Once again, SWMBO has declared that we’re not having a holiday this year, so I’ve decided I’m going to do my own thing, and bugger off to Europe for a week or so. I’m going to wing it, apart from booking Dover-Dunkirk at the start and Hook-Harwich at the end, the rest of it I’m going to take as it comes. I fancy visiting a variety of places, such as Berlin, Salzburg, Munich, Brugge, and Rotterdam, but if I don’t get to them all, I’ll change on the fly.
Accommodation wise, I’m not planning on booking any - I can kip in the car quite easily if needed. And so for the questions:
Do German services charge for parking in the car areas?
What other cheap, turn-up, type places would people recommend for overnight stops if needed?
I’m planning on going early June - any other places / events that people would advise?
Anything to avoid?
Thanks all
Gary
A couple of years back I did a Euro tour - went through the Channel Tunnel as it was the cheapest option, toured through France, Belgium, Germany (Dresden) Poland (Auschwitz - very emotive), back into Germany (Berlin), Holland, Belgium (Leper) then back home. It was an excellent holiday! I had a visit to Auschwitz planned as my terminal destination and planned in various stop-overs along the way using google maps to plan the route. I estimated how much driving time I wanted to do between stop-overs and then looked for the nearest place of interest, decided how much time to dedicate to each stop-over (depending on what sights and tourist attractions there was) then again used google maps to locate hotels en-route, planned the whole thing then booked it all on line - it was pretty easy to do to be honest.
No fee for parking in the services in Germany in a car . Use the Autohofs, where a shower costs about 3 euro. Stay off Autobahns if you want the true experience. F1 hotels are cheap as chips. Buy food from Aldi/ Lidl to save money too.
Cheers guys. Good tips there - must admit, I’m tempted to go to Auschwitz, think it’s the sort if place that everybody should visit at least once. Maybe I’ll bump the Salzburg & Munich for another time
The g/f and I did the same thing last year. No idea of where we wanted to go except “abroad”, crossed on the tunnel and just drove east. We ended up spending about a week in Germany, stayed in the Mosel valley, travelled up to Cologne, visited Belsen and the Mohne dam. We had no accommodation brooked prior and just went where the urge took us. Some days I didn’t even drive at all.
Thoroughly enjoyable trip though, and one I’d happily repeat. My one piece of advice though would be get good European breakdown cover before you leave. The peace of mind you get from knowing should it all go wrong you will be delivered with your vehicle back to your front door makes the cost more than worthwhile.
Enjoy.
Breakdown cover is definitely in the budget - went once years ago without it, and a radiator hose went. Luckily I had aa cover at home, which covered the anwb call out and he fixed it, but was dreading the cost if it had been anything more serious (in all likelihood, as it was an old car, would probably have just left it there and caught a plane home!)
Most big supermarkets in Europe have excellent restaurants, huge choice of meals, and a good price.
Check the traffic laws for each country, France has banned speed detectors in sat navs.
Check out Hitlers Eagles nest in Austria and the salt mines are good fun .
02.05.16.
Auchwitz is a MUST DO mate. Be prepared to be taken aback by the place . we went in a group on bikes, - destination was Brno for the Moto GP. We didnt arrive early enough really tbh , so were tight on time . I had a g/f from North Carolina with me and it was the only time she was speechless ( QUIET ) in the entire trip,lolol… It was a bit traumatic really ,but , wouldnt have missed it for anything . Puts lots of things in their place and just brings home how cruel these people where , shocked me for sure … I was suffering from holocaust fatigue really - just going cos she wanted to do it , but it shut me up too . Give yourself plenty of time - you will need it . Have a safe trip and have fun …
Joe C.
Cheers, think I’ll base the whole trip around visiting there - and a visit to Kanters restaurant at moerdijk!
Joe C:
02.05.16.
Auchwitz is a MUST DO mate. Be prepared to be taken aback by the place . we went in a group on bikes, - destination was Brno for the Moto GP. We didnt arrive early enough really tbh , so were tight on time . I had a g/f from North Carolina with me and it was the only time she was speechless ( QUIET ) in the entire trip,lolol… It was a bit traumatic really ,but , wouldnt have missed it for anything . Puts lots of things in their place and just brings home how cruel these people where , shocked me for sure … I was suffering from holocaust fatigue really - just going cos she wanted to do it , but it shut me up too . Give yourself plenty of time - you will need it . Have a safe trip and have fun …
Joe C.
I absolutely agree about Auschwitz being a must, it’s a historical site that evokes emotions that are difficult to express in words, the ‘hair’ display is the one that really got me whereas the ‘suitcases’ had the most effect on the wife. There are two different sites Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz 2 and the best way to visit is to go in the morning where for very little money you can have a guided tour (in English) of both sites, including bus transfers between the two sites, the tour lasts around 4.5 hours after which you can look around at your own pace, the second site is massive and I would recommend allowing a full day for the visit.
Birds do not fly near the concentration camps to this day, they avoid the area, I am not sure if they sense death on an industrial scale due to blood in the soil of buried bodies in the woods .