Bert gets his Viking on with the TPR 2023 Scandi Tour (no Pillaging, but some Humping occured)

[teacherkim]

Pinball! I love Pinball and it's getting harder and harder to find machines as "the claw" is now taking over every arcade 

We rode that rapids ride with a mom and her kids that were visiting Liseberg from their northern village that was north of the Arctic Circle. They spoke wonderful English so we were able to have a nice conversation and they were as fascinated with us as we were with them.

[Nrthwnd]

Ooooooh all those pinball machines. Gotta love that.

Were they coin operated, or did you have to buy tokens, Bert?

[bert425]

8 hours ago, Nrthwnd said:

Ooooooh all those pinball machines. Gotta love that.

Were they coin operated, or did you have to buy tokens, Bert?

coin!   and ~3 plays for 10 Krona coin if I recall

[bert425]

Day 15: Saturday, June 17th part 1 (of 2) - Travel day to Stockholm, with stop at Skara Sommarland along the way.

We got up this beautiful Sat morning, and checked out of the fabulous Grand Curiousa, and loaded up the bus.

we were headed to Stockholm today. . .but with a stop along the way. . .

buh-bye Liseberg. . . what a fantastic park!

 

just some pics enjoying the Swedish Countryside as we traveled.

it really is lovely here. . .

and before too long, we were pulling into the parking lot of Skara SommarLand.

it was a Saturday, and so I figured it would be crowded, but Elissa had told us that it's mainly a draw for the Waterpark section.

we were getting there before opening anyways for some ERT and because the park wanted to show off their newest ride to Robb and TPR.

a map out front, showing you approx where you are when visiting Skara

and the group shot, before entering - courtesy of Robb.

when we got back on the bus later, we'd be short two people, but happily they caught back up with us in Stockholm the next day

look how happy.. this is a wonderful pic, if a bit overexposed.

 

the actual map of the Park itself. . it looks a lot bigger than it seemed, but it's pretty spread out with THREE (I think) Go Kart tracks that aren't really clear on this map, tho they are here.

some fairly generic, but nice, theming on the main streets.  You can tell it's mostly "sold" as a waterpark

but THIS is mainly why we made a stop here, for the park's unique (I think only one of it's kind in the world?) S&S Free-Fly coaster, Tranan

each car has it's own unique bird "flying" it. . and I was a bit confused, and amused by the look on this one's face.

is the coaster THAT bad???

but getting up above it for loading on each side?  you can see what's going on here. . .

his scarf, has gotten sucked thru this jetback and is choking him to death.

hysterical.

 

(this also gives you a good look at the seats on this thing).

they didn't have all 5 cars on the tracks - only 3 - but here's a look at the other two characters that were on the standby trains.

in this pic, you can see how truly "exposed" one feels while riding this.

the "trains" are very low on the sides, and the only safety is the seat belt.

oh. . I'm SURE it's safe enough, and no one has ever fallen out. . . .but I really (I mean seriously) did not feel comfortable on this thing.  I felt like I could fall out any minute.
Some folks really *love* that feeling. . . not me tho.

I only rode it twice (once on each side) then was done and just took pics of it.

I'm glad I rode it, as it's SO unique. . . but not something I'd go out of my way to ride if it were in my home park.

a look at another bird on the next car.

yeah. . I'm smiling. .but it hadn't moved yet. . .

(guessing pic courtesy of Elissa)

notice my death grip on the bar in front of me, and on the rail on the side.    Yeah. . wasn't loving this. 

again, glad I rode it tho.

(next pics are likely courtesy of Andy)

my 2nd ride.. other side, this time not in the very front.

Felt a bit more "secure" with people both in front of me and behind. . . but still, once on each side was enough for me, and went to take pics.

it really is rather cool to watch it do this maneuver.

it does it twice during the course, I believe.
 

 

and it truly IS pretty photogenic. . here's the whole layout in pics. . .

while waiting for the ERT to finish up, I wandered around the area a little bit. .

this ride apparently used to be at Grona Lund before being relocated here.

it looks similar to the Catwoman ride SF StL added.     the logo is great, even if the name is a bit generic.

the medium sized cart track.   the park was getting ready to open, and so they were starting to staff up the rides.

 

LOL. .it worried me that the operator for his testing/set up was wearing a neck collar. . but turned out that was a safety thing for all the versions of the go karts here.

it really is a lovely park. . tho it feels like there's a lot of unused space here still.

across the lake back in the distance is the main waterpark area

here's what the Park folks wanted to show us. . the new ride.

I don't think I ever did get the name of this. . but it was air bumper cars.

basically ?   Air Hockey with you as the puck.

you can tell it's really new - I think they said that it had just opened the prior week?  (or maybe it hadn't opened to the public yet, and TPR was given a preopening ride on it?)

they were still working on the theming, and there was a bunch of construction still going on in the queue.
 

but I'll admit - this was hella fun.   and I don't do Bumper Cars. . but this was more akin to Bumper Boats, but without the water.

and once you figured out how to control the things?    like I said, Hella fun.

even if the seating in them is just a bit: "Gynecological Exam"

 

guessing thanks to Elissa or maybe Brad or AJ for the pics with me in em?

Whee!!!

after this fun, we were cut loose to enjoy the park, until meeting up for lunch. 

Some went to the waterpark, and some of us shopped, or wandered.

this is "Spinner" the park's Maurer Wild Mouse.

it wasn't open yet - I believe it was supposed to open at noon?   so we noted to come back later, and kept exploring.

as noted. . a quite nice, and large park.

what's this upside down house thing?    a funhouse?

Nope. . .junior bumper cars.

why the upside-down house?   no one I asked knew.. . LOL
 

here's the park's 3rd coaster, Gruvbanan, a Mack powered coaster, with an inside section (mainly a couple of big Helixes) that go around a campground of Trolls - if I'm remembering correctly.

the queue line was nicely themed. . .

as a mining camp. .

and it was a really long train. . so it's basically a people eater. .

 

Big Mike, myself, and Matthew

also with Jonathan & Didier

whee!. . but ya gotta sit down Big Mike!

Glad we got a couple of rides on it before moving on, as it broke down shortly after our rides, and I don't think it came back up before we left.
(I don't think it opened back up for the rest of the 2023 season either, from what I saw on RCDB. . so something really must have broken)

but it was a fun coaster for what it is - a family powered mine train, basically.
 

this "gate" was randomly in the center of one of the walkways.

Someone, I think perhaps Erik, opined that this must be the original "rides" section of the park, when it was mostly just waterpark.   and as they grew, they started putting coasters and rides in other areas of the park.

it's probably a correct assumption, as the majority of the rides (including the mine train, the flume, the train station, and others) are over here
 

found a coffee shop with OK coffee, but they also had these sprinkled balls.

they weren't quite cake balls, and I didn't really care for them. . but hey, I'm juvenile enough that I got them with my coffee just so I could get a picture

 

this was something I just adored.   A fountain that had an entrance from the back, so one could stand under it to get a picture, without getting wet.

the mist was cooling, and no real wetness.

yes.. yes. . it's a "rooster".

sometimes I don't NEED to put a double entendre caption

Nice playground area

looking across the lake for where we were about to meet up for Lunch.

and a pic of said lunch.

I was impressed that a park served on real plates/bowls/glasses, and with real silverware. 

not sure if that's their standard thing, or just for us special, but this did seem to be the one sit down restaurant in the park.  (tho we sat outside on the deck)

the lake is full of fishies who were hungry for leftover french fries. . .

look at dem mouths!

we headed back over to Spinner after lunch, and tho it had been open, it had gotten stuck.   Maintenance worked on it, and many from our group lined up and some (I believe including Robb & Sarah) got on. . and the car they were in got stuck - in the same place the prior one had been.

several of us looked at each other and were like. . .um. . nuh-uh.  (LOL). . but we had seen the train passing by, so instead decided to take a ride on the train around the park.
a good idea anyways to let Lunch settle.

walking over to the train, found a photo op.    So of COURSE!

mini-train. . but I really liked the detail on it.

and it gives you a great look at the entire park as it travels around.

it doesn't look too crowded, but it really was fairly busy. . I think most were just at the waterpark areas.

and look. . started off this report with a smiling sMisty, and now have a smiling Erik !

and a smiling Eric and Shane too

 

Big Mike wasn't on the train with us..but caught him wandering around upright!

Spinner. . still not moving.

around this time, I had gotten a call asking if I knew where Didier was - since I had been hanging out with him.    They were looking for him, because there had been an accident (what was referred to as a splinter) and needed to get into the bus.  

Didier was on the train with us. . . so told them that we'd meet them at the front gate - but as the train had just pulled out, it might be a good 20 minutes.

Daniel got the phone and asked me if I had my meds with me -  I always carry a bunch of painkillers, antacids, muscle relaxers. . all over the counter stuff. . which of course I did.
only problem was the same - we were on the train.   

