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Aug 20, 2019 15:15:25 GMT
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I'll be driving to (southern) Austria and back in October, in the Minor or 145, of course. However I've never gone north or east after crossing the channel before, only down into France. Can anyone recommend a route? The usual sites are recommending routes through France & Germany: Reims, Metz, Stuttgart, Munich Or two through Belgium & Germany: Brussels, Cologne/Bonn, Frankfurt, Nuremburg, Munich & Brussels, Kaiserslaitern, Mannheim/Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Munich I really have no idea which would be best in an older car that'll be cruising at 60-65mph most of the time (autobahns not an advantage?). Any thoughts and suggestions very welcome  |
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Last Edit: Nov 9, 2019 18:03:17 GMT by halkyon
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Aug 20, 2019 15:36:02 GMT
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Avoid France unless you want to pay vignettes all the way, get the ferry to Dunkirk and head through Belgium, Germany and into Austria.
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mht
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 123
Club RR Member Number: 185
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Aug 20, 2019 15:55:45 GMT
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I took this route in 2015 in the Lexus when I went to drive the Grossglockner  I've got a screenshot of a route to northern Italy that someone in the MG owners club did to get to the alps (thinking this is a decent route for classics). I'll post it later when I'm back home |
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Mark
1977 MG B
1992 Lexus LS400
1998 VW Golf VR6
1999 BMW 740i
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avg
Part of things
Posts: 168
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Aug 20, 2019 16:08:16 GMT
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Been lots of times but with a modern although our friends in Vienna have done it loads of times with Corsairs. Basically the same as mht as far as Nuremburg but on to Regensburg then Passau on on to Vienna very simple route unless the wife is driving and we ended up in Frankfurt airport Taxi rank!  |
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Last Edit: Aug 20, 2019 16:08:45 GMT by avg
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Aug 20, 2019 17:40:55 GMT
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I’m doing it at the minute !
Though in my modern !
France, Belgium , Luxembourg , Germany , Austria
We have passed plenty of older classics enroute so don’t worry about holding everything up
Saarbrucken in Germany is very easy to do in a day and I can recommend a very nice and cheap hotel if you go that way
Presently in Munich partaking in a few beers
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Aug 20, 2019 18:06:04 GMT
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We did UK to Switzerland & return last October in this - our 1952 Jowett Javelin   Went via France & Germany going then Switzerland & France returning - the French tolls are actually worth it - clear & well maintained roads with lots of service stations etc - we had a great time and were travelling at the same speeds that you would be 55 - 65 MPH - lots of waves & thumbs up from drivers in the moderns and got hassled by no one |
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Last Edit: Aug 20, 2019 18:06:29 GMT by Deleted
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Aug 20, 2019 18:24:19 GMT
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We did UK to Switzerland & return last October in this - our 1952 Jowett Javelin Went via France & Germany going then Switzerland & France returning - the French tolls are actually worth it - clear & well maintained roads with lots of service stations etc - we had a great time and were travelling at the same speeds that you would be 55 - 65 MPH - lots of waves & thumbs up from drivers in the moderns and got hassled by no one i couldnt agree more nothing at all wrong witness the tolls! Far less stressful than driving through the towns and villages If doing the french toll route I would recommend the sanef tag, makes the tolls so much simpler |
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That's interesting - we did enjoy the quiet, smooth roads when we did Dundee to Duravel in the Minor, but the tolls were expensive and we were always scrambling for change.
Perhaps the answer is to take a different route there and back to get the full picture!
Now if I could only get the overdrive to whine a little less...
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misteralz
Posted a lot
I may drive a Volkswagen, but I'm scene tax exempt!
Posts: 2,338
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Aug 21, 2019 18:00:06 GMT
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From Calais? Through as much of France as possible. If I need to get to anywhere in France, I WILL do everything I can to avoid going through Belgium - including driving over to Germany and down - and as said above, the Peages are worth the money. Driving something slow in Germany is not fun - unless you can cruise easily at 130 and get to 150 in seconds for merging into the outside lane just forget it. That said, the bit along the lower part from Karlsruhe to Salzburg is full of people taking their caravans and boats to the Adriatic and it isn't quite so painful.
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misteralz
Posted a lot
I may drive a Volkswagen, but I'm scene tax exempt!
Posts: 2,338
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Aug 21, 2019 18:04:28 GMT
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That's interesting - we did enjoy the quiet, smooth roads when we did Dundee to Duravel in the Minor From Fundee? Go Newcastle-Ijmuiden? Saves you driving the length of the island, you have a right good rest overnight and you're into Amsterdam the next morning. From there, it's The Louwman in Den Haag, Classic Remise Dusseldorf, Porsche, Mercedes, and Motorworld in Stuttgart, BMW in Munich, then the little Porsche Museum in Gmund! |
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Aug 21, 2019 19:16:23 GMT
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From Calais? Through as much of France as possible. If I need to get to anywhere in France, I WILL do everything I can to avoid going through Belgium - including driving over to Germany and down - and as said above, the Peages are worth the money. Driving something slow in Germany is not fun - unless you can cruise easily at 130 and get to 150 in seconds for merging into the outside lane just forget it. That said, the bit along the lower part from Karlsruhe to Salzburg is full of people taking their caravans and boats to the Adriatic and it isn't quite so painful. I would have to disagree with that comment ! Having driven the routes in the last two days I would say that the minority drive in excess of 80mph , I sat comfortably keeping up with the main flow of traffic st between 75 and 80 mph ! Yes myself ventured well in to three figures to keep up with traffic in the outside lane I never felt I was holding things up whilst at 75ish |
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misteralz
Posted a lot
I may drive a Volkswagen, but I'm scene tax exempt!
