Saab Festival 2019 - Review Part 1: Approach to Trollhättan

It's been two months since the Saab Festival ended in Trollhättan. A rainy but still terrific weekend, which deserves a final report. High time to complete one of the most important Saab events in line with the blog!

Our little Saab column
Our little Saab column


Thursday, 6:00 a.m., the alarm clock rings early. Even if the starting point of arrival is in Hamburg, it is still just over 700 km to the destination - an early departure also ensures that you don't get stuck in the Hamburg rush hour. At least that's the theory - which we have to put aside after 10 minutes of driving. Traffic jam. Naturally. Hamburg is the city with the most traffic jams behind Berlin and Munich, the permanent construction site A7 could be a not insignificant reason. The small convoy, consisting of a 900i and 9-3 SC, first warms up while standing.

Just 20 minutes later then free ride. There is nothing in the way to Trollhättan. It goes briskly direction Puttgarden, in Denmark take the Saab sightings jump. Scandinavian is typical with 110 km / h to the port of Elsinore.

A Swiss dream

Hardly arrived at the ferry dock follows the first automobile highlight of the tour. While we wait for our passage at the counter, a Bordeaux-red 900 Aero rolls on. Typical pithy turbo sound fills the check-in area. As it happens, all three Saab are assigned to the same lane. A young guy gets out, we're right by the door and sneaking around the cars. He has been on the road for a few days and has taken the long journey from Switzerland. He quickly admits that he was looking forward to the German Autobahn. Finally give the Aero the deserved run out before it gets more civilized again in Scandinavia.

The Swedish customs

So it goes on the whole ferry trip, and in the end only the Swedish customs can separate us. The red Saab is waved directly out and we are questioned. What we want in Sweden? We answer truthfully with the visit of the festival. The lady of the customs looks irritated. Festival? In Trollhattan? She knows nothing about that. We explain briefly, but the irritated look remains. Whether we want to belong together she still wants to know. We say no, but probably could have answered yes to the answer as well. She lets us pass and we leave the red turbo behind at customs.

In the early evening we arrive in Trollhättan. Finally. After just under 30 degrees on the way there it cools down in Trollhättan within a few minutes. Three rainstorms later and zack - 16 degrees and wind. It gets uncomfortable. Just eat something, refuel and go to the accommodation - so at least the plan. Justus has found a special kind of accommodation. Even in his accommodation - Saab first! His landlord greets him with the words "I think I built your car". Instead of introducing itself by name, the model year of the 900 has priority. Only later it turns out that Per (sometime we know his name after all) worked in the 80er years at Saab on the assembly line for the 900er. A former Saab employee as landlord - and the festival. What is better?

A visit to Saab ANA

Later that evening, we head for a gas station at the former Saab ANA building. Instead of 5 minutes we spend almost an hour at the pump. Blame are the countless Saabs that rush through the huge roundabout every few seconds. Various 9-3 Griffin models, newly restored 9000er, tuned 9-5er and classic 96er.

We stop counting after a few minutes, it's just useless. It's one of those brief moments in which it almost seems Saab has never been away. So many Saab - a dream. And the festival has not even started yet. But the big BMW logo on the ANA building quickly brings us back to reality. Enough of the reverie. The cars have been full for a long time. So collect all credit cards and back to the accommodation. Finally there are enough highlights waiting for us!

13 thoughts on "Saab Festival 2019 - Review Part 1: Approach to Trollhättan"

  • Thanks for the sunny journey. Now I'm really looking forward to the meeting ...

    To my shame, I must confess that I am particularly curious about the tuned 😉

    This is virtually no issue in D under SAAB drivers. Except maybe a little stag and other rather unobtrusive and unspectacular optimizations. In this respect, I find the left wing within the group of Swedish SAAB drivers really spectacular - so pure out of curiosity of course. I like my SAAB for everyday and travel.

    * left in the sense of fast lane

  • Great written, great video. Would also like to have been there. The lady from customs asks what you want to make Sweden wondering. Surely you would not have been the only ones who were there.

  • Hello to the Saabgemeinde.
    Great report and so safe to experience only with Saab. Simply terrific. I haven't been to Trollhättan for a long time. But the report makes the city and the remnants of our brand a little more palatable to visit. The “Jalla factions” will certainly not experience such an experience.
    All Saabiisten have fun and joy with their cars

    • Jalla fraction? ? ?

      I am interested in lingual and social science, have exhausted the Duden dictionary, my wife (including a degree in German and a teacher), my children (including at least one puberty) and also Google ...

      ... but received no answer as to what that should actually be. Only Google offered me a single and very questionable hit under the counter question, "Did you mean Jalla faction". A single hit on Google? ? ?

      Dear Björn,

      please help me better understand your comment. What are the “Jalla Fractions”?

      Thanks in advance
      H. Hürsch

      • You won't find anything in the Duden because the word is written with “Y”: Yalla. It originally comes from Arabic and was Youth Word of the Year in 2012. The word (Yalla fraction) is optionally used to describe certain youthful or migrant milieus. The connotation is not necessarily positive ...

        • Thank you for the enlightenment, but understand who wants.

          Sometimes the “do-gooder” is chosen as the bad word of the year because it is supposedly only used to defame voluntary and free (ergo politically wanted) civic engagement in circulation.
          And in the same decade, other words are being awarded for their defamatory quality?
          That's probably confusing. Very confusing.

          Nice that here articles and comments are rarely written in the style of the recent cry.

      • Hello Mr. Hürsch
        In our area, the term is a “loving” and not an evil term for BMW, Audi and Mercedes cars driven (mainly) by young migrants. It is also not a rating, just a fact that such brands are driven by such people in Lower Saxony. I have a friend who is Syrian. He himself calls many of his compatriots Jallas and laughs. So everything is not meant bad or bad.

        • Not bad and not meant evil? A question of interpretation and the corresponding political movement certainly does not positively endorse this term. I do not want to misidentify people with a migrant background, nor will I tolerate right-wing thinking on the blog.

          For this reason, the comment function for this post is closed.

    • Dear Björn,

      Could you please explain yourself in more detail about the term “Jalla fractions”? You may not be familiar with the defamatory, (everyday) racist connotation. Please be advised of this.

      What such - possibly unintentionally used - terminology and thought patterns have to do with attending a car meeting is beyond my horizon.

    • An Attentive Reader 😉 The sequel was intended for another part of the series, the more beautiful it has been found!

  • Great cover picture, great pictures and film, great report, very interesting and stimulating! And of course a great festival - which unfortunately I couldn't take part. So I'm all the more looking forward to the continuation of the long-awaited participation report! 🙂

  • Wow, that's a great title bid. Thanks for the (long-awaited) report - I'm looking forward to the sequel 😉

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