The Chase Lounge

Back in the US....back in the US....back in the USA! Other than having to leave the hotel for the airport at 0-dark-30 (4:45am CET but made somewhat easier since I got a ride in a Volvo stretch limo!!! ) the flights home were uneventful. The flight from G'burg to Munich took about 1.5 hours. I had a 3 hour layover in Munich; which was ample even considering that I had to go through German Immigration (interestingly the Germans stamped my passport each way while the Swedes did not at all). The flight to Charlotte took about 10 hours and fortunately I didn't have any trouble getting through US Immigration and Customs. Then I had a 2 hour drive to get to the house so Don was a tired puppy when he got home. I am still amazed at the level of service that one gets on a trans-Atlantic flight; or the connecting flight from Munich to Gothenburg for that matter. Alcohol is free on the trans-Atlantic flights and Lufthansa does a very good job of making sure that you have what you want. Th...

6:18pm CET: Everyone seems to leaves work early on Friday so we were turned loose at 3:30. I'm trying to get packed and ready to fly out at 0-dark-30 in the morning. Can you say "Don's going to crash and burn when he gets home" boys and girls? I knew you could.... As I promised yesterday here are the pix I took from the church grounds up on the hill: The water front. Ferry coming into port. She's swinging around to back into the dock. I think this is one of the ones that goes across to Denmark. Gothenburg used to be a major ship building facility, but as my Swedish friends say "Not so much any more." It is still a major port, as you see a lot of truck traffic hauling containers.

6:00 am CET: cloudy again this morning and it looks like it rained during the night. Typical "Gothenburg weather" according to the Swedes. I'm supposed to tour the Volvo truck plant this morning. Don't know if they will allow cameras in the plant, but I'll try and get some pix if possible. Update: didn't get any pix at the truck plant but we went up to a church high above the city after work and I got a bunch from there. I'll post them tomorrow because I left the card reader at work....

Up earlier then the last two days this morning, since my colleague needed to be in the office an hour earlier today. Meetings most of the day but this afternoon several of us went to the Volvo Museum and looked around a bit. It's a neat place with a bunch of concept vehicles in it. The office. Some of the vehicles in the museum: Kinda looks like a Chrysler Airflow... P1800ES, the sport wagon version of the P1800 Simon Templar's (The Saint) P1800 Concept vehicles Concept vehicle for the C30 Concept vehicle for the XC90 A look at the truck gallery from above Yes Volvo made tractors too The Titan, one of the longest produced of Volvo's truck models European cab-over tractors. And after seeing some of the windy, narrow streets in Gothenburg I can understand why they use cab-overs. Latest version of the FH16 Interior of the cab-over

7:06 CET and it's a rainy day in G'borg. I'm taking the camera to the office but I don't know if I'll be able to get decent pix. More later. Update: here's a shot of the skyline from the hotel window. A word about breakfasts: the term "Continental breakfast" as used by US hotels/motels for what they serve as a "free" breakfast is about as far removed from reality (at least what I've experienced in Sweden) as is The One's grasp of basic economics.... The breakfast buffet in the hotel consists of: hard boiled eggs; soft boiled eggs; bacon (undercooked to US standards); scrambled eggs (and I'm not sure what they do to them but they are unlike any scrambled eggs that I've ever seen...and not in a good way); fruit (apples, bananas, sliced melon, prunes, grapes); several different kinds of rolls and two or three loaves of bread that you slice yourself; sliced turkey; sliced ham; liver pate; sliced tomatoes; sliced cucumbers; sliced ...

No pix today, but I'm taking the camera to the office tomorrow. General observations: 1) No one makes eye contact over here. It's unreal. And if they do make eye contact and you speak like you would at home (the South), they look at you like you're crazy. 2) Almost everyone wears black or dark clothing. I've seen a few tan jackets but the sports team jackets or colorful windbreakers that people wear in the States are missing. And don't even think about a warmup suit... 3) Lots of people on bicycles. 4) Beer is EXPENSIVE!!! I just paid $8.11 (64 SEK) for a pint o' Guinness! 5) Food is expensive!! I paid $20.16 (159 SEK) for a burger and fries to go with the Guinness. Fortunately the burger was very good and the place had malt vinegar for the fries (or chips since it was a British pub) but geeze ! Edit: this may have been because the pub is next to a fairly expensive hotel, as I've since had another burger, just as good or better, for 119 SEK down in the old ...

9:00 am CET Sunday morning in Sweden. I'm headed out with the camera to get some pix. To quote from a web site, Gothenburg is: "Splendidly set at the Göta Älv river´s outlet to the Atlantic." The city shield Statue of Poseidon at the North end of Kungsportsavenuen (”The Avenue”) boulevard with the Gothenburg Art Museum behind. The Lorensberg Theater just down the Avenue from the statue. Apartments along the Avenue They're everywhere!! Also Subway, BurgerKing and 7/11. Looking down a side street from the Avenue Articulated city buses Articulated electric trolleys Update: 6 pm. It's drizzling rain. I went out around 4 to walk around and get something to eat (Subway) and I'm glad I'm back in the room now. Having a hard time staying awake (jet lag) but I'm trying to so that I'll hopefully sleep tonight. I'm actually looking forward to work tomorrow so I'm with people that I know. I've been in Condition Yellow and Orange every time I've ...