Remember, that I was actually doing this tour with a 24-year-old car, which had cost me 700 euros. Taking these facts into account, things had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Of course there had been some problems. The Volvo was consuming around 0,5 litres of oil per every thousand kilometers. The fuel tank lock had jammed and I actually had to break in to be able to refuel. The ABS brakes weren’t working. In fact the break pads in one wheel were loose and were making an awful sound. Some support rubbers were worn out and either the engine or the gearbox was shaking against the body of the car. And during the past month or so the car had never started at the first attempt.
But at least I was moving forward, until climbing a steep hill to a bridge. That’s when the engine suddenly went out and all possible warning lights came on. The car simply refused to start and I was blocking half of a lane in the afternoon traffic jam.
I called a local towing company and asked for recommendations for repair shops. I was told everywhere that they had no more times available, but when I told them about my project of visiting all municipalities during one summer and said that it was imperative for me to continue my journey the following day to succeed, one of them agreed to make room in their schedule.
After paying 140 euros for the tow job, I was at the workshop. After 30 minutes of investigating came the verdict: the fuel pump has called it a day. For 250 euros they would have the car ready for me by noon the following day.
This was the first time when I really considered quitting my crazy attempt and sending the damn Volvo to the scrapyard once and for all.
But I’m not a quitter. I told them to fix the poor thing, booked a hotel room and called my local friends for a night of drinking.
And this is me heading towards the city centre and the bars!