade to a suite like this when she’s with me. However, in my experience, I must tell you that I get my best upgrades when I’m by myself. An upgrade that only I can enjoy is not as valuable to me as if Carol was part of the upgrade.

 

 

This was a fantastic location in downtown Stockholm.

My hotel location was excellent. It was only a block from the old town and Stockholm Harbor. I walked down to the water to get my four miles of steps in. At the end of most days, especially when I’ve been driving long distances, my regular activity doesn’t get me all of the steps I need. I usually need to take some extra time to meet my goal.

 

 

July 17, 2024

 

 

No more breakfast buffets!

I think it would be fair to say that I’m getting a little burnt out on hotel buffet breakfasts. I’ve still got nearly two weeks to go on the trip! Today’s breakfast, considering it was served at an upscale hotel associated with Hyatt, was only average. That surprised me just a little bit.

 

 

Love YouTube TV.

I am a YouTube TV subscriber. I think it’s a great service, better than DIRECTV, which we had previously used, and cheaper.

 

 

YouTube TV is not usually available outside of the United States. However, I can get around that limitation when using a VPN (virtual private network). Last night, I had to search several cities in the United States before the city of Salt Lake City came through for me. For some reason, YouTube TV didn’t recognize Salt Lake as a VPN location like it frequently does with other cities. I could catch up with several of my previously recorded shows as if I were sitting in my living room.

 

 

My walking strategy.

Understanding my walking limitations today, meaning there wouldn’t be much time to walk, I set off on a walk this morning all over downtown Stockholm. Walking is a great way to see things that you wouldn’t notice if you were driving or riding public transportation. Today was a great day for a walk.

 

 

My trackchasing positioning strategy.

I didn’t have any races on my trackchasing agenda today. That wasn’t because of some form of personal restraint. It’s just that Nicklas and I couldn’t come up with a race date for today. That being the case, I took the time to position myself for tomorrow’s racing in Robertsfors, Sweden.

 

 

On my drive, I stopped at one of the rare Swedish highway rest areas that included some commercial offerings. I have seen almost no traditional highway rest areas like in the U.S. They have “parking” areas. Those spots are very small paved locations just off the side of the road. To get any kind of service, you have to get off the highway, where you might find a gas station, convenience store, and maybe some other retail stores.

 

 

Swedes speak English.

The restaurant at this stop was catering to nearly 100% Swedish tourists. Of course, that’s to be expected. I might have been the only American in the place. I dined on my Swedish staple of Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes!

 

 

I am surprised that virtually every Swedish person I encounter speaks English well enough to answer my questions and give directions. The world is getting smaller and smaller all the time.

 

 

I find the Swedish people to be quiet and reserved in general. When I walk past them on a sidewalk, they are unlikely to make eye contact and rarely say hello. Again, that’s just a general observation.

 

 

Tonight, I pulled into the Sorakers Herrgard Hotel in Vasternorrland, Sweden. I make most of my hotel reservations, especially at smaller independent hotels, using Expedia.com. I do my best to get a highly rated hotel, nine or better on a 10-point scale, at a reasonable price point.

 

 

Tonight’s property was old, elegant, and decorated lavishly inside. I arrived later in the evening at about 9 p.m. Sweden, at this time of year, still has a lot of daylight at 9 p.m. The reception desk had already closed. A man working in the kitchen asked me my name. I gave it to him, and he gave me my room key. That was it. No identification was required. That’s much different than the Europe of 25 years ago when they wanted you to leave your passport at the hotel if you went outside.

 

 

Tonight’s room was far from my colossal suite in Stockholm for the past two nights. This room had one small twin bed, and the TV screen was about the size of the video screen in my Tesla Model X.

 

 

I’ve had my share of “let’s not mention this” traveling experiences.

This was fine for me as a single traveler. I have stayed in some tiny hotel rooms in my lifetime. Once, I was in a South American country. I had a reservation at a hotel in the airport itself. I hadn’t realized my hotel was BEFORE I cleared the country’s border control secure location. When the exit guard realized my error, he winked and asked me to follow him. Soon he walked me back into the airport’s secure area through a side door and to my hotel. I figured the statute of limitations had run out on that experience! That room was small. My arm wingspan could touch both walls. However, I did have a huge picture window with a beautiful view of the airport tarmac.

 

 

 

July 18, 2024

 

Part of spending like a drunken sailor is buying a lot of petrol.

After 16 days on the road, I’ve driven my Hertz Rental Car Racing Peugeot 3008 some 3,800 km or 2,400 miles. After my first petrol fill-up, I noticed I was getting 44.8 miles per gallon. I haven’t checked since, but after five or six fill-ups, each gas stop comes in at about $90 U.S. I’m doing my part to keep the Swedish economy going.

 

 

Driving in Sweden is easy. As with all of Europe, Sweden has roundabouts. I’m sure I’ve driven through a thousand roundabouts if I’ve driven through one.

 

 

Yes, I love roundabouts.

I love roundabouts. They seem to keep everything moving much better than stop signs or stoplights. I’ve read that roundabout intersections are a much less expensive proposition for local governments than having stop signs or stop lights. I wish the United States had more of them.

 

 

I don’t love speed cameras as much.

If I’ve driven through a thousand roundabouts, I’ve probably driven past 500 speed cameras. They warn you with a sign on the highway. My Google Maps GPS also gives me a tiny ding to let me know. So far, to my knowledge, I have not seen any “photographic flashes” signaling that I went past one of these speed cameras going too fast. We’ll see if I get any letters in the mail after I return from the trip. That’s what these foreign countries do. They send me a letter, in their language, telling me I need to pay some astronomical sum in their currency.

 

 

I guess this might have been a cost-cutting measure.

Sweden does one thing with highways that I haven’t seen used that much anywhere else. In the United States, you might have two lanes on a typical interstate highway in each direction. In Sweden, the roads are three lanes wide. One side will have two traffic lanes, including a passing lane, while the other will have just one traffic lane. All of this is separated by a safety fence in the middle. You will get two or three miles of two lanes in any direction you are traveling. Then you go down to one lane, and it goes like that seemingly forever.

 

 

It is a little challenging when it’s time for one-lane driving. My car has a safety fence on its outside and inside. I cannot text then. I must pay attention and drive down my own one-lane “tunnel.”

 

 

My hotel buffet breakfast today at the Nipanhotellet in Solleftea, Sweden, was the most beautifully presented of all so far. I don’t find the food as tasty as some American buffets, but these Swedish hotels have more options.

 

Calories. Too many calories.

I feel like I’m gaining weight on this trip. I’m not a big breakfast eater. However, every hotel I have stayed at has offered a lavish breakfast buffet. Since the buffet is included in my room rate, I sort of feel like I have to eat it. The bad thing about buffets is that it’s easy to eat more than you want and more than you need.

 

 

I have been trackchasing for a long time. Trackchasing requires a lot of driving. When I’m by myself, I never want to take the time to sit down at a formal restaurant to have a meal. For me, it’s fast food drive-thru in the United States and has been for decades.

 

 

Donuts and ice cream bars.

Sweden has fewer fast food outlets than we do back home. Therefore, I’ll stop in a convenience store to use the bathroom and then see if there’s something that looks tasty. This has dramatically increased my consumption of donuts and ice cream bars. I can feel those items when I wear a new shirt for the day!

 

 

This would have been bad.

Today, when I stopped to fill up my petrol/gasoline-powered car, I had to go inside the convenience store to ask how to operate the gas pump. I filled the car to the brim using 95-octane gasoline. Then, I walked back into the store to pay. The clerk looked at me with a quizzical look and said, “Did you want diesel?” That is NOT a question you want to be asked if you drive a gasoline-powered rental car. Her question immediately made me think I had mistakenly filled my car with diesel fuel. Then I asked her, “I did fill up with 95 octane, correct? She replied, “Yes, you did. I just thought you wanted a diesel when you came in, to begin with”. Her question, “Did you want diesel?” definitely threw me for a loop for a few seconds.

 

 

Gumboda Motorstadion – Robertsfors, Sweden – Lifetime track #2,997.

 

Today, I was going to see some cross-kart racing. This is the only cross-kart race on my summer schedule in Sweden.

 

 

I will say the highlight of the day was meeting one of the track workers. He asked me why I was there. I explained a few details about my trackchasing hobby.

 

 

Die with Zero is even a “thing” at a cross-kart race in Sweden.

Although this gentleman was only about 40 years old, our discussion morphed into a more philosophical tone. Of course, that allowed me to fit in my Die with Zero personal mantra. That says you’re never gonna spend all of your money, so spend some of it now while you can still get around the world. I don’t know what this guy’s financial means were. I do know that despite our different cultures and languages, he understood the Die with Zero adage.

