This is part of the "belated posts" that we didn't have time to write whilst on the road. The previous instalment is the
Gothenburg to Borlänge post, and this post pertains to Monday 30th May, 2011.
After arriving at Mum's place on Sunday we took it easy on Monday morning. Writing blog posts, enjoying sitting on the balcony, etc. In the afternoon we managed to gather enough energy to get out and about; We headed towards Mark and Anna's place. Mark keeps a blog "
Veteranbilar har själ" (directly translated: "Veteran cars have soul"), he's also the man behind
Pinstriping.se where he showcases is amazing pinstriping talents. If you know me, you know about my "
Choppa Cycle", and by now you might have puzzled together that Mark is the guy who did the beautiful pinstriping on the bike.
As such, we naturally had to pay him a visit. It turned out he had time to see us so we headed off
to Ål-Kilen (in Swedish) (Mark's built that site by the way). This was also the first time I started suspecting the quality of the GPS maps I had in my GPS, they took us some strange way to his place, much to the amusement of the villagers; Two "noisy" GS' bumbling through their picture-perfect village, not only that, my waypoint was a bit off too, but we found it.
Mark's one of those guys who've found their location on the planet - myself, I have a restless soul that's looking for that magical place. Enough of me; Mark and Anna have found an old industrial building in a picturesque village. This building is long, and not too narrow. Walking from one end of the building to the other end almost requires a guide, if you're a guest.
In the picture you can see, maybe 50% of the length of the house.
They're slowly building the industrial building into a home; money and time permitting one might speculate. And they're in no rush. And Mark's got plenty of other projects too. Primarily old cars, but Mark seems to gravitate towards anything mechanical. This is better illustrated with pictures, please allow me...
Saab Submarine and V6 Cortina
Another one of Ford's finest.
Customised Volvo PV awaiting "finishing".
Volvo Amazon with "non-stock" engine.
Shed with various treasures.
Aforementioned Amazon showing off its engine and Mr Tinkerer.
Another view of the Volvo PV that's been sectioned and chopped.
There's no picture of the Manta, Minor and a few other cars that nestle within his house - it's hard to say where the house and the garage begins as I believe you can call the residence "flexible living".
You might notice that a certain jealousy is seeping through the crevices of my words, rightly so. I would love to find my location on the planet, and I would love to find a building with as much character and longevity as they have. Even more, I'd love to have all those projects going, never mind finishing them, that's not the point. Tinkering is the point, creating is the point, the feeling of achievement is the point. When the project is done, it becomes obsolete, a burden, or perhaps sold.
After having done the rounds of the premises after, as Mark described it coffee and "bulljäveln", we headed off. But before we headed off, we had to snap a photo of what's commonly known as "the puke bench".
This is the "kids" rear seat on the
Saab 95. It got the name because kids, who were more or less, involuntarily seated at this rear-facing seat typically threw up after a while on the hilly gravel roads of the 60's and 70's. I personally can state that despite having experience the seat, I managed to stay out of the cliché, this was in a Finnish government telephone company Saab, by the way.
Eitherway, our visit was over, and we stumbled over to our BMW F800GS which, by now, felt characterless, flawless and totally sterile. Somehow I would much more have jumped onto an old Triumph hoping that the oil leak on the ground didn't contain all the oil we needed to get back, or an old Ural what could be repaired with a screwdriver and an adjustable spanner.
Off we went, smiling, and by the looks of it we'd still have time to visit
Dempa, my friend since 1994 when I joined the university in Sweden. Despite having been to
Borlänge several times since leaving Sweden I had never been to Dempa's and Christina's place. Even if we'd just come from a big rural building, I can't but feel a bit jealous of the space and open plan layouts families can enjoy in the Nordic countries. A decent sized garden finishes off my jealousy. I'm pretty sure Dempa's neighbours can't read the spanner size of the spanner he's using; I'm sure my neighbours can.
We quickly dashed off again, Mum and Nils had arranged a barbecue and invited Robin (Nils' son) and Agneta, along with Lotta, my sister, and Gunnar.
The food was very much needed and absolutely delicious. The rest of the evening was spent digesting the food, the day and catching up with times that had passed since our last visit.
... Another good day.
