More of a picture diary this one,but after having a weeks holiday the other week,my first trip back was to Bodensee,just a spit away (with the wind behind me) from Switzerland and Austria.
I left early on the Monday morning and got as far as Worms before I had to pull in for a break.
It seemed half of De Jongh’s fleet were also taking a break,they are regular’s on the Swiss run…
One of the way’s that German driver’s seem to subsidise their wages is rooting through waste bins…
…and hooking out plastic and glass bottles.A couple of years ago the Germans introduced a tax on drinks containers,and you can often see people in Germany collecting them from roadside bins.
I had a drop in Heidenheim,just off the A7,and then called it a night at an Autohof near Memmingen.
The following morning saw me at the huge Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen,to unload four packs of stainless steel which were 6m long.So that meant two forklifts to unload together,as the steel bends so much that the bands could snap.And when they do,the sheets could slice you in two!
The next drop was in a small village between Friedrichshafen and Lindau and I had to wait for over an hour before I could get into the place to unload a small coil on a pallet…
The next drop was near Passau,so a break was called for on the motorway around Munich,where I saw this sign…
…not sure how you are supposed to take a legal 9hr break■■?
On the way to Passau I was blown off the road by this double manned Polish outfit,which was travelling at a great rate of knots…
…which had Class 1 on!!!
The Germans encourage you to use dipped headlights at all times on the Bundestraase’s to aid safety…
After unloading the last pieces near Passau I was given instructions to load 10 pallets in Furth-im-Wald,so,it was off up the A3…
…answers on a postcard if you can guess where this is!
Mr Pioneer say’s we’ve arrived at the address ready for loading in the morning…
…which turns out to be a very wet day…
Furth-im-Wald used to be one of the main border crossings into Czechoslovakia when I drove Eastern Europe in the early 80’s,the other one being Waidhaus,just a bit further north.
Having loaded the 10 pallets of empty beer bottles I am told to start making my way home,if there is something else to load,then the office will phone me.
Sure enough,an hour or so down the road I recieve a message to load in Bamberg…
…which turns out to be parts for VW-Audi.
Having loaded that I then make my way back to the A3,and pull off into here…
for some diesel,just 100 litres to get me home,as diesel is now €1,50 a liter in Germany!
Some of you will know where this is,it’s called …
.and is at…
The parking is almost empty,but in a few hours time you would be struggling to get in,despite the parking charge…
Back on the A3 and the roadworks are causing delay’s at Wurzburg…
…and again further on at Aschaffenburg…
Here is the great Metrolopis that is…
…Frankfurt Airport.
Where work is still going on to extend it…
The car parts are unloaded just outside Brussels…
…and then it’s off to Beverlo to get rid of the 10 pallets of beer bottles,which are unloaded at a company that specialise in home brew.
After unloading in Beverlo,I have to go just a few kliks down the road to load in Herentals.But,rejoining the E313 the traffic comes to a grinding halt.
Now,it is widely considered that BMW driver’s have half their brain removed when they buy a BMW (though this is hotly denied by them) but this one must have had all his brain taken out!
Not only was he weaving in and out of the traffic,including using the hard shoulder,but he obviously couldn’t make his mind up if he wanted a black or a white car.
Even the interior was painted the same…
In Herentals I load 8 coils of steel…
which will be pressed into shape at a factory in Zwevezele,to make radiators.
No wonder this is an accident blackspot,with a hoarding like this at the side of the road!..
This week saw me once again making my way south to Bodensee,but with a late start on Monday,as I didn’t have to unload until Tuesday morning.
Here is the view as you approach from Singen…
And I park up just down the road with the view here…
Once again in Friedrichshafen,where I had better turn left here…
The second drop was right alongside the lake at Kressbronn which is a beautiful little town.
Here they are refitting a tourist boat…
…and the Bodensee,just across the water is Switzerland…
Very nice…
This is one of three airships I saw that morning around here…
…well,the Zeppelin factory is just down the road.
I reloaded near Heilbronn,just six small coils for Antwerp,all of six tons in total!
On arrival in Antwerp I spied a few of these old Yanks that had been imported…
I also spied this Swiss Iveco…
…Hmmm,now I’m sure I’ve seen one of their driver’s somewhere!
I then reloaded steel in Genk for Fellbach,just outside Stuttgart,and got as far as the Mosel services on the A61 (where I had spent the previous night) and saw two young ladies knocking on cab doors!
At first I thought they were selling something (personal sevices) but it turned out that they were trying to get home in their old van and had run low on diesel 
After knocking on a few doors,and getting told where to go,they eventually found a Polish driver who sold them some diesel for €1 a liter!!!
Luckily the girls had two 50 liter drums and a pump in the back of there van (that’s handy!)
They didn’t knock on my door (I would have told them to go forth) but one of the German driver’s there told me what they were up to.
The next morning driving into Stuttgart I saw the police turning out this German,and were putting stuff into a plastic bag to take away…
On the way home I spotted this rather unusual motorbike on the A81…
Fully enclosed,on Swiss plates,and it seemed to have fold out wheels like landing gear.Weird…
Kinda takes the fun,‘Wind in the face’,out of motorcycling.
I stopped a bit further on for a shower,and,sod’s law,just as I came out of the services there had been an accident a few kliks up the road…
…looks like the straps held it in place though!
Germany again next week,Fellbach again!
