My folks had decided to come to Europe for the Oschersleben race. The plan was basically to kill 2 birds with one stone, as Alex was turning 21 on the same weekend. This way they’d get to see Al on his birthday and see both of us race the 24 hour in Germany. So with this being organised, Mum and Dad left the shop in the hands of my sister Desiree and boarded a plane bound for Germany.
Deciding to make the most of their time in Europe, the folks also organised a bit of road trip that we’d all go on together. It sure was to be an adventure…
They met up with Alex and his Amy (his girlfriend is also called Amy) at Frankfurt, jumped in the hire car and headed for my place in Austria. Later that afternoon they arrived and after the normal catching up we took them for a meal at our local pub Route69.
By the time we got back to my flat later that night, I could tell Mum and Dad were getting pretty tired so it was out with the sleeping bags and brand new Blow-Up Matress. It wasn’t till we wanted to blow it up that we ran into problems. No pump. “No worries” I said, playing the host for the evening. “I’ll just blow it up with my mouth, won’t take long.” Exactly 15minutes later, I realised whilst hyperventilating that this wasn’t going to work. My face already resembled that of Casper the friendly ghost, and I was slipping in and out of consciousness. “How much we got to go now?” I huffed. “Oh only about 97%” Alex said laughing. Little smart arse.
“Look you dickhead, we’ll go downstairs and hook it up to the exhaust of the car. It’ll be ready in about 2 minutes.” Dad said. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s exactly what MacGyver would do. So we headed downstairs and proceeded to Blow Up the Matress. Apart from the 3rd degree burns Dad received from the exhaust, it actually worked.
Next morning it was back in the car and off to Poland. Destination Auschwitz.
You might be wondering why we were going to Auschwitz? Well so was I. The site where the biggest Human extermination in history took place wasn’t on the top of my ‘To Do List’ but I must say I’m really glad I saw it. It’s a big part of World History and to actually stand where all this horror took place was a sombre experience.
Afterwards we were back on the road, direction Germany, where Mum had booked us a room at a haunted Old Mansion, formerly owned by famous Opera Singer Therese-Malten. Being the only one of us that speaks a bit of German, I had to do all the talking with the old woman who greeted us at the door. She showed us to our 2 rooms which were vastly different from each other. One was a newly re-furbished 2bedroom + ensuite, the other an Old Library with a bed similar to a coffin. It’s toilet was downstairs in the Old Wine Cellar which you could have imagined as torture chamber. I was the lucky bastard who got this room.
Alex was the first of us to get edgey. Whilst getting his bags out of the car an old man came to him asking if he was Hayden. “Hayden, is that you” he said with a plain look on his face. Alex told him he must be looking for someone or something else, as he turned and wandered off into the garden saying “Hayden, where are you?” Ding Ding Ding… Whacko!
The Haunted Mansion
After sourcing a few beers we kicked back in the Old Study and sank a few cold ones before heading to bed. Getting back to my dungeon I noticed some loud partying coming from across the street so I decided to close the window so I’d be able to sleep. During the night I woke up dying to take a piss. I thought about venturing downstairs to the Cellar but I couldn’t find a light. I came to the conclusion the place probably ran on candles or something. So with this in mind I came across a better idea. “I’ll take a piss out of the window.” I returned to my room and headed for the window I’d closed earlier. It was open. Dooo Dooo Dooo Dooo….. Freaky. It was the fastest piss I’ve ever taken.
Next morning I spoke to some locals in German at breakfast, whilst Mum filmed me on her video camera to show everyone back home. How embarrassing…
We didn’t stick around Malten’s Mansion for long before getting out of there and heading for Oschersleben.
Once we got closer to the track I got my bearings again and knew exactly where we were. We pasted the spot where I was in the big Van Smash 2 years before, then went straight out to the circuit to catch up with our crew’s and introduce them to the Folks.
The weekend from this point carried on like any other race weekend, with practice followed by qualifying followed by the race. On the morning of the race Dad decided to do something to get into the Oschersleben spirit, so before the start of the race he had both our team’s logo’s painted on his head. Anyone who didn’t already know who he was supporting sure knew it then!
The race went pretty well, apart from a few mishaps here and there and we both got good results. I finished on the box in 3rd, and Alex brought it home in 7th. The results put us all in a positive mood as we headed for the presentation. After getting our trophies for the race, it was time to party. Starting with some drinking competitions, the night soon progressed to wild dance moves and karaoke singing. I don’t know how I got hold of the microphone that the DJ was using, but when AC/DC came one there was really no stopping me. I remember being carried onto some tables later for another go singing to Queen. Some video evidence off these shenanigans was also captured (Click on THIS link).
Mumma Cudlin busting a move...
42hours after our last night’s sleep and it was time for bed. We actually had to cut the party short a little as we were forced to leave at 5am the next morning to make it to Frankfurt Airport in time for the next part of the trip. So with 3 hours of sleep, it was up again and on the road to Frankfurt. Dad took this shift behind the wheel whilst Me and Al snored in the back. Soon we were in Frankfurt and on the plane bound for our next Destination, Transylvania!
