I write here mainly to record the odd events over the past week, as recreating them accurately from memory may be a bit difficult. It doesn't include much of the fun stuff, more just the logistics of the van there.
Perhaps start in Tallinn, on our last day there before taking the ferry to Stockholm. We had a 5pm ferry, so we went to Kadriog (sp?) park for the day (a small playground so the kids could run around). We loaded all our stuff into the van and drove there. Across from the playground the sign clearly said "no parking" (in icon form), but everyone was parking there. It was Saturday, so we figured there was some exception and went ahead and parked there. Needless to say, when we returned at 3pm the van was gone. Initial panic, and then, yeah, it was towed. You can't park there.
Now there was a bit of a time crunch, to get everyone to the ferry, not to mention getting the van back. I grabbed my passport, a cell phone and a copy of the ferry ticket and told everyone else to go to the ferry. Tears were shed, but I shifted into problem solving mode.
Needless to say, what followed was not as dramatic as it could be. Tiia's cousin Evelyn was called and located the car at an impound lot curiously located right next to the ferry. I was going to take a train there and retrieve it, but as I was looking for a taxi she called and said she was driving by and could give me a ride. She picked me up, we drove to the lot, and they had me sign a few things, pay for the towing ($40). I didn't owe a fine since I'm a guest. I followed Evelyn's little car to the ferry with plenty of time to spare. No problem. Tanya called me, and I met them on the ferry, where we had a drink and an opulent dinner (and breakfast). To Sweden.
Stockholm was amazingly beautiful. I hadn't realized exactly what it was about... but it's worth the trip.
Skip a few days ahead... Juri and my dad have flown off, and we've headed south to Vimmerby and Hultsfred. Our Palace Hotel doesn't really live up to its name. Once we determine that strange smell of the room isn't a previous inhabitant (but some aged cheese we brought along), and we meet the hotel owners, things are warmer and friendlier (although still a bit of a ghost town). Astrid Lundgren's Varld is great fun for all, and we fine an old mine the next day that is fun to explore (for the kids at least). All's good and we head of for Göteborg.
We plan a nice stop half way and the town is nice and we locate a great playground in the park. Kids are nuts, though, and as we are almost there Tanya screeches to a halt and asks the kids to be quiet. The car is in the middle of a single-lane road, and once the kids settle down the van won't start. Tanya and the girls run off to the playground and Tiia and I stay to sort out the van. A few minutes pass and the van starts again. I drive ahead and park in the lot, assuming it was a fluke. But when I try to start it again, it won't start. Maybe we have a real problem.
A few more tries and it does start, so we head off to find this Avis office (with a quick stop at a hotel and the tourist bureau). After negotiating all sorts of construction re-routing, we find the Avis office but it's closed for no apparent reason and no one answers the phone number (which is presumably ring inside the empty office). We decide to go back and get the kids and drive to our hotel in Göteborg without turning off the car, and deal with it there. We go off and pick everyone off and we're on the road (again).
We get the van into a parking garage and it indeed won't start again. Avis is responsive here and (although the Estonia office wasn't that helpful), and they send someone who eventually has the car towed. We all head off to Liseberg for the day, and no progress is made. I decide to spend the day hounding them so that we can leave that day, and call repeatedly. Tanya et al go off to the science museum and have a good time. Finally at 2pm the starter is replaced and they send an Avis employee to drive me to the car. He's nice (and talkative), and he gets me the car. On our drive back, he notices one of the headlights is out and ends up sending me back to the Chrysler dealer who can replace it. He was happy to drive me out there, but now wants to get on with his day and (understandably) leaves me on the outskirts. This repair really is easy, and I quickly find my way back to our hotel. I have an hour before I need to meet Tanya, so I watch a few games of "handball", and have a snack at the French bakery... small pleasures. I grab the car and we're off again for Ene's house in the countryside.
On our way out of town the car starts behaving strangely: a big jerk while we're on the road. There is lots of traffic, but once we get out of town we notice some of the lights have gone berserk and the car doesn't shift out of its low gear. Top speed is about 50-60km/hour (dials aren't working so it's hard to say for sure). After just a little debate, we (I) decide to just proceed to Ene's house, as slow as it is, as we have no better option if we head back. I am careful watching the temperative gauge (which is working) and the RPMs so I don't blow anything up. Slow going but we arrive in less than 3 hours (for a 1 hour trip?).
The house is beautiful... in the country with their own lake. Jörgen wants to take the girls fishing and they are very excited about that. They fix an opulent meal and we all go to bed.
The next day is spent trying to get some assistance from the Avis people, from somewhere. Initially everything looks good, but then it's hard to keep a consistent conversation going, and the notion of "Avis" gets more and more amorphous as the day progresses. I try to hand off phone duty to Tanya (but I have trouble letting going), and she eventually befriends Elke, from the Estonian office, who can at least say definitively that they can't help us in Sweden. In the meantime someone finds a bus that takes us directly to the ferry terminal the next morning.
We wake up early (6am), load in the van, and head off for a 30km ride to the bus terminal. The van is initially "cured", but then quickly reverts to just low gear, and then even less. It is having trouble staying in any gear at all and gets slower and slower. We have agreed to leave the car at the ICA supermarket across from the bus terminal, and I pull into the parking lot. Given then number of bags, it seems nice to drive over and drop them off at the terminal, but as I pull out the car belches, as if on its last breath, and so I immediately make a U-turn in the middle of the street and return to the ICA parking spot. I can carry the bags but not the van.
Needless to say, the bus ride was rather relaxing. It would be nice to have some vacation that is car-free, as it's more relaxing in a way. We had lots of fun times along the way... this is just the van's story.
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