There I would meet mr. Raimundo Diaz, the CEO of Teleroute en Jean Delmelle, the managing director of the Europe Federation of Food Banks. I arrived just in time and both gentlemen looked very relaxed and looks as they’d been looking forward to this event very much. It was the same with me. Mr. Delmelle was keen to point out that with 5.000 euro’s, all that he could imagine could be done for his federation in Romania. I was much pleased to hear this, as I had not failed to notice when I was in Romania, the country is really developing at a fast pace, but there’s a lot of poverty still there as well.  ,,Five grand in euro’s is a fortune in Romania’’, mr. Delmelle assured me and Raimundo Diaz.

So isn’t it a good thing that there’s even more to receive for mr. Delmelle? It was nice that he clearly was, as an ex-Caterpillar man, not much aware of my job. Really, I do not join drivers to write stories about all the time, it is just that I do this say four times a year. The rest of my time I do lot’s of other text and photo work and joining a driver always leads to a nice story, but I can’t do it too often as customers have different requirements from me.

Here’s why this was such a special event. Not just for me, but for all of us. The result, as this conversation with mr. Delmelle proves, is rather special as well, and it made me all the more grateful, that I was chosen to be a part of it.

BigLorryBlog

I immediately had my thoughts with all these drivers who kindly welcomed me in their truck and who shared their supply’s the past month:  the tea on Willy’s truck, soup with Zdenek, crackers with Ernesto, fresh Rumanian mineral water with lovely bread and sausage with Ron, pasta and omelette with Imre and a fresh coke with Mark. The support of the Teleroute account managers Miroslav, Tamas and Paul. The reception with Orlando, Ernesto’s boss and with Gisella, who arranged my trip with Imre, and of course Lambert and Monika, who looked after me in Rumania.

The wrecked cars in the German roadworks, the heavy rain in Hungaria, the hospital in Oradea, the lovely scenery’s in Austria, France and Spain, the truck drivers restaurant at Rungis food market south of Paris, the square in Pamplona and the inevitable Ashford Truck Stop in Britain.
The team in Brussels ever so keen to keep me going and who really did a top job in making sure that I had my rest sometimes as well.

On behalf of the European Federation of Food Banks and of Teleroute I’d like to thank everybody involved, including journalists who wrote or blogged on my adventures. You try to achieve something and while trying you learn how truly you need the help of others.

C.A. Transport enjoys the benefit of a large customer, but apart from that, there are customers who shift smaller amounts of goods between Britain and the continent. C.A. means Cees and Andre, the two owner drivers who started up their business back in the nineties. Mark as pictured in the final adventure is the first driver employed by C.A. Transport. These specialists are based in the province of Zeeland, known for the isles in the south east of The Netherlands. The company is based in a small village close to Middelburg. The fleet consists of DAF trucks only, with roomy Super Space Cabs.

Without losing a minute, Mark pressed on into Belgium and we noticed that the parking lots overthere were all pretty crowded with trucks. Mark taught me that in this most western part of Belgium, there’s a road sign overruling the sign showing that no overtaking is allowed for trucks. The further we proceed into Belgium, the more crowded parking lots appear, in a way that parking on the hard shoulder seems normal the closer we come to Antwerp. Clearly the Antwerp situation is no longer up to date and at eight in the evening, we still run into a traffic jam.  Just north of the city Mark starts smiling, as he trusts things will be effortless from now on.

Apart from some breakdowns alongside the motorway, Mark steers his DAF XF Super Space Cab into the home country. In the neighborhood of his unloading address I find myself a motel, as no one can take me back home anymore. The roads are empty, as the Dutch soccer team plays in the big tournament. So I’m nearly back home. But not yet there.

Queueing at the busiest fuel station in Europe. Half an hour waiting time is usual.

Right in the middle of the Ardennes, Belgian customs took us out of traffic. We had to follow their van into a parking lot, where we saw many customs officers and many vehicles, also passenger cars, to be checked. The French speaking Belgians couldn’t get much out of Hungarian truck driver Imre. So with the aid of pen, paper and some drawings, some basic questions were asked. Imre had to open the trailer, where temperature measurements were carried out. No problems, and with all papers OK, we were soon on our way again.

In the Ardennes, Belgian customs asked to follow them for a check.

