MayK's Creations: Day trip to Sweden

Two days ago, I went to Sweden with my parents. We took the ferry from Langesund to Strömstad in Sweden. Going home we took another ferry from Strömstad to Sandefjord, Norway. I bought the tickets online, and the reason we ended up buying tickets from two different ferry companies was to get the best offers. New of the year was that on both ferries we have to pay a gas fee of NOK 25 or USD 5.00. This due to the high gas prices we have world wide. First time we had to pay anything like this.

Any way, the first ferry left 1030am, so we decided to leave 8am, we were a bit late and ended up leaving 810am. After 30 minutes of driving, dad suddenly remembered he had forgotten our printed ticked on the kitchen table and we had to turn around to get them. Losing so much time made us worried but we had no choice. Being late you of course run into all kind of things, I guess we got to exprience Murhy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. We ended up behind slow tractors and hard to pass them due to narrow roads or meeting traffic. Then one of the bridges in Porsgrunn was up due to a passing boat and we had to wait for it to pass. In Heistad, due to stress, we took a wrong turn and had to ask someone for directions on how to get back to the road to Langesund. Now we were really running out of time!!!!!!!!!! We managed to reach the ferry with 10-15 minutes to spare. Phew!!!

The ferry ride went smooth. It was the first time we took the ferry from Langesund, we usually take the one from Sandefjord. Took some pictures on board the ship and from Langesund coast area. On the boat, there's a tax free shop. We didn't buy any liquor, but dad bought some tobacco for a friend and I bought some candy.

We stopped briefly at a liquor store where my parents bought some wine. Liquor/wine is much cheaper in Sweden than in Norway. I got some more candy. We then drove to Nordby shopping center. Mom has been looking for a big mirror for a long time to put up in the dining area. Her sister bought one a few years ago and my mom love it too. Some times the shop didn't have the mirror when we were there, or we were on a bus trip and could not buy the mirror. So we hoped the shop had it now and we were in luck, the got that mirror last week. And they might not order any more. So mom bougth it for sure hoping it would fit in the car. LOL! I also got some fake orchid branches. A few of my orchids are not blossoming right now, so I want some fakes ones when this is happening. We had a nice dinner at the center. And then struggled like hell to get the mirror in the car. Dad has a Citroen C5 station wagon, but the box was a bit big to fit in the trunk. It ended up in the back seat with a tiny space for mom to sit. Could thing my mom is short and small. We had to move the driving seat a bit forward, therefore, it was too little leg room for dad. So for the rest the trip I drove instead of dad. We went then down to the big grocery store next to the shopping center. Much of its food is cheaper than in Norway. I made sure to buy buffolo wings, they're so much cheaper and taste good. LOL! Got some cosmetics items too.

In Strömstad we stopped at another grocery store and bought a few more things. Then we drove to the harbour to wait for the other ferry to take us home. We had some extra time, so we just relaxed in the harbour. Our car parked up in a line to get onboard the ferry, ended up behind another couple from Lunde (my home town). So we chit chatted with them. Also, at Nordby, I met a woman from work I spoke to briefly too. We got one of Colorline's bigger ferries home. Bought a little more candy and a memory card for my digital camera which was on sale. The ferry ride was pretty much smooth too but a bit more wavely.

The car ride home took about two hours. We got home 1am. I was so pooped then that I went straight to bed since I had to get up early the next morning.

~ MayK