Greetings to the Summer

Here is one for all my friends in the Southern Hempisphere SUMMER. 

This picture was taken a few minutes ago, here in wintery Switzerland. 

Whether you are here or over there or some where else, take care and be safe!

Keep on Trucking

Interesting who you can meet on a flight from Lima, via Santa Cruz to La Paz. All in LAN's inflight magazine. Yes! I am back. After almost 2 months of Switzerland I am back in the Andes, back at the blue truck, for the time being back at Hotel Oberland. 

The quiet times on the blue truck blog are over. - Come back soon to read more about the trip through the Americas. And even if you're not the Kennedey's, even more so actually: Welcome Aboard! 

It's not my fault...

...that I have a thing for things that smell of burnt oil, rubber, metal and make noise. More than a decade ago I have had the pleasure to join a small group of gentlemen that share this passion. And ever since, once a year we have set off to visit an event where we do not much else than this.

Fortunate enough, my short trip home to Switzerland was matching with the scheduled date for this years event, the Arosa Classic Car. A hill climb race in the mountains around Arosa. The classic cars are racing up the 7.2 Kilometers to Arosa on the regular road that is closed for the public for a few hours while the race is going on. 

I don't really think you need to be a classic car nut to find the beauty in those vehicles.

German 911 generations.

British coolness, I love the Minis, had three so far in my life.

Two-wheeled

Fourwheeled or...

...three wheeled.

Fun and concentration

Once Europe's fastest production four door car, Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super.

When tires were still fat...

...and steering wheels huge.

Well sounding names...

...impressive edges and...

...and an illoustrious audience on there way home after the race. 

You want to see more pictures of the Arosa Classic Car 2013? Check out the newest photo gallery HERE. Or visit my german blog for another selection of pics. 

Do you want to learn more about the Arosa Classic Car or even find out how you might get yourself listed for the 2014 race? Click HERE to get to the web page of the event or HERE should you desire to follow it on facebook.  

And why is it not? Not my fault? - As you I was born, but most probably unlike you I wasn't born at home, neither at the hospital. I was born in a car. That is what I blame for my passion for fast moving things, whether cars, planes, bikes, I just can't help being fascinated by 'em.

If you want to see the Renault Ondine (a classic itself nowadays) that I was born in, simply click HERE. 

Shipping Your Car from Europe to the USA

Now there is a new TSS (Travellers Service Site) on this blog, where you can check out how to ship your vehicle. This post is a copy of the first part. You can get to the site with all information HERE.

Shipping your vehicle from Switzerland to the USA

Conditions: My truck fits into a Standard Dry 20 ft Container. 

Shipping from: Basel, Switzerland 

Shipping to:  Elizabeth Harbour, New Jersey, USA

Shipping by: Schneider Transport, click the link for information

While in Switzerland I was dealing with: Dominik Hürner, Special Services

Schneider + Co. Ltd.
International Freight Forwarding + Logistics
Solothurnerstrasse 48
CH-4002 Basel
+41 (0)61 365 96 69 / Phone

+41 (0)61 365 96 56 / Fax
dhuerner@schneider-transport.com
http://www.schneider-transport.com

While in New Jersey respectively New York: I was dealing with Mark Aerne, he runs Sales & Markting for Schneider in the USA (I actually knew Mark from before, which was the driver for my decision to work with Schneider). Mark is just the guy you want to have handle things for you - really.

Schneider + Co. Ltd.

145 Hook Creek Blvd.

Bldg C-1 (G)

Valley Stream, NY 11581

+1 (516) 256 1600 Phone

+1 (516) 256 0056/ Fax

maerne@schneider-transport.com | http://www.schneider-transport.com

Cost:  This is sea fright, so it is very much a changing supply/demand market. At the time when I shipped cost for the Container to ship from Basel Switzerland to New Jersey USA would be about USD 3'800. Be aware, the US customs might charge you some additional cost: There are two inspections that are not just happen every time and are somewhat random, but if your container is picked to be inspected accordingly you will have to pay for the govermental services. At the time I shipped, which was 2010, there were two potential sources of income for the US governement. One is a physical inspection of your container, the other is an X-Ray. Of course my container was picked for both of them . This was costing me at the time another roughly USD 500. There is nothing you can do about that should you want to get your vehicle. (That might be one of the reasons some people say it might be better to ship to Canada). However on the big scale of what a Panamericana-Trip costs you, not really too much of an issue. And you want your car. In my case it was even more so,  I want my car! The unionized harbor workers were on strike for 5 days after my Container arrived. There are between 4'000 and 7'000 containers coming in every day at the harbour, so 5 days = about  35'000 containers.

