After work, we set off for Switzerland in our Beetle, knowing we had quite a few hours of driving ahead of us. We travelled through the night, stopping occasionally for a bit of rest. At one of our stops, we even ended up feeding a cat.
At around seven in the morning, we arrived in Lugano, Switzerland, where the day was already in full swing. People were running, strolling, power-walking… We sat down at the first café that was open and enjoyed a coffee surrounded by some rather loud Swiss Italians. We took in the beautiful lake and the relaxed atmosphere, with people out and about with their pets, before heading towards our apartment in Giubiasco, a small town surrounded by magnificent mountains.
The main reason for our trip was a Beetle meet in Iragna. We met all sorts of interesting people there, and some even thought we were from Czechoslovakia! There was dancing, singing and plenty of socialising. In between, we explored the surrounding area — the towns, the countryside and whatever else caught our attention.
We even made it all the way to Valle Verzasca, when suddenly we noticed the smell of fresh petrol. Luckily, the problem was sorted out in a matter of minutes — just a slightly loose hose clamp on the fuel tank. We let some curious children sit inside the Beetle before continuing towards the dam.
And what an enormous dam it was! The very one featured in a James Bond film. After taking a look around, we decided to go for a swim in the rain, in absolutely freezing water that eventually flows through that very same dam.
We ate at the same restaurant two days in a row because the food on the first day had been so good. The only problem was that nobody there understood English, so we had to communicate using our hands, feet and whatever gestures we could come up with.
When we returned the following day, they welcomed us like celebrities! Even the head chef came over personally to take our order.
Throughout dinner, people greeted us, waved at us and even came over to our table to chat in every language imaginable — all because of our Beetle. That’s just the kind of car it is. It brings joy to people and reminds them of days gone by, their first cars, their grandfathers and all those old memories.
The next day brought the organised drive that was part of the Beetle meet. A procession of beautiful Beetles, each one more charming than the last, yet no two alike.
People stood along the roads, leaned out of windows and watched from their cars. It was as though the world stopped for a few seconds as we passed by. Some people were even moved to tears.
We stopped for a get-together near a smaller dam. Although the heat was absolutely scorching, it didn’t bother us too much — and, in the end, our cars handled it just fine too.
We also met a wonderfully crazy bunch who had visited Croatia way back in 1985. Of everything they experienced there, they had managed to remember one Croatian word: “čačkalička”! Close enough to čačkalica, the Croatian word for toothpick.
On the final day of the meet, we even won an award, something we hadn’t expected in the slightest. With heavy hearts, we had to say goodbye to everyone and start making our way back to Croatia.
Well, we may have made a little detour to St. Moritz along the way. Because, naturally, it was “on the way”.
And there, for the first time in several days, we spotted Croatian licence plates on a car that wasn’t ours. We sat down at a restaurant, ordered some food and realised that our waiter was a fellow Balkan guy. Naturally, a conversation started immediately. You can take a Balkan person anywhere, but you can never take the Balkans out of them!
As enchanted as we were by the place, it was getting late and we really did need to head home.
After crossing into Italy, we drove through several tunnels.
And then — traffic.
We got stuck inside a six-kilometre-long tunnel, right in the middle of it.
We waited for about two hours for the traffic to move even a little. Every car around us had its engine running and the air conditioning turned up to maximum.
Our Beetle, of course, has no air conditioning.
It was slowly turning into a sauna.
We opened the doors, walked around the car and tried to cool down as much as possible. The tunnel seemed to get hotter by the minute, and the air felt increasingly stuffy. Eventually, we switched off the Beetle’s engine because there was simply no point in leaving it running.
After two full hours, the traffic finally started moving.
We tried to start the car.
Nothing.
The Beetle wouldn’t start!
Now what? The car was packed to the roof, we were stuck in the middle of a tunnel, and the traffic was finally moving again.
Luckily, we had stopped on a slight downhill slope. We let the car start rolling. We were the only ones moving with the engine off and the lights out. People around us just stared, completely confused.
And then, after a few dozen metres of rolling — the Beetle fired up!
Thank goodness, because those crazy Italian drivers didn’t have an ounce of patience left.
After another fifteen minutes of driving, we came to a stop again. But at least this time we were outside the tunnel, in the fresh air.
We agreed that we wouldn’t switch off the engine again. Just as a precaution.
After several more hours of traffic jams, we finally got moving properly and, sure enough, made it home safely and without any further problems.
