Hi everyone!
Welcome back to a new trucking diary. I’m back in Cologne and my truck’s finally been repaired.
The bad news of the day is the repair costs. Turns out my insurance does not cover everything for me. So a total of €6.534,27 falls to my part.
Forgot about the part that is my own risk. Well, guess I’ll be paying more premiums now as well. Such lovely things in life that overcome you.
But I’m not a complainer and thus will make my way this time with transport cargo. Some aircraft tyres need to be brought to Slovakia, so they can install them on a plane.
Time is crunching so I better going!
Cologne is busy this afternoon, so it takes me a while to get out of the city. Once I’m on the German Autobahn, we can start making up some time immediately.
That is at least if we aren’t stopped by random incidents like the last few times. The earlier I deliver, the more of a bonus premium I’m getting. Would definitely help with those repair costs. Just got to make sure I don’t get fines for speeding for example.
Though you wouldn’t believe, an incident has occurred just out of Cologne. A cargo holder is completely burned out.
Luckily, one of the lanes is still open and it’s not too busy. That helps me to not get interrupted this early on in the journey.
Darkness falls and rain starts to fall as well. I have to make my mandatory stop according to the tachograph as well, so just get some nice night time sleep.
Hopefully the rain has cleared up a little.
The rain is still there, but other than that traffic is low for 10 am in the morning.
I wonder if more trucks are headed to Slovakia right now with the same cargo that I’m transporting.
We resume our way south and then veer off again. To get to Slovakia, we have to make our way there either through Poland or Austria. That depends from where you start in Germany. From Cologne, we go south through Austria.
We take a short break at 12 pm for lunch. It’s been a while but I got some bread with a fresh sausage (brötchen Bratwurst for the Germans). Replenished I resume way and then cross the border into Austria.
This time I don’t have to deal with customs checks or something similar.
I pass through some hills and then have to drive through Vienna.
I’ve been here before and stop right in front of Schloss Schönbrunn.
It’s a very well known palace, most famous for its relation to classical music from Mozart and Bach.
The Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra holds a yearly summer concert in the gardens there, broadcasted by many public networks in Europe.
Time for a short look at the beautiful architecture and then continue.
We leave the capital of Austria again and head into Slovakia.
Slovakia is an interesting small country, seceding from the Czechoslovak Republic in 1993. It has 5.4 million citizens and besides Slovak, around 7% speaks Hungarian.
It’s also a large exporter of cars, with 44% of the industry revolving around the car-making industry.
It’s most known in sports for their ice hockey games on both national and international levels. They also managed to get to the football world cup once, in 2010. They got through to the last 16 before they were defeated by the Netherlands.
To get to our destination, we have to bypass the capital Bratislava. An inspiring city I’ve heard of, but never got to visit just yet. I would normally head off and detour, but now time is money, of which I have little to spare.
Unfortunately something else tells me I’ve got to stop and take my rest. The bloody tachograph again. It does what it needs to do. It prevents too much driving, nasty accidents and helps with registering hours.
Some companies want to tinker around with it and get fined for breaking the law.
Rightfully so, if you want to pay out less money than what the drivers actually have earned.
As an independent company and driver, I just respect the laws and rules. An honest living goes a long way in my set of morals and values.
At the first possible exit, I stop and first put some new diesel in the truck.
400 litres for €612. That’s a big expense, but needed for the next cargo. Let’s call it a pre-investment.
Time to plan another sleepover party in my own cabin.
Instead of disco lights though, it’s engine off, doors locked and curtains closed.
I wake up at 4:53 am. I open up the doors, step outside and take a good fresh bit of energy drink. Time to get caffeinated, and I don’t like coffee. So, this is the first alternative to drink.
I was only 100 kilometres out from the delivery location, so it’s around an hour and fifteen minutes left to go.
No traffic either this early hour of the day. That makes it all go smoothly. Even more luxurious with adaptive cruise control on.
But one thing I hoped to avoid, did happen. A speeding fine of €217 because I went 11 kilometres too fast. Call that a brute morning wake up call. Even though I got it in the e-mail a few weeks later. It still hurts my gut till today.
We arrive at Posped in Banská Bystrica and park up the cargo. I hope they get those tyres fitted soon on that plane.
Who knows how much I’ve contributed to that airline economically by delivering so fast?
In total the company rounds up the numbers and they sent €3.300 to the company’s bank account for all the effort. The agreed amount was €2.750 so that’s a big bonus!
I’m not tired at all, though it’s essential to take a short break. Without the right amount of energy, one might fall asleep behind the wheel. Lucky for me, that’s never occurred. Not even nodding off. I would rather park it than risk anyone’s life or my own on the road.
Hopefully I get to explore a bit more of the country soon, and experience how these people live their daily lives.
I’ll soon be back with another trucking diary!
I'm Amethyst, 30, and from the Netherlands. I've always had a passion for adventure in roleplaying games. Being able to immerse myself into these universes allowed me to escape the trauma's of my youth. Now I want to share my gaming passion with all of you!
