Day 17 - Warsaw

Want to skip the history? - Scroll down to the black text.

...Winter 2010

My daughter exercising downhill all disciplines. Family activities is very much about skiing in winter. Unfortunately there are no ski slopes in Stockholm that are much larger than a big road damage. This means that training must be routed to another place. I have not been able to stand on pair of skis since 2007, so my interest in standing and shivering on a ski slope is limited. It's certainly fun to watch my daughter compete, but there are many hours on your feet for at best see the two runs.  

I had decided, I have nothing to do at any ski resort. It was an incredible pounding at home if I would come along to Åre on winter break. I gave up, on one condition, I would go snowmobile. Said and done, I bought a used scooter. Artic Cat 660 Turbo Touring. 

A week before we were scheduled to go, my daughter fell in a Super G training. It behaved no better than she broke her leg and got the whole leg in plaster.  

But to Åre we should go anyway. It was booked and paid for, and I had my scooter. 

Ambulance
My new task, act ambulance. I could not very well let the girl sit at home when everyone else was out. You may go snowmobile with Dad instead my wife said. I could barely get the scooter out of the trailer, then I would budge on an invalid and myself on the scooter. When I sat down and started the engine, ready to go, I was shaking in my whole tired body. 
After a short rest, we went at a slow pace up the mountain on the other side of the Lake in Åre. It was very loose snow, and risky to get stuck. When powder snow is meter deep must drive the scooter quite actively to not get caught. Got stuck, we did not, but we turned over in deep snow. We did not hurt ourself s, but the daughter's plastered leg was trapped under the scooter. I lay for a moment and laughed with her in the snow. Then I started thinking about how we would get back on track.

First I dug up invalid, and dragged her off a bit. I found while her crutches in the snow, what she would have the added. Snow cover was to my armpits. Then I kept on digging an hour to get off the scooter. I had no shovel, so it was a craft for real. When I got up the scooter in our old track, it was just one task left. Getting the constant talking and commanding invalid who sat comfortably in a snowdrift, up on the machine again.. 

I had absolutely no strength left, but I could not leave her there. I rested a while, then I rescued her too. When we got to the cottage, the others assist me with getting the clothes off.. A beer, then I slept for 12 hours.

I meet a smiling ray of sunshine at breakfast. 

Dad, I want to go snowmobile again today, you promised that I would get to drive. 

HELL NO!!!
To be continued... 

____________________________

Today at the Rehab 

Training
Training as usual up to lunch. Dagmara tried another set-up in Redcord, to strength neck-muscles. It felt good.

When I look at the pictures, I can understand why my wife was laughing.

I also went through my standard exercises in the gym. Everything of cause with green tea between in the breaks.

Warsaw
We where I picked up for transport to Warsaw at 14:00. The journey takes just over 2 hours.

The time of transport was generous, so we decided to eat something at the hotel restaurant. It had passed more than 4 hours since lunch, with my diet, I need to have food regularly. I looked at the menu, everything looked very good. I examined each dish on the menu, there was nothing I could eat, by the way, feta salad can work. My wife ordered a Club Sandwich, and a beer. I had my green tea. 

I ordered the salad. It was served with plenty of dressing over the entire dish. Mustard vinaigrette, actionable good, but forbidden. I tried to find the few vegitables that escaped drowning in dressing. I was enough energy in the salad to get through the afternoon.

The press conference was obviously in Polish. Although I have been in Poland three times I have consequently also learned three words in Polish, which of, thanks, were one of them. 

When it was time for me to go up on stage, I realized that the moderator told the press that we would change the language to English, and then she made a short presentation of me in Polish. 

Dzięki

Then she handed the microphone to me. I waited on purpose some extra time before I started talking.

Dzięki Agnieszka. (I said on understandable Polish) The congregation burst into laughter. 

Maybe the Swede was Polish after all.