 

 

The cross-kart racing was nearly identical in format to the folk racing I’ve been seeing. Just five or six cars raced for four laps on a three-quarter-mile track. The track had some elevation and a dirt/asphalt racing surface. All of these types of races are contested on a road course configuration. Most of the track surface was dirt. My contact told me that was because dirt is less expensive, and the people racing around here don’t have much money.

 

 

The people in the concession stand were friendly. I ordered their hotdog and slathered on hamburger dressing just to create a little diversity.

 

 

Nippon Ham Fighters.

Today, I was wearing my Nippon Ham “Fighters” baseball jersey. In case you don’t know, the Fighters are the team where former Angels star Shohei Ohtani spent his time in the Nippon baseball league. That shirt has a history that I’ll tell you about on a different day. Sadly, now that the Dodgers have stolen Mr. Ohtani, Angels’ baseball is not as fun to watch as it used to be.

 

 

As is my normal practice, I took a couple of laps around the paddock, taking photos. Then, I walked up to the spectator area, which was again on top of a tall hill. There were no grandstands, so fans mainly brought their folding chairs and watched from there.

 

 

Good cross-kart racing.

The karts were really fast. They didn’t get in many wrecks despite taking the turns at gut-wrenching speeds, considering what they were driving. It was a good day at the races.

 

 

Daytime racing means one thing. Gourmet dining.

A significant advantage for me with European trackchasing is that the races occur during the day. This leaves the evening available to try out some gourmet restaurants.

 

 

I checked Yelp and found an Italian restaurant that looked appealing. The Yelp app told me the restaurant was open until 10 p.m., which would work fine. However, when I parked at the location, I didn’t see the restaurant name I was looking for.

 

 

It’s hard to get accurate intelligence.

I walked into the restaurant and started asking questions. It turned out that the recommended restaurant that was “closing at 10 p.m.” according to Yelp, actually went out of business two years ago! Oh my. This restaurant served tapas but was more than willing to recommend another Italian restaurant a couple blocks away. I went there.

 

 

This “new” Italian restaurant only had a three-star rating on Yelp with just two reviews. I usually wouldn’t eat at a Yelp 3-star rated eatery. I found this place to be outstanding. The shrimp scampi and pannacotta dessert were five stars in my book, as was the service and ambiance. I don’t write Yelp restaurant reviews very often, but I did for this restaurant called Mamma Mia’s.

 

 

Maybe the most beautiful drive of the trip.

From there, I headed to the evening’s hotel. I was driving along rural two-lane highways with very little traffic, which allowed me to take some of the most beautiful photos of the trip tonight. The Swedish lakes were gorgeous as the sun was going down.

 

 

I arrived at my hotel, the Nipanhotellet—Solleftea, Sweden, in the early evening. The reception area had closed. This was an unusual place. Nicklas told me that he had performed his military service here. In a hotel, I had asked him.

 

 

I stayed overnight in a hospital tonight!

Tonight’s overnight location is where I will stay tomorrow night as well. The property is a former Swedish military base that closed about 20 years ago. The hotel section where I would be staying used to be the military base hospital. From the looks of the hotel hallway, I could imagine this being a hospital. I’m staying in all kinds of accommodations.

 

 

Tonight’s room was once again a single twin bed with a small TV. I’ve been on this trip for more than two weeks now. I have never turned on my hotel room television for a single second. I rarely ever do. I get my news from various podcasts and Google news sources. I don’t find the news very interesting. The headlines are typically salacious and overblown. I do find the news to be very repetitive and almost always negative. That’s not for me.

 

 

 

July 19, 2024.

 

 

I woke up in the hospital!

I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but this morning, I woke up at a Swedish military base in the hospital. This was not exactly part of the plan.

 

 

In truth, I woke up at a FORMER Swedish military base. Yes, my hotel was located in what used to be the military base’s hospital. So, I guess I was, for the most part, accurate. I woke up in the hospital of a Swedish military base. I’m staying at the hotel for two nights because it is centrally located. Today’s breakfast was the most Spartan of the trip.

 

 

I don’t often make this statement, but I think this behavior is stupid.

I drive along the highway at 80-100 km an hour. The highway has no shoulders. Nevertheless, people ride their bikes along the road’s edge and walk. Some of them have gray hair. I have no idea how leading such a lifestyle would allow someone to reach the age of having gray hair. I would never ever do that.

 

 

I’m about at the end of my rope.

Looking at the rental car odometer, I saw that I had driven 4,200 kilometers. I’m getting annoyed at the constant use of speed cameras. They give you a sign saying that a speed camera is coming up. Google Maps gives me an audible ding saying that a speed camera is coming up. I slow down. I’m getting so frustrated that I’m just about ready to blast past one of these speed cameras going 50 km faster than the posted speed limit to see if they work or are just “dummies.” I hope I can hold onto my patience just a little bit longer.

 

 

Offerdals Motorstadion – Offerdal, Sweden – Lifetime track #2,998.

 

 

Today, I’m driving to the Offerdals Motorstadion, about three hours to see racing at my 2,998th-lifetime track.

 

 

It’s the boonies, baby.

After seeing racing at 11 Swedish tracks on this trip so far, I am noticing some commonalities. First, these tracks are located out in the boonies. At most of them, I turn off the highway and follow a one-lane dirt and muddy road to the parking area. Once I’m parked, I find it’s a solid hike to where the racing takes place.

 

 

Most of the racing I have seen is called folk racing. These are low-dollar cars, but fast, racing on a three-quarter mile or so asphalt and dirt surfaced racetrack with a little bit of elevation here and there.

 

 

Generously rustic.

Spectator seating is what I would call “rustic”. That’s being generous to the word rustic. Only a small portion of the perimeter is available to spectators. There are no grandstands. Stand or bring a lawn chair.

 

 

I enjoy folk racing. I don’t enjoy the inconvenience of the spectator amenities.

 

 

I ate a light breakfast and was hoping to have a good racetrack lunch. Half the time, I thought they weren’t serving any food at the track. Finally, I discovered a door to an unmarked building. That’s where their somewhat limited food selections were located. I would say this particular track was possibly the most rural and lacking overall creature comforts of any I have visited.

 

 

In case you had not noticed I have fun doing this.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed myself. I always do. Racing was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. I showed up at 1 p.m. Most folk races start racing even earlier in the morning and go until past six at night. I have learned to come when it’s convenient for me and stay as long as I’m having fun.

 

I watched the racing from every conceivable spot available to spectators. I wondered through the paddock. I took pictures of all of the trophies available to today’s winners. When that was finished, I headed on out. Lifetime track #2,998 was in the books.

 

 

Swedish from a gal.

I might add one other item. At every track I visited, all of the announcements were done in Swedish. Today’s announcer was just a little bit different in one regard. She was a woman. Considering I couldn’t understand a word she was saying, I could tell she did a great job.

 

 

Oh my. This can’t be a good idea.

In Sweden, young drivers can get a driving permit at the age of 15. These types of young drivers must display a triangular sign on the back of their vehicles.

 

 

It is mind-boggling to me that the fastest these drivers are legally allowed to drive on these high-speed highways is 30 km/h. What an unsafe situation when other drivers travel at 80-100 km/h speeds. I encountered several situations where cars were backed up behind one of the young drivers doing 18 km/h on the highway. I can’t imagine the rationale that existed to allow this.

 

 

Döda Fallet…a most unusual and worthwhile stop.

On the way back to my hotel in Soleftea, I asked Nicklas for a tour recommendation. He came up with a good one. He suggested I stop at Döda Fallet. Nicklas and I shared physical locations using our iPhone’s “Find Me” app. It was easy for him to tell where I was at and where I was headed.

 

 

This is the site where a major river was diverted 150 years ago. Now, the area where there used to be waterfalls and a large, wide river is overgrown with vegetation and has a major rock formation as well.

 

 

They’ve built a series of wooden walkways where the river used to run. There’s no charge to stop and take a look. I found it to be a lovely walk with outstanding scenery. If you’re ever in the area, give it a try.

 

 

The littlest trackchaser arrives tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night Carol arrives for her visit to Sweden. We were here for an afternoon in 2008 but didn’t even stay the night before returning to Copenhagen. I’ve got one more track to see tomorrow afternoon. If that comes off without a hitch, that will be track #2,999. During Carol’s visit, the first track that we stop at together will be lifetime track #3,000. It took a little doing to pull this off (Carol and track #3,000), but we’re so close now to making the plan work.

