Today we set off for the south. As usual we were headed for the Hotel Småland for our first night. We set off just after 11am, coincidentally as the weather worsened. The E4 gradually became one big snow laden blizzard world. It was like being north of the wall in Game of Thrones. I kept expecting Jon Snow to appear.
As cars and trucks overtook us, great clouds of snow formed dense clouds in front of the car, reducing visibility to nothing. Mirinda spent a lot of time slowing down as cars passed us. It really was quite nightmarish.
Mind you, it was worse for the slew of accidents we spotted. Cars and trucks all affected by the weather and driving conditions. There was one poor guy who was, originally travelling in the same direction as us but was sat in the snow, off the road, facing back towards Sotckholm. His tyre marks indicated he’d swung around after leaving the road. It couldn’t have happened much earlier as the driver was still stitting at the wheel of the car, looking somewhat befuddled.
The atmosphere in Max could have been quite tense but it was eased somewhat by listening to a podcast about looking at the sun, blue versus red light and the importance of having an exercise regime. Daniel Huberman explained how his exercise regime generally works. While he may change the schedule if travelling or at conferences, etc, he maintains that Monday’s are always about the legs.
That sounds a bit flippant, but the whole podcast episode was excellent, informative and sometimes delightfully funny. It also got us through some bad weather.
Eventually, though, with great relief, we turned into the car park at the hotel and I proceeded to unpack the car into the room. (Remember that you should unpack your car at Hotel Småland before the thieves do it for you.) Finally, we were able to relax with a beer (me) and some Swedish TV (Mirinda and me).
After a bit, we headed across to the restaurant next door for schnitzel, last week’s roasted potatoes and frozen peas. It was fine though hardly what one would call gourmet. We didn’t waste a lot of time there and soon headed back to the girls.
Given the snow wasn’t as thick at the hotel, we figured tomorrow would be better travelling weather. Mind you, there was a monstrous cold wind which may explain the peas we had with dinner.
