Drive

Written at the Literary Estate workshop

By Mary Buchmann

Workshop participants
by Beverley Small

We pulled into a small German Village where there was very little sign of life. The Hotel receptionist was expecting us. We were relieved to stop for the night after our long journey.        

I had passed my Driving Test. Freedom at last! I could drive my blue mini to work from now on. Life did not turn out to be so simple.        

It is midnight, there is a long queue of vehicles at Dover. The lights of the Ferry lit the night sky. We wait patiently to board the Ferry to Calais. Large new cars, trucks and vans wait to board. Still it is better than being a foot passenger. Once on board most people grab a seat to snooze on during the late night crossing.       

Calais is deserted in the early hours of the morning. We soon leave the Port behind and drive through small French Villages. The road only lit by the headlights of my small car.        

We pick up a Continental Breakfast and continue our journey. The roads get busier now congested with trucks and vans. We reach Aachen and take the Autobahn where there is no speed limit. Fighting boredom over a thousand miles of motorway on through Munich to Salzburg.         

There is a queue at the Border Control at Szombathely, Hungary. The Police search the car. Then we take the autoplaya onto Budapest. We see very few pedestrians or crossings when we come off the motorway. The motor car dominating the roads. Every other car appears to be a Lada. I saw some cars with German registrations but no British ones. Unlike London it was easy to drive through the Hungarian Capital.

This page was added on 15/06/2012.

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