European Road Trip - Many, Many Pictures

[garycox]

A few months ago, some of my friends (who are on Retro-Rides mainly) put out an invitation for a road trip, with the destination being the "Raceism" show in Wrocław, Poland.

 

The plan was to take 4 cars: a Renault 9, Mk1 Golf Cabriolet, Alfa 155 and 'modern' Fiat Panda. We'd spend 9 nights away and stop at various places en route. Eurotunnel and accommodation were booked.

 

A few weeks before we set off, we received a message from the organisers of the show, informing us that it has been moved to the following weekend. TWATS. We couldn't rearrange our travel, accommodation, holiday from work, etc. so decided to go on the original weekend anyway.

 

We did amend the choice of cars though; as fun as taking the 9/Golf/155 would be, they wouldn't be as fast, comfortable or economical as more modern stuff and the Golf in particular had some recent reliability issues. As we were no longer going to be showing the cars we took, it was decided to take just three: a '97 Audi A4 estate, '01 Fiat Multipla and the '07 Panda. 

 

Day 1:

 

We drove to the Eurotunnel via a traffic jam

 

Stopped in Bruges for lunch

 

And eventually got to Valkenburg for our first night. 

 

Car content 0/10 so far... please be assured that this will improve.

[Faker]

I'm in Holland right now. I can't find any decent old chod!!

[RobT]

I R DISAPPOINT you didn't take the Simca, and all the stress it would entail...looking forward to the next instalment.

[garycox]

Day 2:

 

After a fuel stop

 

And some through-the-back-window spotting

 

We left Valkenburg and headed to the Technik Museum, Speyer.

 

 

 

This was in reception, which was a good sign

 

This place is massive, and has a great variety of stuff. There are cars, trucks, bikes, planes, helicopters, boats, trains, space stuff, and loads of other random shit. Would recommend.

 

Here's a selection;

 

 

 

 

There seemed to be some sort of special BMW exhibition going on

 

[garycox]

 

 

 

Swoopy Mercedes was lovely (randomly placed under a space shuttle)

 

 

 

MAGLEV

 

 

These were next to a Z8 - presumably representing a tiny-headed James Bond

 

[garycox]

 

The proportions on this don't look quite right

 

 

 

Wrong trousers

 

 

 

 

 

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This plane

Contained this GAZ

 

 

Can't remember what this was

 

 

 

 

[garycox]

Renault bus was great apart from the 1980s badges

 

 

 

 

 

SPRINGS FOR TYRES

 

 

 

 

[garycox]

Last few from Speyer

 

 

 

 

We were staying in Stuttgart for the second night. When we parked up, this was lurking in the corner. It's not particularly old but I don't remember seeing one before, and it's unlikely I'd see another...

 

 

Note that this is also a 'woman parking' space, which is a strange concept. The spaces weren't even bigger.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

That looks to be a fascinating museum. 

 

I visited Wrocław a few years ago. I liked the city and rode around it in a beige W123 series Mercedes 200D taxi.

[garycox]

Day 3:

 

We woke up in Stuttgart, which contains a Porsche museum and a Mercedes-Benz museum. We had time to do only one of those, and this won the vote:

 

 

 

The ground floor is mainly just a normal dealership, not a promising start...

 

But there was also stuff like this as well

 

 

 

This was absolutely hideous

 

Upon entering the museum proper, you take a lift up to the top floor and then it all sort of spirals down in vaguely chronological order.

 

 

Except commercial vehicles, which are on sort of sub-floors. It's difficult to describe and unimportant.

 

[garycox]

 

 

 

 

This was nice, I don't think I've seen one before.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

Oh a Russian shuttle, always fancied seeing one of those more than the yank version for some reason.

[garycox]

Swiss (I think) mobile post office was enormous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This was quite cool; it hooked up to a car in front and then followed it around attached by a load of wires, monitoring various stuff.

 

 

[garycox]

Beige

 

Proportions

 

Pope

 

Diana

 

Worn SL was ace

 

Grim

 

190 belonging to Nicholas Cage (or somebody like that)

 

 

[garycox]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good colour

[garycox]

 

 

This taxi had done 1,200,000 km

 

 

 

Single seater, big-arched S-class; I can't remember what it was used for.

 

 

 

[garycox]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[garycox]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Mercedes-Benz museum, we had a long drive to Prague, where we'd spend the night.

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

I think the 300SLR on the transporter is the one Sir Stirling Moss won the Millie Maglia in.

[garycox]

The transporter is amazing. It's a replica as the original was scrapped by M-B years ago, but it looks bloody great.

 

[Guest Hooli]

Yeah I recall reading about it's build years ago. I think they've taken it to Goodwood as well.

[garycox]

Day 4:

 

Took a break from car content while in Prague

 

Did spot this though (but not hard, at least 50% of all cars in the Czech Republic Czechia are Skodas, they're EVERYWHERE).

 

We went via a funky station (which doubled as a nuclear bunker)

 

To another nuclear bunker

 

Saw a few of these (what is it?)

 

And then set off for Wrocław, the venue of the car show we were not going to.

Another mystery truck

 

 

[garycox]

it was another long drive

 

 

 

 

 

But we eventually arrived in Wrocław to be greeted by this interestingly placed train

 

and a BMW

 

We met up with a friend that lives nearby, which was useful for finding good food/drink and fending off the millions of people hassling you to go to strip clubs etc.

 

Late night, that one. 

[TripleRich]

Saw a few of these (what is it?)

IMG_3016.JPG

 

Its a Praga V3S.  Built by Praga from 1953 until 1964 then built by BAZ until 1990.  Most were used by the army.

[Spottedlaurel]

That Speyer museum looks fantastic!

 

Enjoying the rest of the photos too.

[garycox]

Day 5:

 

Our accommodation in Wrocław was booked for two nights, and most of the group stayed there enjoying a day of less driving and visiting an underground Nazi city and a train museum, which were both fairly close.

 

One of the guys has a Czech wife who was over there for two weeks with their daughter visiting family, so four of us took the Multipla over there to see them (and the Tatra museum in Koprivnice).

 

En route - I thought this was a Kia Mentor but it wasn't - Sephia maybe?

 

Obligatory Skoda

 

Amazing Tatra train looked a bit worse for wear