Austria > The journey back home

Austria - The accommodation in Kossen with Erika and Herbert

Even before the alarm goes off, I am already awake. It’s half past three. Outside it’s dark and cold. Above me, Ron and José’s apartment is also coming to life. We leave at four o’clock heading toward the Netherlands. Fred and Berlinda leave two hours later. They will stay overnight halfway through Germany. At four o’clock, I meet the others by the car. Here we say our goodbyes. I drive into the dark night. Through several villages, I make my way to the highway. It’s quiet at this hour of the night. On the highway, I notice more people have gotten up early. There is more traffic and also Dutch cars with ski boxes on their roofs. It never really gets busy. Near Munich, it starts to get a bit light. My navigation directs me over the A7 toward Kassel. This way I avoid the busy A3 between Frankfurt and Cologne. I decide to follow the suggestion. A good choice. The road is extremely quiet. I set the cruise control to 120 km/h and continue driving. I stop occasionally to rest briefly and to use the restroom. Just past Kassel, I fill the car up with fuel again. The cashier asks if petrol in the Netherlands is also this expensive. Because of the war that broke out last week in Ukraine, fuel prices have exploded. When I tell her that petrol in the Netherlands is still more than thirty cents per liter more expensive, she looks at me incredulously. Around noon, I cross the border into the Netherlands. I’ve actually had a very smooth trip and, above all, no traffic jams. Just past the border near Zevenaar, the lights above the road flash. Traffic jam. It can’t be. Fortunately, I only stand still for a short while. I continue at a relaxed pace toward home. After exactly ten hours of driving, I arrive back in Voorhout. I have covered 1,000 kilometers.