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May 31, 2006
Warm welcome in Sweden

Well, I arrived safely in Sweden after an interesting pretty low overshoot at Skavsta Airport ,where according to the captain , "an obstacle on the runway" forced him to do so. The flight was pretty easy , though huge thunderstorms and beautiful clouds were to be seen everywhere.Though it is "bloody cold " in Sweden , like in the rest of Europe, more autumn then spring, I had a very warm welcome by so many , that I straight away forgot about the cold.Ulf was great and I keep him as my friend, because he straight away organized electricity in my caravan as well as a heater. So after arriving back from dinner with 12 from the Dutch Team, I had a warm van sofltly lighted and a nicely made double bed! What do you want more!!!

It was great to be welcomed at the Skavsta airfield by 10 members of the Dutch Team and my trip in the old red bus with Jelmer and Mol [ Joost] was as if I was back as TC in Hus Bos during the Junior World Comps there.

But now .....it is back to work, so here we go with the daily bulletins from Ekeby Airport. Welcome dear readers from all over the world!
Tomorrow everything will be a bit different , better and even easier to find.
KG , my "boss" and I discussed different possibilities and he even created a "meet and greet " box to have some interaction with all of you in the world reading and sharing these comps with us.
He also creates for our guests here, a list on internet from important places, as the super market,doctor,dentist,pharmacist,laundry , hardware etc.
You can also click on the flags from the 26 countries which are here, to read their vieuw in their own language, on the comps.I know for exemple, that the Dutch, English and German teams have great web sites with serious ,but also very funny ,sometimes even pretty naughty stories.Read them all and keep an eye on the English site as Pete Harvey is a good blogger and if my stories look like his , he has taken over and "cracked" our system!!!Just joking...or....
So that's all from tomorrow onwards.KG is already working hard on it!

Today there is no flying and no briefing. Due to the rain, the field is pretty wet and the organization tries to keep the strip in good order. GOOD IDEA!Reason for pilots and crew to prepare theirselves here at the field , registrate ,which goes quick and smooth,use the chatroom where several computers are available or hook on their laptops in what ever room, as access seems to be every where and to travel a bit in the area or even to Stockholm .Some are going for a swim in the heated pool in town.
It is dry, not too cold, but still some pilots are gathered around a gas heater in the dining-breakfast-lunch room/tent to get warmer. All Aussies were there and even the Swiss.
A good time -extra also for the organization to finish a few important items as a laundry machine here [after the rain it is pretty muddy in the caravan area] and to look after a few domestic things which are not working well at the moment, but I am sure that will be fixed soon as they all work hard "like hell" and still need 40 hours in a day instead of 24!

All pilots and crews are nearly here and though a lot have a cold or arrive already with a flu, everybody kisses and hugs as , as you know, we glider pilots are ONE BIG FAMILY and....most probably have a cold or flu together now.

It is noon, time for lunch and I will be back later to inform you about all I find out.CU later!

It is nearly 3 now and guess what , after a very nice lunch with Tony and Jo from Australia, we were .... sitting in the sun.There is a good wind with sunny conditions and the strip is drying up with rapid speed.Everybody seems to be busy and if you look at the Dutch web site under "fotoalbums" , you can see how Kratje {Mathijs who , together with Mol made all those brilliant pictures in Hus Bos} , spend his morning.
" Swedish flikka", was what his camera [ not him] was interested in and lots of guests in our internet cafe were looking at them , with great interest.Yes Sweden , has lovely girls and as Kratje said, he could have made hundreds!

There are quite some problems with the flight recorders as you might have noticed on our site, so lots of pilots are trying to solve them.
Back to my little spot in the sun, where you can feel that the sun ,when it is shining ,is really hot.CU later!

Ritz