19/8 Driving driving driving, on the highway …

The night was too short, yet a self‑imposed goal forces me to get up. Primarily I want to get considerably closer to Rotterdam so that tomorrow I have enough breathing room for the check‑in. Means: a little after the corner we hit the highway and then we’ll see. At Volker I’ll nick a shrink‑fit bushing for the gearbox, safety first. So I’m zooming around on the highway. Snail‑pace through the Elbe tunnel and a snack‑ and fuel‑stop just before Bremen. At some point I leave the A1 and turn onto the B214 heading west. In Holland I’ve chosen a natural camping site. Only, the breaks become more, my back aches, and I slowly lose sight of the goal. The sun is still smiling in my face, but I won’t have much left at the destination. Then fate is kind to me and offers me just a campsite on the bank of the Ems, which I pass over at this moment. Now it’s dead. So I quickly refuel in Emsbüren, pick up vitamins, pasta and sauce at the market, and off to the site. What I missed: evening sun on my face and a full pot of pasta devoured at the tent. At 8 I fall into bed, before it gets dark, and immediately scratch away.