Road trip around Europe - July 08 - Tips needed Europeans!

R

R1000

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2008
Messages
35
Location
Finland
Car(s)
Audi A4, CBR1000
Time to introduce my plans for the summer trip.

Starting from 24th of June, me and my friend will start the trip, first heading from Finland to Sweden, and from there to Germany. There's sh*t load of driving for just to get to Germany, where the journey actually begins.

In Germany, places to visit will include N?rburgring, Rust (Europa Park with biggest rollercoaster in Europe) and Herrlingen (resting place of Erwin Rommel).

Getting across Alps to Italy, Stelvio Pass is something not to miss. In Italy area around Garda Lake, Venice and Arese (Alfa Romeo museum) are at least worth checking out.

Heading to Monaco, that's something to see. From there, going along coastline of Southern France, we head to Spain and the city of Pamplona, where annual bull running takes place 7th - 14th of July.

If I survive the running, we continue to San Sebastian to chill out couple of days, and then go back to France. Heading north, Le Mans racetrack and Mont Saint-Michel are worth visiting, and from there the next destination is Omaha Beach, Normandy. Always wanted to see that place.

We gonna be in Paris couple of days, staying in my study friends place who's working there for the summer. Heading back through Belgium and Holland, little is known from these places. At least I wanna check John Frost Bridge in Arnhem, Holland (place of Operation Market Garden in WW2).

Some questions, if someone could answer:

- Are there any "open" concentration camps along the route?
- Are Austria and Switzerland just places with big rocks, or are there something more to see?
- Belgium and Holland, wind mills and weird languages, anything else?
- Anything to remember when travelling in [place your country]?

Any tips from interesting places along the route (or area around it, route is just a sketch and will surely change) will be hugely accepted, and any general information is welcome too. I'll be also glad to answer any questions.

In total, five weeks is reserved for the trip, and overall distance covered will be around 9000km. And yeah, my friend doesn't have a drivers licence...

https://pic.armedcats.net/a/an/anonymous/2008/05/13/Map_001.jpg
 
Yes, there is more to holland then windmills, wooden shoes and tulips and legal drugs. there is alot more to see, i don't know what your route is exactly through holland, but there is plenty to see along the way.
 
fbc said:
It's a little off your route, but Dachau concentration camp is just outside of Munich - it's an incredibly moving place (I can't imagine the impact the Auschwitz has).
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip, I think we'll need to visit Dachau. My mother visited Auschwitz couple of years ago and was really moved from the atmosphere around the place. I've always been fascinated about WW2 and it's nice to see those places live, even though for sure I can't accept the actions made in those camps.
 
Werner said:
Yes, there is more to holland then windmills, wooden shoes and tulips and legal drugs. there is alot more to see, i don't know what your route is exactly through holland, but there is plenty to see along the way.
Click to expand...

Route through Holland isn't planned at all yet, so any tips (not including windmills and tulips) are more than welcome. Any great party places, nice locations or motorsports / WW2 related stuff, pretty much anything goes.

Haha, my travelling companion is a girl, but somehow I feel that most placed we'll visit are sort of "dude" -places, well I'm driving, so she just need to stick with me. :D
 
Great time to do the trip (if you have climate control).

Seeing you are passing though Cologne anyway, here some more ideas:

- The EL-DE Haus might be quite informative for some aspects of WWII history.
- If you like church architecture and history, apart from the Cologne Cathedral we have a dozen romanesque churches.
- If you are a Roman history buff, there's some ruins left from that era and the Romano-Germanic Museum
- If you like getting high on chocolate fumes, this is the place to be.
 
