After my Spain runs ended, another chapter of my life behind the wheel began. New routes, a different truck, and a different way of working were waiting for me. This time, I had joined a small family-run company, which became obvious when I arrived to pick up the truck.
The owner did not come alone. His son also came along for the handover and, as I jokingly saw it, to have a look at the new driver who would be earning money for their family business. It made me smile, and I simply took it as another experience on my trucking journey.
A Different Truck and My First Run
I was excited about my next truck. It was a 2023 Volvo FH 500, better equipped, more comfortable, and more powerful than my previous truck. It also had eye-catching exterior graphics. New routes and unfamiliar loading and unloading locations were ahead of me.
The first challenge came immediately. On my first working day, I picked up a load for one of the company’s customers, and the location required complicated reversing. I was still a beginner, so places like this demanded concentration, several corrections, and constant checks around the semi-trailer combination.
Eventually, I positioned the truck correctly. Once the freight was loaded, I set off for Germany. I drove for around nine and a half hours so I could reach the customer, park there overnight, and begin unloading the following morning. During that journey, I realised that this work would have a completely different rhythm from my previous long-haul runs to Spain.
From Long-Haul Runs to Short International Runs
A long-haul run to Spain took several days. I crossed several countries, and even though I was working, it still felt like genuine travel. Now I could load in Slovakia, use almost my entire daily driving time, and be parked at the customer’s site in Germany by the evening.
Honestly, it felt as though I had stepped onto a high-speed train.
After unloading, I began the return journey and reached the customer’s warehouse in Slovakia with a daily driving time of exactly ten hours and zero minutes.
My first round trip was complete, and by Tuesday evening I was back. Later that week, I loaded at another company and set off for Germany again.
That was the rhythm of my first weeks. One international run ended and the next began almost immediately. I adapted to the Volvo and the routes quickly, but I also had to adjust to completing an entire round trip to Germany and back within only a few days.
Less Adventure, More Time at Home
During those first weeks, I noticed that the sense of adventure was disappearing from the job. On my Spain runs, the distance was part of the experience. I spent several days on the road, crossed different countries, and felt that I was genuinely heading somewhere far away.
There was a particular emotion connected with that distance. Alone on the road, I discovered new places and felt a little like a traveller or an explorer. With the short runs to Germany, that feeling almost disappeared. The routes were fast, practical, and planned around the work.
However, there was one advantage. During the week, I regularly passed through my hometown, and sometimes I could stop at home. After only two or two and a half days away, I could sleep in my own bed and continue the journey the following morning.
While driving to Spain, I sometimes waited three weeks before returning home, especially after two runs in a row. Now my time at home was brief, sometimes only one night, but it still made an enormous difference.
The feeling of a great journey had faded, but I no longer had to spend several weeks away from home.
The Calm Before Winter
It was January 2026, and I expected winter to show me what driving a semi-trailer combination in difficult conditions really meant. I imagined frozen roads, heavy snow, and situations in which the experience I had gained in normal conditions would no longer be enough.
The first weeks passed without major winter complications. I was learning the routes, adapting to the pace, and gaining confidence behind the wheel of my Volvo. I did not yet know that this relatively calm period would not last long.
By the end of January and during February, real winter arrived. Snow-covered roads, severe conditions, and even a situation in which my truck became stuck somewhere it was definitely not supposed to be were all waiting for me.
But that belongs to the next chapter.