 

 

I must say that Nicklas is doing a great job as my Swedish travel agent. We message back and forth multiple times every day. Tonight, I asked him for a good recommendation for dinner. He outdid himself.

 

 

On top of the world.

He recommended that I dine at the Hotell Hallstaberget in Soleftea. This was upscale dining with one of the best views of any restaurant in the world. The hotel was on top of a ski resort. The views were breathtaking.

 

 

I dined on risotto and a key lime-flavored cheesecake with a little bit of white wine and Coke Zero. As a single male traveler, I felt a little self-conscious amongst all of the people out for likely their dinner of the year. Yes, I was wearing shorts as I always do. I travel with the theory that “I don’t know any of these people”. This approach makes my life simpler and my enjoyment even better than if I were wearing a tuxedo.

 

 

Just the facts, sir.

My server spoke most simply. Her opening line was “Do you want to order now?” She closed the evening by asking “Do you want to pay now?” That was fine with me. Simplicity works.

 

 

Once again I had part of my four miles of walking to complete. I went back to downtown Soleftea and took pictures of some of the unusual architecture the small town offered as I walked.

 

 

Tomorrow’s a big day. I have another track to see and about five hours of driving to complete the assignment.

 

 

Be there or be square.

Carol is arriving at the Stockholm airport at 9:30 p.m. She will have traveled from Los Angeles to Frankfurt to Stockholm. I just need to make sure that I get all of my daily activities finished and am at baggage claim by 9:30 p.m. Otherwise, I will turn into a pumpkin.

 

 

I can count on Carol.

I’ve got to throw some roses Carol’s way. She had always been the type of gal who I could ask to meet me anywhere in the world and she’ll be there. She’ll even be there early!

 

 

I’ve been in Sweden for nearly three weeks. I’m fully accustomed to the nine-hour time zone change. Carol will be jetlagged. It will take her pretty much every day of her 10-day trip to get used to the time zone differences. We’ll have to wait and see how all of that works out for both of us as a couple!

 

 

I might add that Carol doesn’t like to travel anywhere for more than two weeks. If she can max out at ten days she will be more than happy. Me? I could be gone for much longer. It’s yin and yang. We always say, “Opposites attract”. I’m the devil on her shoulder saying, “Play a little longer, relax, extend that vacation” stay longer!”

 

 

 

July 20, 2024

 

This is a big day. If you’re not early you are late.

I’m happy to report that today’s race is in the same town as where I stayed this past evening. The race track was only a couple of kilometers from the hotel. When I finished seeing today’s folk race, I made the five-hour drive to the greater Stockholm area. This required a logistical maneuver that would boggle the minds of some. Then I made it out to the airport in Stockholm for Carol’s 9:30 p.m. arrival. How did this all come about?

 

 

This morning when I arrived at the hotel breakfast buffet, no one was there except the owner. We spent several minutes chatting. I am always amazed at how Europeans are so up on American politics. We covered that subject for a good long while.

 

 

Asmyrbanan – Soleftea, Sweden – Lifetime track #2,999.

 

 

There’s always a lot of logistics involved in trackchasing to make sure everything runs efficiently. Having the racetrack just nine minutes from the hotel was fantastic. Most mornings I’m been driving 2-4 hours to get to the track.

 

 

There was no admission charge to watch the race. I soon discovered that this track, called Asmyrbanan, was the nicest of any of the eight or nine folk races that I’ve seen on the trip so far. Surprisingly, they even had a formal grandstand.

 

 

There were only about 50 cars in the paddock. The view from the level spectating area of the track was excellent. The track itself had a good deal of elevation. I could see all of the racing all of the time which is my strong preference. For some reason, the cars didn’t seem nearly as loud as at other tracks. Maybe the local town noise laws were in effect.

 

 

For refreshments, I went with a hotdog smothered in hamburger sauce, a Coke Zero, and a new racetrack offering called the “chocolate ball“. The chocolate ball is a small but bigger than a golf ball-sized concoction that is a cross between chocolate cake and fudge covered in coconut. I had one in a 7-Eleven store a couple of days ago. Quite tasty.

 

 

I was driving like a madman now.

Carol was scheduled to land in Stockholm from Frankfurt, Germany at 9:30 p.m. I got out of the races at noon. I hopped in the Hertz Rental Car Racing Peugeot 308 and began my more than five-hour drive toward Stockholm.

 

 

I want to spend like a drunken sailor…but not on stupid stuff. Give me value or give me death.

Carol and I are staying in the old town section of Stockholm. There isn’t much parking around there. The parking that does exist is underground and expensive. The parking charge at the first Hyatt I used was $120 a day. That seemed like a waste of money. The parking at our upcoming hotel was still $60 a day. I didn’t want to pay that for what would amount to four days either.

 

 

During this trip, I discovered the “EasyPark” option. I used the EasyPark app to check out different parking lots that they manage. Their parking rate was $15 a day. I would pay $60 for the four days with EasyPark. That certainly beats paying four times that price just to park. I would eat up some of those savings in Uber rides. Uber would be much more convenient for not having to drive around the city and park in the city multiple times.

 

 

I feel like I have my concierge with my Swedish buddy Nicklas. You can imagine the number of questions that pop up when you are a foreign tourist in a foreign-speaking country. Whenever there’s something I don’t understand or need a little bit of clarification I can just message Nicklas and he explains things to me.

 

 

I need to do a lot of work behind the scenes to make things appear seamless for Carol.

I arrived in the EasyPark parking area with time to spare. This was an outdoor parking lot in what seemed like a warehouse/industrial area. I knew the drill from having done this last week. That helped.

 

 

From there, I took an Uber for just eight dollars from the parking lot to tonight‘s hotel, the Hotel Story Riddargatan. I had also stayed here previously and been upgraded to one of the hotel’s only two suites. It was a bummer that I couldn’t get a suite for Carol and me tonight. I was able to get the next best room available.

 

 

Flowers? Yes! Flowers!

With everything set up for the room I asked the desk clerk a question. “Where could I buy flowers?”. Yes, I am a romantic devil when not trying to exploit a credit card arbitrage strategy. It was past 8 p.m. The desk clerk recommended the grocery store in the subway. The entrance to the subway was just around the corner. Soon I was down there picking up a bouquet of beautiful flowers for Carol for the princely low price just four dollars.

 

 

Subways? Trains? Yes, let’s go.

I hadn’t ridden the subway or any of Stockholm’s trains yet. I wanted to fix that. Soon I hopped on the subway using my iPhone to pay for the ride just like I do in New York City. After a few minutes on the subway, I hopped on the Arlanda Express, a train that would take me directly to terminal 5 where Carol was arriving.

 

 

I think the subway cost me about four dollars but I’m not 100% sure. I was able to get the senior rate on the Arlanda Express train to the airport for 21 bucks. For just $25 I was riding to the airport and having a new experience. The Uber fare for that route was about $50.

 

 

Of course, Carol’s flight was delayed by an hour making her arrival 10:30 p.m. I felt bad for her. She had been flying for nearly 15 hours with another four-hour layover in Germany. Now with a 10:30 p.m. Stockholm arrival time, which was 1:30 p.m. back home in Southern California Carol probably didn’t know where she was or what time it was. Don’t worry. She was in good hands.

 

 

When she landed we ended up taking an Uber back to the hotel from the airport. The cost was $50. The ride took 38 minutes. Riding the subway for two minutes and the Orlando Express for 18 minutes took a combined 20 minutes of travel time from the hotel to the airport. That seemed weird. Of course, the $50 Uber ride price was locked in before we got in the car so I didn’t have to worry about the Uber driver taking a circuitous route.

 

 

I never go wrong with flowers.

Carol and I are both in Stockholm now. We’ve got an exciting adventure planned for both of us. Stay tuned and see how that works out. Oh yeah, She LOVED those flowers!

 

 

 

July 21, 2024.

 

 

Cruise or city tour?

Carol and I woke up this morning in Stockholm, Sweden. This evening, we would sleep overnight somewhere on the Baltic Sea. We’re going to be on a short two-night cruise to Tallinn, Estonia, and then back to Stockholm. I gave the choice to Carol to decide if we wanted to walk around Stockholm or take the cruise. No, I don’t make that many decisions in our household.

 

 

Today’s cruise was departing Stockholm at 5:30 p.m. That still gave us nearly a full day to explore Stockholm. I had been here a couple of times in the past, but this was Carol‘s first visit to the city.

 

 

The Vasa Museum. Stockholm’s #1 attraction.

If you search for touring activities in Stockholm, you will likely find that the Vasa Museum is rated at the top of everything to see and do, maybe even number one.

