In two weeks me and the missus are off on our holidays. The Luxury of having a couple of teachers in a house means holidays are easy to coordinate, but means we have to go in season and spend our time away with more kids . So to avoid this, we have decided to go on a less 'family' type holiday and take a trip around the Father Land. Having never planned such an event, but having been on several as a kid, I didn't realise the planning involved. We've been at it for a few months, on and off, planning routes, booking ferries and most importantly trying to find out when the Wolfsburg factory is open. Unfortunately, due to them taking ages to reply to emails, we had to book our return ferry, and it so happens we catch it the day before the Factory re-opens after the summer shut down. Grrrr! Still, we'll visit the Autostadt.

So we have the route planned, and we'll be taking the 9n (boring maybe, but certainly reliable ecconomical, not to mention huge on the inside!). The plan is to drive to Dover, hop the channel to Calais and then drive all the way trhough the North of France, due east, below Belgium and into South Germany to Tubingen, near Stuttgard, roughly 700 miles on the first day! The missus is a little concerned about driving on the 'wrong side' so I'm doing all driving on the continent, probably for the best!

After Tubingen, we're hoping to go as follows;

Munich

Nurenberg

Erfurt

Dresden

Berlin

Wolfsburg

Finishing up in Marburg, just south-east of Dusseldorf

Then its another huge drive home via Calais

All places are approximate as we have booked nothing yet. We'll book our first and last stays because we have the Ferry either side but other than that we'll stay where we like for as long as we like. Really looking forward to Bavaria for its Medievil-esque architecture and the Black Forset for its natural (without sounding gay) beauty. We have a map, we'll take a tent and a list of youth hostels to keep us safe!

The car needs a little work before we embark upon the return to the Father Land requiring a new off-side wheel bearing and two consul bushes. I attempted to replace the wheel bearing at the weekend but it hadn't come with the circlip, so I bunned that off. Job for the week. We have also got a massive list of stuff you need on the continent that you don't need here, such as spare bulbs, fire extinguishers etc that we need to collect before we go.

If anyone has any recomendations for places to visit, please pass them on, especially the more obscure places in the cities (restaraunts, pubs, museums, etc.) or whole towns to look at. I'll be updating this with progress regarding preperations, car repairs, lists of useful things we have collected and photos & info on the places we visit. Really looking forward to this, and I'm sure many of you have been on similar jaunts (I'm thinking Saf and his epic journey) with advice to pass on. And if this can be helpful and interesting, all the better.

Right, to get that replacement wheel bearing

Edited 23 July, 201214 yr by prankstar2003

ahh you will have a great time...

We did a german/france road trip a couple of years ago and it was great.. but we did make the mistake of only staying in places for 1 night and not having a day off from traveling.. well apart from 3 days at the ring! :) But it meant it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been. But it was still great fun!

We did the Ring, Trier, and Remes (france)

Got another one booked in September which I'm really looking forward to!

Sounds like a good trip, Id love to go and spend the whole time in Bavaria as theres so much to see, but i know for a fact that the draw of Wolfsburg or the ring would mean a road trip. lol

Dont forget if your traveling through France you need to carry your own breathalyzer kit.

@Mark: thats why we're not really booking places up. We want the freedom to stay or move on as we like, hence the tent! Decided to avoid the ring. If I'm going to go, I want to take a car around. But the 9n really isn't suitable! A friend went to Germany last year but missed the factory tour, so we're thinking we might head over some time to look around, probably hit the ring up then either in my the Blue one, or he'll hopefully have a VR Mk3 golf.

@Ceri: its on the list!

Went to see a family friend yesterday who used to spend a lot of time in Germany to get some tips on where to visit. Also started to collect a few of the essentials, its amazing what you need to carry in your car abroad. And as we're travelling through 4 different countries during our trip (France, Belgium, Holland and Germany) then we need to carry everything each of those countries required. So we're taking

- First Aid Kit (No specifics on what it should include however )

- Spare Bulbs

- Warning Triangle (some countries require 2 of these!)

