Auf Achse

Auf Achse (a German expression meaning on the road, the literal translation would be on the axle) was a German television series on the ARD channel. The series ran from 1978 until 1996 and 86 episodes were produced altogether. A similar TV series about two truckers was the American Movin' On (TV series) from 1974 to 1976. Plot In the first few episodes, Franz Meersdonk (Manfred Krug) is a trucker working for the Munich-based company, "Mittermann Haulage", driving mostly the Germany-Iran route. The company is run by Sylvia Mittermann (Monica Bleibtreu), who is friendly with Franz. One day, she lands a big delivery to Tehran, but Franz is the only driver she has left. Franz gets to know a washed up racing driver, Günther Willers (Rüdiger Kirschstein) and talks him into teaming up for the new assignment. All does not go smoothly, however. First, Franz's lorry is inadvertently switched for a stolen one, then a hitchhiker causes problems. Shortly before arriving, Günter's cab bursts into flames. But at long last, the goods are delivered successfully (although this is not depicted). Back in Munich, the company has gone bankrupt, and the pair have to scramble to find new jobs. Just before Meersdonk is forced to sell his lorry, they connive to land another delivery run. Once an insurance fraud is cleared up in a later episode, they finally get the money together to form their own company: International Transport in Munich. Season 5 takes place entirely in Turkey. Willers quits (for good this time after Willers had departed the series once before for 16 episodes). Meersdonk establishes a branch of the company in Turkey.