Chip away at the stone

As I drove this morning to have the car inspected, I realized that an appropriate analogy for the different layers of bureaucracy we have to go through is that of chipping away at a big wall of stone. If you're persistant you can get through, but it's awful tempting to give up. The car arrived on Monday. It was funny to watch them crack open the shipping container and see the car sitting in there. The last time I saw it was when the tow truck picked it up from the house on May 26. They had completely drained the gas for the trip, so it wouldn't even start. But with me and three other guys supervising, a fourth poured in a few liters of gasoline (benzin) that they had scavanged from the lawnmower shed at the moving site. It started with a little hesitation, but it has run fine since.

So the process is to 1) buy auto insurance 2) get a parking permit, 3) have the car weighed, 4) obtain form from the motor office, 5) have car inspected, 6) get any repairs performed,7) get an official estimate for the value of the car, 8) get bank check, 9) pay the registration tax (180% !!!), then 10) go to the motor office for the license plates (all within two week). Fortunately, someone at work went through this a few weeks ago, so he gave me some tips - hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. If you're wondering, I'm on step 5. The inspection turned up a lack of side turn indicators (useful for bicyclists) and the fact that the front turn signal bulb and parking light are the same bulb. Somehow, millions of Americans are able to survive the treacherous drive to and from work without having separate parking and turn signal bulbs, but it must only be luck or divine providence. Not everything is this involved, and everyone I deal with is helpful and understanding. An added challenge is that half the country is on vacation, so it is difficult to get appointments. Anyway, with any luck, by next week I'll be official.

Last weekend was our trip to Sweden. We were in Falkenberg and Morup, visiting Alexa's relatives. We were there last summer before we knew that we would move to Scandinavia. It's such a nice area along the west coast of Sweden where you can go from the beach to wooded hills in a half hour or so. We enjoyed the hospitality and the beautiful weather including swimming and rowing in/on the lake, eating meals out in the garden, and playing boule (same or similar to bocci ball). We went to church on Sunday and were treated to music by a group from Morup comprising six accordians, four violins, and a mandolin. We're eager to go back at the next opportunity.