Posts: 2,338
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Aug 21, 2019 20:00:00 GMT
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I've been in Germany at least ten times this year. It's a joy in something quick. In anything else, not so much. Fortunately, I've been in my mk5 GTI every time, and sitting at 170-200 I'm still often passed like I'm standing still!
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I've been in Germany at least ten times this year. It's a joy in something quick. In anything else, not so much. Fortunately, I've been in my mk5 GTI every time, and sitting at 170-200 I'm still often passed like I'm standing still! i wouldn’t agree at all , plenty of people sat doing 120-130kmh and many doing a lot less The op will be keeping up with and going quicker than the hgv so not an issue, not every one likes to drive at such high speeds, my daily is more than capable of cruising all day at well in to three figures but I didn’t feel the need to do so like most of the other users on the road didn’t. As I said above it is minority not the majority that drive fasand if any one likes f1 and is in the Salzburg area check out hanger 7. It’s free to enter and really good I’ll try and get some images up when I’m on wifi |
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In May, we did our annual voyage to Wörthersee in Austria (near Villach) and this year we took DarrenW's Mk1 Golf. We cruised down at around 65mph as the car had only done 1000 miles since it was recommissioned having been sat in a shed for nigh-on 15 years, but we stopped every 3-4 hours or so (for fuel and to give the car a break. Took the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, and then stopped near Bonn, in Nuremberg and then an overnight in Munich, from there it was around 3 hours to the apartment in Velden-am-Wörthersee. We've done more or less the same route every year (we've been going for 15 years) we just change the overnight stops, and the cities/towns we stop for fuel in... although this year is the first year we've taken anything that necessitated any kind of mechanical sympathy - we usually take something modern and diesel - this year we took the Mk1 and my Mk7 Golf R... If you want to use the Austrian Autobahn, you need to pick up a vignette which are usually available in petrol stations near the border (and obviously in Austria) it's about €8 for a 10-day pass (I think) |
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Aug 22, 2019 17:23:57 GMT
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a few years back I did Cirencester to Graz in one day with goliath left at about 3, went Dover to Dunkirk on DFDS as it was mega cheap, drops you about half an hour up the coast in Belgium so ideal for heading to Germany and down, hit Graz at about 10 pm. Granted the 205 had a V6 so it was in its element cruising at 130 kph, however theres plenty of traffic out there doing 60-65 |
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Aug 22, 2019 18:23:20 GMT
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a few years back I did Cirencester to Graz in one day with goliath left at about 3, went Dover to Dunkirk on DFDS as it was mega cheap, drops you about half an hour up the coast in Belgium so ideal for heading to Germany and down, hit Graz at about 10 pm. Granted the 205 had a V6 so it was in its element cruising at 130 kph, however theres plenty of traffic out there doing 60-65 i would say the average speed in Germany was 130kph! Yep the minority go much faster but the majority drive atcwhst is in the uk would class as normal speeds . |
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Aug 22, 2019 18:34:25 GMT
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should have clarified, 100-110 kph was not uncommon, mixing metric and imperial there!
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Thanks for all the tips and advice, we got there and back.
Opted for France with the toll bleeper gadget in the end - very very convenient if a little pricier still than no-tolls.
Although, as journeys in classics are want to, it became a bit of an adventure. About 50 miles from home on route to Dover for the crossing I discovered that I'd very cleverly managed to break the overdrive switch (I think with the vacuum cleaner) when prepping the car for the journey. Mild irony. Settling down to a cruising speed of 55-ish (something like 2800rpm in 4th), I am of course wondering what type of switch I could jam in its place, or if I should just rig it to be always on and do a lot of accelerating in 3rd.
Next morning we find a local garage that's open and go over, to my joy I find it's run by a guy who owns some classics himself, including a Triumph Herald out the back! Despite my French being bad and his English just and poor, we figure it out.
Onwards! But then about two thirds of the way to the German border - the OIL light blinks on - I immediately turn the ignition off and coast to the side of the road. In this situation the imagination is immediately filled with images of engines seizing and lots of expensive bills - but there were no other symptoms. After checking that there is still oil in the engine and that particular fuse hasn't gone we opt to get towed to a local industrial estate that has an open garage and some places for lunch and a think.
Over lunch I convince myself that it's the oil pressure sensor and decide to push on while trying to ignore the bright red light and my increasing levels of anxiety.
That journey goes fine in the end - so we continue to our destination.
On the way to a hike later we have a small overheating incident where I make the mistake of stopping and removing the cap. Turns out the auxilliary electric fan fitted by a previous owner has a really dodgy relay (it wasn't working), plus the thermostat was in bad shape.
Fixed that and onwards!
Got the oil pressure checked at an Austrian garage - all good plus a new sensor provided.
Then drove a boat...
Then drove to Slovenia and saw lake Bled...
Annnnnd came back again, with no issues whatsoever.
Unfortunately now my planned space to store the Volvo when not using it isn't available so I'll likely sell it on. Annoying but I have packed in a lot of fun in the few months I've owned it already!
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Last Edit: Nov 9, 2019 18:10:34 GMT by halkyon
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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Oh, great thread! The missus and I are planning a road trip through France next June, stopping here and there and ending up South ( probably into Monaco ) and back again. I considered my 3rd gen Firebird but thought about, maybe, a more modern Pontiac. You have now convinced me that my own Firebird should be the weapon of choice. Thanks!! |
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Brilliant trip and pictures thanks. Looks like great fun.
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