Welcome back to a new trucking diary!
Last time out, we were travelling from Rotterdam to Helsingborg in Sweden, delivering used plastic. This time, we’re heading in a different direction, although we’re still going north. Our destination is Hirtshals in Denmark, and the cargo? Twenty-three tonnes of Halloween Treats!
Apparently, Halloween isn’t just about dressing up and scaring people. Someone has to make sure there’s enough candy to go around as well. And that’s where I come in.
After collecting the trailer, it’s time to get going. I’m taking my Mercedes-Benz Actros out onto the roads again, leaving Rotterdam behind for another long-distance delivery. It’s already dark, and the weather isn’t exactly helping matters. There’s a bit of rain around, and the industrial lights are doing most of the work when it comes to illuminating the place.
Still, we’ve got a job to do, so let’s get moving!
The first part of the drive takes us out of Rotterdam and onto the Dutch motorways. With the city disappearing behind us, it’s time to settle in for the long haul towards Germany and eventually Denmark.
There’s something rather satisfying about getting started on a long journey like this. You leave the depot, get yourself onto the motorway, and gradually put the kilometres behind you. Of course, there’s a little more to it than simply keeping the accelerator pressed, especially when you’re hauling a heavy trailer through the night.
For now, though, things are going smoothly. Let’s see how long that lasts!
Once we’ve made our way into Germany, the journey continues north. The roads are reasonably quiet, which makes for a welcome change from the busier stretches around the cities. That doesn’t mean I can switch off, though. Even when the motorway is relatively empty, you still need to keep an eye on the traffic and make sure you’ve got enough room to manoeuvre.
After a while, it’s time to make a stop for fuel. No point in running the tank dry halfway through Germany, is there? Once that’s taken care of, we can get back on the road and continue towards our destination.
The route takes us through the Osnabrück area, where things become a little more interesting. Instead of staying on the open motorway, we find ourselves navigating through town streets, dealing with traffic lights and junctions along the way.
It’s not the most exciting part of the trip, but it’s part of the job. Not every kilometre is going to be a beautiful stretch of motorway with nothing but open road ahead. Sometimes you’ve got to make your way through towns and hope that the road planners haven’t decided to make life unnecessarily difficult for anyone driving something the size of a small house.
And speaking of making life difficult, there’s a moment later on when I don’t quite get a turn right.
Let’s just say that the trailer and I have a little disagreement with a bend in the road. There’s a minor scrape, which is certainly not what I had planned for the day. Thankfully, it isn’t anything serious enough to stop the journey, but it’s a good reminder that the trailer doesn’t always follow the exact path of the truck.
It’s easy to underestimate how much space you need when taking a turn, especially when you’re trying to keep things moving. Well, lesson learned. I’ll be keeping a closer eye on those corners from now on!
With that little adventure out of the way, we continue north. There’s still a fair distance to cover, and I’d rather arrive in Hirtshals with the cargo delivered than spend the rest of the journey arguing with road furniture.
As the kilometres pass, we eventually reach the Hamburg area. This is where the road network becomes a little more complicated, with plenty of interchanges and connecting roads to navigate.
Thankfully, we manage to make our way through without any major delays. There are some illuminated sections and tunnels along the route, which provide a bit of variety after spending so much time driving through the darkness.
By now, we’ve been on the road for quite a while. It’s one of those journeys where you don’t necessarily notice how far you’ve travelled until you look back at the route. We’ve left the Netherlands behind, crossed a good portion of Germany, and we’re steadily approaching Denmark.
Eventually, we reach the German-Danish border. There’s a checkpoint to pass through, so we slow down, stop at the booth and wait before continuing. Once we’re through, it’s time to head further north into Denmark.
And that’s where the scenery starts to change.
The darkness gradually gives way to the first signs of morning. After spending most of the journey driving through the night, it’s nice to see the landscape becoming visible again. The roads stretch out across Jutland, with wind turbines appearing in the distance as we continue towards the coast.
It’s one of those little things that makes these longer drives enjoyable. You’re not just travelling from one place to another. You also get to see the scenery change along the way, even if you’re technically working rather than out on a sightseeing trip.
Of course, we’re not quite there yet. Hirtshals is still waiting for us, and those Halloween Treats aren’t going to deliver themselves.
So, onwards we go!
After travelling through Germany and across Denmark, we finally approach Hirtshals. The destination is the Polaris Lines terminal, so we’re heading towards the port rather than an ordinary warehouse or distribution centre.
Hirtshals is an important ferry port, which makes it an interesting place to deliver cargo. Goods arriving here can continue their journey across the sea, meaning that our delivery is only one part of a much bigger transport operation.
First, though, we need to get the trailer into the right place.
We leave the main road and make our way into the terminal area. After all those motorway kilometres, it’s time to slow things down and concentrate on the final manoeuvre. There’s no point in rushing the last few minutes after spending hours getting here.
We position the truck in the designated delivery area, secure everything and uncouple the trailer.
And there we have it! Twenty-three tonnes of Halloween Treats delivered safely to Hirtshals.
Well, apart from that little scrape earlier in the journey, things went reasonably smoothly. We’ve travelled from Rotterdam through Germany and into Denmark, dealt with the usual motorway driving, made a fuel stop, navigated through Osnabrück, and arrived at our destination as the morning got underway.
Not a bad run, all things considered!
With the delivery completed, it’s time to see what comes next. Every job brings us a little further along the road towards the bigger ambition of running our own transport company. We’re not quite there yet, but that’s part of the fun. There are still plenty of destinations to visit, loads to transport and roads to explore along the way.
For now, though, the Halloween Treats are delivered, the trailer is unhooked, and another journey is in the books.
I’ll catch you in a new trucking diary. Until then, keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down!
I'm Amethyst, 31, 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!