BUT, someone had the brilliant idea to notice that the train tracks passed right by where the group was with the injured person, so we made a plan on the spot to drop off pain meds as we passed by.

a look at the largest of the go kart tracks here as Skara Sommerland.

they also have one of these "never in America" bouncy things in the playground.

this is a bizzaro ride - it's a water ski thing. .where you grab a handle, and the wires overhead pull you around the lake here.

it doesn't reflect in the pics, but the lake was this weird greenish/yellow color. . that looked kinda toxic - if I'm being honest. . . I certainly wouldn't want to fall into that water.

but folks could "waterski" on it.

this was also the reason for the medical issue.

no, the person hadn't gotten hurt riding it. . .they had gotten a splinter in their foot when they took their shoes off and walked on the wooden deck/station to got to the start of the ride.

oh. . but "splinter" is underselling it.    I will NOT be sharing the picture, but this was a "splinter" in name only. . it was a big stick, that basically impaled the foot.

i'm glad I had some meds that perhaps helped with the pain, but this was a "need to go to the hospital to have it removed" type of thing.
(tho we didn't know that just yet. . we only knew a request for pain meds and I was happy to help out)

here's Daniel waiting by the train tracks for his dealer. . .

(these pics are from Andy who had been hanging with the group doing the waterski thing to get pics)

just a taste for free. . the next one you pay!

(Shane, who wasn't aware of what was going on, looks very confused)

 

and Erik behind me was making sure all angles were covered. . .

 

after that excitement, there was more excitement on the train when we passed a dinosaur (?).

why?  I dunno. . but a dinosaur!
 

and going thru the tunnel, there's a huge ad for Wildfire and Kolmarden

(I understood this later, when I found out the same owners run all 4 of the next parks we'd be visiting)

passing by Gruvbanan, which was still down.

 

and ANOTHER set of Bumper Cars. . . wow. .those are really popular here at Skara.

 

the flume was busy, even tho it was a fairly short, out and back type.   Typically what you'd see at a traveling fair. . but this one had permanent troughs. (and adorable cars)

a mini-troika - themed to swamp buggies (not operating today. . multiple things seemed to be down today. . but not an issue, the amount of crowds on the "dry" areas had plenty to do.

and the kiddie stuff was mostly running. . keeping the families there happy.

what I think, perhaps, used to be the main entrance to the "dry/ride" side of the park?   it appeared there was a parking lot back over here.  Tho everyone in the park came thru the main gates, as we did.   Maybe it's only used on super busy days?

 

I was interested in doing a little shopping, but nothing really was catching my eye.    Tho this sign did:  "Bad Poncho"

it doesn't look too awful. . .

until you get close and realize it's all blurry and looked like they printed them out on a fax machine from the early 80s

oh well. . truth in Advertising, gotta give em that!

 

Senor Frogs?  

 

I wasn't in the mood to get wet, so avoided the waterpark - tho I think some in our group did go and say it was fun.    But I wanted to get pics of the flume, mainly because of the adorable boats the park was using.

I'm not certain why the flume is called "Newton". . couldn't find any translation.

maybe the Whale's name is "Newton" ?

OMG!!!  Adorbs!!

'

hahahahaha. . . LOVE it

and with that, it was almost time to head out to Stockholm.

while we waited for everyone, many folks got Ice Cream, and I posed with the surfboards outside the store.

no comment.

LOL

 

 

 

and with that, we loaded back onto the bus - minus the two who had gone to Hospital to deal with the foot injury and would meet us in Stockholm  (seriously. . what a great friend that someone went with to make sure the injured party wasn't' there alone).

day to be continued. . .

 

 

[bert425]

interrupting the day to share the swag I got from Skara Sommerland, since it really wasn't much:

Basically, the park gifted us with goodie bags, which included stuff that I would have purchased had I seen them. . so it saved me from having to do much shopping (really most of what was in the stores was related to the waterpark attractions anyways).

it also included those giant baby pacifier suckers - which I gave to a friend's teenager - who loved them, so I guess that IS the target market.

 

regardless, here is Skara Sommerland swag:

several different magnets, with park logo, and ride logos.

 

a branded fan. . .

and a pic of me using said fan, while waiting for my coffee & balls earlier in the day (it was hot).
this pic was misfiled. .so just posting it here

 

and a bonus pic, that was misfiled. . and I found it when I went to check on the pics for the next update:

[bert425]

Day 15: Saturday, June 17th part 2 (of 2) - Travel day to Stockholm, surprise ERT at Grona Lund!

back on the bus for a few hours, and enjoying the sights to Sweden

 

 

we took a 45 minute rest stop to grab food, and tho most of the folks went to quicker service (and I think sMisty went to the candy store next door), Erik, myself, Didier, and I think Andrew, went across the intersection to this burger/pub chain in Sweden.

they assured us they could get the food out fast, and they did, even tho it was a sit down restaurant.

it was quite good too.
 

but . . um. . maybe lost something in the translation?

no, I didn't try the "soup of the day"

 

then it was back on the bus, to finish our drive into Stockholm.

lots of interesting architecture . . .

really liked this sculpture in one of the Roundabouts that are all over Stockholm

such a cool city!   very futuristic. . .

based on the clocks (on the many buildings), we were arriving at our Stockholm hotel at just about 8pm.

my first glimpse of Grona Lund. . . I was blown away.    the rides really are just piled one on top of each other.

our hotel was literally next door to Grona Lund. .so we knew we were close.

and here we were. . at the BackStage Hotel.

literally across the (narrow) street from Grona Lund.

oh. . and also *attached* to the ABBA Museum - with access from the hotel lobby!

speaking of the Hotel Lobby. . . very modern, and funky. . .

the Cafe in the hotel.

and the Bistro attached to the ABBA museum (I stepped out front of the hotel to get these pics)

yes, they played ABBA music non-stop. . and yes, I LOVED it.   I mean LOVED it.

Our room was the corner there on the upper right, with the patio door open.

Jonathan was in the room next door to us, and he was also enjoying the music.

aww. . a kiddie cut out photo op.

one for the adults too. . which hysterically had a sign taped to the back warning not to stick your entire head thru the hole, as it might get stuck.

LOL. . you know that has happened, if they need a sign.

 

going back inside, even tho the museum was closed as it was just past 8pm, it's attached to the lobby.   So was able to peek in, and get a few pics.

I'm stunned by the ABBA around me 

(yeah yeah. . a terrible pic, but the only one I had of the Kimonos!)

Since Grona Lund was right across the street, once I had put all the luggage in the room I ventured out to check it out - from the outside.   Tho Backstage was our base hotel for a few nights, our full day at Grona Lund wasn't until two more parks (three days) from now.

one of the main gates. . tho this one seemed to enter into the more family friendly, kid friendly ride area

but I'll bet this was once THE main gate, as the art deco design and lights were impressive

the Grona Lund gift shop, which was open for anyone to go in and look around - so I took a quick peek, but was warned they were closing in an hour, so if I saw anything I wanted, I had to get it before then.    By a sweet little old lady - who watched me like a HAWK the moment I stepped into the store. . LOL

we were missing the Chicks (ie: the Dixie Chicks) at the park by just a week or so. . .

SO much art deco glass and artistic design here. . .

one of Grona Lund's multiple Drop Towers/Tower Rides.

look closely on the right side.. yup, that's a STAND UP option for one side of the tower!    (spoiler, it scared the shit out of me, but I did the stand up option when we went to the park. and that camera on that side up there?  yup, takes a photo you can buy).

what seems to be getting used as the "main" entrance now. . as it had the box office, the information booth, and the queues set up to handle large lines over here.

it also puts you in right be lots of games and some big rides.

oooo.. Ice Cream.  

I hadn't had any at Skara Sommerland. . so I took this as a sign from the universe.    tho I wasn't trusting those sprinkles..they looked suspiciously like Licorice to me.

so played it safe with a cup and caramel/strawberry syrup topping.

I spot a coaster thru the trees.

Robb had messaged the group saying he had a surprise for us, and anyone who was interested should meet in the lobby at 9:30.

so I finished up my ice cream and headed back across to our hotel.

taking a few more pics as I walked.

Ian was in the lobby, so I grabbed him and dragged him over to the photo op.  I believe Jon took this pic for us.

LOL. . neither of us wanted to be the guys. . but I, mean, I HAVE to be Frida of course.

turned out the surprise?    the owner of the park had reached out to welcome Robb & TPR to Stockholm and offered us some ERT on the park's newest coaster, a B&M Invert called "Monster". .that opened in 2021.

I think almost everyone on the trip excitedly lined up to go into Grona Lund as they were about to close for the evening, to get some rides on Monster.  the Clock on the wall shows it was about 9:55 pm. . and still so bright out.

as you can see, the rides are just stacked on top of each other. . I can imagine how difficult it was to build this coaster in this space!

(that white coaster in the background is "Insane", and the drop tower behind it - that drops face first - is "Icarus". . . will talk about them in the Grona Lund update)

ah. .finally, the train is visible, right there in the center pic.. .

here it comes overhead. . they were flushing the line out for us at the end of night. . . so this empty train told us that they were about ready for us.

by the way, the owner we met (who's name I unfortunately cannot remember) was SO damn nice.   just an all around nice guy.  very much enjoyed chatting with him briefly.

crowd headed out. . we're headed in.

that's the main entrance to the ride straight ahead.

but we weren't going in via the main queue. . . he led us down an alley towards the back of the ride. . .

to the JetPass (the park's version of Flashpass) entrance. . which drops you right into the station.