- High viz jackets

- Breathalyser (x2)

- Fire Extinguishers

- Copy of insurance in the car along with registration documents

Luckily the rents have got most of this stuff from when they took this very car to France, so will likely just borrow that. It cost £40 to put the first aid kit together! Bloody expensive this travelling lark.

Its compulsary to have head light adjusters, but when on the continent before, these have not been used on this car. I read somewhere that newer cars don't need them, or something like that, I assume due to the direction of the beam. Can anyone advise whether we'd need them on the 9n?

You'll have fun mate! Definitely sort the wheel bearing aha, that would drive me mad by the time I got on the M40 from your house

I think some modern headlights have a lever which straightens the beam, not convert to LHD but helps reduce it, not sure!

Thats getting done next week, monday or tuesday. Driving me insane too!

Do what the Allies did in 1945...go through Holland...ahhhh....Amsterdam...you know you want to!

We're coming back through Holland, but nowhere near Amsterdam. We considered it, but its too far out the way, and meant we would have less time in Germany. Amsterdams a whole other story though surely!

Germany is amazing, I drove out to Berlin via Wolfsburg on the way out and Bitburg in Sudeifel on the way back and I go out loads for work. Brilliant place.

It's a really gorgeous country, and a joy to drive around. The lane discipline is impeccable, people obey speed limits and use their mirrors. Most of the Autobahn network is unlimited (when you see the national speed limit sign) and the rest has clearly marked limits which alter to take account of traffic or weather conditions. It's pretty easy when you get used to it.

I'd advise dipping into Austria if you're in the Munich area though as it's got the most dramatic scenery you will ever see. Mountains rising almost vertically out of the countryside. Incredible.

If you're going to Berlin, make sure you go to Prenzlauer Berg for an evening to soak up the night life. Western Berlin is very modern, has all the same shops and stuff that you'd find in most Western cities. But if you jump on the U-Bahn and head for Prenzlauer Berg you'll see a whole different world. Ex-Soviet controlled, lots of cobbled streets, amazing restaurants and bars open late where you can just chill out for a few hours. Much more interesting.

Wolfsburg isn't all about the Autostadt either. You need to go to the Stiftung Museum, which is in an old mill just down the road from the AutoStadt. It's much cheaper and home to all the interesting old Volkswagen concept cars, racing stuff and development vehicles. The AutoStadt is glossier but it's more about the new cars, rather than the heritage stuff. The museum has all sorts of stuff, not just Volkswagens, and it's your standard classic car fare. The interesting stuff is in the Stiftung, so do both.

If you're doing Wolfsburg in a day, my advice would be get an early start and do the Stiftung in the morning, then drive to the AutoStadt, book a trip in the glass collection towers (or do this in advance) and have an original VW Currywurst in the Tacho Cafe. They're INCREDIBLE. You won't leave hungry. Then you can do the pavilions in the afternoon.

If you go to Wolfsburg on a Sunday you can't buy anything in the shop, and that place is like a sweetshop for Volkswagen goodies.

Likewise if you're going near Stuttgart I'd advise seeking out the Mercedes-Benz museum, as it's really good. Huge concrete structure with a double-helix walkway through the middle. It's not difficult to find, either. Believe it or not it's right next to the Porsche stadium.

all this is making me want to go might plan something for next year just book a ferry and go for a week or two with the misses

Thats practically what we're doing Pete. The ferry was about £100 return, so pretty cheap. You can get a more expensive ferry over to the Hook of Holland, which then cuts your driving down a fair bit. Was quite a bit more expensive than going to Calais so we went agianst it.

Picked up all the compulsary equipment from the parents today, except the breathalysers. The fire extinguisher is proper old, and I'm sure has solidified in the can. If anyone asks though, we can show them an extinguisher!

Still need to sort this bearing out, must get on that tomorrow

I'd advise dipping into Austria if you're in the Munich area though as it's got the most dramatic scenery you will ever see. Mountains rising almost vertically out of the countryside. Incredible.

