Bella Italia
day of departure
It’s an exciting day. Jana has her head full when I packed my bag and tools into the car the night before and only had to stow the things in my morning toilet. Because the expected call from Dettling still didn’t come. Is the van ready for our departure or not? It is not only the case that we have to stow our clothes in the transport, but also tools (for further subtleties and repairs), groceries and whatever else you need for the first trip.
We first decide to make the last purchase for at least two days. On the way back, we want to stop by Dettling to see how far you are with the gearbox. Yes, what can I say, the Ducato is still in the workshop and things are still being tinkered with. Because from the roundabout we had a glimpse into the workshop.
We had already allowed ourselves a lot of time to go shopping (where I was a bit annoyed, I finally wanted to go). But a look in the trunk already revealed that it will be a nice trip. We had everything from spaghetti to wine and beer, as well as chocolate and chips. Everything there is to feel good in addition to normal food.
In between there were a few smiles on our faces and a few kisses also lifted our mood a bit. Because after almost two months of uninterrupted work, we are not only looking forward to the trip, but also finally togetherness and a good basis to get to know each other better.
When we finished shopping, we drove to Dettling and the van was still in the hall. Well, a short conversation with the contact we trusted told us that we only had to wait half an hour.
It was now a little after 2 p.m. Half an hour fits us nicely, because food in the car slowly belongs in the refrigerator. Said and done. The gearbox is in, the Fiat is driven out of the hall. “Yes” we think to ourselves – Let’s go !!!
Haha – happy too early. So I sit behind the wheel of the great Maja and put the car into reverse. I didn’t even drive two meters when a large, long diesel trail appeared under the bonnet. I could have jumped out of my skin, what is it now?
A look under the hood shows that the diesel line, which was temporarily glued a long time ago, has flaked off. So it’s back to the bay again. In the meantime, it’s already 3 p.m. The time is getting tight.
While an employee takes care of the new patch, we talked to Fabian (trusted contact person) about the spare wheel that was ordered. Because this was still not in its place on the lower part of the van. He said he was missing a part of the crank to lower the pull cord, but he had contacts with another dealership. Jana and I went to Melzer and got the part.
But how should it be? When we came back, the adapter was tried out right away. But unfortunately the winch got stuck, and so we had to stow the spare wheel directly in the camper. Believe me, it wasn’t a bit nice.
After a total of three hours and a couple of beers, it was finally fully repaired. Somewhere there was relief, but the hustle and bustle continued now. When we were back at Jana’s home, we immediately started filling the van with the packed inventory.
While Jana was following her first sorting system, I prepare everything for the trip. That means we each get two bottles of water. Check whether the charging cables for the camera and mobile phone are close at hand. We also ordered walkie-talkies so that the journey doesn’t get quite so boring. In the future, we will notice that the acquisition was a good idea.
Martin was so helpful and quickly took care of the driver’s door window regulator, which was very useful for Jana when we pass the toll booths in Italy.
The time wasn’t on our side, I was beginning to feel tired. The thought that we had to make a stopover in Hedingen, Switzerland, didn’t necessarily lift my spirits either. But I tried not to show anything.
Finally, everything was packed, half of it was definitely forgotten (especially toys for Wallie :(). It started, Jana and Wallie in Maja Mobil, cuddles one last time, me in JD and off we go towards Bella Italia.