After a less than brief stop at Statoil we left Voss on the evening of the the 24th. An uneventful evening of driving ensued and we eventually set up camp in a dark lay-by in prime bandit country. To ensure that Guy would be at the airport in time to catch his flight Matthew volunteered to set his alarm and raise at an appropriately early hour so as to beat the morning traffic. The party was awoken at 9.30am to the sounds of Genge and Chase longboarding down the road and not to Matthew’s sweet morning call. Naturally Matthew was still snoozing and he eventually emerged minutes before we had agreed to leave. After a brief breakfast stop we hit the road again arriving at Torp airport with plenty of time to spare. Guy shed many tears as he said goodbye to the rest of the team and boarded his plane. The remaining trio then continued their journey south. Luckily more uneventfulness followed and we arrived in Malmo at around 2300 hrs. Here we were generously hosted by two of Matthews’ friends and spent the rest of the evening eating sandwiches and engaging in civillised conversation.
Matt pointing out the turning to the Brandseth...just in case you were to miss it.
Despite the promises of a game of frisbee golf the intrepid three were slow to rise the next morning, and they eventually set out for Copenhagen at noon. Whilst waiting at some traffic lights in Malmo Eddie and Matt noticed a dishevelled looking gentlman of a distinguished vintage rushing in earnest across the junction. This gentleman had apparently been struck by Chases’ dashing good looks and decided to open the van door and board the van uninvited. After intially trying to drive off while the man was only half in the van Chase soon found himself engrossed in conversation and discovered this gent was a painters son from Milan who had sought a new life as a pianist in Scandinavia. He offered young Chase much advice for life, including the whereabouts of a good Italian supermarket in Copenhagen, the best way to the city centre and insisting that he married as soon as possible – ‘It is good to have wife’. Despite advice on the best way into the city centre ‘flight of the navigator’ Corke veered from taking the second best route to the the third best route until eventually his chioce of route was described as a ‘possibility’. Chases’ new friend was dropped off and we continued to blunder our way through Copenhagen, ignoring many minor traffic regulations, until by a process of trial and error we found ourselves outside the apartment of Matthews’ friend. The rest of the day was spent in pleasant company drinking beer and eating pizza. We then attended the evening matinee of A Quantum of Solace at Copenhagens’ open air cinema – lovely stuff.
Eddie and Chase had a very good nights sleep and we eventually left Copenhagen at noon the following day. Many miles of trecherous continental driving ensued, but we battled through much erratic traffic and by 1830 hrs we were starving. Just as we were wondering where to stop to eat Matthew – only recently awoken – demanded that we turn off at the next exit as his favourite truck stop was there. When we arrived Chase and Eddie could see why Matthew was so excited, a Burger King, a Harley Davidson dealership and a massive sex shop (Erotic-Markt) were nestled closely together – everyone was happy. After this brief but exciting respite we continued onwards into Holland. Matthew geography Corke decided at about 2300hrs that it was time to stop for a snooze,
the journey having taken it out of him somewhat. After stopping at small motorway resting place Matt began to explain how this quiet location without the comings and goings of a main service station would be ideal for a good nights sleep. Matthew went for a quick inspection of the bushes in order to find a good camping spot, but he returned quickly in a somewhat flustered state with complexion that was whiter than usual. He had encoutered many men in the bushes and on looking around the car park it was noticed that there were many empty cars, ‘This is a gay cruising area!’ he declared in a panicked manner. Chase and Eddie, still naive despite the men walking around in the dark, at a motorway rest area, with no toilets, shops, or a petrol station late a night, thought it safe to put the 2 second tent up in this area. Matt however thought better of this and instead chose to sleep in the front of the van with the doors securely locked shut.
After a slightly restless sleep the morning came. Everyone was fine after this this rather bizarre experience. Continuing the journey we stopped in The Hague for breakfast. A pretty unattractive looking place with a rather insufficient number of road signs. Finding our way out of town and to Hook van Holland was quite challenging.
Eventually we boarded the ferry which was uneventful. Sometime in the evening we got back to Eddie’s place where we had a quick beer in the local pub where talk of the local harvest was in full swing. We slept in beds that night and had showers. Most pleasant.