You're not wrong - I was strolling down a rail line just outside a small town called Hard, when i noticed the thing between the horizon and clouds wasn't sky.. it was all the side of a huge snowy mountain. Breathtaking.

yeah i would go calais too i would rather drive more and have more money to spend tbh and I'm going calais near crimbo to do a booze run with the misses might go for two days though and just stay around the coast but may just do what your doing next year anyway

are you just hotel'ing it up or you camping too

No idea yet. We're taking a tent and booking our first night, I'm not searching around a foreign area at night looking for somewhere. We'll then see whats about and ask for recomendations etc. when in a town for somewhere to stay. If the weather's good, we'll most likely camp as all we're after is a roof over our head, we'll be sightseeing the rest of the time. If staying in a city (Berlin for example) that has a good night life, and we want to sample the local drink, then we'll look for somewhere in town.

I'm only doing this because I have the diesel. Prices for the smokey stuff are cheaper over there, plus the added fuel efficiency make this a viable trip. I'd not consider driving the 3K in a petrol. Most of the money would go on fuel! Worth considering. Another option was to fly, and book a car when over there, Didn't really look into that too much however.

yeah il go in my clio 1.5tdi and i know the diesel over there is stupidly cheap compared to here as they want people to get diesel cars over petrol and how much mpg you getting out of your polo I'm getting 67 to 70mpg out of mine but I'm looking at a remap soon once i fit the intercooler

I'm not getting anywhere near that atm, struggling for 60mpg on my normal commute and town to country driving. It significantly increases on the M-Way though, which is what we'll mostly be doing

Offside wheel bearing done today, so she's mechanically sound. Good old boys down the local dealership pressed the bearing in for no charge, repayed with a few beers though.

First hotel booked yesterday. We're staying in Offenburg, just over the border from France. Really cheap too, £53 for a double room, B&B, which is very reasonable, especially considering the time of the year. Now having to update the sat nav though as ours doesn't have Germany included in the maps. God job we checked that as we were told it did.

Back. Got loads of pictures that I'll pop up if anyone is interested sometime tomorrow, not too many of modified cars though. Suprisingly thin on the ground, especially considering the miles we covered and all the cities we went to.

Germany is amazing though. Both in the country and the cities. So much to see and almost every corner provided something new to see. Highly underated and I'd reccomend anyone to go. The driving was a pleasure, although the autobahns can get a little hairy on the unlimited 2-lane stretches. The Germans have such good lane discipline, but do have a habit of tail-gating a bit. The Belgians on the other hand are arse holes Covered nearly 3000 miles and the car didn't miss a beat. Amazing

Glad you got back safe! Get some pics up, I'm seriously considering this

Just doing it now. Got to sort through them all. I went a little made in some of the Altstadts (old towns) as they have awesome castles!

A few photos and descriptions of the road trip for anyone who might be interested. I would advise anyone to go to Germany, if only to visit the main cities. Absolutely amazing, and could have spent twice as long in anyone place. We didn't follow the itinary above as our plans changed, as we thought they might.

Sunday 5th Aug - Prejourney

All washed and packed up. Good job she as plenty of boot space as we filled that, and the back seats with camping stuff and too many clothes!

Monday 6th Aug - Day 1, Banbury - Offenburg, 600 miles

Set off around 3am to get to Dover to catch our 6.40 ferry. Amy drove this leg as she didn't want to drive on 'the wrong side' when we got to the continent, so I'd be doing all the driving. We landed on time, and set off on the long journey through France

Stopping off at the services to collect supplies and use the lav.

Tolls! These cost us the best part of 60E on the drive down through France. If I knew we'd have our pants pulled down I'd have changed the route to go through Belgium and down the Rhine.

And some of the places we passed on our travels

We stopped off in Strasburg for a few hours just before we crossed the France-Germany border to stretch the legs and have a wander about. This set the tone in terms of architecture for the whole holiday, with such unique buildings mostly kept in great condition.

