Driving to Berlin

[Guest Breadvan72]

No more buying this year.  I might still sell one or two things.  

[Zantimisfit]

I would take the narrower car, I guess the Lancia, as there's a lot of roadworks on the Autobaaaahhhhns (Germans are fastidious about their autobaahhns!) and rather than reduce the number of lanes they just reduce the width of each lane to 3mms wider than whatever it is you are driving. They also provide a large truck to drive alongside you for maximum stress, which is good for concentration.

 

If you are going to fly and buy, which is clearly the most logical thing to do, use this link

 

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/search.html?dam=0&isSearchRequest=true&ms=21700;&vc=Car

 

This indicates there are 37 Rovers for sale within 100kms of Berlin, all with the steering wheel in the wrong place, so ideal for your trip.

 

Good luck!

 

...and don't forget to go up Norman Fosters dome on the Reichstag

 

...and the Opel dealer nearby with a museum on the first floor

[Six-cylinder]

The way is to take 2 friends on the trip and make them drive their own cars! On this trip we went to Boppard, Germany having each driven the Nurburgring.

 

The furthest I have driven into Europe is Hungary for the Grand Prix, one overnight stop in Boppard to collect a friend. 

 

If I choose the crossing it is always the train as sometimes they wobble the sea and I don't like that.

[Guest]

The Chunnel can fuck right off, more shoogles than a ferry, and trying to hold up a fully loaded ZZR1100 for 45 mins is not preferable to sitting watching England getting smaller with a nice cup of coffee in hand. Dover-Dunkirk for me, 50 quid return.

[Felly Magic]

Fly out, buy German shite whilst out there, drive home, WCPGW?

[Bear]

Rover. Rover Rover Rover. It'll probably get more attention, will be more comfortable.

 

Also you can fill it with Lancia spares if you're clever.

[stormee]

A2 and old B1 are highly recommendable. You will see a lot of Route der Industriekultur and the old Alleenstraße. Honk when you pass Dortmund.

[John F]

A2 and old B1 are highly recommendable. You will see a lot of Route der Industriekultur and the old Alleenstraße. Honk when you pass Dortmund.

 

You do realise that "honk" is also a British slang term for vomit, don't you

[stormee]

You do realise that "honk" is also a British slang term for vomit, don't you

Was new to me, thanks!

[Junkman]

Via Syria? Might want to rethink cars and/or fit armour plating.

 

Buy R20.

[Guest Breadvan72]

NO CAR BUYING.

[omegod]

YES CAR BUYING

[Junkman]

[Guest Breadvan72]

U MEK ME DO CAR BUYING I DO KILLAGE ON U ASZS

[Bear]

Skip to Romania and bring me back an ARO10? Please?

[Bear]

And an Oltcit or two. We need more Oltcits here.

[Guest Hooli]

Oltcit's noses? A rare treat that.

[New POD]

Some sort of Volvo Estate from the late 80's early 90's ?

 

I sold a Volvo estate towbar to a man that came from the west coast of Ireland via the ferry to Holyhead, along the A55 to Chester and then under the misery tunnel all the way to L37. Picked up towbar and then drove to dover caught the ferry, and got back to berlin without blinking. I reckon the whole trip took him 28 hours virtually none stop. He reckoned that if the road was straight or clear he would stick to 120 mph and no more. German Nutter.

[New POD]

Can you bring me back some Opel badges and a grill for my Omega ?

[Royale80]

Why don't you make it really interesting and plan to take the XJS? Could be the "thing" to get it up and running-and what a cruiser!

 

Steve

[Guest Breadvan72]

Skip to Romania and bring me back an ARO10? Please?

 

I know someone who went to Romania.  Actually, I went there too, but not to such a posh bit of Romania.

[wuvvum]

Why not do the Prague bit first?  Then you can buy a nice Tatra 613 while you're there and drive it home via Berlin.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Having two engines, or the engine in the back, or on the roof, or whatever, is all very well, but I can't drive two cars at once.  Because POAR SKILLZ.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

The Rover gets my vote. They're a comfortable long distance cruiser and I should think it is a fair bit quieter than the Lancia - so you should emerge at the other end far less tired.

[Junkman]

So when is this going to turn into a collection thread?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

In the old days, I'd drive from Harwich to Hamburg or Cuxhaven, after which Berlin is a pretty easy 2 hour drive.  After DFDS closed those services, it was Harwich-Esbjerg in Denmark.

 

I'd fly tbh.

[Junkman]

I'd fly tbh.

 

Even I think that buying some half arsed aeroplaneshite just for a trip to Berlin is a tad over the top,

although I could warm to the idea. But honestly, I'd stick with autoshite and ferryshite for the time being.

[Des]

I've done the drive to Poland a few times, always pop in to Berlin, experience the ever fading gloom of former communism, first time I used an old Rangy pre-equipped with a C60 of Kraftwerks finest and was in the shadow of the space needle stupid quick, onwards I went and had I not recently fixed ABS and replaced discs, pads, tyres I would have made bullbar emblems of a whole gaggle of locals on a dark gloomy bend of a rural Polish track. Since that scare I've slowed my speedish ways and done the journey in an old shitbox camper, rarely exceeding 65 and taking a couple of days at least with frequent detours to visit random towns for gawks. They have numerous nice lay-bys over there, not our piss and shit strewn pull ins, but beautifully kept areas with parking bays and picnic tables, I'll pick one with an earth bank that shields traffic noise and park for the night, usually waking to the rubbish being collected, toilets serviced and even families having breakfasts as if in a fancy park. So my vote would be allow a few more days for travel and it turns from a chore you endure to pleasure you'll treasure.

If you visit Czech, have a poke at Nuremberg if you've not before, they rebuilt / recreated all the medieval parts after some incident and it's fucking cat, like some G-plan tribute to the Rococo period, and Hitlers Colosseum thing is worth a sneer, don't be shy at taking a piss up the side of his statement piece, if you sneak in the back there's a ramp where you can drive up inside through the arches and carry on halfway round the bastard, it's a right laugh dissing the reich by skid making their granite.

 

 

[drum]

Twice I've been to Austria on a bus in the last three years.

 

It went France, Belgium, Holland, Germany then Austria.

Rather annoying number of text messages as you pass through the borders.

 

I haven't checked the map, but that doesn't seem like a straight line to me.

Maybe it is? Like when you fly to America, you pass over Greenland...

[Zantimisfit]

In the old days, I'd drive from Harwich to Hamburg or Cuxhaven, after which Berlin is a pretty easy 2 hour drive.  After DFDS closed those services, it was Harwich-Esbjerg in Denmark.

 

I'd fly tbh.

Harwich - Esbjerg also defunct now sadly