 

 

This is a fascinating and entertaining museum. It is home to the Vasa, a warship built in the 1600s.

 

 

The ship had all of the state-of-the-art things you might see on a ship of its kind from that era. You know that with most things in life, there is a learning curve. I guess that applies to shipbuilding as well.

 

 

On August 10, 1628, the Vasa sailed out of the harbor and made it about 1,300 meters before it tilted to the left and sank to the bottom of Stockholm Harbor. The Vasa stayed there under 30 meters of water for more than 300 years.

 

 

Where could the Vasa possibly be?

I am no expert on finding sunken ships. I find it amazing that a boat that sailed a bit more than 1,000 meters and was only 30 meters below the surface would be that hard to find. Nevertheless, those are the facts, as we were told.

 

 

In 1956, the ship was brought to the surface, and the restoration process began. This took a long time. Nevertheless. this vast ship is now 90% original and housed in a beautiful museum.

 

 

Don’t miss the Vasa Museum.

If you go to Stockholm, I highly recommend the Vasa Museum. The location is a nice walk from Stockholm‘s old town area. If you go, you must stop and see the 20-minute film they offer. They show that film in different languages on the hour. The English version is shown only twice a day. We just happened to arrive one minute before it’s 1 o’clock showing. The film is a good primer for what we would see in the rest of the Vasa Museum. Don’t miss this one. Carol was super impressed. She called this the 8^th wonder of the world. Despite knowing her since she was 19 years old, I am never fully certain what she’s going to like. I prefer it that way.

 

 

How much do you want to spend?

From there, we acted on the restaurant recommendation of one of the clerks at the Vasa Museum. This guy seemed like he knew what he was talking about. His only question for me was, “How much are you willing to spend?” I don’t know if that was a personal judgment of his on my clothing or what. I told him I thought we could handle about anything.

 

 

The restaurant was located next to the Abba Museum. The serving arrangement was a bit unusual. First, everyone took a tray and walked past a long line of desserts. That led to a checkout counter, where you ordered your entrée. The entrée was prepared just as if you were in a fine restaurant and delivered to our table out in the garden. Unusual, yes. That’s why we travel to find the unusual.

 

 

Uber can’t be beaten in Stockholm.

Uber in Stockholm is extremely efficient and inexpensive. When it was time, we grabbed an Uber for about eight dollars. Our driver drove us and all of our luggage to the Estonia-bound ship’s departure point. From here, we would, for the next couple of days, be on the open seas of the Baltic Sea, with a brief afternoon stop in Estonia.

 

 

We enjoy cruising.

Cruising has been a big part of our vacation lives. Over the years, we have cruised more than 25 times all around the world. I may not be as big on cruising as I used to be. I always thought it was a great way to get a sampling of different ports. It is. Maybe it’s just like some things in life, once you’ve done them a time or many doing them again isn’t quite as exciting.

 

 

Get Your Guide gets a 5-star recommendation from Randy.

I have been using an app called, “Get Your Guide”. If you’ve never used it, you might want to research it a little bit. Get Your Guide can be used in just about any city in the entire world. The CYG app will suggest things to do. Their results will include all of the major attractions available. You’ll have tons of travel opportunities including quite a few small and private tours you might never have heard about. Many of these include a private guide. Prices seem to be reasonable and maybe even less than market value. We used Get Your Guide to get our sumo wrestling tickets in Tokyo when getting those tickets through the more direct channels was difficult.

 

 

When I scheduled our cruise to Estonia, I didn’t give it a lot of thought. It just seemed like something unusual to do and was reasonably priced so why not?

 

 

Would we be sailing on a houseboat?

Of course, Carol knew we were going on a cruise. But when I explained the short sailing I think we both thought that this would be more of a houseboat than a cruise ship.

 

 

We were cruising on the ship, Victoria. If you do a search for this ship on Wikipedia, you will find it carries about 1,000 passengers and surprisingly 400 vehicles. This was a “Cruise/ferry”.

 

 

I like overnight ferries.

We once rode a ferry boat on a 17-hour overnight ride from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and Labrador. We chose that route just for the experience. In general, I like sleeping overnight on cruise ships and even these types of ferry boats.

 

 

Nothing but the best for Carol.

I had ordered the deluxe sailing cabin for us a couple of months ago. Die with Zero, right? Die with Zero is important when it comes to entertaining your wife. Truth be told Carol has a “maid’s mentality”. She WAS a hotel maid during the summer in her parent’s Wyoming motel and campground when I first met her. I think she could live the financial lifestyle of a monk without much trouble.

 

 

Was Mecca behind this door?

As we searched for our ship’s cabin, we walked down the hallways seeing room after room. Finally, we came to a door with a sign that read, “Suites and Deluxe cabins”. That was us.

 

 

It’s never a good idea to have expectations that are too high. I think we were disappointed in our room. It wasn’t that big and half of it had a sloping window roofline. When you’re 6‘3“ tall in a smaller cabin, the last thing you need is a sloping window roofline. Not to stress. We were only going to be on the ship for two nights.

 

 

Nice, but on a smaller scale.

Outside of our room, we were pleasantly surprised at what we found. We’ve been on cruise ships that held 4,000-5,000 passengers. The Victoria had a capacity of around 1,000. The ship’s theatre and retail shops were very nice. They were just done on a smaller scale. This would suit us just fine.

 

 

The ship had four basic itineraries. There were people like us who were getting on in Sweden, traveling to Estonia, and returning to Sweden. There were also people going one way from Sweden to Estonia and getting off the ship there. Then there were groups of passengers doing the opposite from Estonia to Sweden. This meant that each morning, there were always groups of passengers with their bags getting ready to exit the ship for different reasons.

 

 

We spent the evening enjoying the ship’s entertainment. Their theater was perfect. This was similar to what we had enjoyed on all of our other cruises.

 

 

Yes, gross…but not gross enough to dissuade me.

For dinner, we dined in the ship’s grand buffet. This was OK, not great. I was enamored by the ship’s chocolate “fountain/waterfall.” The operative word is “was”. I watched a fellow passenger adjust a marshmallow onto a metal skewer with his fingers for several seconds. Then he dipped that marshmallow into the liquid chocolate that was recirculating. Yuck. Double yuck. To show what a sicko I am and how much I enjoy chocolate, I used the chocolate fountain after this guy…but I didn’t feel good about it.

 

 

 

July 22, 2024

 

Estonia.

Today’s cruise stop is in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. Carol and I had been to Estonia one other time back in 2008. We tied that trip into a race in Estonia as well as one in nearby Latvia.

 

 

We had time to spend the better part of the day in Tallinn. We figured a simple hop-on hop-off bus ride around the area would give us the highlights. The city sits on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. A quick stop in a place like Estonia was the perfect diversion from nearly a month of trackchasing in Sweden and Norway. Additionally, the cruise allowed Carol to work herself into the European nine-hour time zone change.

 

 

Charging for a public bathroom. I’ll probably never be accepting of that.

We had time to visit a new upscale mall in downtown Tallinn. We were surprised to see the mall was charging people 50 cents to use the toilets. Equally surprising was that I could pay for our “admission“ using Apple Pay on my phone. That lessened the blow a little bit for me. I like Apple Pay and I was earning credit card points!

 

 

Carol and I have cruised all over the world. I have always been a big fan of cruising although that might be diminishing just a little bit simply because we’ve done it so much.

 

 

Cruise security has changed.

Today the security on the ship was a lot different than what we’ve experienced on other cruises. Way, way back in the day you would have to leave your room key on the ship and retrieve it when you came back onboard. This way the ship knew who still needed to return to the ship when it was about ready to sail again.

 

 

This afternoon we simply walked off the ship without making eye contact with anybody on the ship. That seemed strange. Some 200 yards after we had left the ship they did have some security features that could only be accessed with your room key. Same thing on the way back. I guess that’s the new electronic way of managing their passenger inventory.

 

 

No good deed goes unpunished.

Quick cruise story. Carol and I were on a cruise in Turkey. I had gone on shore by myself. I decided to buy Carol a fur coat on the spur of the moment. I do things like that. The purchase took a little bit longer than expected. I had to go to a secondary location to get the coat’s lining sewn in. The furrier drove me at a high rate of speed in his Mercedes to his sewing factory. We didn’t have much time because our ship was leaving soon. I remember blasting past our dinner companions, Kin and Stephanie, as they stared in amazement. They didn’t know if I had been kidnapped or what. When the fur was finished, the guy came sliding to a halt in a cloud of dust at the ship’s gangway. Just 75 seconds later, our ship was sailing away with me and Carol’s fur coat safely on board. My name had been being called over the loudspeaker for the last 20 minutes! Where was Randy? Carol freaks out about stuff like this. Me? These things just roll off my back. I don’t think the benefit of her getting that fur coat ever exceeded her displeasure with my tardy return. Go figure.