 

I rode this a bunch of times. . the view from the front is just stunning, as it weaves in and out of buildings, with a few near misses.  and the drop has just this amazing view of the lake and the ferries as people were leaving the park.

it is a bit too intense for me, and so I had to take several breaks.   I'd basically do two rides back to back, then a break. . etc.

as people started to bow out after many rides, there started to be some open seats - so Ian and I couldn't hold hands while riding

but it HAD been a long day. . the adrenaline kept me going tho!

one of my "breaks" between rides, in the cool underground station.

yup, it starts and ends underground.

Eventually we had to bid the park goodbye - for a few days - and we were led past the closed ride entrance and to the gates.

LOVE how this ride interacts with the surroundings. . it just looms over everything over here.

 

and then we made our way back across the street to the hotel, where I took a shower, and crashed HARD.  

it had been a long day, but quite an exciting one.   I said a small prayer for the health of our injured companion - who rejoined our group the day after next with his foot bandaged up, but still able to ride stuff), and slept.

tomorrow was another day. . and we were going to be headed to Furuvik. . a park no one on the trip (not even Robb & Elissa) had been to prior. . . and it had a lot of animals too.

so I was excited.

ending with a beautiful shot from Robb's on ride camera, of the Monster first drop, as the sun sets.

(and a view of the parking lot across the street that the park has announced will be turned into an expansion, so will have rides on it in the future).

thanks for reading along. . hope you've enjoyed!

 

[teacherkim]

So many great pictures! On the same cruise that we were on when we went to Liseberg we were docked right across the harbor from Gronalund, but since Joel was only 9 and wouldn't have been tall enough for much AND we only had a day AND no one else wanted to spend it in a amusement park we didn't pay to go in. Walked right by it though. If anyone every gets the chance to sail into Stockhom it's really amazing. You spend about 3 hours going past a million little islands, most of which have summer cabins on them.

[Electerik]

Quote

started off this report with a smiling sMisty, and now have a smiling Erik !

Collect them both!

Stockholm is my favorite city--at least of those I've visited thus far.

 

[bert425]

Day 16: Sunday, June 18th part 1 (of 2) - a park no one had ever been to, Furuvik - and a surprise bonus on the way back to the hotel!

the next morning, we got up from our hotel, and filed onto the bus for a drive out of the city.

and pulled up - right off what seemed to be a major highway - to a new park for everyone on the trip (including Robb & Elissa): Furuvik

this is similar to Kolmarden in that it is mainly a zoo, but has some amusement rides and rollercoasters. . and it had been in the news fairly recently due to a horrific story regarding the Chimpanzees (that the park was known for - they were a main Chimpanzee research facility in Sweden prior to this) that escaped the enclosure and resulted in several injuries and the deaths of multiple primates.

We did not ask about the story, and figured it would not be talked about - but it actually was mentioned by some of the park folks we talked to.

 

and there was this memorial out front of the main entrance.

(not sure if it was Furuvik sanctioned, but they were allowing it to be there - with the names of the 4 chimps that had died in Dec 2022).

the actual main gates of the park. .and you can see front and center in the logo is a Chimp. . .

looking back at the major roadway closeby before we went inside the park.

 

 

it's a really large park, with some very lush areas.  This was a theater we passed by on the way in, with a family show going on here during the day featuring the park's mascots:   5 cats.

I never did get all of their names, but I WAS successful in meeting all 5 during our visit today

I mentioned it's a large park?   yup. .here's the park map

oh.. did I mention the park Mascots are cats?   yup. .they go ALL IN in places with the kitty cat theming. . 
 

a little hard to read, but I appreciate any park that attempts topiary/flower landscaping.    Nice job by them.

as I said, tho it's mostly a zoo, Furuvik does have an amusement park section (most over here in Scandi are identified by "Tivoli" areas).  Based on this entrance area, it does appear that at one point the Amusement rides section was a separate ticket entry?     but was all included now.
 

various different rides over here. . some intense, some kiddie, but the majority of them "Family" rides.

 

Sadly, this was the only Carousel on site tho. . .

as a group tho, we headed for the Coasters first, as they were new to everyone!

Lightning is a retro-looking family Vekoma Launch coaster, that was almost brand new - opening shortly before our visit.

(I believe this sits where a Schwarzkopf Jet Star II used to be, named Rocket - that closed in 2021)

nothing "EXTREME" here, but lots of twisty, twisty track.

and a really fun retro station and train design.

it went around twice, if I'm recalling correctly, and the 2nd time thru the station, it really pics up speed with the launch that increases the velocity the train already has going as it flies thru the station

really great train design. .

and part of the Control Panel for you freaks that like that. . .

surprise surprise.. .Bumper Cars.      (Swedes seem to LOVE their bumper cars).

tho I did appreciate that this one had full "traveling Carnival" light package. . and every light worked.   it was impressive when it got overcast how brightly this shined.

a Disc-O

and several games similar to we saw in Liseberg, where one could win a giant box of treats.

next door was this wonderful shooting gallery - which for some reason you could win Octopus' at if you got a high enough score.

I really enjoyed the choice of weapons. . tho I let down my Texas family by really sucking at shooting with most of the guns.

this looked very similar to the one at Liseberg that had run the fairly tame program. . .   simply called "Extreme" here.

for sure wanted to ride it, but it required a certain number of riders before they could operate, so we'd have to come back later once the park opened to the public.
 

instead, our guide, Dexter, led us over to the 2nd of the park's 3 roller coasters:  Fireball - a Vekoma Family Boomerang.

the theming here was quite nice, even if the ride wasn't an EXTREME ride.  

as a zoo, it's great that the "big" rides they have are mostly things the whole family can ride - even the smaller kids.
 

whee!!!

and next to it is a large shooting Dark ride - with some really amazing theming on the outside.

but we didn't go to this one yet, there was still one more coaster here to get to as the park was opening up to general guests.

Draken - a Zierer kiddie coaster

but hey, new credit for everyone!

as we got off our ride, and met to be released into the park (getting food vouchers, and being told what time to meet up later for the ride back). .  I noticed - what's this? 

are those. . . mascots riding Draken with the 1st public riders?

 

Yup!

two of the 5 mascots found!

make that 3 of the 5!

and 4 of the 5 !      wow.. good timing to be there, just as the Mascots (well. . most of them) came out to start the day!

now the park was open. . EXTREME had started running.

we lined up - and tho still had to wait a little bit to get enough riders, were able to get a ride on it.    Pretty intense, but I liked it.

here's us on the ride - I believe pic courtesy of Erik, as we had to convince sMisty and Goldballs (as Erik calls him) to ride with us so we had enough people for the cycle.

Despite my face, I liked it.
 

and at the end of our ride, all the guys hopped off, causing the "arm" to raise up, leaving sMisty stuck in the seat way far off the ground  (whoops!!)

luckily, they have a step stool there, just for these situations

all the big rides done (that I cared to ride), it was time for the spookhouse!

fun animatronic in the queue line explaining how the guns work (in Swedish, but we figured it out).

AMAZING boarding area. . . so cool.

we were starting to get a little hungry, as we hadn't had much for breakfast this morning (I believe the Hotel had given us some pre-made bags, since we left so early, so didn't do the hotel breakfast this day).     so we looked at the options for food, and most of the folks I was with agreed that the "Indian"/ Tandoori option sounded good. . . it was off in the middle of the zoo area, so we treked off to find it (with some directions from Dexter). . .

passing the Camel enclosure.  .  . . tho we eventually found it.

we were literally the ONLY folks here at this restaurant.    so the three guys in the kitchen were joking with us, and chatting about where we were from, and they were very interested in TPR, and folks that took trips to go to theme parks and ride things.

they laughed and asked me - since I was first - if I wanted the "American" serving for the add on chicken skewers.    I had no idea what the difference was, but said "sure"

this is what came out.   

LOL - you should have seen the eyes bulging out from the others with me. . as everyone pretty quickly ordered the same thing.

it was a HUGE amount of food, and it was quite tasty!    I posted this pic of it, and several other folks from TPR did come track down the Indian place and eat lunch here (I've heard it was way better than the burger place that some went to)

David enjoying his protein!


Dexter came by while we were eating and was happy his directions had helped us find the place.

he offered to show us around to some of the animals, so of course we said yes, and ended up not having to wander aimlessly (which would have been fine, but nicer to have someone bring us to show the parts of the park that he loves). . .

to be continued. .  .

 

 

[bert425]

Day 16: Sunday, June 18th part 2 (of 2) - Furuvik - and a surprise bonus on the way back to the hotel!

 

continued. . .