We went into France and after passing Lille, we took the A25 to Dunkerque. There, we ran into a mighty road works project, which cost an hour in a hot and slow traffic jam.  At Dunkerque we took the motorway to Calais, which appeared to be a busy place. Long waiting times at the scanner and we spent even more time waiting in the port before we could catch our ferry.

Stuck for a long time between Lille and Dunkerque on the A25.

Imre started to fear that Ashford would be complete once we came there, but no, in sunny Kent we arrived at a good looking stop to watch the German soccer team qualify itself and to have a well deserved beer. We had come through five countries in one day, a rare occasion.

We made it. From Budapest to the Ashford truck stop. Quite a ride!

We headed for the Munich ring road and then onto the A8. This motorway is full of lengthy roadworks and if there are none, the white 440 hp Mercedes faced tough climbs and later that day sticky traffic jams. Halfway through, Imre cooked a lovely pasta meal with spicy vegetables and nothing could stop us, obviously. I had read a critical article about German roadworks in a German magazine, but I have to say, that this is going to work in a good way, as long as people keep working in shifts as I noticed along side the A8.

Still, there were colleagues less lucky than us. I filmed a car transporter with a bunch of burnt out brand new Citroën compact passenger cars.  We proceeded as usual and we arrived at a truckstop at Ramstein, surrounded by US military facilities, close to Luxembourg. From Ramstein we should continue from Luxembourg to Calais, to catch a ferry to Britain.

In spite of their fast growth, the drivers like Imre who’s with me now, takes things easy. No speeding, no lengthy work shifts, just what’s allowed and that’s it. Trailers are loaded to 24 tons maximum and Green Trans is much on the road with refrigerated trailers, often loaded to the maximum of 33 pallets.

The trucks are very much en route, as proves the not so very big parking lot at their premises. Everybody is off, and so it should be.

Green Trans has its own warehouse at the other side of Budapest, in Torobalint, north of the main city. The management expects nothing but growth of their succesful young enterprise.

Late this afternoon I joined driver Imre on the British bound trip and we proceeded until midnight. Intend to rack up as many kilometers as possible before this charity project comes to an end.  But proceeding a long time contains the risk of not being able to find a proper parking space, even for the odd 30 minute pause. Therefore, when I write this, we haven’t yet reached  the German border and we have to accept that we have to start where we can start. Today, we try to cross through Bavaria and see that we get to Luxembourg, which means I can tick another country off the list.

Imre by the way is a very cautious and smooth driver and he keeps his cabin immensely tidy. The Mercedes bed sleeps well by the way, even if you, contrary to the advice of the manufacturer, sleep on the lower bunk, like I had to now.

Another feature is the Danube river splitting the city in its famous two halves. The river would be a perfect road for transport, but there isn’t much. Now I always understood that there can’t be as many goods flowing in this part of Europe as in the west, but there’s another thing. The river really flows fast over here, and it would be expensive both in time and money to use the river as a means of transport. I saw one ship going upstream to Austria. A tough challenge really, as the river is mercilessly fast. Is this the reason why we see relatively many Hungarian trucks on European roads? I’m pretty sure it is.

The most famous of the three bridges connecting both city halves.

Not everybody knows this city…

To nearly everybody’s surprise, I stepped on board of the ship that toured around on the beautiful Danube river, so we all had a clear view on the old bridges that connect both historic city parts, Buda and Pest. Managing Director Raimundo handed me the microphone and by telling exactly how it feels to have to connect one trip to the next, I felt everybody´s respect grow a bit and of course all guests  realize how unique and how good a project like this is in every way. I´m glad that sometimes things didn´t go like expected, ´cause this is the fact of the everyday transport business.

I can´t remember having eaten such lovely food and I appreciated the joke that I was the only one not dressed for the occasion, as I could hardly believe that I made it there in time as well. I met many colleagues who I´d only seen in name on a screen and that is the exact purpose of a conference held somewhere else but in your everyday office. This is one of the reasons for me to be a freelance journalist, to be out and about every now and then and to develop  the precious on the spot judgment.

Because of Teleroute´s birthday party, there was an impressive fireworks the inhabitants of central Budapest will remember for the upcoming months and the happy guests will have to do some working out in the gym after enjoying the birthday cake.