Sometimes we create unnecessary problems for ourselves.
I had picked up my rental car at 8 am and chosen to return it at the same time on a Saturday morning. The golden idea was to keep the rental period at even hours due to the pricing, and to have room for any delays on my journey. But that also meant the car had to be somewhere around Berlin for the night in order for me to return it in time. Then I came up with another idea. What if I returned it already late on Friday afternoon to escape the ridiculously expensive parking prices in Berlin city center, where I was planning to stay, and to keep the car safe and sound.
That was easier said than done for two reasons. First, I was in Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic, close to the Polish border. Second, the car rental office would close at 4:30 pm. I knew it would be tight, but I wanted to give it a try and see if I could make it to Berlin on time. And don’t get me wrong, these two places are not very far from each other. Around 400 kilometers and roughly four and a half hours of driving.
There was, however, a twist. I had reached the northernmost point of Czechia just before sunset two nights earlier. My original plan of visiting the easternmost point of Germany at the same time had therefore failed. In other words, I was not going to Berlin before I had been there on the way.
I was certainly one of the first to check out. Who in their right mind checks out on a Friday morning at a place like this. This was a holiday destination after all, and I am sure most people were staying for the weekend. It was not ridiculously early, as I wanted to enjoy breakfast in a calm atmosphere, and for the first time during my stay it was actually possible to see something through the windows.
The receptionist greeted me by asking how I liked the stay, and I really had nothing to complain about. It had been fantastic, apart from the fog of course. She smiled and explained that it is their problem in Czechia. For some reason I liked the place so much that I would happily return one day. It is unlikely with my slightly ADHD mindset, but perhaps one day.
I knew the small detour would cost me about an extra hour. The morning greeted me with a slightly frozen windscreen, but otherwise everything was ready and I was able to hit the road right away. As I had already mentioned in my story about reaching the geographical center of Czechia, the roads followed the same pattern from one town to another, accompanied by speed cameras everywhere.
It was surprisingly exciting to see the same roads again in daylight. They had looked dark and miserable when I arrived, but now there were at least some December colors visible. The Czechs also seemed to be serious about Christmas, as decorations appeared in almost every single house.
Once I finally reached the highway, my plan was to fill up the tank on the Czech side to save some money, not that it really matters on a trip like this, and then continue through Poland before crossing into Germany. The road towards Zittau is slightly confusing, as it actually passes through Poland, and with no proper signs I ended up in Poland when stopping for fuel. Since I was already there, I simply stayed on the Polish side and continued north.
It did not take long before I was greeted by massive nuclear power plants near the border. I was genuinely impressed by the size of the reactors, and there were several of them. I could not help but wonder whether their location near the border was intentional, and where all that electricity actually ends up.
Eventually I found myself blindly following Waze towards the easternmost point of Germany. It was not the route I had originally planned, because instead of turning onto Autobahn 4, the navigation crossed it and continued north. For a while everything felt fine, but once the route narrowed and began following the river Neisse, I understood what was happening. Waze was guiding me to the correct location, but on the wrong side of the river in Poland, apparently assuming I would simply cross it somehow.
I stared at the map, trying to figure out where the next border crossing might be.
In the end there was no other option than to turn back. I lost around half an hour due to the misnavigation, which was not ideal, especially since I was supposed to have a work call exactly at my estimated arrival time. Sometimes it is easier to be flexible and take a call while traveling than to keep everyone waiting. Slightly disappointed, I headed back towards Germany.
After only a few hundred meters on Autobahn 4, I had to take the first exit and continue towards a small village called Zentendorf. At this point it really became a minute by minute battle between making it to the easternmost point and joining the call.
I was not entirely sure which road was the right one. I drove through the village, spotted a sign, and ended up on a narrow road leading into the fields. A few meters in, the surface turned muddy, but I kept going and quickly regretted it. The wheels started spinning, and the car felt like it could get stuck at any moment. I managed to steer sideways just enough to get one wheel onto the grass, which finally gave me some traction. I was relieved when the car was free again.
A slightly drier uphill section appeared, and that was where I decided to leave the car and walk the remaining 500 meters.
I had five minutes left before my meeting, so it was obvious I would not make it back to the car in time. That resulted in a Teams meeting to remember, taken from the easternmost point of Germany. That does not happen every day. After the meeting, a few photos, and making sure I had actually reached the very easternmost point by the riverbank, it was time to test my luck once more.
Sometimes luck is not enough, so instead of risking the muddy road again, I drove across the bumpy grass field to bypass the worst section.
Once back on asphalt, it was clear I would not make it to Berlin on time. To my surprise, the fastest route back went through Poland again, but I had no interest in additional border crossings. Knowing how much Germans enjoy their border checks, I decided to head towards Cottbus instead, passing through the easternmost parts of Germany. The most memorable sight along the way was an old military helicopter sitting in someone’s garden.
Did I make it to Berlin on time? Of course not. Friday evening traffic alone would have made that impossible, and at one point I nearly drove into a car in the next lane. After finding out the hourly parking prices in Berlin, I decided to fill up the tank and use the key drop option at the rental office. There was no chance I was voluntarily waking up early the next morning.