 

if I'm not mistaken, this was a lovely boardwalk/elevated pathway that went out onto the edge of the water, and around the goats & Red Panda enclosure.

we didn't get to see the Red Panda - I do believe Dexter told us that the enclosure was getting ready for them, but the actual animals had not been moved into the enclosure yet?

but I do know that he drew our attention to that land mass way off in the distance, and I'm pretty sure he said that was Finland we were seeing from Sweden.
 

the post Indian food group that was being shown around by Dexter (that's him on the far right)

yo Llama is SOOO fat.  

when she sits around the enclosure?  she sits a ROUND the enclosure!

hey. .it's not fat.. it's just fur. . .

so Dexter was all excited about the Camels, and he actually called them by name and they came *running* over to him.

now, did they come running over because they recognized and love him?   or because he had handfulls of food to feed them?
 

the world may never know. . . . 

but it was still wonderful to see, and get pics of.

nothin to see here. . just some goats on a big rock.

we had heard folks talking about a dark ride/ boat ride. . but hadn't been able to locate it.    

when asked Dexter about it, he brought us right to the entrance.   (I dont' think we'd ever have found it otherwise).

it looked like a fun little river raft ride, tho the boats were very small.     there was some chatter about 4 per boat, but I recall protesting, and we ended up 3, 2, and 1 . . and what a correct call THAT was.

that boat in front with 3 seems a little low to the water!

um. . .  . big Mike isn't looking too steady on his own either. .

I'm concerned. . but at least Jonathan and I seem to be a little steady.

um. . the heavier boat in the front seems to be causing a little bit of a traffic jam. . .

I look worried, but the operators were laughing hysterically. . .

and "luckily" we had someone off ride walking by at JUST the right moment to capture the chaos.

( think this is courtesy of Andy ? )

this guy's face cracks me up:

I mean. . .  we're laughing and horrified at the same time.

 

ohhhh. . here comes the "Dark ride" part

Realistic!!

Sharks AND a Kracken?   what kind of jungle is this????
 

but once you safely disembark, you are walking thru a monkey house. . .which makes the boat ride so worth it!

turtles too. .

you can get so close to them!

Achievement unlocked!!!    I found the 5th mascot.

or did I?    he was hanging around with his twin, and I wasn't sure which one of them I had met earlier.

so better safe, than sorry. . . at least now I know i met all five of them.

around this point, I was starting to feel pretty bad.   

I was getting cold, and was starting to cough a lot. . . I didn't think I was sick, and it SEEMED to be allergies.    as that was affecting some others right at this point.

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything with me to help with the congestion. . . . but I COULD buy a nice warm sweatshirt in a giftshop, so I did that.

tho I didnt' buy this freaky octo-duck thing. . .
 

nice to see that at least the mini carousel was getting some riders. . .

speaking of horses?

we had met up with everyone else to head out, and as we were walking towards the entrance we passed this Hobby Horse race track the park had as an attraction.

so why not?    Several of us grabbed hobby horses, and off to the races!

this is a big part of why I absolutely *love* taking trips with TPR. . there really is no such thing as looking too stupid!

it was hella fun, and kudos to my fellow racers!

Pic courtesy of Robb, I believe.

passing that theater we had seen on the way in.  

ah. .that's why only the two mascots were out.  the others are here on stage.   

and have at least a bit of a crowd.

and Elissa, Sarah, and TPR were awarded giant boxes of Chocolates from our guides at the park.    

we all piled back on the bus, as the sky started to darken and a bit of rain drops started to fall, and the candy got passed around to everyone for a taste.

 

Robb & Elissa had a surprise for us on the way back. . we weren't going straight back to the hotel. . we were stopping here, at SkiStar Stockholm Hammarbybacken !

they have a lot of activities here at this place, that seems to be open year round. . .

tho we were here for this:  the only mountain coaster in Stockholm

as you can see from the ground, it had started to drizzle, and we weren't sure they would keep it open for us.. but they did!

here's some of the other activities that can be done here - this is the Tube sliding tracks  (it was late in the afternoon, and the weather was kinda icky. . so that would be why it was mostly empty)

you get in the individual cars, and they hook you up and pull you up to the top of the Mountain.

here's Joey getting ready to head up.

and I BELIEVE this is a pic I took of the screens showing how to control the mountain coaster as you descend. . .but gives a good view of the track/city.

here's me coming down. . pic courtesy of, I think, Elissa  (or could have been Jason)

this thing was FLYING because the track was wet.

pretty terrifying, but it was SO much fun.

after riding in the rain tho, I was so congested and hacking that no one wanted to sit by me on the short bus ride back to the hotel.      There was something going on in town tonight - a concert of some kind, I think. . and several in the group bought last minute tickets and were headed to it.  

all I wanted to do was find someplace to get some decongestant. . .

[bert425]

Back at the Hotel, I realized I didn't have anything to help with allergies packed.

so Matthew looked up the nearest drugstore (which was still open and he and I hopped in a cab - to make sure we got there as they were closing shortly, and I got to shop in a Swedish Supermarket.
Wasnt' sure quite what to purchase, but the checkout lady spoke English very well and helped translate the nose sprays for me and I picked up a couple.

then we walked back to the hotel. . grabbed some dinner in the hotel restaurant with a few other folks we saw were eating there, and I headed up to the room to sleep.

Pics walking back from the drugstore:

 

and dinner:

 

then up to shower and relax in room/crash.



since it's a short final group of pics, will put the Furuvik swag here too:

sweatshirt with happy cotton candy:

 

an magnet:

[Electerik]

8 hours ago, bert425 said:

Goldballs (as Erik calls him)

His real name is Andrew. He needed a nickname.

 

 

[bert425]

Day 17: Monday, June 19th part 1 (of 2) - Kolmården - and the insane amazement of Wildfire!

 

getting up this morning, I was feeling much better, but still pretty congested.  I realized there is something in the air in Sweeden that was trying to kill me (and several others, who were also having extreme allergic reactions).

as today was going to be another full day spent out, basically, in the woods?  I not only drugged the hell out of myself, but decided to wear a facemask today to see if it helped (it actually DID help quite a bit, tho I still hacked and coughed thruout the day - tho nowhere near as much as I had the prior day).

anyways. . onto the bus and headed out to Kolmården - a huge zoo, likely best known by coaster fans for the amazing RMC coaster, Widfire.

 

the Country continues to be absolutely gorgeous, even tho it was a bit overcast today.

passing by the main parking lot for Kolmården. . . .it was already starting to fill up, but as the zoo is SO big, it never really felt crowded.

in fact, the zoo is SO big, we were directed around back to the 2ndary parking lot, and allowed to enter thru that back gate.

this way we were much closer to the "rides" portion of the zoo, than if we had started at the actual front gates.  (very hilly, and quite the walk, really, so it was greatly appreciated!)

I spot Wildfire thru the trees!

Park Map from where we actually entered. . we were in the lot on the right - that you can see the path they let us use, that walks into the back of the park.

a better look at Wildfire's lift and turnaround before drop, from inside the zoo grounds.

my masked self - since outdoors.   on the right is the entrance to the zoo's famous "safari" gondola ride. 

and that's where we were going to head to first.

 

I believe the zoo had already opened (hence the family ahead of us in this pic). . but I was just blown away from the theming over here.   VERY much reminded me of a Disney-esque queueline.

this is a fairly long - if recalling correctly, it was about 25 minutes - lovely gondola ride that covers the large area in the zoo that I guess would be called the Serengeti if were at Animal Kingdom or BGT parks.    Lots of interacting animals - tho several predators too, in sectioned off areas, and the gondola "tracks" criss cross each other several times.

so it's a long ride, and really does give some incredible views.  and it has narration in 3 languages, so you can get descriptions of the animals as you pass over those areas.

starting off with Wildfire, as you leave the station.

the group I rode with:  me, Doug, Hans, Ryan, David, and Hawk.

I mean. . . just stunning views from the Gondolas

Bears attempting to sun themselves on this overcast day

zebras!

yeah. . these folks are in their own area. . .

tho this early in the morning, most were sleeping.

but good lord, what an amazing view you get from the Gondola!

as we were crossing over the "track". .snapped this pic to show some of the criss crossing the ride does.

you get a bit high up in some spots too.

could be a postcard.  amazing that it's just a pic on an iPhone

and coming back into the station.

we were headed to Wildfire, but first, I believe, it was almost lunch time, and the Park guide wanted to bring us down to eat, before we did any further things.

so we passed by Wildfire for the moment, and headed down to the food area, that's over by the "big" rides - the park also has a very large "kids rides" area.

I don't think we had the "Mexican". . . I didn't' take a pic, but I THINK it was burgers?   But this Mexican pirate amused me, so snapped a pic of the sign.

the view while we ate.

one of the two other Roller Coasters in the park, a Vekoma Junior coaster.   (the other being a Zierer kiddie coaster)

themed to a Dolphin!   so cute.

and then we headed over to Wildfire, to check it out, and get some rides.

loved the theming in the station.

no axes allowed?  Noted!

lovely train design, tho it has those RMC restraints that I just don't really care for (I always feel so uneasy in these restraints).
 

LtR: Didier, Eric, Shane, Jon

whee!!   Jason and Big Mike in front row!

but they had a surprise for us, if anyone was interested (we were!). . we got to go into the Maintenance and get up close and personal with the ride and trains!

so cool!

and the ride watches you thru the windows in the workshop. . .

wonder what THIS does?  

(and yes, jokey picture taken with permission to touch the sledge hammer)

the coaster's layout on the board in the Maint. shed.

the group on the shed tour. . .

we really did get to get really up close to the ride, while it was operating!

I mean. . really close!

getting a few more rides in before moving on. . . here's more of the TPR group enjoying Wildfire.

and this is Tomas, who was the main guide walking us around Kolmården today, and showing us the zoo's shining gems.

they had another surprise for us - if we were interested - we could go under the Gondola ride and see the Maint. area for that if we wanted.    So we headed over that way

 

to be continued. . . .

