We woke in a leisurely fashion, not having anywhere to be, and lit a fire and had breakfast.
Christian had to pick up Andy, Jen and Charlie from the station, and so we got ready to go out. Meelis, Ali, Alex and I were going to walk into the village to try and find out about ski hire and about buses to get to Tynset.
A few steps out onto the road told us that the ice was pretty much impossible to walk on. We tried to set off all the same, and Christian followed very flowly behind in the car. Alex spotted that he'd stopped. He'd slid off into the ditch.
We made our way gingerly back up the hill, and helped him get the odd rubber chains onto the wheels. Our lovely neighbours went past, noting that the conditions were pretty terrible, and that the woman's father had recently ended up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. She gave us the number for roadside recovery. At this point, Meelis had the presence of mind to ring the ski hire place and find out if they were open. They weren't. It was all a bit chaotic, so I went back to the cabin to get the shovel in an attempt to break up the ice.
When I got back, I discovered that the chains hadn't really helped, and the car was more stuck than before. Credit to Christian, he knew he was beaten, and sought help by calling the roadside assistance number. It would cost us, so he then checked our travel insurance to see if we could claim the recovery. Turns out we couldn't.
Ali and Alex decided to continue into the village, but I opted to stay and help Christian. To add insult to injury, the gritter came up the hill at this point, but couldn't get past the Tesla. Christian let Jen and Andy know that he might be a bit late picking them up.
After a number of phone calls, the recovery people were coming, at horrendous cost, and he went to wait for them. I went back to the house, sticking my head out the front window to check on progress every now and then. I had a wrap for lunch, and made one for Christian.
The recovery man came, and had brought the wrong vehicle, because he hadn't bothered to listen to Christian's directions. He went back to get the other vehicle, at even more cost. In the end, in consultation with the recovery guy, the gritter pulled the car out backwards with his tractor, after having got him to drive further into the ditch in order to get past him. Christian asked me to give the gritter a bottle of wine for his troubles. He was a sweetie.
So, at this point, Christian could actually go to Tynset on the gritted road to collect Jen and Andy. They stayed in town to get the additional shopping, which took quite some time.
Ali and Alex got back, having had a nice lunch in the hotel. Someone pointed out as it got dark that there were amazing things happening in the sky. We all went to take photos.
Meelis went back to bed, Ali went upstairs, and Alex fell asleep on the sofa. Christian arrived back with the shopping, and so I walked down the now passable road to meet him at the gate (for which we realised there was a pass card) to help carry it up.
When we got back, there was still no one in evidence to help bring it in and unpack it. Alex appeared, and offered to cook an eggs and spinach dinner in recompense.
Christian relaxed for the first time that day, and we sat on the sofa until bed time.
So it turned out I hadn't actually achieved much that day, but it was certainly action-packed.
A few steps out onto the road told us that the ice was pretty much impossible to walk on. We tried to set off all the same, and Christian followed very flowly behind in the car. Alex spotted that he'd stopped. He'd slid off into the ditch.
We made our way gingerly back up the hill, and helped him get the odd rubber chains onto the wheels. Our lovely neighbours went past, noting that the conditions were pretty terrible, and that the woman's father had recently ended up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. She gave us the number for roadside recovery. At this point, Meelis had the presence of mind to ring the ski hire place and find out if they were open. They weren't. It was all a bit chaotic, so I went back to the cabin to get the shovel in an attempt to break up the ice.
Ali and Alex decided to continue into the village, but I opted to stay and help Christian. To add insult to injury, the gritter came up the hill at this point, but couldn't get past the Tesla. Christian let Jen and Andy know that he might be a bit late picking them up.
After a number of phone calls, the recovery people were coming, at horrendous cost, and he went to wait for them. I went back to the house, sticking my head out the front window to check on progress every now and then. I had a wrap for lunch, and made one for Christian.
The recovery man came, and had brought the wrong vehicle, because he hadn't bothered to listen to Christian's directions. He went back to get the other vehicle, at even more cost. In the end, in consultation with the recovery guy, the gritter pulled the car out backwards with his tractor, after having got him to drive further into the ditch in order to get past him. Christian asked me to give the gritter a bottle of wine for his troubles. He was a sweetie.
So, at this point, Christian could actually go to Tynset on the gritted road to collect Jen and Andy. They stayed in town to get the additional shopping, which took quite some time.
Ali and Alex got back, having had a nice lunch in the hotel. Someone pointed out as it got dark that there were amazing things happening in the sky. We all went to take photos.Meelis went back to bed, Ali went upstairs, and Alex fell asleep on the sofa. Christian arrived back with the shopping, and so I walked down the now passable road to meet him at the gate (for which we realised there was a pass card) to help carry it up.
When we got back, there was still no one in evidence to help bring it in and unpack it. Alex appeared, and offered to cook an eggs and spinach dinner in recompense.
Christian relaxed for the first time that day, and we sat on the sofa until bed time.
So it turned out I hadn't actually achieved much that day, but it was certainly action-packed.
No comments:
Post a Comment