When Svan hit a gate
- 29 Jun 06, 04:55 PM
HAMBURG - Disaster struck this afternoon.
We were on our way to visit Ricco's grandparents, almost there, when an approaching car forced Ricco to move over to one side of the narrow lane.
As Svan pulled away, at an extremely modest speed I must say, an unmistakable and unwanted sound could be heard coming from the rear of the vehicle.
A quick inspection confirmed our worst fears.
The rear right corner had indeed had an unfortunate collision with a metal gate and I have to say that, as seems to happen when Sven meets Big Phil Scolari, our Svan had come off the worst.
A decent sized chunk was missing from the side of the vehicle. That I could live with.
The real problem was a grey panel that runs along the rear of the vehicle hanging limply towards earth looking most sorry for itself.
The grey panel houses the rear indicators - and a mass of electric cables has been dislodged.
We parked up at Ricco's grandparents. They seemed somewhat bemused by the whole incident and started a lengthy search for the number of a mechanic.
Ricco's grandad is 92 and only stopped driving two years ago. Needless to say, he is no stranger to a mechanic who specialises in bodywork.
The first guy we tried could not help - had the look of a man who decided upon first glance that this was not the job for him - and by this time bumps in the road had resulted in the entire gray panel hanging loose.
Ricco removed it completely with a screwdriver and disconnected the few cables that remained intact.
We then drove 20 kilometres to without any rear indicators in order to find a garage that can help.
Maybe in time this whole episode will seem quite amusing but I was not laughing as I stuck my arm out time and again to indicate a right turn.
We're currently parked on the forecourt of a Fiat garage somewhere in Hamburg. Tomorrow we hope they can do a patch-up job to get us through the rest of the trip.
They seem confident enough and like many Germans we have met have gone out of their way to help us. A cable with electricity, for example, now runs from the garage to Svan.
It is very much a case of fingers crossed as 350-odd kilometres lie between us and Saturday's kick off in Gelsenkirchen!
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Lets hope there aren't many substitute parts, cos as we all know when Sven meets Big Phil Scolari, they can turn out to be very expensive!
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I have a car.
And my mum lets me go out until 8pm, even on weeknights, so there.
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Fletch u never fail to amuse
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I knew hamburgers are nice!
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Sorry to hear about your accident; I hope you'll make it to Gelsenkirchen on time. The stadium is just about 10 miles from my home, and I hope you'll enjoy yourselves in the region.
When you are in Gelsenkirchen, don't miss out on . The area is an excellent example of a formerly industrial complex that is now home to many cultural events, exhibitions and startup companies, and yet preserves the fascinating industrial architecture. Kokerei Zollverein is World Heritage.
The neighbouring town of Essen has recently been awarded the title "European Capital of Culture 2010", representing the whole region. So, there is lots to discover.
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I hope you recover from your accident.
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Boo
Guess who?
First time reader, First time writer,
Think the blog is hilarious, hope u solve ur problem, a lot of beer always seems to do the trick for me :)
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Like the thought of you checking out my new hometown, Essen. It's a nice place. If you're into art, you might like to visit the (CDF was one of the most important romanticist painters in Germany, quite famous).
The city centre has some nice pubs, too (Kennedyplatz), which also show the matches.
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"Hmmm...
Don't worry, it will polish out" as my collegue used to say when a broken car came back to the office.
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When you write that the old man is "needless to say, no stranger to a mechanic who specialises in bodywork", what, exactly are you implying?
We should be told.
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Essen european capital of culture 2010 you say?
Now that my friends is German organisation and planning for you :)
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Happened to us a couple of weeks ago in Frankfurt when we smashed the mirror on our brand new camper van 5 mins after picking it up. Went up to Hannover for Italy v Ghana and had a new mirrored ordered and with us the following day. Germans could not have been more helpful.
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I think i was just your bad day.
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@ Justin:
Although I'd love to claim it for Germany: this is , I guess :-) In the national preselection, Essen and Görlitz came out top. These two cities then competed on a European level for the title.
But I think the local OC really is fantastic; they did a great job at getting many people and institutions involved. This is .
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Shouldn't it be Big Phil Skoda-ri? ;)
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You guys were driving Svan on the RIGHT hand side of that narrow street, were you?
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When things get tough, just whistle the song... (you know the tune)
Onward English Soldiers
Marching as to war
With the cross of England
Going on before
Becks the football master
Leads against the foe
Forward on to Berlin
See our heroes go
(Refrain) Onward English Soliers..etc
Rooney, Crouch and Lampard
Neville, Carrick, Cole
Rio, John and Stevie,
Joe Cole - What a goal!
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When things get tough, just whistle the song... (you know the tune)
Onward English Soldiers
Marching as to war
With the cross of England
Going on before
Becks the football master
Leads against the foe
Forward on to Berlin
See our heroes go
(Refrain) Onward English Soliers..etc
Rooney, Crouch and Lampard
Neville, Carrick, Cole
Rio, John and Stevie,
Joe Cole - What a goal!
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Many thanks for the words of support.
Let me tell you, as I write this from the salubrious garage forecourt with sirens going off in the background, that I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow.
I would also like to add that I have been across the comments posted by Roberto Carlos Alvarez-Galloso throughout the tournament and I am loving the fact that you are wishing us well!
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I hope you got the obligatory
'Right turn Clyde!'
at every opportunity...
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Good stories, sounds like you are having fun, even denting the Svan! Some interesting world cup blogging going on too.
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I'm a Brit living in Germany and manage a repair network of 600 Paint & Bodyshops. If you are struggling to get a repair done I can organise one quickly and even put you in a courtesy vehicle until it's done if you like. We have several specialists in Hamburg. Drop me a line by e-mail if we can help.
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I hope you feel better soon.You guys must don`t know who I am,becouse it is my first time to visit this blog,
and I am a Taiwaness~
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Come on guys!!! I was the one who came up with the name "Svan" so I feel like its my baby out there!!! take care of him and give him a kiss from me!!!!!
haha
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If it's any consolation, we filled up our Motor±«Óãtv with petrol in Nuremberg the day before the Ghana - Czech Republic game in Koln which we had tickets for.
Like you the Germans were so hopeful it was un-true, we got a van towed to a garage in Nuremberg, and the Mechanic came in early on the day of the match to drain the tank, and thankfully we managed to get to koln Just in time (the National Anthems were playing as we ran through the gates!!)
So your not the only ones to have such adventures!
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Just put a trailer light board on the back
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"...entire gray panel hanging loose"
Gray, gray!
I'm sorry have you turned American all of a sudden - spell check not working!
This is not the sort of slip-up we expect from the ±«Óãtv ;o)
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@Andrew
Well, they spelled 'quandary' wrong the other day, if you please. I was shocked to my very core.
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