Hello everyone and nice of you to stop by our blog (again). As I told you in my last post, I’m moving on to Switzerland. Unfortunately, I have to say goodbye to the sunny weather in southern Europe this week. But at least the weekend in Switzerland welcomes me with sunshine – before the rain comes.

Arrival in Switzerland: a dream of a trip

I arrived in Switzerland on Friday. The journey – a good 730 kilometers – is a real dream: few traffic jams, beautiful landscapes and smooth entry. It took a whole eight minutes at customs in Basel – thanks to the EU stamping in Hanover, I don’t have to queue up in a line of 30 trucks. So I can enjoy the beautiful weather straight away…

Fitness and food in Switzerland: an expensive pleasure

Even on the first few kilometers I notice that I’m in Switzerland: Everything is more expensive. Even a short cab ride is really expensive, and groceries and food also cost significantly more here than in Germany.

Because I let my sports program slide a bit in southern Europe, I really want to do sports here. I’ve found that there are lots of options here. Gyms offer 24-hour access, but most only have monthly memberships and only accept a limited number of members. For the four days I’m here, I’m a little put off by the 150 euros. Unfortunately, my hotel doesn’t have a gym either because it’s a bit older. That doesn’t make things any easier.

A hotel straight out of a horror movie

In addition to all the expensive pleasures, there are also some interesting stories to tell: From Saturday to Monday, for example, I’m all alone in the hotel – there’s no staff on site either, just me and my room. How does the whole thing work? I have been given the room key, which I hang on a board whenever I leave the hotel. A key hangs above it, which I use to get back into the hotel in the evening. It’s a bit scary, but at least I have peace of mind.

My hotel at night. Photo: Ronny Nittmann

A funny misunderstanding

In addition to the scary story, I also have a funny anecdote. One day, a member of the hotel staff spoke to me in Swiss German because there was a guest in the restaurant who looked like me. The staff member said that my “brother” was sitting in the restaurant. Of course, we quickly cleared up the misunderstanding, but every time she serves me, she has to laugh because we look so similar. An amusing incident that makes my time in Switzerland even more unforgettable!

Car wash and off-road course

Tuesday, the first day of the event at BestDrive in Hunzenschwil, 40 kilometers west of Zurich, is all about work: installing sensors, washing the truck and getting the rims and tires in shape – all this has to be done. Then there is a test run to see if everything works with the electricity and an internal training session. On day two in Hunzenschwil, another event is held for BestDrive employees and customers. BestDrive is Continental’s retail partner and workshop chain, which is active in many European countries.

Our location for the first two events in Switzerland. Photo: Ronny Nittmann

On Thursday and Friday, two customer events are scheduled at the Betzholz driving center of the Touring Club Switzerland in Hinwil. Hinwil is located to the south-east of Zurich, so the area is quite hilly. And the driving center of Switzerland’s largest automobile club is a great location, as the test track is the largest road safety center in Switzerland and one of the most modern in Europe. Our event is also divided into two stations: a trailer station and a course. A real off-road course is offered on the test track, which we can drive on with various cars. I also rode the track on inline skates – a cool experience!

Instead of using a car, I went along the route on my inline skates. Photo: Ronny Nittmann

Challenges with the air conditioning repair

We thought about having the air conditioning system – which has been causing us problems for a while now – repaired in Switzerland. But that turned out to be problematic, as it is seen as a refinement of the trailer and could get us into trouble with customs. Fortunately, the weather in Switzerland is not so warm and it rains a lot, so air conditioning is not necessary.

But the next stops in Austria should be warmer again – and repairing the air conditioning won’t be a problem there because our neighboring country is part of the EU. We’ll have to see if we can find a solution there…

But now it’s back to the hotel for me. I have to leave early on Saturday morning, as customs to Austria is only open from 8 am to 12 noon. I’ll see you again in Austria.

Until then – see you on the road,

your Ronny