 

 

We finished the evening at an informal ship’s buffet. This was followed by an evening of the ship’s theatre entertainment and some overpriced weak cocktails. I don’t mind overpriced cocktails, O.K., I do but just don’t make them weak.

 

 

 

July 23, 2024.

 

 

Option 1 or option 2?

We had a choice today. We’re getting back from the cruise in the late morning. Option 1 was to grab a rental car and make most or all of the five-hour drive down to tomorrow’s racetrack location. Option 2? We would stay the night in Stockholm, do some city touring, and make the long drive to the track tomorrow. We went with option 2.

 

 

We grabbed an Uber to our hotel in Stockholm. Prices ranged from 99 Swedish krona to 228 SEK or Swedish krona for our ride. I never really know what the price difference is really for. I am rarely with more than one other person and quite often by myself when I take an Uber. The basic Uber works for me.

 

 

We were back at the Story Hotel Riddargatan, a funky hotel. I am racking up those Hyatt nights. Once again, I did not get the huge suite they gave me when I was by myself earlier in the trip. For me, when I’m by myself, a suite isn’t of much value. Give it to me when Carol is part of the stay and the suite is invaluable.

 

 

Just riding the subway to be riding the subway.

Today we took a ride on the subway just so I could show Carol how it worked. The Stockholm subway is modern and 100% safe. We had lunch somewhere underground. We ride the subway everywhere we go. Many are most unusual. Moscow’s subway was like an old-time art museum will all matter of large murals.

 

 

How could we not visit the Abba Museum? You have to make a reservation to go there.

One of the most popular museums in Stockholm is the Abba Museum. Yes, I’m talking about the Swedish musical group. The museum is so popular that you need an advance reservation! I used Get Your Guide for that requirement.

 

 

My mind and body are a musical wasteland. I don’t know a single lyric to a single song that has ever been written in the world. When I hear a song, I enjoy it, but I completely zone out and think my thoughts. Maybe that comes from being a latchkey kid. I couldn’t tell you a single song performed by the Rolling Stones. I might have to give some serious thought before I could tell you any songs performed by the Beatles. I sure as hell couldn’t tell you anything that Abba ever did.

 

 

I thought our visit to the Abba Museum was a complete waste of time. Nothing against Mr. and Mrs. Abba or the Abbas or whoever this foursome was. What WAS the highlight of our visit? I could now “check the box” on the Abba Museum.

 

 

Just strolling along the cobblestones on an idyllic summer night in Sweden.

We finished the evening strolling through the old town section of Stockholm on a beautiful warm summer night. We stopped at a highly recommended by Yelp Italian restaurant. Of course, we had to share some crème brûlée as any young romantic couple would be apt to do.

 

 

 

July 24, 2024.

3,000!

Today was a big day in my trackchasing hobby. If all went according to plan, I would be seeing auto racing at my 3,000^th racetrack in 87 countries. I don’t exactly know how to compare that achievement to much else.

 

 

I guess there might be one way of making an apples-to-apples comparison. I would ask the reader to think about anything else they have ever done or might like to do that involves 3,000 different geographical locations. Of course, this is not just thinking about or reading about 3,000 different locations. My hobby involves visiting 3,000 different locations around the world. I would say that seeing 3,000 race tracks is my last big-time goal in my hobby…and I’ve had a lot of goals.

 

 

More behind the scenes work needed to be done.

But before this could happen, Carol and I needed to leave Stockholm and drive to Likenas, Sweden. To avoid paying the $60 per day parking charge for the last four days and the hassle of having to drive my rental car in and out of Stockholm’s heavy city traffic, I had parked my car “offsite.”

 

 

This morning, we took an Uber for $10 from our hotel to where my car was parked. Nothing is ever easy. I’ve been ordering “Green” Uber cars. Green Uber cars are electric cars and are not likely painted in the color of green. I wanted to see what other electric cars were like to ride in. We’ve used a couple of Mercedes EVs, and a Tesla Model Y showed up this morning.

 

 

Wait! That’s MY Uber.

I could see our white Tesla parked just 75 meters from where we stood in front of the hotel. Then all of a sudden the car stopped and, a man got in the backseat. Wait! That was our Uber Tesla! I was now waving frantically.

 

 

Soon, the error was recognized. Our Uber driver had stopped to pick up the wrong person. The offending passenger soon exited the vehicle, and everything was right in our Swedish world.

 

 

Our rental car was just where I left it in an outdoor urban industrialized area parking lot. My four-day parking charge using the “EasyPark” app was $60. That left $180 for Uber rides compared to what the hotel parking expense would have been. Plus, we didn’t have to drive our car around the city and pay more parking charges. I estimate we might have spent $80 with Uber over the past four days.

 

 

I am enthralled by dollar stores. Carol tolerates them.

On our drive toward the racetrack, we stopped at a Swedish dollar store. I love dollar stores for nothing other than to take a look. However, if I were short on cash, I would shop at a dollar store.

 

 

Track #3,000 and rain…lots of rain.

The weather forecast for today’s racing had called for rain. The forecast lived up to the expectations. By the time we found the racetrack, it was raining solidly. This was the coolest and rainiest day of the trip. I would have expected nothing else in pursuit of track #3,000.

 

 

Dustin was coming to the party from Norway!

Carol and I would not be making this celebration by ourselves. Dustin, a member of our family, had come all the way from the greater Los Angeles area to be in attendance. He was just beginning the first part of his three-week journey in Europe. He’s trying to see 100 countries by the age of 50. That’s a fantastic goal. I think he’s somewhere in the 60s right now. He will meet that goal quickly.

 

 

I could never have made this Swedish journey without the help of Nicklas Åkerlund. He’s the one who came up with all of the race dates and locations. With his help, I would see racing at 16 different race tracks in a 27-day trip to Sweden and Norway.

 

 

Nicklas and Susanne were coming to the party from Sweden.

Nicklas and his BFF Susanne traveled four hours each way by car to join in the 3,000-track celebration. How many friends do you have that would be willing to do that?

 

 

Dustin was driving in from Oslo, Norway. Nicklas and Susanne were coming from Gavle, a city north of Stockholm. When we all arrived, we encountered the same uncomfortable weather conditions. The temperature was 60° with heavy and steady rain. It was not a problem. In Sweden, they race no matter the weather conditions.

 

 

Femtabanan – Likenas, Sweden – Lifetime track #3,000

 

 

This was a folk race on a relatively flat and winding mixed-surface track. I’m guessing the length of the track was about 3/4 of a mile. Folk racing in Sweden is done almost daily during the vacation month of July. Folk racing is the least expensive form of Swedish motorsports for competitors.

 

 

We took a tour of the paddock area. Close to 100 cars were in attendance. On the trip, I had seen some of these racing teams at other tracks.

 

 

We watched as much racing as we wanted outdoors before the track took a break between the second and third sets of heat aces. During each qualification run, every car races in one race. They do that for three different qualification events and then the finals. The teams take about a 30-minute break between these races while officials work on the track. Today, it was hard to distinguish between the asphalt portion of the track and the dirt portion. Everything was a soaked muddy mess.

 

 

All of the racing was done on mostly flat ground. This made viewing much better. However, the rain nullified the ease of viewing. I did have one major item to be thankful for. Had today’s racing taken place in the U.S. it would have been rained out with no questions asked. Since Sweden races in wet weather track #3,000 came about today and not tomorrow.

 

 

Watching friends make friends.

During the break, we hung out in the enclosed concession area. I was most impressed with the facility. The concession area had an indoor seating area and indoor permanent toilets! It was nice to just sit inside out of the rain. That way Dustin, Nicklas, Susanne, and Carol could get to know each other. Isn’t it fun when you know several people as your friends and then you get to watch all of your friends get to know each other for the first time? I have always enjoyed that.

 

 

We had places to be when the racing at track #3,000 was finished. We all went to a nearby diner and sat down for a nice dinner. We bench raced. What’s that? We talked about the race event but more importantly, we simply relaxed in a faraway environment (for us anyway) and enjoyed an afternoon with our friends.

 

 

 

Trackchasing…a multi-faceted hobby.

