Cities and Friday afternoons don't mix

John's account of the day....

Today was not the best of days. The 'not so good' in reality started early, very early. The previous evening we had driven for a few miles, cruising looking for an overnight halt. We passed the chosen spot, unturned and parked right off the Tarmac of a wide lay-by with picnic table. The road was quiet as hoped.

Early the next morning a lorry pulled into the lay-by/picnic area and left the engine running for, well it felt like some time as I drifted in and out of consciousness. And for such a small road there turned out to be a lot of traffic flying by on their way to work?

We eventually drove off towards the ferry?
What has become apparent is that the place names on our map and our satnav differ from the actual place names of the town and villages we pass through. Planning a definitive route is proving quite difficult. It was therefore a surprise to turn up at a ferry port, the name we had not expected and board a ferry for, well actually we never saw its destination and even if we did it wasn't on the satnav or map.
However when we landed it was the right road number even if nothing else matched.
Trondheim was just over there but seemed to take ages to get there. Part of the route was on the E6 where roadworks had been reported and the satnav didn't let us forget with a reminder every half mile or so.
We had a destination in Trondheim where we thought we might stay for a day or so.
A fellow MH told us about a MH parking place in the city, great.
The satnav found it, it was full, well almost. I sent Jo to scout it out, I parked in the front bays where you payed by the hour. Eventually Jo came back and said its full, the free bit. Just then a British MH pulled out and said 'you can have our spot in the far corner'. I backed slowly down the road and turned the corner to park. A woman was stood in the parking spot, her man in his MH was cut of from the spot that wify was defending, stalemate.
I knew the score but just jumped out and walked through the other MHs away from them. Eventually I walked back to our van and he approached, 'I want to park there' he said, 'so do I' I said.
My wife is there he said, my van is here I said. He wittered on. The situation was comical but in the end it was unseemly and distasteful and we decided that if this was Trondheim we didn't like it. On the way out we spoke to another MH who said this was not what the Nordic experience was about and also left.
We plotted an escape route and after a couple of hiccups ended up on the right road.
Again a lovely spot eluded us and when a lakeside campsite came up we turned it.
There was a phone number but no code. After a few minuets Jo found a code and we called. They would be along in a 5 minutes, meanwhile a chap on a bike said, by pointing, 'park there'. He had no English. Then a girl drove up and clearly this was who we should pay. Do you take credit cards? No. Oh. Do you take Swedish krona? No. Oh. What about sterling, no, euro? No.
The girl makes a call and says ok the Swedish Krona will be ok.
There followed a frantic but ultimately fruitless search of the van, the tension was building. I made a pointed remark and got the look, hmm haven't seen that for a while. The Swedish Krona remained lost, at least for now.
The girl said "no rush, there is a bank just up the road, I'll be back at eight.
We drove up the road, Jo laughingly saying what if the ATM was out of order.
The ATM was out of order!
We asked at the library about getting cash from a supermarket, the lady phoned to check whilst I went into one and asked, yes no problem. It was a problem. Can't do with with a MasterCard. Back to the van find a Visa card, back to supermarket, join the queue.
Hello again let's try this card, no? Ok this one? still no, declined.
Back to van where we found another more up to date card and went back to the sm.
Hi, almost on first name terms, tried the card and failed again with our final try.
Back to the site to collect the electric lead and tell them we failed to get any money.
they said 'you can stay free tonight'. Jo cried. What a day.

Footnote. Well .........the Swedish Krona just turned up, so we can pay our way.