15 July 2021
‚I’m about to leave Switzerland‘ I wrote in my message to Maria in Fellingsbro/Sweden, yesterday. ‚And I’m nervous.‘ – Well, it am more than nervous really, I am afraid – of the long journey on German motorways, of Swedish bears and wolves, a Swedish friend told me about, but especially of loneliness. I am homesick already at home – except for the still pluvial rain that I wish to leave behind me as soon as possible. ‚You’ll be fine!! Hopefully this lovely weather remains until you come,‘ was Maria’s answer – which actually gave me a flow of almost enthusiastic feelings and made me hurry up with my packings.
But it takes all day long, way too long into the afternoon and I get more and more tired and then I decide to stay another night, cuddle the cats once more and wait for my son so he can tell me everything about his ‚Schnupperlehre‘. He does and adds: ‚I’m glad you’re still here because sometimes you overdo things and that can get dangerous.‘ Wise boy!
So the plan is to leave early in the morning right after a cup of coffee and I do! ‚You have to get through that black curtain – and then it will be fine! my son told me. Wise again. So, I go through that black curtain, which is actually a grey curtain of rain – and drive up through early morning Zurich, take the motorway which I took so often during the spring 2020 lockdown down to Zurich Altstetten, get through Zurich quite decently, even though traffic is already getting dense, and make my way to the border – oh that customs at Thayngen!! Bad memories of my car-import in April 2019 – but that’s another story. I find a rather empty motorway up to Stuttgart and shortly after Stuttgart the rain stops and also SRF 3 gets faint and stops and I start listening to one of my favourite bands – London Grammar – and have instantly to shed a few tears. Memories of Winter 2019 come up, when I first did winter camping in Zurich Wollishofen – an unique experience! Yet, now I’m going to leave this behind. At least for the moment.
The rain stops and the motorway building sites start in exchange – as well as the blinking of my panel. The software update has obviously failed. After 600km on my way I call the garage and the guy at AMAG can’t do anything but apologize. Do I really have to look for a VW garage in Örebro/Sweden where they could try and fix it again? The nasty motorway building sites accopany me up to Hannover. Yet, I’m glad I don’t have to take the alternative route up the Rhine valley, as they are talking of long hold ups on that route on the radio all day long.
Once I have left Hannover behind I get off the motorway and look for a campsite, remembering what my friend told me: ‚I keep it the way that I stop travelling at 6 pm whereever I am, because otherwise you spoil yourself the evening, especially, if you have to find a decent place in the dark!‘ Right so! I’ll stick to that.
It actually takes me several attempts to find a campsite. Yet, here I am in Vierde – ever heard of it? Neither have I! A nice, northern Germany campsite near a rivulet, calm, 20 Euros for the night. Camping Böhmeschlucht. I started talking to my neighbours and asked the single man in the restaurant whether I could join him – not obvious in corona times. And not obious for me. I enjoyed the Matjes fish for 12 € and his company. He happened to be an 80 year old retired social worker – did not look like 80, though. It was an intelligent, interesting conversation. Learnt something: Familiennetzwerk-Konferenz. Ever heard of it?
I did not spoil my evening!