Trackchasing for me has always been about three things. Of course, there is the racing. However, contrary to what most people think racing is only one part of what I enjoy about trackchasing. I get the biggest kick out of planning these trips. I will work through a thousand permutations. Invariably, I come up with a final plan. At that point, I try to execute the plan, but I am always surprised and amazed at how many things change in the midst of the plan. That doesn’t bother me in the least. I’m used to it. I don’t know if the constant changing of the plan got me so comfortable with change or if I came into the game with that flexible mindset.

 

 

The third aspect of my trackchasing hobby? I get probably the biggest bank for my buck in the form of “people, places, and things”. As you might imagine, I’ve met so many people who are out on the road with me. To be able to have dinner with a couple from a foreign country and have a great friend travel thousands of miles to be here today is something not that many people get a chance to experience.

 

 

I’ve been retired for 23 years. I honestly don’t know what my retirement life would have looked like had I not had such a fantastic travel hobby to enjoy. Of course, the travel plan worked because my financial plan worked. I couldn’t travel this much to places all over the world without a sound earning and investment plan.

 

 

Of course, I couldn’t have done any of this without the help and support from my wife, Carol. In the trackchasing community, she is known by various names, including “The Littlest Trackchaser“ and the “World’s #2 trackchaser”. Some people think she doesn’t come along on that many trips. Today, she was seeing racing at her 713th lifetime track. She comes on her fair share of trips.

 

 

I know almost no one who has a spouse who is as understanding as Carol is regarding my desire to travel the world. Of course, she is invited on every trip. When I get home from an adventure all of the things that need to be taken care of at home have been taken care of. Thank you, Carol!

 

 

 

It was time to say goodbye.

Dustin, Nicklas, and Susanne headed to their faraway evening destinations. Carol and I drove just an hour down to the Selma Spa. This was an upscale hotel and spa in Sunne, Sweden.

 

 

Time for the Peppermint sauna.

We checked in and immediately grabbed our hotel robes and headed to the sauna. The sign on the door of the “Peppermint sauna” read 65°. At first, I thought that was going to be a bit chilly. Then I recognized that we were continuing to use Celsius in Sweden.

 

 

For me, today was a historic day. What’s next? I can only answer it like this.

 

 

Do you remember when your daughter or granddaughter was learning to count? She would go from one up to 10. You had the biggest smile on your face. Then, as she struggled to get to number 11 you nearly pulled a muscle in your rib cage, rooting her on. What’s next after 3,000? 3,001.

 

 

 

July 25, 2024.

 

 

What day is it? I never have any idea whatsoever.

I have only five days left on my 27-day trip. When I wake up in the morning, I have no idea what day of the week it is. There is no need.

 

 

Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time driving, standing in the rain, and spending time with friends, which didn’t allow me to do much walking. At the end of the day, I was still 2 1/2 miles short of my 4-mile goal, which needed to be completed today at 9 a.m. Swedish time. With that being the case and not wanting to break my streak, I went on a walk to downtown Sunne.

 

 

I enjoy seeing small towns up close and personal.

When I’m trackchasing in the States I very much enjoy a morning walk in any small American town. Wal-Mart and then tech giants like Amazon have decimated America’s small towns. I can commonly see a sign indicating the year that the building was built at the top of any tall building in a small town. It’s not unusual to see that many of these structures were constructed in the late 1800s. Now, there is rarely a downtown building that has the same tenants as it did in the 70s and 80s. The only exceptions might be bars and maybe a local restaurant. I can tell you that the downtown area of Sunne, Sweden looked in much better shape than the small American towns I have visited.

 

 

One of the most unusual Trackchasing Tourist Attractions I have ever visited.

This afternoon was reserved for a most interesting Trackchasing Tourist Attraction. We were headed to Tockfors, Sweden, located on Norway’s border. We were headed to explore what I, as a boy, lovingly called a “junkyard”. Maybe you’ve been to a junkyard? I don’t know that I ever bought a new part for my car as a teenager. I went to a junkyard to get what I needed from a model similar to what I owned that had been wrecked. I bought used tires for two dollars apiece. That’s much less than what I paid for my last set of tires for my Tesla.

 

 

Today’s Swedish junkyard was quite a tourist attraction. The place was located out in the boonies, way out in the boonies. Nevertheless, I’ll guess more than 100 people were roaming around. They were looking at wrecked and abandoned cars that probably hadn’t been touched by human hands in 40-50 years. Carol and I joined in.

 

 

I know it sounds kind of weird. People came all this way to a place like Sweden so they could walk around a hugely overgrown junkyard that might be overrun by rats just to see a bunch of old cars. Still, it was fun. If only those cars could tell us what they’ve seen and done, right? At least we weren’t the only ones there. Considering how far off the beaten path this place was finding a hundred people out here was like finding a thousand somewhere else. Maybe someday you will make it to the car graveyard in Kyrkömosse.

 

 

Only the best for Carol.

We stayed the evening in a beautiful art museum-like hotel suite in Moss, Norway. The hotel? HotHotell Refsnes Gods. I always say that when Carol comes along, I get upgraded! She never asks for these upscale accommodations; she just deserves them.

 

 

We asked for and got a recommendation for an Indian restaurant for dinner this evening. Jackpot! The food and décor were top-of-the-line. We could not have asked for more.

 

 

I would never attempt to predict the future even the future of the next five minutes.

After dinner, we walked a few blocks for a drink and maybe a donut at a local convenience store gas station. Somehow, we got in between a seagull and her nest. In the matter of not much time, we had gone from the best of hotels to an outstanding restaurant, and then we were in the middle of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “The Birds.” That seagull was screaming its head off and dive-bombing us. The bird would come from fifty feet above to within five feet of our heads. In my wildest dreams, I could not make up scenarios like this.

 

 

  

July 26, 2024.

 

 

Trackchasing infamy. Really?

Today was going to be a notable trackchasing day in the Lewis household. Today was likely to go down in trackchasing infamy.

 

 

Rain was expected all day in our part of Norway. That’s not a problem for racing in Sweden or Norway. Even in wet weather conditions when it’s raining, they don’t postpone.

 

 

Breakfast through the rain.

With it pouring down rain our more than quaint hotel buffet breakfast building was located a few meters away from the main part of the hotel. We borrowed umbrellas from the hotel to get to where they were serving breakfast. I’ve had about 25 hotel breakfast buffets in a row now. Carol always sums up these buffets by saying “Everything always looks so lovely and you don’t really want any of it”. No, she don’t eat much.

 

 

With experience comes premonitions.

I suggested to Carol this morning that we leave a little earlier for the track. I was remotely concerned that with all the rain the track might start racing with good intentions. But, if the rain got to be too much they might cancel later in the day. If I only knew how accurate that feeling was.

 

 

Off we went on a 55-mile drive that took us an hour and a half to complete. What did that mean? We were driving on a series of small, narrow, and winding roads here in Norway. I’ve found Norway roads to be much more rural and rustic than what I’ve seen in Sweden.

 

 

As we drove along, I noticed that Norway gas prices changed just a little bit from one town to the next. In Sweden, 95 octane petrol never varied by as much as a krona per liter that I saw. It always stayed at about 18.5 Swedish krona per liter.

 

 

In Norway, we saw gas prices as high as 23.7 Norwegian kroner per liter. That translates to $8.20 per gallon in U.S. dollars. I visit 10-12 foreign countries every year. Gas prices are almost always lower in the U.S. than in any place I travel to. It’s just that most Americans don’t know that.

 

 

Along the way, we passed the Rudskogen Motorsenter. This was the permanent asphalt road course race facility that had been the second track I had seen during the trip. That visit seemed like a long time ago. I remembered the place for the more than one-mile walk from the parking area to the track.

 

 

Almost a major error.

I thought we had some time, so I wanted to show Carol what I had experienced. This move nearly proved costly. I pulled off the road to show Carol the facility. This might’ve delayed our arrival at today’s track, the Brekka Motorbane, by 10 minutes or so. Ten minutes nearly cost us a track today.

 

 

Brekka Motorbane – Stromfoss, Norway – Lifetime track #3,001

 

 

Raining…hard.

It was amazing how hard and steady the rain was when we finally arrived at the Brekka Motorbane. When I saw my 3,000th track two days ago, it was the worst weather day of the trip. Now, today took that honor with a temperature of 60 degrees and even steadier and heavier rain.

 

 

It is amazing how well Google Maps does worldwide. Our GPS directions took us from one country farm to another. We traveled through the countryside on roads that weren’t much wider than a lane for several kilometers at a time. I would hate to have navigated this route pre-GPS.

 

 

I specialize in reading people and I don’t accept BS.

