Onward to Töreboda

We arrive at Landvetter around 8 am. It takes about 20 minutes to get our luggage and walk out to the rental car place. We get to the counter and find our reservation is in the system and our car is ready to pick up. Finally something that makes sense.

Anja and I will take turns driving and we've picked out an Altea as our car of choice. Anja is used to driving small cars and I'm used to driving bigger cars, so this one was a sort of compromise between us.

Picture from topspeed.com

We leave the rental counter and Jessi suddenly stops. Something isn't right. She doesn't hear a clicking sound. She looks at me and says "I think you left your luggage behind." And, of course, she's right. I left it at the rental counter, so I sheepishly slink back in to retrieve it. This doesn't bode well for my driving.



Even with that silly mistake, Anja and Jessi trust me enough to take the wheel first. They hand over the keys and I unlock our grey Altea. We all buckle up as I adjust the seat and mirrors. I slowly pull the car out of the tight parking space, careful not to bump the cars parked just behind us. It's a tight squeeze in a small space, but I manage. These aren't Texas-sized parking spaces.

Jessi sits in the passenger seat with directions, telling me where to go. We should get to Töreboda around 11 am.

I'm honestly a little nervous about driving in Europe. I understand most of the signs and the speed limit doesn't have to be converted, since both the car and the signs run in kilometers. I'm just a little weary about those unwritten rules.

I quickly become more comfortable and fall in love with the drive from the airport to the main road. It has a lot of nifty twists and curves, all nestled between large granite outcroppings on either side. I look at these winding roads and think to myself, I'd love to take a motorcycle trip out here!

From wikipedia.org

A little while later, I look in my mirror and see a police officer driving in the lane beside us. The road signs direct me to the lane where the officer is. Small beads of sweat break out on my forehead. I'm trying to do everything right. Signal. Get enough space between us and him. Slide over. Say thank you.

After I get in the proper lane, I try to find a speed limit sign but I don't see one anywhere. "What's the speed limit? What if I'm speeding? Are Swedish cops as lenient as those back home? Can I speed a little bit over the limit without a problem?"



All my silent fears are for naught because the officer doesn't even give us a second glance. We take the highway from a roundabout and the officer takes an exit a little further down the way.



I become more comfortable with every passing minute. Jessi decides to find a decent radio station but doesn't come up with any. We're driving between cities and the stations are fading in and out. So she pops in a CD by Big Ben, aka Benjamin Gross. Jessi works together with him on his music projects. We listen and jam along to the music to pass the time.

The plan is for me to drive as Anja gets some rest. Then, when I feel tired, Anja will drive while I rest. The plan works perfectly. I drive for about an hour, then we switch. Even though we've been up for quite some time, it's not difficult to stay awake while driving. The trip goes smoothly and Anja pulls the Altea into Töreboda sometime around 11:00 in the morning.

We park the car on a side street and walk into town, which takes about five minutes. Approximately 4,000 people live in town. Around 9,000 live in the surrounding municipality. It's not hard to find the main stage where AOB will play later in the evening. It's the biggest structure in town.