[bert425]

Day 17: Monday, June 19th part 2 (of 2) - Kolmården

had to be careful, as the ride was in operation. . but we were guided between the moving Gondolas and to the transfer track area. .

and it was explained that at the end of each day, this is where the Gondolas go to "sleep". .and they perform maintenance on any needing some TLC.

it wasn't a big building, just a small shed. . so I was a little confused. . .

until we rounded the corner and saw the massive staircase, that leads to the huge underground area

empty, because all the Gondolas are currently on the ride

 

Q&A session down in the underground area. . .

they offered anyone who wanted to, could climb up on the walkway into the main control booth and take a look. ..

but as I'm not a fan of tiny walkways high off the ground?  I opted for another ride on the Safari while many in the group took turns going up to the control room.

this time I got my own car, and so was able to move back and forth to get some good pics.

my Gondola was Giraffe themed. .

again, such a beautiful park/zoo

I spy Erik taking a picture in the gondola before me

wait. .are those people over there in the distance with the Giraffes?

(answer. . yes, those are. . as we were to find out shortly)

the Bears were up and about this time. .

and using tree as a scratching post.

the Lions were also mostly up and prowling around their enclosure on this trip.

safari over, we were sent off on our own to enjoy the zoo. . . but first, they wanted to offer us another unique opportunity, if we were interested.

passing by the Chimps enclosure. . .   where were we going?

 

Safari Camp?

 

yes, you can actually camp out here at the zoo (on the grounds) as an option.

well. . hello there!

these were our guides at the Safari Camp area. . .

where not only can you pay to camp out, in pretty nice tents / campground. .

but you also get to get up close and personal with the animals we had seen from the Gondolas.

 

including feeding them.

i have an inkling, these Giraffes know that if there are people here?  they are gonna get food, as they all came up to the fence right away.

Ryan feeding a Giraffe!  

a baby!!!

 

I fed the baby

looking back at the campground (the Giraffes are behind me). . it's a nice set up, and would be fun to spend a night here for nature lovers.

our group that fed the Giraffes.

seems there's not all of us tho. . . what happened?  oh.. we split the group because half went to go see the Bears up close, while we did Giraffes, and then we swapped.

dawwwwwww !!!!!

yeah. . we didn't go feed this lady. . .LOL. . but we saw her thru the fence watching us.

then we headed over to the Bears. . .

 

Kristen told us all kinds of neat facts about Bears, while this guy sat there and ate non stop.  (I can relate).

hug a tree, save a cowboy.. . or something like that?

then we were cut loose to enjoy the rest of the day at the zoo, until it was time to meet up for ERT later on Wildfire.

it's a large zoo, with lots of animals, and some really nice enclosures.

in particular?  the Tiger enclosure really impressed me.

perhaps my favorite "warning" sign at  Kolmården - as you head down to the "sunken bus"

one would think they didn't NEED this sign. . but since they have it?  some fool clearly got too close to the bars

the tigers are everywhere! 

every time I thought I had seen them all?  I spotted another one.

towards the end of the afternoon, it was time to meet back up at Wildfire.

Didier and myself enjoying "Bench: the ride" - it's a very large park, with lots of hills.   it was a LOT of walking today

remaining general public thru the line, and time for ERT for TPR!

I really liked this ride, but could only ride it so many times.    The forces on this, combined with the restraints?  hit me just perfect on my bladder.

and literally every time I rode, I had to get off, and run to the toilet to pee.     LOL

after the 4th time in a row it happened, I started taking breaks between laps

but I did ride it, and I loved it, as prooved by Robb's rider cam!

all in all, a fantastic day, and the mask I wore most of the day really did seem to help the allergic reaction I was having to whatever is in the air in Sweden's wilderness.

after a great and exhausting day, we headed back to the bus for the drive back to Stockholm.

 

[bert425]

since the only Swag I got from Kolmården were these magnets,




I'll share some stealth pics I got of Colin testing out one of those silly pacifier lollipops we kept getting as treats.   

hopefully he won't kill me. . but c'mon. .these are great!  (I think he liked it?   I gave mine away as gifts)
 

 

[bert425]

Day 18: Tuesday, June 20th part 1 (of 3) - the magic place that is Grona Lund

 

woke up a bit giddy today, as today was the full day we'd be spending at Grona Lund!  (after seeing it every day from our hotel across the street, and getting just a taste on the night we arrived in Stockholm, with that surprise ERT on Monster).

we were met before park open at the front gates by one of the park owners (a SUPER nice guy), and handed off to a couple of guides who would be with us this morning for a while, walking us to certain things to get some rides in before park open.

we went in via, what I assume, was the original main gate to the park.   Over in the section with the smaller family/kiddie rides, and lots of games.

the original ticket booths for the park, I believe. . . just inside the main gate.

 

classic carousel. . small, but with some lovely carved animals.

seeing this pic, I realize, I never came back to ride this. . LOL. . I totally forgot it was i the park, as there are SO many other things to ride.

a mini drop tower. . if we count this one?  Grona Lund has a staggering FIVE drop tower rides.

a flying elephant ride. . this area really is lovely.

but we were headed up the stairs (a clever "bridge" that goes over a street) into the much bigger section of the park. . with all the thrill rides!

and "Mexican" food.. which sadly, I didn't try.   I was SO full from the snacking, and the wonderful dinner we were served, I just never got back to it.

but I do love the added touch of the painted grate, so the place looks open even when it's sealed up tight.

our first stop was going to be some morning rides on Monster!   (we hadn't ridden it in the daytime yet, so a wonderful first stop).  thru the Jetpass line, of course, even tho the park wouldn't open for a couple of hours yet.

whee!

I mentioned the other day, what's so amazing about Grona Lund is how the rides are all built seemingly on top of each other.

there are four different coasters in this pic. . main track is Monster, the white track is Insane, the blue track is Jetline, and the yellow track at the bottom of the pic is Vilda Munsen

after a few rides, I stepped out to take pics while others continued to ride.

Rarrrghh. . I'm a monster

Insane. .

the tunnel of love ride at the park. . that ended up being SO bizarre (one of several strange and bizzare rides at the park), that I rode it multiple times today.

the exit to the "it really WILL try to kill you" / "NEVER in America" funhouse.

looks harmless!

in this pic you can see two of the drop towers on the right, and the  Starflyer on the left.   and Jetline's 1st drop.

Funhouse on the left, tunnel of love on the right.   and Insane lurking on the upper right.

play with Grona Lund's famous Woody?    

oh My!

the Monster station is underground. . and I absolutely adore how they themed it to a subway stop.
 

even doing some great tilework on the part of the ride the General Public can see, as the train comes back into the underground station.

Morning ERT on Monster done, our guides walked us over to Insane. . . lovely scenery around this coaster.

it looks like an S&S freespin on steroids

(oh, it's much, much worse).

I rode it twice, only.  the first time I really disliked it.   so rode again to make sure. . and yup, I did not like that much flipping that's not sustained.    I mean, I LOVED Arashi at Nagashima Spaland (an S&S Freespin), but that's pretty consistent spinning.    Insane does a lot of spinning, with a bunch of rocking back and forth in between the spins.  and the forces due to the design simply weren't comfortable for me.  

glad I rode it, but yeah, not for me!

random theming viewable from the Insane station.

very pretty park!

all smiles - prior to my 1st ride.

stepping out to get my "land legs" back after my 1st ride.. snapped a few pics of others riding.

it really IS pretty photographic

are they having fun or screaming in agony?
 

as noted, the setting for the park is just lovely. . . turning my back to the ride, and enjoying the view

some rides at the park are built out onto piers - that seem to move with the water. . made for some fun ride experiences.

 

I believe this is thanks to Elissa - edit. . it's actually from Chuck!   Thanks CFC    

I don't appear to be in pain, and hell, it kinda looks like I'm having fun.   this is my 2nd ride, and I think perhaps Jon and I are laughing because we sat together on one side, and Ryan is by himself on the other. . so we were pretty off balance the entire ride like this.

HA!!! wonderful design for the old ticket booth (I guess the park used to be individually ticketed, as several rides had boarded up ticket booths by them).

 

I believe this is Icarus - the face first (no really) drop tower.

but here's where we were headed. . . Vilda Musen.  (and the Starflyer starting to test behind it).

we were gonna have some fun on this Gerstlauer Bobsled. . . TPR was gonna do the "water challenge"

a look into a section of the park that would open a bit after the main park opened.   that coaster is Kvasten (Broom). . a Vekoma suspended coaster that's themed to Witches flying brooms.    That whole section was "scary" with Blue Train, and the Haunted House located there as well.
 

before heading into the queue for the Vild Musen, I snapped a pic of the other drop tower that was across from us.

this is "Frit Fall" - a STAND UP drop tower on one side, and "Tilt" a tilting drop tower (think Acrophobia at SFOG for the angle of the tilt) on the other 3 sides.
 

again. . great theming everywhere!

and no. . this Queue Line stantion is NOT why I loved Grona Lund so much. . . .


but it didn't hurt. . . LOL

 

lots of cool art in the station for the Bobsled

tho you really have to be quite slim for this queue  (luckily we were there before park open, so bypassed the squeeze).

but I love how you can see the cars going up the lift hill via the windows in the station.

sure!   let's hold open glasses of water while riding this to see how much water is still in the cups after each ride.

looks smooth!   

looks like most of them did well. . . Sarah is smiling, tho Steve looks like he's got an empty cup.

looking down the entrance way from the queue.

stuff to look at everywhere!

