Ivan Staněk

“I prepared the top of the roof I attached between the front window and slid the two ends between the fender and the front hood. I created an armoured car in case of failing to get under and through the toll-gate. The pipe that I had stored in the back of the car to loosen tires or wheels was cleverly cut at a 55 degree angle and I fixed it between the roof top at the front window over the front hood. After the decision was made to go, it was at midnight between 14th and 15th July 1983, I was driving to the building between Klagenfurt and the Yugoslav border line in the mist, at night, while the engine was running. As I approached this object, I could not see it and was driving all the time with the open door along the white line to check, where we were going. As I saw the lights of the building, I immediately changed the gears to two. The children were sitting in the back between the wives, we covered the back seat completely with a think sheet, Jarda took a leather glove in case we had to break out a crashed window. My plan to go under the toll gate was successful. Sparks flickered, the gate was bent, but the car remained intact. We took out our grey passports and requested political asylum.”

“I had a windsurfing board up on the roof of our car. But the garden was not normal, it was magical. There was money we needed to make a new start abroad. But the money made a different sound, so there was only a single person, who knew I was going to run away. It was my brother, who had the absolute hearing and recognized, if the tube contained anything or not. At that time the customs officers had much experience with whatever people could do. We managed to take out the pipe and stuff in the banknotes, and we balanced the other tubes with cut newsprint in the same weight. The garden was also speculatively invented to save our car to be used as a tank when crossing the border. My idol at the time, James Bond, had made incredible things in all the movies, and he gave me the idea that I could walk through a toll-gate just like he did. On a certain evening, when we wanted to choose the option, we found the border-crossing under Klagenfurt.”

“The customs officers called the Yugoslav police officers, who arrived in a Fiat 600 in order to escort us to the Hungarian border; to show us the way to really go back, so that we would not make another attempt. I got back our car keys and I had to follow the police to the border, but I quickly compared the chances or our and their vehicle and found out that they would not be able to catch us, so I speeded up after some fifty kilometres. I got to another road, they started to follow me, but the Mercedes won, as it went much faster. I ran drove off to the border, the day prior to our departure.”