The Longest Night Before Installing the AMARU Freeze Dryer
- Karel Schmiedberger
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
In both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, every delivery of the AMARU freeze dryer includes not only transport to the customer but also on-site installation and operator training. Since the former Czechoslovakia isn’t exactly tiny, installations in eastern Slovakia often require a full day of travel, an overnight stay, and a second day for the actual handover and return. That was also the plan last week for one of our deliveries.
At first, nothing suggested this trip would be any different. The date was set with the customer for Tuesday, November 19, at 9:00 AM. So, the day before, we picked up a van from the rental company. Pavel helped us load the AMARU freeze dryer and accessories, and around 4 PM, Honza and I hit the road—heading for Slovakia via the notoriously bad D1 highway.
Since both countries still mark November 17 as a public holiday celebrating democracy (although this year Slovakia didn’t have the day off for the first time), we expected light traffic and a smooth journey. By 7 PM, we reached the Slovak border—when a strange noise came from the engine...
Calling roadside help, persuading the vehicle, or praying didn’t work. Eventually, Honza and I were just happy the van made it to the Malacky rest stop on the highway.
We only had to wait about an hour for the roadside assistance truck, and then we started heading back to Prague—another 300 km in reverse. It was a ride to remember! To be fair, the tow truck driver was kind, helpful, and polite, but for some reason, he preferred the cabin temperature set to 40°C and blared a mix of disco-techno at full volume. With a top speed of 80 km/h, the journey didn’t exactly fly by, but we made it back to the rental place around 2:30 AM on Tuesday.
And that’s where the story could have ended. We could have rescheduled everything and... called it a day. Had I been with Pavel, that’s exactly what would’ve happened. But Honza, the youngest member of our team and still full of energy, said, “Let’s go. We’ll even save on the hotel.” So, with help from the van rental owner, we transferred everything to another vehicle and, exactly at 2:00 AM, hit the road again.
Since Honza had driven the whole way from Prague to the Malacky breakdown, I took the wheel. This time we made it to Bratislava, where we switched places again. It was a long night filled with iced coffees and energy drinks, but at least we didn’t miss the stunning Slovak landscape at dawn.
It’s honestly a small miracle that despite all the troubles, we arrived at our destination only about ten minutes past 9 AM. The installation, setup, and operator training all went smoothly—except for the 40-minute wait outside in Lučenec until the person with the keys showed up.
Only the return trip remained. If you enter the Lučenec–Prague route in your navigation, it will estimate just over 500 km by the shortest route. But the crew included Karel and Honza, known fans of proper halušky (traditional Slovak potato dumplings with sheep cheese), and no trip to Slovakia would be complete without a stop at Koliba Zázrivá! There, we grabbed some Slovak cheese, had a hearty dinner, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
Then it was time to say goodbye to Slovakia. We switched drivers once more in Brno, downed more energy drinks and other stimulants, and finally made it back to our workshop in Rudná near Prague by 10 PM. With a total of about 30 hours without proper sleep, this installation officially became our longest delivery ever—and we sincerely hope this record stands unbeaten for a very long time. Still, it’s good to appreciate what went right: the hotel Ako Doma kindly waived the cancellation fee, the rental company owner did all he could to help us out, and we got to visit Prague’s younger Slovak sibling of a capital city.