R1000 said:
[...]At least I wanna check John Frost Bridge in Arnhem, Holland (place of Operation Market Garden in WW2).[...]
Click to expand...
If you are a Military-fanatic, just visiting might be nice, but the Place is actually pretty boring. Nice (like all the "Neatherhine" region) ... but boring. I would check out Njimwegen around the Corner (try Pannekoeken!) and just drive over the Arnheim Bridge.
- Are there any "open" concentration camps along the route?
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WW2-Holocaust-Europe-2007Borders.png look for youself. On your special route, you won?t come past "Exterminations Camps" like Auschwitz, since they are only to be found in eastern Europe. You could stop at a "normal" concentration camp but they are mostly museums and monuments. very few are actually preserved as they were back then (like Auschwitz still is). If that is what you are loking for, you?ll also find that in Denmark or Norway. Dachau would be a good choice though.
- Are Austria and Switzerland just places with big rocks, or are there something more to see?
Click to expand...
Just make sure you don?t end up in someones cellar. :p I?ve never been to switzerland, but Austria has a lot to offer for the eye. Vienna is great and so are most of their cities. I personally think the Austrians are not the nicest of People in Europe ... put the country is great.
- Belgium and Holland, wind mills and weird languages, anything else?
Click to expand...
Holland is full of great places IMO, can?t say anything about Belgium, but Holland is great. The Oosterscheldekering http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oosterscheldekering (wich is listed as one of the 7 wounders of the modern world with all of Zeeland (no "new" there *g*) and Amsterdam are definetly worth checking out.
- Anything to remember when travelling in [place your country]?
Click to expand...
Don?t know about Finnland, but in Germany on the Autobahn, you always have to use the right lane. Always. The other lanes are only for overtaking. Once that is done, it?s back to the right lane. Use the indicators, especially when going fast on the Autobahn, communication with the other drivers is life-saving at 250km/h or faster. Speeds you are alowed on Motorways or A to B- Roads vary a lot in Europe. Look them up somewhere. If asking a local, it is often considerd polite, at least asking in the local language if they speak english. Especially in France they won?t even talk to you if you don?t try - even if they can speak english. Ask if they speak english first (in french) and they?ll very kindly help you out.
Any tips from interesting places along the route (or area around it, route is just a sketch and will surely change) will be hugely accepted, and any general information is welcome too. I'll be also glad to answer any questions.
Click to expand...
Bordeux is a really great city (unesco world heritage), and north on the coast, you?ll find some really nice beaches. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Côte_d'Argent
And great vinejards on the way ... -> the Medoc region I?d highly recommend.
Mont Saint michel is a great idea ... but the small island is really packed with tourists and people who want your money ... not that this would put me off, the Place is just too great. Just be warned, it?s mostly packed with people.

If you like churches ... I?d suggest visiting one of these (I?d recommend the first two) while in France ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Chartres
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen_Cathedral
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiens_Cathedral

later more maybe ... :ninja:
 
First off, don't drive that way through Denmark. Go Copenhagen-Odense-Frederecia then Hamburg.

There are prolly some old danish royal castles on your way if you're interested in that sort of thing.

And if you're interested in WWII go to n?rnberg, that was the HQ of alot of the nazi stuff.
 
:D Don't stop in Belgium.
It will be a disappointment if you've done all that other cool stuff...
 
R1000 said:
Getting across Alps to Italy, Stelvio Pass is something not to miss. In Italy area around Garda Lake, Venice and Arese (Alfa Romeo museum) are at least worth checking out.
Click to expand...

You could try squeezing in Modena - home of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani. Little bit off your route between Venice and Arese though.

Heading to Monaco, that's something to see. From there, going along coastline of Southern France, we head to Spain and the city of Pamplona, where annual bull running takes place 7th - 14th of July.
Click to expand...

I was just in Pamplona. One thing - book accomodation well in advance! The place fills up with tourists and don't expect just to show up and find somewhere to stay. The other bullrun advice I'd give is that the first run and the weekend runs tend to be very busy - too busy. The Tuesday-Friday ones should be more reasonable.

If I survive the running, we continue to San Sebastian to chill out couple of days, and then go back to France. Heading north, Le Mans racetrack and Mont Saint-Michel are worth visiting, and from there the next destination is Omaha Beach, Normandy. Always wanted to see that place.
Click to expand...

You do know your route actively avoids Le Mans? :p

If you're sticking to your route though there are some things I'd recommend. If you pass through Bordeaux you could lunch there, if nothing else (and stock up on wine). I would say that, though. If you're into beaches and passing through, if you go to the Atlantic coast (40 minutes drive from Bordeaux) you find the beach town of Arcachon and 5 minutes from that you find the Dune du Pyla, Europe's largest sand dune, which is well worth a visit if you are passing.
 
Dachau is a good place to go. I went there. Very interesting and fairly moving.
 
My tip: Go to Vienna, Prague, Wroclaw and Cracow, then go home through baltic countries instead of coming back the same route :D
 
Your route planner mostly chose crowded roads with very long stretches of speed limits on them, which are not very attractive landscape-wise. Not very wise to go that way.

If I may suggest an alternative, go down the A7 from Hamburg past Kassel, through the Kassel hills and then go West on the A5 and find your way to Koblenz via Wetzlar and Montabaur. From Koblenz you can easily reach the N?rburgring using the A48.

