More road trip horror stories from our readers
— -- In 2005, my wife, Susan, and I and another couple decided on a Scandinavian driving trip vacation. We would fly to Helsinki, ferry to Stockholm, drive to Gothenburg, ferry to Denmark and finish our road trip there.
Our first 100 miles traveling west was uneventful. We then slowly drove into the quaint, beautifully restored foundry village of Fiskars.
I parked the car on the top of a small embankment. We toured the town for about an hour, then it was time to be on our way. I started up the car, stepping down on what I thought was the brake — but it was really the clutch. The car would not stop, and slowly we began to go over the embankment. Our spouses screamed, and my friend grabbed for the car ceiling, hoping to control his fall. I expected the car to tumble front first onto its roof.
Suddenly, the car stopped, the two front wheels in mid-air. A large rock, meant to keep the embankment wall from deteriorating, had come loose and had wedged its way under the car, stopping the vehicle. We all got out, very carefully, at the same time. We assumed the car would ultimately flip over and be severely damaged.
We headed for the Fiskars Factory Store. The manager quickly understood our predicament — he had only to look out his front door — and began to make phone calls. While there was a Finland Auto Association, their trucks were either tied up with a large accident or not available. The store manager called the town engineers, and they sent out a truck driver in about an hour.
After the truck driver surveyed the situation, he came back to us, shaking his head. He needed help. He returned with another driver and a fork lift. The fork lift approached the car from the front, to lift and level it with the rear wheels and to ultimately put it back into the original parking space. Up into the air and back the car went. No damage could be found, even when the under carriage was examined. All efforts to reward our new-found Finnish friends were refused. They waved as we left (I was not driving this time!)
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