When we reached the track, I asked a young man where we could park. I am pretty good at “reading” people when I meet them. I can tell if they will be easy or hard to deal with. I can tell if they will listen or not. I can quickly understand if things revolve around their world or if they are genuinely interested in serving the customers they are about to work with. I consider this to be one of my most vital skills. The parking agent began to describe a parking opportunity well down the highway in a sandy and very wet area. That didn’t sound like a good idea.

 

 

Time for “convincing mode”.

I quickly went into my “let’s try to influence the situation” mode in our favor. I could see a parking spot less than 20 meters away. I motioned to him and explained that we were “Older people who didn’t walk well.” I felt comfortable making this assertion even though I walk more than four miles daily. It was true that compared to all of the people at the track we were easily in the top 2% in age. Carol had knee surgery during the past decade. I felt if I had to support my “older people” description in a court of law, I could. The young man immediately imagined his great-grandparents of Norwegian descent. How would he treat them when it came time to have them park at the track?

 

 

It was raining hard. Our parking spot was within 20 meters of the paddock. We grabbed our umbrellas and walked on in. There was no admission charge whatsoever.

 

 

Our first stop was at the porta-potties. The porta potties were an excellent location for watching the start of the race. We couldn’t stay in the porta-potty forever, though. We were now less than 30 meters from seeing the cars leave the starting line.

 

 

Like most other tracks on this trip, the racing was contested on a road course configuration. The track length was about 3/4 of a mile. The racing surface was “mixed“. That means part of the track’s surface was asphalt, and part was dirt. I took my first picture inside the paddock today at 12:11 p.m. I’ll tell you why that was noteworthy in a moment. We watched some races from the starting line. Then, we ventured up to a higher elevation viewing position. We were seeing some good racing action. It was pouring as hard as it had rained all day at this point.

 

 

There was new news but what was the new news?

After just four or five races, an announcement was made over the Norwegian PA system. We had no idea what they were saying. They never say anything in English other than the words “ready to race” just before the cars take the green flag. We soon saw the fans leaving their rustic viewing positions from higher on a hill.

 

 

I figured this was track prep time, and they would have several more races for the rest of the day. We took this “break” as an opportunity to visit the concession stand. Carol and I had a waffle with strawberry preserves, which cost forty Norwegian kroner, or about four dollars each.

 

 

The rain had almost come to a stop. Now, the spectators and the racers were listening intently to the following announcement over the PA. We didn’t have a clue what they were saying.

 

 

I watched everyone’s expressions to see what their reaction might be to the announcement. Soon the message had been delivered. Quite a few people applauded. That seemed like a good thing. What had been said? I asked a young lad standing next to us. “What did they say?” He told me the races for today had been stopped. They would resume tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. and run until 6 p.m. Oh my.

 

 

Trackchasing is about “counting”.

Despite the stoppage, we had seen enough racing to “count” the track. Trackchasing is a counting hobby. Trackchasers come to a track to count the track in their lifetime totals. The rules only state that “competitive racing” must take place. I have always taken that to mean that as soon as the green flag flies, competitive racing has taken place.

 

 

I told Carol when we left the hotel, “We need to leave earlier than normal so we don’t run into a potential cancellation.” Then, I stopped for a sightseeing tour of the Rudskogen Motorsenter, which also delayed our arrival today. What was I thinking?

 

 

I took my first picture in the paddock when we arrived today at 12:11 p.m. We were having our waffles at the concession area when the announcement about today’s cancellation came at 12:44 p.m. We had seen racing action for about 30 minutes. We probably saw five races in total. Nevertheless, that was enough to count track.

 

 

One of the biggest days ever for the Lewis trackchasing household.

I told you this was a huge trackchasing day for the Lewis household. How so? Carol has now moved into the world‘s #2 trackchasing position. She has seen racing in 53 countries. That bests fellow competitor Roland Vanden Eynde of Belgium, who has seen racing in 52 countries.

 

 

I organize and fund the trackchasing trips for Carol and me. I’ve seen racing in 87 countries. She’s seen racing in 53 countries. I don’t know how much longer I can continue subsidizing her efforts if she starts challenging my leadership position.

 

 

It was somewhat ironic before they canceled the races it was raining cats and dogs. When they stopped and made their cancellation announcement over the PA, the rain nearly stopped. I’ve experienced that a few times. We would traverse the same narrow, two-lane roads back to our hotel. It’s just that we would get there a lot sooner than we had expected. Yes, this was a big day, an important day, for those Lewis trackchasers.

 

 

With the racing finished for the day, we had some time on our hands.

I know I said this before, but the huge advantage of trackchasing in Europe is they race during the daytime. Races are finished in the afternoon, leaving the evening for entertainment and dining.

 

 

Back home, Carol and I go to the movies frequently. We’ve also seen quite a few movies in foreign countries. I’m going to guess I’ve seen movies in foreign countries about 15 times. Once, as I recall, somewhere in South America, movie patrons were required to stand for the country’s national anthem before the movies. Tonight, we found a movie in downtown Moss, Norway.

 

 

The desk clerk looked up the movie schedule for us. In Norway and Sweden, the movies are played in English with local country subtitles. That seemed a bit unusual but certainly convenient for us.

 

 

Let’s go to the movies…in Norway.

We hopped in the car and drove down to the movie theater. We parked nearby. This was an EasyPark lot. I had used EasyPark in Sweden. However, in Norway, we couldn’t get things to work. We’ll probably get a large parking ticket about three months from now with the descriptions of the situation in Norwegian. I didn’t worry about it much. There was nothing I could do, and the movie was starting soon!

 

 

We were seeing a movie titled “Fly Me to the Moon.” It starred Scarless Johansson and Channing Tatum. There were many similarities to a United States movie experience. However, because everything signage-wise was written in Norwegian, we had a hard time figuring things out. We finally made it to our top-row seats and found two people in our assigned seats.

 

 

What should I do?

The theatre was small and nearly empty. Did I want to kick these people out of our assigned seats? I figured I had to. What if we sat in someone else’s seat and they came in after the movie started and asked us to leave those seats? When I showed the couple our tickets, I saw the man was annoyed. However, when his wife heard we were foreigners, she smoothed things over. Whew! I didn’t need an international incident in the movie theater when our car was being towed away in the parking lot.

 

 

It had rained all day. We finished our movie at nine at night and it was still raining. One of the restaurants that had been recommended to me earlier in the trip was located right outside the theater. We stopped in and had a lovely meal.

 

 

We spent time talking to our 24-year-old server. She had left her home country of Greece because of economic conditions to move to Norway. She was an architect in Greece and lived in the country’s second-largest city, Thessalonica. It just turned out I had stayed in Thessalonica for a weekend and went to their very popular film festival. With that news, I had a new instant Greek friend who loved that film festival as well.

 

 

We had fun talking to all kinds of people on this trip. Almost all of the young people told me they don’t own a car. I guess it’s expensive, and they don’t need it if they live in the city.

 

 

The car of choice in Scandinavia? Tesla.

I thought Tesla automobiles were popular in California. California is nothing compared to Sweden and Norway’s love of Tesla. I travel all over the U.S. almost weekly. I could drive around most parts of the Midwest and the East, except the biggest cities, and see very few Teslas. In less than five minutes standing on a freeway overpass in California, I could see well over a dozen Teslas. I might go all day outside of California and not see a dozen of these cars.

 

 

For every ten Teslas I would see in California I could see 50-100 of them in Sweden and Norway! The Tesla Model Y is the most popular selling car in both of those countries as it is in California, all of Europe, and the world.

 

 

Don’t worry about cold weather. It’s no big deal.

What I believe to be a myth about electric cars, but I only have experience with Tesla, is they won’t work in cold weather. Yes, driving range will decrease some but not enough to affect the daily lives of their owners by much. I think the fact that Tesla is so popular in Sweden and Norway, two of the five coldest country climates in the world, proves that fact. Anyway, Scandinavia is crawling with Teslas!

 

 

 

July 27, 2024.

 

 

25 days on the road.

Today is Saturday. We leave for home on Monday. I’ve been on the road for 25 days. It doesn’t seem like a long time to me. I take these trips one day at a time.

 

 

Nordmarkens Motorstadion – Tocksfors, Sweden – Lifetime track #3,002

 

 

 

In contrast to yesterday, the worst weather day of the trip, today is a beautiful sunny 70° day for racing at Nordmarkens Motorstadion in Tocksfors, Sweden. This will be Carol’s third race of the trip and my fifteenth. The track was located right on the border of Norway and Sweden but in Sweden.

 

 

What I found unusual about this track was that it was located less than a kilometer from a shopping area I visited three weeks ago at the beginning of the trip. At the time, I didn’t realize I would be coming back to the area. I’ll tell you more about that later.