I guess Jon lost. . . .

not everyone chose to participate. . .

tho Jere sitting behind myself and David was a poor choice!

LOL. . hey, I never said I'd be good at it.

end result of our ride

was hella fun, despite my face.. . and every time water hit Jere I was laughing. . .

(again, thanks either Elissa or perhaps Andy for this pic)

ha!  just realized Robb is in this pic.   I think I was trying to get the ironwork design of the sign.

the park was about to open, but our guides wanted to get us on one more coaster before that.

So we headed over towards Jetline, the park's custom Schwarzkopf

ooo. . very art deco over here.  

what is "Rock Jet"?    Why it's a rooftop Himalaya with lots of disco lights, of course! 

I'd come back later for this. . . and yes, it looked AMAZING at night.

retro cool Jetline entrance - thru a repurposed Diner car.

the woodie in the background here is Twister - it was closed for refurb work during our visit, so I'll have to go back to ride it.  Per the TPR Videos Robb has posted, it looks like a really fun coaster.
 

shiny/glittery trains. . .loved it!   (wish it showed up as sparkly in the pics)

oh.. forgot to mention that Barry has rejoined us!     I love the fact that even injured, he was determined (with Doctor's approval) to ride roller coasters.
 

SO MUCH twisted track.

 

whee!

Briefly stuck on the brake run. 

I blame Hanz . . .

this really was such a great coaster.   I rode it multiple times this morning, and also in the evening when we got a bit more ERT

that first drop is pretty steep, hence hanging on - tho I tend to hang on anyways.

I guess I should mention, that Jetline has been closed since just after our visit last year, due to a terrible accident where some folks were injured and killed.   I feel terrible for the park owners, and workers.  they are all such wonderful people, and I'm sure the accident weighs very heavily on them.

seeing these pics are a bit of a reminder to me to enjoy every day to it's fullest as you never know - the accident happened, I think, just 4 days after our visit.

 

great coaster. . hope it reopens.

end of ERT shot courtesy of Robb!

but before we were cut loose in the park (which was now opened), our guides asked us if we were interested in a workshop tour of the Insane Maintenance bay.

of COURSE most said "yes please!"

so we headed back over that way.

what is this???   very musical in the windows outside. 

is it a Rock and Roll store?
 

Nope. .  an indoor, disco Breakdance!  

oh yes.. would be coming back for this too.

but first?  behind the scenes at Insane

I love going "backstage".. we get to see all the cool stuff that the park employees get to see.

such as this amazing view.

the maintenance bay for Insane is *under* the ride.   

the sections of track (with a car on them) remove and drop down into the bay so they can maintain the ride, cars, etc.

very cool to see.

How many TPR group members does it take to tune up an Insane train car?


(the world may never know)
 

Ha. . as noted, I love seeing behind the scenes and what the workers like to leave laying around for fun.

 

Noted!   "Nermal" in Swedish is "Niemand" !
 

HA! 

wonder where this used to be in the park?

 

Knight butt. . . .

Moana????

yes, it's time for the Tunnel of Love. . which is themed (I think???) to gnomes/fairies/witches/smurfs? living in harmony. . . or something.

it's just fucking weird!

and yes, I LOVED it.

 

Hi Didier!

me being sad I'm going into Tunnel of Love all alone

it's a slow moving log flume, basically. . .

with fairy titties.

I didn't blur this on purpose. . the log seemed to speed up when I passed it. . .

and then suddenly, the fairies are gone, and there are gnomes baking.

for some reason. . .

and then it gets a bit Greek. ..

and Medieval.

like I said.. it's fucking weird.

see??

what was that???

let's ride again!

awww. .a lil fairy house.

hi Big Mike!!

so we did ride again, but then Big Mike and I had something else on our agenda that we simply had to do while we were in Stockholm.

yes, we stepped away from the park, crossed the street back to our Hotel, and visited the ABBA Museum (sorta).

coming up next. to be continued. . . .

 

[bert425]

Day 18: Tuesday, June 20th part 2 (of 3) - Voulez-Vous; off to the ABBA museum!

 

getting to the front of the museum, we were met with this sign.

sadly a pipe had burst overnight and flooded a lot of the museum (kudos to the clever wordplay and how quickly they got the sign up. . .tho it does make me wonder if this happens a lot??).   So probably 2/3rds of the Museum were closed to the public, as they did clean up and repairs.

as this was our only time to visit - and as they were offering a pretty substantial discount to enter (and I really mainly wanted the gift shop access anyways), we went ahead and decided to do it.   Tho with so much closed, what would have taken probably 2-3 hours, only took us about 40 minutes to do.

still. . worth it for the ABBA nerd in me.


 

one exhibit hall that was open was the whole section about the VR ABBA "the Voyage" show in England.   with lots of props, and info about how they scanned the band members in for the holographic performances.

yes, the fashion nerd in me (it's the gay gene) was all verklempt over these. .the sketches and the finished costumes.

Then downstairs to the main museum. . tho really all that was open were the final two rooms:  the "after ABBA" sections, really.

the stage sign from the final tour. . . only half lit, due to the water damage issue that took out power for much of the museum.

 

at least the B is lit. . . B is for Bert!

assorted licensed ABBA merch display.

 

and then it was onto the Post-ABBA rooms. . . starting with a photo op from the Land Rover from "Mamma Mia!". . no, really.  

 

no other option than to be Benny here. . but oh well. . .

wall of gold/platinum records

 

a wedding dress from the film. .

scale model of the main film set. .

Meryl Streep's ass sat here!   

it was roped off, but could peek into the prior room of the museum, that was all about the breakup and reason's why.

 

 

then onward to the separate sections about what each of the members did once the band split.   Pretty large, and interactive sections.  so this was quite interesting.
(tho only one minor mention of the big hit from this show "One Night in Bangkok"  which was surprising to me)

Agnetha's "Grammi" she won in 92 for a solo album
 

More Mamma Mia! stuff. . including the dress in the poster.

the layout of the full museum. . basically only the left 3rd of the map was open.   so I didn't get the Arrival Helicopter photo op.

oh well. . when I next go back to Grona Lund (and I WILL at some point, I hope), I'll do the rest of the museum.

 

a Potty break before heading back to the park, revealed rock n roll restrooms - themed to the backstage dressing rooms.

baby, I'm a STAR!

 

heh. . covid signs.. better than singing Happy Birthday.

 

 

up into the gift shop. . where I would spend way too much money!    But at least could run right upstairs and drop it in the room and not have to carry around the park.

not gonna lie. . I TOTALLY wanted this Mumu dress. . but it was silk, and they wanted way too much for it.

dressing room, again forcing you to be Bjorn. . .

and with a quick stop to the room to drop off purchases, we headed back over to Grona Lund!

to be concluded.

[bert425]

Day 18: Tuesday, June 20th part 3 (of 3) - back to finish off the night at the fantastic Grona Lund

On the way back in, stopping to snap a pic of the park map.

it LOOKS way smaller than it is, because things are just piled up on top of each other.   the big green area in the bottom right, is the parking lot the park announced plans in 2023 to expand into.

of course, my first stop on the way in was the Carousel. . .   Big Mike had other plans tho, he was missing the kiddie credit, "Tuff-Tuff Tåget"  (Choo-Choo Train).   So while he went to do that. . . Didier and I rode the Carousel.

my happy place.

his too, apparently

for such a small carousel, it's just lovely, and appears hand painted.

after my Carousel ride, I went over to the coaster to get proof of Big Mike riding it,

in talking to the ride op - who was a total hoot! - she said it's a ride that's way more fun than it looks, as the sharp turns give a "whip" effect.   She encouraged us all to ride it.
 

sooooooo. .  .

(and she was right, it was way more fun that I had looked.   and she let us ring the bell as we exited the station).

back over to Vilda Musen for a "water free" ride, and we bumped into Hans and Matthew

walking along the outside of the park, to get a different view of Twister

and a crane across the lake, painted like a Giraffe.  for some reason.    Sweden!

by going around the outside, we were gonna end up in the "haunted" section. . . and had also bumped into Andrew, sMisty, and Erik. . so we all headed that way together.

that's Kvasten ahead of us, the Vekoma suspended coaster.

whee. . .

in the SPOOKY section now.. had to stop for a photo op, tho apparently we were boiling nothing for dinner.

the flying carpet ride (not operating today) is over here for some reason. . . maybe they are tying in the Genie in the center of it with the spook/magic vibe of the area?

Gotta ride Blue Train. . this thing is SO messed up.    insanely silly, and with some needless nudity, and scary pop ups. . I adored it.  

rode this sucker at least 4 times on our trip.  

the name is brilliant.   it's BLUE. . and it's a Train.  see????

ooo. .scary!

that creature has got "lady parts" !!!

