The Varberg Affair

Hello out there. I'm back, as promised, to share highlights of Darrell's and my trip Sweden. In a nutshell. Remember the Volvo? We picked up our beautiful new car in Goteborg and drove to Varberg, a nice little stop-off port where we would cool our jets for one night. It's May 23. When we started the trip it was May 22. We'd been without sleep for I forget how long, but suffice it to say it was well past our bedtime, yet only around noon. Go figure.

We arrive at the Hotel Varberg, a nice enough, older hotel. At the reservation desk I announce our name and proudly present our printed confirmation. The nice enough, older lady behind the desk looks and looks for our name on her list, while I rediscover my ability to read upside down. No Starnik. No (insert expletive here). The lady behind the desk immediately calls her boss who shows up right away, while she makes phone call after phone call, speaking rapid Swedish. They admitted to screwing up our reservation and were calling all the hotels to find a room. We're too tired to even cry. There's a convention in town and all the hotels in the area are booked solid. We're feeling more like crying now. But wait. There's a hotel in Falkenberg, about 35-40 minutes from there. Not too far out of our way. The Grand Hotel.

"It's a beautiful hotel, right on the river," says the boss. "And they have a room for you." When I asked what it would cost (Sweden is very expensive), boss man said, "It won't cost you anything. This was our mistake and we're paying for your room." The clouds parted and the angels sang and we were in business. Darrell started to cry. (not really. I'm just being silly.)

Let me back up a little: earlier in this episode I had asked for a ladies room. They just say "toilet" in Sweden. No frills there. I was taken to an as-yet unoccupied hotel room to use the facility...I mean toilet. The room was OK, clean and fine, but a tiny bit rundown and a little sparse amenity-wise.

We get to The Grand Hotel and it was indeed on the river and very beautiful. They had our reservation and there was no issue about who was paying for it. We had one of the few rooms with a balcony, and our room was mighty fine. Spacious, with a sitting area and comfy everything. And Falkenberg was nicer than Varberg, so we totally made out on this deal. Totally. Welcome to Sweden. The beer bottle was not there upon arrival. We added that later after enjoying a gourmet dinner at Gustat Bratt, a charming upstairs restaurant just around the corner from our grand hotel.

Dinner was around $200. Yikes. But the hotel was free, right? Get used to those prices, friends, because that's the deal in Sweden. $20 hamburgers is standard. But you get fries with that. The bad news is there's a 25% tax, but the good news is tipping is not expected. Leave the change or give 5% or so and everyone's happy. Restaurant workers are paid a decent wage.

It's expensive in Sweden, yes, but the service we had was exceptional. The Varberg Affair could have been a nightmare, but it turned out great. We were very impressed with the way the Hotel Varberg handled the situation, jumping on their mistake and making it right without batting an eye.

So far, between the people at Volvo, the people in Varberg and the people in Falkenberg, Sweden is on the ball.

Next stop: Broakulla and the Dutch Dreamcatcher.