Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Sat 28 Dec 2013 15:39

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - csgmart

My lad and I are planning a short (3 to 4 days max) road trip to Germany next year.

Will want to take in some of the sights in / around Berlin etc.

I'm OK with booking the Euro Star train but unsure how I go about booking accommodation for the trip as I don't know exactly where I will be on each day. This may change as I get my head into planning for the trip.

Does Germany have Premier Inn type places and can I risk just turning up on each day and hoping they will have a room available or would I be better booking in advance (and if so can anyone recommend a cheap (but not too cheap) hotel chain)?

As my German is non existant can I presume that the locals will all have an understanding of basic English?

Anything to watch out for in terms of the driving side of things? Speed limits / sat navs etc?

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 16:37

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Smileyman

If you plan to have a 3-4 day road trip to Berlin I suggest you are planning for 3 days travel and 1 day sighseeing. Even if you share the driving and drive though the night you will be so shattered after the journey you will not be able to enjoy or take in what you see. The tunnel may take 30 minutes but you still need to get there, and in good time for registration, passport control and boarding etc .... France and Belgium both have speed limits, and unless you plan to drive there at night you need to factor in traffic congestion.

It will be quicker, cheaper and easier to fy to Berlin and hire a car. (By the way, the Eurostar is the passenger service from St Pancras (Ebbsfleet or Ashford), Eurotunnel is the car service)

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 16:59

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - barney100

Have you thought of a coach all in short tour of Germany? Can be reasonable and strainless and you can learn some German on the way as well as taking in the views.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 17:37

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Collos25

October to March you will need winter tyres on your car heavy fine if the police decide to check which they do regularly (the offence is not to have tyres suitable for the weather snow ice and temps below 6 degrees),to travel in Berlin you realy need a windscreen green sticker with your number plate etched on again if they decide to fine you it can be akward.Plenty of unmarked police cars and who will fine you on the spot for the slightest discretion and thousands of hidden speed cameras on your journey.

There are thousands of hotels in Berlin loads of web based travel agencies apart from sightseeing Brandenburg gate,wall,checkpoint charly etc the city never sleeps with bars and clubs of every persausion awaiting you ,24/7 public transport which is clean and warm .Given the choice I would go on the plane saves a lot of hastle I live in Dresden my son has a house in Berlin and I was based there for a long time its a marvelous city .

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:05

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Hamsafar

I though this was a motoring site, not an anti-motoring site.
The OP is talking about a road trip.

One has to have the frame of mind that the journey is the reward, not the final destination, and plan your route with 2 or 3 interesting stopovers. If you just concentrate on getting to the final destination, it is OK but can be a bind and a little underwhelming to your tired mind when you get there.

We find setting off from home to arrive at the tunnel around midnight is best, while planning a nap at a services near the tunnel or at the tunnel car park. You will get tired in Belgium or Netherlands so have another long rest and nap (daylight by now) then continue to Germany. plan a stopover before Berlin. Take a smartphone for searching for hotels via tripadvisor and booking them via their links to hotels.com opodo etc..

McDonalds usually have free wifi. So find these along your route via google before you set off.

You should also get some cirular green sticker for you car and IIRC it must meet EU4 emssions or better, but I didn't get one and nothing happened.

Parking in Berlin is cheaper than UK or free and has more free on-street parking 8 mins walk from the centre. I remember we parked near a persiche restaraunt named Soray (that had terrible service) and walked.

www.saray-berlin.de/html.html

Edited by Hamsafar on 28/12/2013 at 19:08

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:16

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Avant

I agree with Hamsafar, but if you're going to get the maximum enjoyment out of this trip, plan in advance so that you can take more time over it. Ideally have 3-4 days in Germany and 2 days either side of that to travel - i.e. set aside a week if you can.

Certainly wait till the spring to avoid winter weather.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:19

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - csgmart

I though this was a motoring site, not an anti-motoring site.
The OP is talking about a road trip.

Thank you - I didn't add in my original post that one of the reasons for going was to 'test' out the autobahns and see if the top speed of my SLK is trurly 155 (I would chicken out before then but you get the point as to why I want to take the car...).

Clearly some more preparation needed but already picked up some good points.

We would be going in summer (June probably) so no need for winter tyres and my car is only just over 18 months old so EU4 emissions shouldn't be a problem either.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:24

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - RT

my car is only just over 18 months old so EU4 emissions shouldn't be a problem either.

Hopefully that's a typo - EU4 emissions cars couldn't be registered after Sept 2009 !!

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:33

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - csgmart

my car is only just over 18 months old so EU4 emissions shouldn't be a problem either.

Hopefully that's a typo - EU4 emissions cars couldn't be registered after Sept 2009 !!

What I meant was my car was too new for the EU4 emissions requirement to be an issue

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:35

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - RT

my car is only just over 18 months old so EU4 emissions shouldn't be a problem either.

Hopefully that's a typo - EU4 emissions cars couldn't be registered after Sept 2009 !!

What I meant was my car was too new for the EU4 emissions requirement to be an issue

Sorry - I misunderstood.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:37

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - csgmart

Sorry - I misunderstood.

No problem - that's one of the drawbacks with the written rather then the spoken word.

