It begins — the road trip of a lifetime across two continents, nine countries and 40 cities.
“If you’re moving to Germany, wouldn’t it have been more cost-effective to buy a new car here rather than ship your car from Mumbai?” the custom clearing agent at Munich airport ventures, by way of friendly conversation.
I am waiting to take delivery of my Audi Q7 that I have air-freighted over from Mumbai two days before.
“But we are not shifting to Germany,” I reply, already anticipating what his reactions is going to be, “We are driving this car back to Mumbai over 20,000 km and 60 days.”
“Wow, that is going to be a fantastic trip,” he replies, “Can I buy you all some beer this evening to celebrate the start of your journey?”
It is the kind of reaction we would get used to in the days to come, because this is one of those journeys that people rarely do anymore.
Even while the Audi Q7 is going over some routine pre-trip service at Ingolstadt, approximately 70 km north of Munich and the home of the German carmaker, Audi personnel and employees take cell phone pictures of the Maharashtra-registered Q7, and start up conversations with us, regarding the route and the number of hours we plan to spend on the road every day, amongst other questions.
After spending three days in Ingolstadt, we start off towards the east. As I drive out of Ingolstadt to get onto Autobahn 93 towards Prague via Regensburg, I can’t help feel a little momentous trepidation. This car – MH 14 EY 4224 – is going to be our home for the next two months, and our only mode of transportation all the way to the Gateway of India in Mumbai. While we will spend the night in hotels, often explore on foot, and take a break from driving at certain cities, it is inside this car that we will spend the majority of the days.
Which isn’t a terribly bad thing I tell myself, as the car easily speeds up to 210 kph without much effort. On the smooth autobahn from Ingolstadt to Prague, the driving is totally therapeutic and very enjoyable. We stop at Regensburg for a quick lunch, taking advantage of the lovely weather with a short stroll around the medieval town.
The good weather continues all the way to Prague, which is approximately 376 km to the north-east of Ingolstadt.
The Czech capital is filled with tourists as usual, especially the Stare Mesto (old town square), which is where the 15th-century astronomical clock is. Thisclock is not only absolutely beautiful to look at, it’s also the oldest clock of its kind in the world that is still functioning. The fact that there are so many people there seems to take away from the quiet beauty of all the ancient architecture around the square.
So, we return at daybreak the next morning, and find that we have the square all to ourselves. I take a picture of my car in front of the astronomical clock, and it sparks an idea in my head.
I decide that I will try and take a picture of the car in front of every great monument or tourist landmark that falls along our way.
At dusk that day, we are stuck in Warsaw’s rush-hour traffic. It has been a quick and clean 750-km drive from Prague to the capital of Poland, and even with leisurely lunch and snack stops, it has taken us under nine hours, but now we are caught in traffic in the heart of Warsaw. Dominating the skyline of Warsaw is the Palace of Culture and Science, and its Art Deco architecture somehow reminds me of iconic New York skyscrapers. Later, I am told that this building, built in 1955, was meant to reflect, and perhaps outshine, the modernity of the western world in the east. This was at a time when the U.S. and the USSR were starting down the path that would lead to the Cold War and isolate eastern Europe from the rest of the world for four decades. All this is told to us by a knowledgeable waiter at Smaki Warszawy – a restaurant on Zurawia Street serving typical Polish cuisine.
Early next morning, we take the car out and quickly sneak a few pictures of the car at Warsaw’s landmark castle square, in front of the castle which was the official home of the Polish monarchs. We park the car at the base of the 22-metre-high Sigismund’s Column. The column and the statue atop it commemorate King Sigismund III Vasa, who in 1596 had moved Poland’s capital from Kraków to Warsaw.
At breakfast in Warsaw, the mood is quite upbeat. We know that the road to Minsk is smooth and fast, and we just have 550 km to cover between the capital Poland and the capital of Belarus. At the max, it should take us seven hours. We’ve conveniently forgotten that there is a border to be crossed. That day, we learn our first lesson on this drive, where there are a further four border crossings ahead: Always have hours as buffer for border crossings.
Because of the linguistic barrier and Belarus officials who were very sceptical about us actually doing what we said we were doing – driving to India – crossing from Poland to Belarus takes us eight hours. It is a melee of paperwork, lost in translation moments and sign language all wrapped together in looms of red tape.
Finally in Belarus, at an unearthly hour (12.30 a.m.), with 350 km yet to go till we get to Minsk, I realise that the smooth autobahns and easy drives were just a warm-up. Today, at the Belarus border, the adventure has truly begun.
Ahead of us stretch Mother Russia, mystical Mongolia, crowded China, serene Burma and our very own India. And this car is going to get us there…
(This is the first article of a three-part series.)
