Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Thanks for all the replies we have now booked hotels based on recommendations from forum and will try the lille route Taking laptop with us this time so Im sure I will be on with more questions getting excited now :)

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

I believe you may be able to buy the emissions zone sticker for Frankfurt from some garages on the day - rather than in advance - as long as you arrive on a working day, so that rules out Saturday afternoons and Sundays. You certainly can for Berlin and it is part of the same scheme. I recall searching on-line a while back but don't remember where I found the answer I'm afraid.

I'm not sure when you are coming over but it didn't take more than a few days for our sticker to arrive once it was ordered on-line.

Dave

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

LOL, just read this in Rammy's quote and have to say I agree very much with your Polish friends - especially the vodka;) We never plan, it difficult enough rounding up the kids and making sure we don't forget the essentials. Once on the road, we just go with the flow....
I do know a chap who drives from near me to Manchester in about 20 hours!

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Since everybody was talking about planning the sensible way to make the journey, I thought it better not to mention that all 4 of my trips from Bristol were done straight through!

I checked the route with Google and found that incredible as it may seem there are only 5 turnings required, all the other motorways/autobahns flow into the next one required, so I did all 4 trips (towing a trailer) without using a satnav in around 20 hours (with no wrong turns).

But I would NOT recommend it as sensible or enjoyable!!!

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Bet you didn't stick to the 50mph limit in Germany to make the trip in 20 hours ;)
I didn't know about the trailer speed limit until AFTER my 3 trips with trailers/caravan :o

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

We never plan either, and always seem to stay in somewhere nice and different. Its all part of the adventure :) As long as I have money, passport and my dog...I am ready to go! (and my husband of course :p)

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Agreement here, we didnt know when one country started and one ended until we saw the Austrian mountains.

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

I knew I was forgeting something, space for the nearest and dearest, roof rack?

Dont think we gonna go for the 20hrs but glad we picked tomorrow rather than Sunday to go seems there's a little car race or something on in Germany

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Hey duztee do I detect another Bristolian accent? Having alot of trouble rolling my rrrrrr's here.
Interestingly our removers said they had another family from Bristol moving to Hungary in April this year. Must be all those tractors here :rofl:

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Paul(not)inEger,
I most certainly did stick to the limit AFTER I got stopped and politely told that unless I fitted some seriously up-rated tyres then a big fine was coming my way if I did more than 50 kph, this lasted for all of 10 mins, but it helps to sharpen up the concentration looking for hidden police cars.

cathyg.
No added 'L's in my accent, plenty of Somerset 'Oo' 'Rr' though, must be something about getting out of Bristol, when I rented a container while I sold my house, they told me someone else had just rented two containers for building materials they were shipping to Hungary.

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

On our last run in a van, we got pulled over in Austria. I knew it was coming as there was no other traffic on the autobahn as we passed them and they pulled out and sat behind us for 2 miles.

It turned out they often stop vans with GB plates as Bulgarians and Romanians like to buy them in the UK to bring home but often with no supporting documentation.

Quite pleasant officers and weren't interested in checking out the van or contents, just paperwork.

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Just saw this:
http://www.vezess.hu/hirek/traffipax...epik_el/45018/
Hundreds more speed cameras in Hungary :(
I recently got caught and it cost me a hefty 30,000 huf and I know of someone else who was hit with a 50,000 huf fine so beware!! letters sent through the post. I know when I got caught it was a camera in an unmarked car.

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Don't talk about fines:frown:
Emergency dash to the vets today, then emergency dash to town as I didn't have time to visit the VC due to the vet telling me I had ten minutes to get there. Just outside town, I get stopped for having no lights on, it would have been funny at the time had I not been desperate to find a VC, conversation went like this (in various languages):

Police 1 -Hello
Me -Hello
Police 1 -You speak German
Me - No, English
Police 2 to Police 1 - Do you speak English? No, do you? A couple of words.
Police 1 - crosses road to car and returns with an English vocab sheet.
Police 1 - Offence
Me - Ah, offense
Police 1 (reading from sheet) - Fine
Me - Ah fine
Police 1 - No lampa (obviously didn't have lights on the vocab sheet)
Police 1 to Police 2 - How much will we fine her?
2 to 1 - I don't know, maybe 10,000ft
1-2 - but she's not German 5,000
2-1 - no, 10,000, she's foreign
1-2 - I don't know, I think 5,000 is enough
Me - 5,000 would be better, 10,000's too much
Police 1 - Ah you speak Hungarian, why did you not tell us? (they didn't ask)
Getting really desperate now, I grabbed 5,000 from my bag and said please take it I need to get to a VC urgently
Police 1 looked tempted, Police 2 was adamant I must wait for a yellow cheque to be written out
Back to their car they went, with siet VC ringing in their ears, assuming they went to run some checks whilst I melted in the heat and prayed I would make it to town. After what seemed like an eternity - they returned and Police 1 grinned whilst pointing out I was only being fined 5,000 and calling out lights, lights as we drove off - his new word for the day!

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

My fine was for hurrying back to help my wife when she broke down after her clutch went so 30,000 fine and 32,000 repair bill!! :frown:

Re: Advice on Driving to in and around
 

Ouch! In comparison my was nothing but it's the first I've heard there is a sliding scale based on nationality and ability to speak Hungarian;)