From Amsterdam to Budapest in Tesla
As a fanatic football fan, it is a dream to watch European Championship knockout match in the stadium. The championship was cancelled in the year 2020 due to pandemic. In 2021 it started with empty stadium and eventually with minimal capacity. Budapest is the only city which got permission to hold international matches with 100% capacity. Thanks to the circumstances that I got a ticket to one of the knockout matches. It was a ticket for Netherlands Vs Czech Republic for round of 16 Euro 2021 match, hosted in Budapest. Without any second thought, I booked tickets. Now during the COVID situation it is hard to travel via Aeroplane. So, that option had been discarded. I’m personally very passionate about drive. Often and regularly whenever I get chance, I go for long drive with my family. Why not in Car ?
As Google says, the distance between Amsterdam and Budapest is around 1400 KM. So, a round trip will be around 2800 KM and we need to complete the same within 72 hours. Challenging ? Isn’t it ? I called my friend, Supratik, another fellow MDM expert, and tell about the plan. He was too very excited and was ready to hit the road.
I have a Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD Model. As claimed by Tesla, with 100% full charge, it can go upto 580 KM. Off course, I’m not planning to challenge the claim. Even I can complete with scheduled Supercharging facility, I’m good. The plan is to start by Friday evening and end by Monday afternoon.
2800 KM in 72 hours. Fascinating journey. Route plan has been automatically created by GoAnywhere Tool available with Tesla. We are supposed to stop in the designated points. There are total 5 super charger points decided by Tesla Tool and I decided to abide by completely without trusting my own ability of making prediction for charging.
As I’ve approached towards the date, I prepared a mini bucket list to carry. 1. Toothbrush 2. Half Pant (1 extra) 3. T-Shirts (1 extra) 4. Netherlands Flag with Team jersey 5. My wife prepared a flux full of strong coffee and two plates of Noodles prepared in Indian style for the night 6. My laptop, phone and chargers 7. Credit card (For emergency). And 8. Passport and PCR Test result.
I called my Insurance company to check about the Travel Insurance. In order to travel in Germany, Austria and Hungary, three different autobahnvignet was required which I purchased two days before the travel date. PCR Test was mandatory, so we did the same and was expecting the result by 10 PM on the travel date. We decided that once we get the result, we should start.
25th June, 2021 Friday 10:00 PM : just received the PCR Test result for COVID-19 and it was negative. I was good to go. Finally the time came to say BYE to my wife and two daughters for the awaited travel. I started from Almere, Netherlands. Supratik, who was accompanying me, was waiting in Amersfoort. I took him and then started for Budapest.
1:00 AM in the morning. It was 26th June Saturday then when we reached our first destination. The first stop was at Westerwaldpark 4, 56587 Oberhonnefeld-Gierend, Germany. The distance we covered was 308 KM and it took me nearly 3 hours. The sky was clear and Full-Moon was visible like burned Indian Roti. The last time I saw this kind of moon was in my village when I was 7 years. Looking at the moon just reminded me those days. We were tempted to take some the pictures of Moon while the Tesla was getting charged. Supratik was carrying SLR Camera, he took some good photo of the red moon. I had my half portion of meal (prepared by my wife). It was a short break of around 20 minutes and the car was ready for another destination.
3:20 AM I stopped at Hauptstraße 231, 63879 Weibersbrunn, Germany. The distance travelled so far was around 500 KM. I found myself little fatigue and took a break of 30 minutes with the strong Indian Coffee. Sipping the home-made coffee in the middle of the road was enjoyable. I feel loved.
7:00 AM stopped at Junkersstraße 3, 93055 Regensburg, Germany. The distance covered 870 KM so far. Took a break for 30 minutes. It was morning with super Sun shine. I really needed a coffee. Oh yeah !! before I forgot to mention, my fellow friend was sleeping from start, as I imagined he was actually dreaming with his seat belts on. I was so certain because, he had not even moved while I stopped, had a coffee and completed the charging.
10:00 AM Rasthausstraße 3, 4300 St. Valentin, Austria. We crossed the Austrian border around 8:00 AM in the mornging. The distance travelled so far was 1050 KM. Took 30 mins break here.
2:00 PM Győrújbarát M1 autópálya, 119. kmsz, 9081 Hungary. The distance travelled so far 1300 KM. Unfortunately, I detour at Viena. The usual road shows the route bypassing the city of Viena. I took the road though the city. It was around 12–00 noon, the traffic was medium. That increased the travel time by 30 mins. At around 1:00 PM, I crossed border of Hungary and Austria. Once I reached the pre-defined Supercharger location, took 30 mins break. I was feeling Hungry. I had bread with Goulash soup.
3:30 PM Budapest. The distance travelled so far was 1400 KM. Total time of travel is approximately 17 hrs 30 minutes. It was hot outside around 35 degrees sunny. Dog tired.
Tesla is incredible. My highest speed was about 220 KM per hour in the Germany autobahn. There are plenty super charging facility available. So, you don’t need to worry about it. GoAnywhere tool automatically determines the best available route for your journey. Return journey was around the same. We started from Budapest at 11–00 PM on Sunday 27th June. I returned Home (Almere, NL) at 5–00 PM Monday 28th June. It took me 16 hours to return. Faster though !!
