With the Volvo P1800S to Sweden - a childhood dream comes true
My first car was a Volvo 123 GT. At the age of 18, I already had the dream of driving this car to Gothenburg in Sweden. However, things turned out differently. After an accident, I sold the car with a heavy heart. Many years later, I bought a Volvo P1800S and spent two years restoring this car and making it really roadworthy. The dream of taking a trip to Sweden sprouted again.
So on June 11, 2017, I set off alone from Männedorf on Lake Zurich to Gothenburg in Sweden. I had planned the trip so that we (the car and I) could travel to and visit as many countries and automotive sights as possible. In addition to a few spare parts and tools, there was also plenty of space for our luggage.
During the three weeks, the 1968 car and the 1961 driver covered 5350 km, mainly on country roads. We stayed overnight in hotels or small guesthouses.
The journey took us to the north of France, via Luxembourg, along the Moselle to the legendary racetrack in Spa Francorchamps. We visited Liège and Antwerp in Belgium with its impressive harbor. The journey continued to Holland, where we visited the Louwmann Museum in The Hague as one of the highlights.
A short detour took us to the race track in Zandvoort. We reached Malmö in Sweden via spectacular structures such as the Afsluitdijk, which separates the Ijsselmeer from the North Sea, the Storebelt Bridge in Denmark and the Öresund Bridge.
Along the coast, we visited several smaller airplane and car museums and were also able to take a photo of the Königsegg headquarters in Ängelholm.
When we arrived in Gothenburg, I visited the Volvo factory where my P1800S was manufactured. At the Volvo Museum, I was able to talk to the director, who provided me with information about my vehicle in the factory archives.
The journey continued to the Saab Museum in Trollhättan and the Motor Museum in Motala was also well worth a visit.
Via Jönköping, where the nearby Husqvarna Museum provides an insight into the company's eventful history, the journey took us through the glass region (Kosta, Boda, Orrefors) to the island of Öland, where I was able to experience the traditional Swedish solstice festival.
We said goodbye to Sweden in Trelleborg and reached Rostock after six hours on the ferry. After a few stops in eastern Germany, we reached Zwickau with the August Horch Museum.
Via the three-river city of Passau, we finally drove to Munich, where a visit to BMW and the Deutsches Museum were on the program.
In the end, Simon (the car) and I arrived safely back at our starting point after 21 accident-free days, without a breakdown, with many wonderful encounters and experiences, great weather luck and around 2500 photos in our luggage.
We saw many admiring glances and thumbs up and made the long-cherished dream come true ...