Scary!!!!

so silly, and so much fun.     every park should have a ride like this.   and Grona Lund has several!

the Starflyer doing it's thing from underneath Kvasten.

we were in line for the very well done walk thru Haunt.   I do believe that this is an upcharge attraction, but Elissa had arranged for us to all get admission (hence most of the group showing up here at a certain time).

they send you thru in groups of 6-8, and said pictures were ok, as long as it didn't hold up the flow.

it's got an outdoor section. . that's a group going thru the house up there on the balcony.

fly, bird, fly !!!!

now that bird knows what Fabio felt like, I suppose.

my group's turn. . .

howdy!   ready to be a scared. . .

nice mix of props, and live actors in here.

great effect. . .

choose your door carefully!

he's coming to get you, Barbara. . .

time for a birds eye view of the park on the starflyer.  they are VERY serious about no loose objects on this ride.   so only got pics from the queue, and before the ride started (with permission)

it really is in the middle of everything. . surrounded by Coaster track on all sides

that's Icarus doing it's thing back there. .

Jetstream ,the Bobsled, AND Insane, all with cars on the tracks in one pic.    that's a huge win for me, as I usually end up with no trains on the tracks

hard to see in this pic, but Icarus has now tilted at the top, and the riders are hanging face down.

a stage for musical performances. . .

but we next headed over to the dual drop tower: Frit Fall & Tilt

Hans & Matthew (and a very intense man who was wondering why I was taking his picture) chose to ride the "tilt" seated sides.

while Big Mike and I (and a terrified girl), chose the stand up "Fritt Fall" side.

 

it truly IS rather terrifying.   and of course they have a camera on this side to capture it.

I bought a magnet version, that came with a digital copy.

glad I did it, but never again.

walk around entertainment as well in this park.   Not a LOT of it, but we were there on a weekday.

in addition to lunch, snack, and dinner coupons, the park had gone all out and also gave us booklets of game coupons. 

the games were mostly hard, but there were some easier ones, and I think most everyone won some sort of prize.

while they played that ping-pong game, I went into the bathroom next to it. . .and made a discovery.

down a dark, bricked pathway/tunnel. . .

there's this.

just lovely.

 

and when you go to wash your hands?

yup. . a haunted toidy!

gah!

different mirrors have different creatures. . . LOL

 

I had waited long enough, I was ready for Ikaros - the face first drop tower.

again, some lovely art deco designs all around it.

all the way up to the top. . .

 

then, tilt forward. . so you will be hurtling face first towards the ground!

gahhhhhhhh. . . . .it truly is a terrifying experience.

and I absolutely LOVED it.

we got some ERT on it at the end of the night - along with the operator making us sing ABBA and other disco songs as we ascended - and I think I rode every cycle I was able to get in on.    scary, but THAT good.

and you get pretty close to the ground before the seats swing back out to "normal" position

even tho I know I'm a klutz, and the funhouse is a disaster waiting to happen for klutz'. . .I went ahead and did it.

it's a really good funhouse.  .and really ways to hurt oneself.  I didn't get a pic of the entrance, but it's a "moving" ladder, that you have to climb up. . potential for injury right from the start! 

but it's full of whimsical, and fun obstacles. . that one really can't go around.  you MUST go thru.

bouncing walkways. .

pitch black infinity rooms. . .

truly confusing mirror mazes. . . yeah, all in one funhouse!

and this is how you exit (the only option). . . you get a mat.

sit on the mat, on the platform. .

and the platform tilts, and shoots your ass down the slide!

um.. . . . whee ?

the view from the bottom. . .  and yes, that IS an airtime hill at the bottom of the slide.  

I told you, it's trying to kill you!

 

some of the prizes offered at the games. . . .I sucked at most of them.   but lots of people won.

here are some of them.

and Matthew ended up gifting me that pink monkey, and he hangs out in the comic room now

I used a snack coupon for this ice cream. . but I was so full from lunch still (earlier I had sushi and Chinese food from a floating barge/restaurant on the side of the park).

oh remember that rooftop Himalaya across from Jetline?

yup, I did go back and ride it.   very loud music, and fun.

with some nice, views of the Twister refurb going on.

ok then. 

 

not sorry I missed THIS boat.

I mentioned some rides were on floating platforms connected to the park? 

the octopus is one of them.

Blackfisken ?   LOVE that name.

and it looked amazing. . very steam punk.

that it "rocked" along with the waves as the pier moved made it that much more fun.

Erik & sMisty, goldballs, myself, and John say "wheeee!"

I think this pic is courtesy of Big Mike perhaps?  but he doesn't ride spinny stuff. . so maybe Matthew?

a better view of Icarus doing it's tilt thing from the side

and an offride pic of Fritt Fall / Tilt heading up with folks in the standing position.

and yes, we did go back for the indoor Breakdance.

not the most intense cycle on one of these I've ever been on (that would be the carnival in Belgium last year). . but inside, with loud music?  it sure felt intense and fun.

oooo..caught a "parade". . . at least rainbow mermaid bubble cart guy looks to be having fun!   and was happy to see me

 

this isn't the star flyer, but rather the flying Carousel that was on a floating pier.  (see that fun ticket booth in the background).

it's a nice pic, one of my faves from the trip.

the dinner was also excellent, in a restaurant built next to / into Monster - the supports for Monster go thru the restaurant and the train zooms really closeby outside.

wasn't super hungry, but what I had was good.

couldn't finish it tho.

after dinner another couple of rides on the relaxing "Blue Train"

and the Tunnel of Love. . . or "Karleks Tunneln"

freaky. .

I imagine this is what a camera doing a Colonoscopy sees. . . .

 

still naked. . still blurry. . LOL. .. you'll just have to imagine!

 

 

hey..I found Gene Simmons in a stairwell.

I guess KISS played the park at some point in the past?

as evening set in, the dancehall started filling up.   I swear this seemed to have the most people anywhere in the park this evening.

 

another bathroom with theme. . this one seems to be people who played the park.

seems someone tried to peel off Marilyn Manson, tho without much success

hey!  I finally won something!!  I found a game that was relatively easy - guns shooting corks at targets.   if you got a high enough score, you won a prize.

Barry, Didier, and Big Mike also trying out the cork guns.   makes sense, if Bert can win this one, must be fairly easy!

 

see?

LOL. . .Didier really wanted an animal to bring home, and was having no luck, so I gifted him my bear.  (I think that's why Matthew offered me his pink monkey later). . . I didn't mind tho, as I didn't really need another bear stuffie, I already had one from this trip from Tusenfryd
 

awwww. . . Barry and his bear.  

(totally should be his profile pic)

and then it was time to meet up for evening ERT over at Jetline.

(interesting, in this pic you can see the one drop tower I didnt' go on, operating.  it was the shortest of the park's offerings, so I didnt' mind skipping it, but it hadn't been running earlier when I went by it).

this made me laugh - especially since the "Knight Butt" painting was "backstage" earlier.

this is a lenticular, and depending on where you stood, Adam & Eve were more or less naked.

yup. .just on a wall in the middle of the park.

would have bought this in a second if on a magnet.

but made sure to snap a pic so I could print it out and make one.

 

ending ERT on Jetline . . got another group pic (thanks Robb).. then we headed over to Ikaros for some ERT.
(since I rode so much, my phone stayed put away in my bag. . so no pics)

 

 

then on the way out of the now closed park, we stopped for a group pic in front of Monster.

all in all, an EXCELLENT day.   

I was wiped out tho, in the morning we had to get up and would be traveling all day - including a flight to Finland.   

so we took the short walk across the street, and I showered and crashed hard.

 

[Electerik]

I love Gröna Lund so much.

Having said that, it would be nice if one of their 75 drop tower rides was an observation tower instead.

I'm just saying.

[bert425]

and here's Swag from Grona Lund & ABBA museum

Magnets from Grona Lund:

 

Magnets from ABBA museum  (and I bought sets for a friend too)

 

stuffed monkey gift from Matthew

 

and T-shirts from ABBA museum:

[teacherkim]

Looks like you had a really great time! If you liked the giraffes and haven't done it at BGT, you must do the giraffe excursion there. They take you out on the savanna in an open air truck and you get to feed the giraffes, no fence between you! They just stick their heads in the truck and you get to pet on them while feeding.

[bert425]

2 hours ago, teacherkim said:

Looks like you had a really great time! If you liked the giraffes and haven't done it at BGT, you must do the giraffe excursion there. They take you out on the savanna in an open air truck and you get to feed the giraffes, no fence between you! They just stick their heads in the truck and you get to pet on them while feeding.

I have!

Nick and I did that back in 2016

 

[teacherkim]

Awwwww, he looks like he was having a good time.  It was Steve's favorite thing he has ever done at an amusement park, lol.

[bert425]

Day 19: Wednesday, June 21st - Travel day!   From Sweden to Finland, were we were gonna spend a couple of days at the Northernmost Theme Park in the world.    And have the TPR Grand Prix!

it was sad saying goodbye to Stockholm, as I'd really enjoyed our time here, and what I'd seen of the City.  (and I LOVED Grona Lund).

but it was time to move on.  

before heading down to the lobby to meet everyone and head to the airport - we were flying today from Sweden to Finland - I finally DID remember to get a pic of the room at the hotel we stayed at.