We then carried on to our first stop in Offenburg. We had a hotel booked for this night only as I wanted to know we'd have somewhere to stay after the best part of 11 hours travelling. Bit of a nothing town and we spent very little time here. Literally a spot of dinner and a nights sleep. Again, the cleanliness of the hotel set the tone of all the accomodation we'd stay in. Even camp sites, which can be pretty rankk over here, were all immaculate over there.

Tuesday 7th Aug - Day 2, Offenburg - Fussen, 220 miles

After and early start and a hearty German breakfast of Kase mit brot (cheese roll), soon to become a running theme for me. As a vegetarian, I'm not particularly well catered for in the land of the Wurst, we set of for Fussen, on the edge of Bavaria and on the Austrian border. This drive took us along some amazing driving roads with great bends and smooth tarmac. Would have been brilliant in a more performance orientated car. We drove through the black forrest and came across some lovely landscapes.

And we found this weird giant strawberry on the side of the road. No idea what it was used for, Amy liked the look of it

On our way through, we stopped of in Ravensberger, home of the board game, to look at some more Bavarian architecture (and eat some mean ice cream!)

Now our plan of not booking accomodation back fired here! Totally forgetting that the Germans were on holiday at the same time as us, and not knowing the area we were in was so popular with locals, Brits and Dutch alike, we didn't find a camp site with space for a good few hours, finally getting our tent pitched at 9 O'clock. Had a nightmare night too, with some German youths rampaging around the site, pissed up smashing mirrors

Wednesday 8th Aug - Day 3 Fussen

Woke up intending to visit the famous castles in the area, Neuswanstein Schloss (which inspired the Disney castle) and another one in the local area. We also got to take in the camp site in the light too, and saw we were camping here

Upon arriving at the castles we saw the queues were ridiculously long, no way were we waiting just to have a look inside for an hour. Also, the outside was covered in scaffolding, and that was the reason I wanted to see the castle. So we bunned that off and walked around the immediate area just taking in the scenery.

Took a ride on a pedalo around this lovely lake at the foot of the castles. The countryside around this area was amazing, being in the foothills of the mountains, with flat planes leading to huge cliffs and mountains!

After a spot of lunch in the blazing sun and next to a secluded lake, we moved on to have around Fussen itself. Again, another amazing town, with suprises around each corner in terms of buildings and arcitechture. This place even managed to hide a castle on top of a hill that we stumbled across!

All the details here are painted on. Apparently as it would have been when initially built

And a view across the roof tops from the castle walls

That night we went into the local town for some (rough) German food and stumbled across another suprise - a traditional German band and beer festival!

Thursday 9th Aug - Day 4, Fussen - Nurenburg (via Rothernburg ob der Tauber) 220 miles

Early pack up and on the road again, destination: Nurenburg. However, on the way up we had been recomended to visit Rothernberg ob der Tauber, a lovely walled town where they filmed some of Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang. This palce blew me away. Although it has a newer part to the town, the old town has either been preserved, or new buildings within the wall had been built to very similar standards and styles. We again spent a few hours just wandering the walls and looking at the historic buildings, sipping coffee and eating German cakes. Once again, every corner brought a new suprise.

Saw this cheeky golf from up on the wall!

Anyone know what thses wheels are? Found them on an Audi inside the town

Hopped in the car around 4ish and continued to Nurenburg. We had booked ahead to stay in a hostel (we had become more savvy with booking ahead after tuesdays close call!) in the center of Nurenburg. 50E a night for the pair of us in a double room, right in the center. Very reasonable we thought. For anyone interested it was called Let em Sleep.

On a trip to grab a few drinks and a bite to eat, we came across this wee beauty! The German's certainly haven't lost their touch when it comes to modification (apologies for poor photos. Low light and a few beers = blurred photography!)

Edited 22 August, 201214 yr by prankstar2003

That 6n.... LOL

Looks like a good trip mate! Those wheels are Audi Speedlines, came on the 90/Coupe Quattros iirc.

Looks awesome mate !