Driving Miss Daisy

Been here almost a year now. And it's time to TRY and get a Swedish driving licence. One of the pitfalls of not coming from an EU land is that my good old Kiwi driving licence ain't worth squat here after a year. No cross crediting, no reduced testing, it's the full monty for me. I've figured out now that everything takes time, and costs money. So I'm doing my best not to look at either for now. Plenty of time to be pissed off later I reckon. Last month I rocked on over to the local driving school to get things going. There's a few compulsary test items that it's really better to have a driving school arrange for you. So I've been told. Anyhow, I explained to them where I was at and what I needed. They seemed happy enough to help. HOWEVER, before I can sit in the car with them, even as a passenger, I need to get a Swedish "learning to drive" permit. But I can drive now, says I, whipping out my still valid in Sweden Kiwi driving card. Don't make a scrap of difference, says they. You need the permit to learn to drive, before we can teach you. Ok, I could see where this was going. So I gratefully accepted the appropriate application forms, hopped into my car which I had legally driven there, and legally drove away. Anyone else spot the obvious flaw in the system here ? Having completed and posted the application form for a learner permit, I sit here and wait for the precious slip to arrive. Around 5 weeks, said the girl on the phone. Everyone else was on holiday it seemed. Gives me a bit more time to study up on the theory side I guess. The theory is a lot more complicated than I remember. It's more about concepts and ideals, rather than hard and fast rules. Which is very unSwedish. But means you have to think more, and understand what their requirements are. Which I guess makes for better drivers. maybe. We'll see in 5 weeks.