 

 

This was another rustic folk racetrack. Parking was in several different spaces, all a long distance from the track. I figured if we just kept driving, we would be closer and closer to the track so that our walk would be shorter.

 

 

Soon, I drove the Hertz Rental Racing Peugeot 308 directly into the paddock area. We parked right next to where the race cars were stationed, making our walk short.

 

 

 

For whatever reason there was no admission price today. We brought our two folding lawn chairs that I purchased at the dollar store at the beginning of the trip. This gave us a front-row seat.

 

 

For just 100 Swedish kroner or about $10 U.S., we ordered a hamburger, hotdog, and Coke Zero for our trackchasing lunch.

 

 

The racing was good. Spectators had a great view of all of the action. Please take a look at my video, if I ever get around to making that video, to see what Swedish folk racing is all about.

 

 

Let’s go to the Dollar Store.

Following the races, we drove one kilometer to the dollar store I had visited earlier. I could tell Carol where every item in the store was located.

 

 

I had to buy more of the “Texas popcorn” from the dollar store we had tried earlier. It was delicious. We’ll take some home for the family. They live in Texas!

 

 

If I were on the lower end of the economic income scale. I would shop in a dollar store as much as possible. At Walmart, it can cost five dollars for a tube of toothpaste. You can buy the same thing at a dollar store for a little bit more than a dollar.

 

 

My system is built to deliver the results it is built for.

I can take these trips because of the way my general life is structured. I’ve told you in the past that I don’t do anything at home. I don’t have any grass to mow. I don’t have any chores to do. Anything in the world of finance can be done online. All I need to do is have clean clothes and a Google calendar. I doubt I could have imagined this lifestyle when I graduated from college.

 

 

Carol don’t like this one bit.

Previously, I mentioned that newly licensed, young Swedish drivers are permitted to drive on the highway, but only at a maximum speed of 30 km an hour, which is about 18 mph. When they get on a 100 km/h highway they can hold up traffic and they do. Carol thinks this is the stupidest idea. I agree. It doesn’t seem very practical. I don’t know if it encourages young drivers to stay off the highways because they would be a menace at that speed or if it increases their willingness to hit the highways to get some experience.

 

 

Swedish highways are on the narrow side. Nevertheless, we’ve seen walkers and bikers frequently. We saw two guys moving down the center of their lane with ski poles and skis with wheels. I can’t imagine that the lifespan of people doing any of this is all that long.

 

 

 

July 28, 2024

 

 

Heading home tomorrow.

This is our last full day in Sweden. It is my 26th day in Sweden. It doesn’t seem that long. This is Carol‘s 10th day in Sweden and it seems as if she’s only been here for the weekend. I wonder why that is?

 

 

Speed limits on the highways are generally between 80 and 100 km/h. That’s roughly 50 to 60 mph. These speeds seem low but Swedish drivers do a very good job of not exceeding the speed limit.

 

 

A thousand bucks for gas? As a teenager, I drove all week for a dollar.

I have filled up my petrol tank ten times. At roughly seven dollars per gallon, each fill-up is about $100. Doing some quick math tells me I spent about $1,000 on gas. You have to do what you have to do.

 

 

Lots of American classic cars on the road in Sweden.

I have been surprised to see so many classic American cars being driven down the Swedish highways. It’s summertime, and the weather is “Southern California perfect.” I guess if you’re a Swede and you own a ‘57 Caddy convertible, now is the time to enjoy it. I can only imagine what the weather conditions will be about six months from now.

 

 

We continue to go past one speed camera after another. The number of speed cameras only ranks second to the number of roundabouts we have cleared. As far as I know, we haven’t broken any speeding laws but I guess I’ll have to wait two or three months to see if I get a notification from the Swedish government to confirm that.

 

 

 

I never would have figured this out without asking a few questions.

When you stop for gas during a trip, you probably take the time to clean your windshield. For the unsuspecting American tourist in Sweden, that’s a little more challenging. They don’t offer cleaning solutions and squeegees at the pump.

 

 

 

Only after I asked one petrol station operator if they had any cleaning fluid did he direct me to a special enclosure about 25 meters from the pumps themselves. In this cabinet was a bucket of cleaning solution and a squeegee. I never would have found that on my own without asking.

 

 

It was surprising that when we checked into Sweden and Norwegian hotels, they never asked us for our passports. We used my driver’s license, and often, they didn’t even ask for that. I remember back in the day when hotels would commonly take your passport upon check-in and not return it to you until you checked out.

 

 

Kinnekulle Ring – Kinnekulle, Sweden – Lifetime track #,3003

 

 

Today’s racing was interesting. Carol and I showed up at Kinnekulle Ring in Kinnekulle, Sweden, expecting to see a folk race. I guess we had seen so much Swedish folk racing that we thought we would finish the trip with that type of racing. Nope. The Kinnekulle Ring was a well-constructed permanent asphalt road course.

 

 

We paid 10 Swedish kroner each for admission. The ticket seller didn’t speak much English. However, she gave us enough directions to find a spot where we could watch from our car if we wanted, just in case it rained. That was a good backup plan.

 

 

Meeting more and more people.

We did have the two folding chairs with us that I bought at the start of this long trip. Today was the last race of our trip. We didn’t have room in our checked luggage to carry the folding chairs home. That being the case, we donated them to the folks in the camper next to us at the track today. This group was made up of an elderly man (probably younger than me!), his wife, and their two teenage grandsons. They were happier meeting up with some Americans than getting two folding chairs.

 

 

These are legends race cars.

The main class racing at the track today was the legends cars. The legends have a body style similar to cars made in the 1930s. They use motorcycle engines as their power source.

 

 

 

Today’s feature race started with 30 legends cars. I had never seen legends run as fast as they did on today’s track. It is also very rare to see a field of thirty competing in this particular class.

 

 

After the main feature event was finished, we took a stroll through the paddock, getting some close-up photos of the racers, their haulers, and their crews.

 

 

Then we noticed a sign that read, “Lunch 109.” We investigated further. Soon, we found out that for 109 Swedish kronor, or about $11 U.S., we could have the lunch special of the day.

 

 

When I saw the luncheon items were all printed in Swedish, I used my Google Translate app to translate those words into English. That was when I discovered that the item of the day would be sausage stroganoff over rice. Carol and I went inside and dined on one of the largest sausage stroganoff servings we’ve ever seen.

 

 

We had now seen racing at the very last track of the trip. I knocked out 16 racetracks in 26 days. Carol saw four new tracks during her 10-day visit.

 

 

Time to head for home.

At this point, we had just one objective for the rest of the trip. We needed to get from Kinnekulle, Sweden to our modest seaside cottage in San Clemente, California. That would require a drive over to the Arlanda Airport in Stockholm.

 

 

We struck it rich with the Comfort Hotel!

We would spend the night at the Comfort Hotel adjacent to the airport. For some reason, they gave us a huge suite. I don’t even have status with Comfort Hotels! Our room had a retro fridge and a stereo record player with a collection of albums. That was a first!

 

 

I’ve stayed at this hotel a couple of times during my previous trips. If you’re looking for convenience and a very nice place to stay, you won’t find anything much better than the Comfort Hotel. It’s about 100 meters from the airline terminal and an easy walk.

 

 

Tomorrow we hop on an airplane and fly from Stockholm to Frankfurt. We’ll hang out in the Frankfurt airport for about four hours. Then it’s an 11-hour flight from Frankfurt, Germany, back to Los Angeles. Easy Peezy. Get on the plane. Sit in your seat. Get off the plane when it lands. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

 

 

Google maps rocks.

On any of these trips, I never really know what route I am following. Often, I don’t even know where I am inside a country or a state. Virtually 100% of the time, I follow my GPS recommendations religiously. I have learned to rarely challenge my GPS’s recommendations.

 

 

 

We were on some rural two-lane roads on the drive back to the airport. We were still way out in the country when we were less than ten miles from the airport. We wouldn’t have that experience if we were approaching LAX.

 

 

 

July 29, 2024

This had been an excellent trip. You just read or skimmed 15,743 words, so it might seem like you just went to Sweden for a month! We don’t take many near-month-long adventures. We took things one day at a time. We met nice people. We certainly saw a good deal of racing. For the most part, our hotels were top-of-the-line. We had an excellent rental car. We had great friends join in for the fun. Everything about the trip went well. Maybe we’ll come back to Sweden next year for some more trackchasing!

 

 

Randy Lewis – World’s #1 Trackchaser

Carol Lewis – World’s #1 Trackchaser

Signing off from Sweden