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Day 12: August 2

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 Day 12, 8/2/24 - going home We look at the trip home with some combination of relief and dread. Going home is a little easier because we don't mind checking a bag instead of hauling it around. If it gets lost, of course we want our stuff, but it's not disastrous the way it would be if it got lost on the way out. Here's spiral staircase of our last hotel. Breakfast was in a dark room that had a Asian motif. This was one of three tables of food. It opened at 7:00 and the ride that VBT arranged for us picked us up at 7:20 so we didn't have a lot of time to overeat. The guy who picked us up arrived in a Tesla. There were a lot of electric taxis both in Copenhagen and in Stockholm. Here's the obligatory picture of the duty-free shopping mall that you have to walk through to get to your gate. Orthopedic shoes. The flight west is arguably easier than going east, but we still try to sleep on the plane. One of the things that makes VBT a good value is that airfare is includ...
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Day 11: August 1

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 Day 11/Day 7 of VBT trip Today is a travel day and the last day of the VBT trip. We have breakfast and then get on a bus for the trip to Stockholm. Before every trip, I use Duolingo to try to learn a few phrases. That is always helpful. This time, I did not, and the names of the towns are a good example of why. Even our guides told us that Swedish is difficult to learn for native kids. Nonetheless, on our first briefing, they taught a few things that were easy and came in handy. Hello is "hey hey". It's pronounced the way it looks, so it sounds like a double use of an informal greeting. I used it a lot and it didn't seem to mark me as a tourist. (I am sure there were other things the did that anyway.) During one of our rides, we passed a family and I waved at a young girl and she said "hey hey" as we rode by. Very cute. The second term was thanks and it is "tack tack" (pronounced "tak tak"). That usually got a "you're welcome...
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Day 10: 7/31/24

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 Day 10/Day 6 of VBT Trip - somewhere in the boonies of Sweden Our last day of riding. It is a little sad, but usually by this point, we're ready to go home. Our guides have been working hard to keep everyone safe and comfortable since Walter tested positive for Covid. As a result, we rode in the van yesterday with Pernilla instead of on the bus with the rest of the group. They were able to get an extra room at this country hotel for me and again when we arrive in Stockholm tomorrow. The upcharges seem to be trivial, but I'm still not convinced it's going to work out that inexpensively.  Since our last hotel charged resort fees, I slept on the couch in the hall since sleeping with a mask was impossible, and it was fine. With our respective sleep disturbances, that was only one of other things getting in the way of a good night's sleep.  But last night I had my first single room and it was great. Like to many things, once you taste it, it is hard to go back. In general, ...
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Day 9: 7/30/24

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 Day 9/Day 5 of the VBT tour Another transfer day: Torekov to Toftaholm This morning, we started at the Torekov resort and biked to the Norrviken Garden.  The roads were really lovely: single lane, barely enough space for a car to squeeze by a bike and fortunately that rarely happened. Simba? Or King of the Poop Hill? Something old, something new... We were warned of a long climb and a steep descent. It was a good warning for new cyclists or for avoiding litigation, but it was nothing we don't do regularly. At the top of the climb there was a nice view and green door. That's the ocean in the distance. At the bottom of the hill was a small village with our rest stop. Here's our guide translating a sign about "Tillie Anderson" who came from the area. Look her up - she's pretty amazing. From here, we took a long, smooth and descending rail trail to the village of Bastad. We are always on the lookout for a bike shop where we might be able to buy cycling jerseys an...
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