On The Road

I think this is the first time I'll need my mobile phone to complete a post.  Yea yea yea, there's always a first time for everything...

07.20 - Left for Gub's place
07.40 - Arrived at Gub's place -- thick mist covered everything
Got my instructions, acquaintaince with the rather large mini-bus, unfortunately not enough time to learn how the tom-tom works (GPS), but that has never been a problem
08.20 - Left Gub's place for Dongen, where I had to pick up the broken machine part from the Coca-Cola plant.  This was the assignment for Kreuztal ('Cross Valley' = 'tal' is a 'dahl' or 'dale' = 'valley') some 80 km. east of Cologne.  Actually glad it wasn't in Cologne as city streets can be crappy and can give you panic attacks if you're driving a mini-bus for the first time in almost 30 years)
08.40 - Arrived at Dongen, left about 5 minutes later.  The guy with the spare part was already waiting outside, and power-lifting it into the bus was peanuts.
09.58 - Crossed the Dutch-German border.  Followed my plan of straight on the A3 - left on the A4, which leads directly to Kreuztal.  As usual, I am still impressed with the really long distances in Germany, and one is rather dangerously inclined to underestimate this when studying maps
13.55 - Arrived at Kreuztal.  There was a semi-massive jam immediately east of Cologne, which forced me to take the next exit, which I regretted soon afterwards because it made me turn around too much and cost me about 15 minutes.  Some confusion in Kreuztal itself but I found the road and the repair company.  Machine part unloaded, got the delivery papers signed, quick toilet visit, and
14.20 - Back on the road again, this time from the A4, with a right turn on the A45 heading north to Dortmund, where I decided to stop for a bite, but not a nap, as I wanted to catch as much daylight as possible.  From the A45, with some rush hour jams close to Dortmund, turned right on the A1, that very same A1 needed to go to Hamburg, and which I was already familiar with due to past day trips to Osnabrück, Bremen (yes, the one with the musicians), and Lübeck.  From Dortmund, though, it now felt extra long, but fine, never mind as I needed the entire length of the A1 to reach far beyond Hamburg and on to the Baltic Sea.
17.30 - Had to stop for a nap.  HAD to.  Phoned AW because I missed him.
18.40 - After a really good nap, back on the road.  120 km. before Bremen.
20.54 - After the narrow lanes due to road works between Osnabrück and Bremen, now a huge traffic jam about 30 km. before Hamburg due to a road accident, the type where everyone has to slow down and take a look because it is the most horrendous one they have ever seen in their entire life
21.33 - Traffic pile up now behind me.  Yes, 40 minutes of wasted time.  No radio because the bus couldn't pick up any really good German channels
22.33 - Now on the A20 past Lübeck.  Rostock was still more than a hundred km away.  *sigh*
00.07 - Rostock now long in the past tense, thick Baltic mist has rolled onto the motorways, but so little traffic that I could maintain speed.  I could not, however, whoosh by at top speed because of the four huge heavy barrels strapped at the back.  I doubt they were filled with Xmas gift-wrapping paper and ribbons.
01.00 or thereabouts - Finally found the local road 109 heading to Greifswald, which I needed to enter in order to get to my final destination
01.45 - At the other end of Greifswald; there was a filling station open, and I grabbed the chance as I was almost rock-bottom empty
02.00 or thereabouts - Reached my final destination, which was Lübmin, a small industrial town by the Baltic Sea.  I briefly asked for directions from a local, and he said, 'If you turn left, you can find the beach.' No, I was not interested in the beach, I wanted to find the delivery address.  Found it by following my own directions, but no one was waiting for me, despite Gubs having told the guy that I was surely on my way.  Phoned Gubs and told him to tell the guy, Mischa, to phone me.  Went back to a building where there was a security guard, and Mischa told the guard how to help me out.  The guard called his supervisor, and the supervisor decided to accompany me.  It turned out that Mischa had decided not to wait for me, but directed me instead to another address where there were people who could accept the delivery.  We had to pass a security checkpoint, and then another, where, at 02.30 in the morning, I had to show my COVID papers, a very surreal, almost Kafka-nesque, moment, insane and unbelievable.  However, I was in very high spirits.  Gubs had already asked me earlier how I was feeling, and I was feeling perfectly fine.
02.30 - When they saw I came from the NL, one of the foremen, a Dutch guy, took control, arranged for a power forklift to unload the cargo, and said that he was doing me a favour because I was a Filipina and he was married to one himself.  Mischa would just have to pick up the stuff the next day or on Monday.  A quick toilet stop, and by 02.45, back on the road, this time to look for a place to sleep, because there was just no place to park there without sacrificing some privacy.  
04.30 - Finally found a safe place along the A20, napped for an hour
05.30 - Back on the road with the intention of getting started on the trip back, but
06.45 - Found another safe place, and this time I needed real sleep.
The rest of this should be continued 'tomorrow'.. haha!