:-)

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:35

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Collos25

Many parts of the autobahn network have speed limits which vary from 80kmh to 120kmh I travel the A4 and A2 on a regular basis you will never do 155mph in safety the autobahns are just to busy .

Any petrol will get a green ticket the offence is not displaying one.

Edited by Collos25 on 28/12/2013 at 19:38

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:39

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - csgmart

Many parts of the autobahn network have speed limits which vary from 80kmh to 120kmh I travel the A4 and A2 on a regular basis you will never do 155mph in safety the autobahns are just to busy .

Any petrol will get a green ticket the offence is not displaying one.

Mine is a diesel car - is the green ticket still required and where do I buy one and how much do they cost?

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:46

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Collos25

Any TÜV testing station while your there, you can get one before you go by post I think.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:40

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Ed V

I spent 18 months in (west) Berlin in the 1980s and never was stopped by police. Only difference is the on-the-spot fines for offences, so take plenty of cash just in case, as well as the usual documents which are mandatory to have on you. First aid kit too I think.

Not sure now about headlight direction for right hand driving.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:49

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Collos25

Things have changed alot since 1980 a hell of a lot.Like the wall coming down no transit roads no Russian soldiers no Stasi no East Germany.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 19:59

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Hamsafar

There are not that many autobahns that have no speed limit, most are ~120-130kph. The speed limit on the autobahns seems to continually change, ie it it may become 80-90kph on a bend then back to 120kph. You also have to be prepared to brake very hard, much harder than in the UK. People behind a lorry at 80kph wiill pull in front of other going 250kph. You are also supposed to have winter tyres if you go in the winter season.

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Sun 29 Dec 2013 11:12

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Bromptonaut

I though this was a motoring site, not an anti-motoring site.
The OP is talking about a road trip.

The OP is contemplating a 3-4 day round trip journey from Calais of close to 2000km. That's the same distance as say Provence which I've driven to several times but wouldn't dream of doing in a long weekend.

Given the level of questions and that he didn't disclose intention to 'prove' his car it looked like sightseeing. Nothing anti-car in asking whether hed be better to fly/drive.

As to Hotels the BB chain has around 80 sites in Germany. Assuming they're similar to the French locations they'd fit OP's need. Comfortable en-suite room plus breakfast and with restaurants etc nearby. Easily booked via web and with a flexible cancellation policy.

Most will have English speaking staff. A phrasebook/dictionary and a few basic words like please, thank you etc would be polite and helpful, both there and more generally.

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Sun 29 Dec 2013 12:42

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - csgmart

I though this was a motoring site, not an anti-motoring site.
The OP is talking about a road trip.

The OP is contemplating a 3-4 day round trip journey from Calais of close to 2000km. That's the same distance as say Provence which I've driven to several times but wouldn't dream of doing in a long weekend.

Given the level of questions and that he didn't disclose intention to 'prove' his car it looked like sightseeing. Nothing anti-car in asking whether hed be better to fly/drive.

As to Hotels the BB chain has around 80 sites in Germany. Assuming they're similar to the French locations they'd fit OP's need. Comfortable en-suite room plus breakfast and with restaurants etc nearby. Easily booked via web and with a flexible cancellation policy.

Most will have English speaking staff. A phrasebook/dictionary and a few basic words like please, thank you etc would be polite and helpful, both there and more generally.

Thank you - clearly a longer duration is required - more like 6 to 7 days in total. Good advice so far - really appreciated.

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 20:17

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Cyd

A few years ago 3 mates and I did a tour of Luxembourg, Southern Germany and Austria. Our primary mode of transport was a four seater PA-28. We simply took off from Wycombe and headed out into the continent with nothing booked. We landed where we fancied, hired cars as the desire took us and simply looked for a suitable "pension" when we needed to stop the night. It was July and we never failed to find somewhere to stay.

If your route is going past the Dusseldorf and Dortmund area, may I suggest a stop over in Wuppertal. Take a ride on the Schwebebahn and eat at the Brauhaus. Try their pork knuckle (look for Riesen-Haxe on the speisekarte [menu]) and their own brewed beers (do try the weisbeer if you haven't had it before) (you can see the microbrewery behind glass). The building is the old Victorian bath-house converted.

Edited by Cyd{P} on 28/12/2013 at 20:19

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Sat 28 Dec 2013 21:50

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Smileyman

Schwebebahn is good, (it's a hanging monorail type transport) over 100 years old and until a few years ago 100% safety record. View videos on youtube if interested.

The fastest I've ever driven was 122 mph (as indicated on the car speedo) on tha autobahn near Hagen, it was evening time in May and the road was empty - you could say a good (and comparatively safe) time to test the car!

On another trip I recall cruising at 100mph whilst being overtaken by Merc and Porsche (who were in lanes 2 and 3) - at other times on the same trip it was 50mph on a twisty two lane section full of HGV's. So to test your Merc plan ahead the best road place and hope for dry weather.

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Sun 29 Dec 2013 12:08

Any - Short Car Trip to Germany - Advice Needed - Brit_in_Germany

The Accor hotel group has a number of hotels in Berlin at reasonable prices. Most are under the Ibis name. For a capital city, the prices are tolerable.

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