European adventures
Truck & Driver|November 2020
Graham was back in Europe delivering cars after coming back from furlough. We find him in south west Germany on the banks of the Rhine, where he was looking forward to the week ahead
GRAHAM FLEMINGTON
European adventures
Day Seven

The first job of the day is to deliver the accident damaged hire car that I had collected from near Augsburg last week. It’s going to Mulhouse, which is only about 30km away so no need for an early start. A French car coming from Germany, being delivered by an English truck causes a bit of confusion. The fact it was a Ford being delivered to a Peugeot dealership didn’t help, but I am soon tipped and on my way.

The run up the eastern edge of France goes surprisingly smoothly. The usual traffic struggle getting through Strasbourg is a clear run and I’m soon in a queue for cheap fuel in Luxembourg. With both tanks brimmed I cruise into Belgium and just about to call my last collection in Aachen to make sure that they would be open, when the phone rings. It was my boss Mark Cowan and the conversation starts with something like “Hello mate, have you got anything on for the weekend?” Here it comes I think! Fortunately there is nothing planned, well at least nothing that I can remember my wife telling me anyway!

One of our larger customers, a large manufacturer, has a development car in the middle of Slovakia that needs to be delivered to a little place near Heilbronn as soon as possible. It’s a massive change of plan but I cut across country into Germany to pick up the A4.

Day Eight

After nine hours off in a small rest area I point the truck south. Today is simple, get as far as possible in a shift. This isn’t always easy in Germany with its massive congestion problems and road works. The smell of fresh tarmac and concrete hangs heavy in the air as I motor south on the A3, past Frankfurt, Wurzburg and Nuremberg.

This story is from the November 2020 edition of Truck & Driver.

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This story is from the November 2020 edition of Truck & Driver.

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