Day 50 - Stockholm to Copenhagen
Day 50 Sunday October 2
The day before was bright and sunny but today it is dull and cloudy, as if Sweden is unhappy to see us leave towards Copenhagen, Denmark, marking the 17th country on our journey. The heavy downpour reminded us of the Mumbai rains.
Unlike Norway where we drove on the hills and mountains, the terrain here is flat and we covered almost 500 kms before lunchtime.
I had written earlier that a "Right Hand Drive" car in the "Keep Right" setting is quite different from what we are used to. Although we got comfortable driving in the first few minutes, the locals find this a bit unnerving. Two incidents deserve a mention here.
A lady was standing at a corner and was observing with interest the convoy of cars entering a parking lot. By now we are used to people watching us and we wave back to them. Tushar was the nearest to her and as he got out of his car, she made small talk and said, "I am so glad to see all the women of your group driving the cars". The ladies were sitting on the left side and little did she realize that the steering wheel was on the right side of the car.
Another incident happened with Ravi Sir's car. At a traffic light, a police officer knocked on the window of the car (he was sitting on the left side) and admonished him about using the mobile phone while driving. The car moved a little ahead but stopped as the light turned red again, meanwhile Ravi Sir was still happily on his mobile. The same officer knocked and repeated the warning again. It was then that he rolled down the window and said, "Sir, I am not driving, look here, my son is driving the car!!!!!"
Back to the drive, we went over the Oresund bridge which is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe, running nearly 8 kms from the Swedish coast to the artificial island Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The crossing is completed by the 4 kms Drogden Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager. By the way, it was the 165th tunnel that we have passed through till now.
I was quite surprised that today I have not clicked a single picture. However, here is a glimpse of the day's journey.
For the record:
Sheraton, Stockholm 8.15 am
Diesel 10.15 am - 10.40 am 24 L SEK 625.68 CC
INR 201 per litre - 178 kms
Lunch at Rasta restaurant, Markaryd 1.30 pm - 2.30 pm - 305 kms
Diesel 4.00 pm - 4.30 pm - 40.02 L SEK 1039.32
INR 199 per litre - 145 kms
Marriott Copenhagen 5.15 pm - 137 kms
Dinner @Tandoori Masala
Traveled today 765 kms
Total distance 14487 kms
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