That route is not only much more attractive landscape-wise, it's also less stressy because you can avoid the crowded Autobahns of the Ruhr Area and around Cologne. And you go past the former concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen, which is just a short way off the A7 between Hamburg and Hannover.

Choose a Sunday morning to start your trip and you will have a lot of fun driving through Germany, even if you don't plan on going fast.
 
Last edited:
Depending on the time you have I suggest driving from Passo Stelvio to Venice through the dolomites. The highway is very boring and the alps are very beautiful. It'll probably take you 2 to 3 hours more.

A possible route (highway from 2 on):

http://img528.imageshack.**/img528/9994/alpsgn2.jpg
 
I wouldn't spend too much time around the southern coast of France, all the cities there cosist mostly of concrete housing blocks and are largely uninteresting and if you leave it to the last minute, it gets really hard to find some accomodation there in the summer. The only thing I find remotely intersting there is Monaco. Instead, I would spend more time in the Alps and places like Gorges du Verdon (featured in the Top Gear RS4 segment). I would also suggest you to go through the Baltic countries on the way back, all the capitals there are very nice, my personal favourite being Tallinn. The Curonian split (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curonian_Spit) in Lithuania is also an interesting thing to see.
 
Damn, what brilliant tips you have! Please keep 'em coming, everyone is valuable, this kind of information could never be found from any travel guides.

On a way back I would love to drive through Poland and Baltic countries, but unfortunately (route-wise) I need to drive through Sweden both way, as my father lives there.

Accommodation is pretty much unplanned (except for Pamplona & San Sebastian, where hotels are already reserved), I think we mostly prefer guest houses, but we take a tent with us so camping sites are also ok, and in case of emergency sleeping in a car is also possible.

Suedschleife, Adunaphel & mgkdk, thanks for the WWII & other info, always appreciated! You guessed right, I love to check out those ancient buildings and get into past & present culture of current country.

MacGuffin, H0nzik & Beni, good info about the route, will surely take those into account.

teeb, haha good point about Le Mans, I need to fix that on the route. :D Modena would also be kick-ass place, maybe I could cheat my travelling companion by saying the Italian Law of Motoring requires every tourist to visit that place. :D Thanks also for the tip for Dune du Pyla, it's great to chill out at good beaches.

efoolution, cheers for informative post! I'll try to avoid everything else but wine cellars. :D Anyway, thanks for the wine info, I've just got into this wine tasting thing after watching Oz's and James' Big Wine Adventures, even though I prefer James' way of just getting hammered. :D Cheers also for the language info, I need to learn couple phrases of French beforehand.
 
Last edited:
efoolution said:
Speeds you are alowed on Motorways or A to B- Roads vary a lot in Europe. Look them up somewhere.
Click to expand...

In France, the top speed on the autoroutes decrease by 10mph in rain.

If you're off the autoroute and in the country, and cars coming the opposite way flash your headlights at you, it means there's a speed trap around the corner. This is technically illegal but everyone does it. It's considered polite, once you've passed the gendarme with a speed camera, to warn some cars as you drive away.

If asking a local, it is often considerd polite, at least asking in the local language if they speak english. Especially in France they won?t even talk to you if you don?t try - even if they can speak english. Ask if they speak english first (in french) and they?ll very kindly help you out.
Click to expand...

Yes, yes, yes. For each country at least try to remember 'hello', 'please', and 'thankyou'. 'Do you speak English?' might help, too.

In France especially - they're very proud of their language. Most of the French will speak some English, but odds are they won't have used it since school, so will be reluctant to do so. If you show you're making an effort - even just with a 'bonjour, parlez-vous anglais?' - they're more likely to help.

Oh, and when walking into a shop it's polite to say hello to the owner. This doesn't apply in huge chain stores, obviously.

If you are going to stop in Bordeaux, the tourist office do half-day coach trips to different wine regions, including 2 tasting sessions at 2 chateaux. It also includes an explanation of the slightly confusing French wine system on the coach.
 
Interesting idea, I've been thinking about doing the same next summer with a few friends, just take a car and drive around central Europe. How much money will the trip cost if you don't mind me asking? Since something like this might be in the pipeline for me aswell, it would be nice to know whether typical student money would even get me out of Finland :p

Seems like a very nice way to spend time in the summer, just remember to drive Quickly but responsibly.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top