(this is after Hans and I pushed the beds together. .for our stay we had separated them with the little tables in between).

not neat, but at least can see the room

pretty good size.

but with one of those annoying 1/2 showers, that this American always has trouble figuring out, and get a flood in the bathroom.

eventually I'll figure out how to use the hand shower without spraying all over everything.

waiting for our bus - we were saying goodbye to Didier today too, as he was leaving us at the airport - one final peek into the coffeshop/cafe connected to the hotel & ABBA museum.

I recall this being a good size airport (pretty crowded too) with plenty of shops to explore while waiting for our flight to be called.    I knew it was gonna be a small plane, as luggage for carry-on was really restricted.

but I was surprised.    I think this is the first plane I've ever been in with Propellers.

Snug fit. . but we all were on the flight - spaced out here and there in seats thruout the plane.   I ended up with a window seat, not my usual choice, but I didn't mind as was interested in looking out the window.

ok. .that's gonna freak me out a little.

not sure if this is leaving Sweden, or going into Finland. . . .but it sure is pretty.

 

landing in Finland. 

Can you tell???

this was hysterically a big, one room Airport.   with the bag claim and arrival on one side, and the "lobby" for departures on the other.

 

I'm in Finland.  yay!

no worries about which luggage carousel our bags would be on. . .there was only one. 

and I think we were the only arriving flight anyways.

Our new bus driver was waiting for us, and very quickly we were on our way.

the country side in Finland looks a lot like many of the other Scandi Countrysides I'd seen. . and very much like mid America as well.

for the most part.

some houses stood out.

many of them were painted Red with Yellow Door.   (I did ask about that, and was told that painting your home Red was a sign of Finnish Pride, as it was reflective of the Copper Mining the area was first known for).

the many fields of Finland

but then, seemingly in the middle of no where, this appeared on the horizon.  

The Power Park complex (depending which sign you looked at in the park)

all owned by the same folks - including that Road House, the complex contains a theme park, a big event center, a big 5D Cinema, a big Race Track - that can be configured for professional racing, as well as for full size go karts, mini-Golf course, and probably more!

the owner collects all kinds of stuff (I didn't go into the Road House during our visit, but those that did have pics of some of the James Bond Movie vehicles from in there).  

like this plane.

just displayed there, for some reason.   not sure if it's from a film?  but I'd assume it IS, and I should know that?

yes, one of the configurations of the Track DOES go around one of the coasters.

NEVER in America.

and look at the size of those grandstands. . they must draw quite the crowd for some races.

on the far right in the back, is our hotel (my room would end up at the farthest right, upper corner - overlooking the turns of the track, and what looked like no-longer-used grandstands).   Kinda spooky, but all kinds of weird too.

the front of the onsite Hotel.   There were other guests here, but mostly it was the TPR group.

kinda funky design, and the truck in front says "Power Park" so we're in the right spot.

one side of the hotel - there are apparently more buldings around the corner too (near the abandoned grandstands), but they weren't in use, I was told.

this hotel (called "Park Hotel" based on the name over the door on this side, has two entrances. . but the lobby is only on the other side, and the two sides connect via the Dining Room - which is only open for Breakfast and Dinner.  

funky, and I liked that it looked like we were gonna be staying inside a Koo Koo Clock.

large Pool (but not for swimming.. tho we did see a drunk guy get naked and jump in on the 2nd night), with Stingray sculptures (for some reason), surrounded by that building that was a sauna/bar/ snacks area.    

it DID get rowdy at night, even with not many folks in the hotel.

I remembered to take a pic of our room as soon as we got in it this time.

the "info about the hotel" booklet.

our room - with Hans enjoying the balcony

the view down from said balcony. . . there were folks racing.

we were planned to race tomorrow.  the TPR Grand Prix.  but the weather forecast wasn't looking great.    

I was looking forward to a nap before dinner, as it had been a really long day and I was exhausted.   (I can't remember why I was so tired. .maybe it was an early morning check out after closing out Grona Lund with ERT and so my adrenaline made it hard to sleep?  Or it could have just been the travel day - flights always stress me out a bit). . 

but when the park worked with Robb & Elissa to let us do our races this afternoon instead of possibly being rained out tomorrow?   I got perky again and we all headed over to the Race Track area of Power Park.

 

"Pit Lane Cafe" wasn't crowded at all. . .but the had some snacks to purchase if anyone was hungry, while we filled out all the forms and insurance things before we could race.

this..did NOT make me want to eat one of the ice creams. .

It's the Leif Garrett Smile and the Ascot/Pink Hanky that does it, I think. . . .LOL

I was in Group 2 racing, so I stepped out front to get some pics of the park.

I actually rode everything here. . including that Orange and Yellow thing that really scared the crap out of me.   but I rode it.
(I guess that's the same ride as Catwoman's Whip at SFStL ?)

the starflyer runs in two modes, slow spinning for "observation" or fast spinning for "thrill". . you can line up for which one you want, and the operator sets the cycle based on which line she's loading from.   Rather cool, I thought.

(this might be another restaurant on the left, below. . .wasn't open that I saw, but probably most of their business comes during races.

 

stepping out on the other side of the cafe over the track.  you can see one of the Grandstands by our room over there in the distance, as well as some of the ones that looked abandoned, and the other hotel buildings on the left back there.

as noted, there were other folks there racing, so snapped pics of them while waiting for our turn

and the coasters running in the background.

as mentioned by (I think) both Chuck and Erik in their reports - that tangled mess of track back there is actually TWO Gerstlauer Eurofighters, that are next to each other (one launch, one vertical lift) that the park painted the exact same color. . so it looks like one giant coaster.   HAH!

 

and then it was our time to go down to the lockers and get dressed for the TPR Grand Prix!

they are serious.. as these are almost full size carts, with high speeds.  

Can be dangerous, so you must wear protective suit, and headgear, and glasses, etc.

I'm ready to go tho!

so is Hans.

damn..everyone looks good in their suits.   Except me.   I look like a potato

taking pics of Group 1 racing while waiting for our race.

 

which car is Robb?    the one with the Go-pro attached!

a pic of Elissa taking pics of the group racing.

 

Each Group got two races.  a first race, and then a 2nd race depending on your placement - with the top speeds, or the lower speeds.

so here you can see who is who based on the car numbers at the top.

all these pics are, I believe, from Elissa, or possibly Chuck.

30: Kristen
3: me
11: dunno who that is. . maybe Hans?
23: Brad

1: Ryan

7: Brayden

9: Big Mike

5: Stephen

3: Me

Big Mike & me

yeah. .  after seeing some of the others "spin out" and realizing these go REALLY fast - and I don't recall there being a great seatbelt! - I decided to just enjoy my driving, and take my time.   So I came in last.   but I had a great time regardless.

Park employees were out on the track too helping with wrecks, as there were a few big ones (but no injuries).

after both groups raced, the losers got to race again, with the winner of this group getting to run in the final laps with the winners.

as you can see, I still came in last, but at least I had fun!    (and Robb, who was filming everyone, had slower average than me. . so yay! I wasn't the slowest!. . LOL).

 

I think this is courtesy of Chuck.

it's a picture of Elissa, taking a picture of Robb, while Robb is filming, and I'm just happily puttering along enjoying my ride.

Jon in 24, me in 8

oh well!  

the "safety" signs down in the pit. . .

and this wonderful mural they had painted on the wall of one of the garages.

Racing done, it was time to eat.    (by the way the inside of the Koo Koo Clock hotel facade?  the inside was SUPER weird. . designed and themed like a 1940's passenger ship.  it was so funky).

heading into the dining room (after showering and changing), you can see the breakfast buffet area.   Only used in the morning, the rest is table service.

a player piano, up on the stage.   for some reason.   mixed in with the lighting and instruments. . and yes, it was playing while we were there.

closer look at the dining room.

you can see how "non busy" it was. . . but dinner did still take about 2 hours.    That seemed to be the custom, really long waits between courses, and taking the time to enjoy.

not really an issue, but once we realized that every meal with a server would be that way, at least knew what to expect.

the food was great tho. . .  1st course, Escargot

 

Andrew had this (he was sitting next to me)

yeah. . doesn't look appetizing, I know. 

I mean. .it LOOKS really bad, but it was very, very good.

a non-super sweet desert.  I think it was a Mousse over a Panna Cotta?    I do remember liking it, but noting it wasn't sweet.
 

Cheating a little, as Elissa didn't hand these out until the next night's dinner.

but we all got a participation medal! 

how cool is that?

then as I was totally exhausted, and dinner took so long, it was actually pretty late.. like almost 10pm.    So I headed up to the room, while others headed over to the bar, or over to the Road House, or just to relax.

 

I was asleep, so I DO believe these next few pics are from Brad or Chuck - who shared to the trip group, so I swiped them and have them on my camera roll.

the sun setting. .probably around 1am.

as noted, i was already well crashed. . . we had a FULL day tomorrow at Power Park.

but the travel day was good, and Grand Prix was a blast.

This kind of day is another reason why I love going on TPR trips.

[teacherkim]

Looks like a super fun, unique experience! We had a couple tiny airports like that in Peru, lol.