Potential Cost Savings: When shipping ex-Switzerland you might consider driving your car up to northern Germany or the Netheralnds instead, this will safe you the cost for the shipping from Basel to Rotterdam on a Rhein-Vessel. However the savings will be in a range of about USD 600 to USD 1'000. Driving up the roughly 1'000 kilometes at European fuel prices, staying over night at least one night, getting a flight or a train ticket back home, doesn't make a whole lot financial sense vs. spending the extra money and ship directly ex-Basel. 

Comments: I would not try to do it on my own and arrange for customes clearance etc., neither in Switzerland nor and especially not in the USA. Schneider was the right choice. In the USA Mark picked me up, he run me through all the offices, brought me to the respective offices at customs etc. In NJ Schneider outsourced a part of the import work to an agent speciallized on temporary car imports, Mark introduced me their too, the whole thing was just seamless for me. The customs rip-off with X-Ray and all that has nothing to do with Schneider and really was beyond their control.

Where to stay while you wait for your vehicle: Sorry, can't recommend any place to stay in NJ, as I was staying with friends. Check www.hotwire.com or www.booking.com for Hotels in the region.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

I can not really judge what is true and what is not about all that has been posted and written about the garbage that is building up to huge patches in our oceans. What I do know and have prove for, is that the beaches are covered with trash, mainly plastic trash. 

Please help by spending a second thought whether you really need that plasic bag that is offered to you tomorrow when shopping. Wouldn't your food look much better in real plates at your pool party rather than using through away plastic dishes?

Find many conserning pictures about what I found at the beaches of the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, the Gulf of Alaska and in the Caribean Sea HERE.

Check what Wikipedia is saying about the subject HERE.

Click here if you would like to see my more detailed post in german with many links to reports and media voices to the garbage patches in our oceans. 

HERE you can find an official report of the UNEP.

Thank you for helping to minimize the trash in our Oceans.

Impression from Switzerland

 As a regular blog reader you might know that I have been home in Switzerland for several weeks. The main driver for my visit was supporting my parents during their move from a house into an appartment. But beside packing boxes and moving furniture, there was a little time to enjoy my home country. Scroll down to get a little impresion on what those weeks in Switzerland were like.

One Saturday Ursi and I have been hiking up to Pilatus, this fantastic view was during the descent .

My brother Stefan is a jack of many trades. Beside his job he also is a part time writer and has published his first book "Treibholz im Touristenstrom" recently. During his spare time he is reading a lot about history and specifically about WWII aviation. This afternoon I have joined him on the search on a WWII US bomber crash site search. We have found several things, however nothing was really clearly to be identified as aircraft parts. 

While I was cleaning the attic of my parents house I found some childhood memories.

Again...

...while hiking...

...wiht Ursi.

Like so often, beautiful might be dangerous. 

Uphill towards...

...Pilatus. The train that climbs up there is said to be the steepest train track in Europe. Pretty impressive to see, maybe even more so when you see it from a distance rather than sitting in it (a feeling I could not describe, since we hiked both ways).

Views from a along the way...

...and from the top...

...and while descending.

Aviation seems to have impressed me already at the tender age of 7. More first grader drawings found at the attic.

Since you have read Heidi, you might know: Each fall the mountain farmers in the Alps lead their cows down from the Alp meadows, where they have spent summer grazing and producing milk for Alp cheese and other tasty local dairy products. After many months in isolation up in the Alps this is quite an event for the farmers and maybe even for their stock. They decorate their cows and lead them down from the high level grazing areas...

...through the villages, back to their low level farms, where...

...the animals will spent winter in stables. Just weeks from now...

...the meadows in the Alps will be snowed in and inaccessible. Neither livestock nor men would stand a chance to survive winter up there.

Beautifully decorated with handcrafted bell-belts and fall flowers are...

...they guided through the village.

When ever I had a chance I was riding my motorbike and time permitting...

...always took...

...the long way around.

Switzerland - a very beautiful place to call home. So much more than banks, cheese and chocolate.

Should you like, you can check out a couple more pictures of Switzerland HERE.