IT_S8 Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 Well, as if a week off work wasn't reward enough, I've just done 1000 highly pleasurable miles whizzing round the continent. Took the Hull to rotterdam ferry, spent 5 days in Leiden, visting Rotterdam, Amsterdam etc, then 2 nights in Ostend (Belgium) before returning on the Chunnel... Marvelous. 2 kids, missus, boot full of, er, crap mainly, DVD, Sat Nav and over 300 horses. What more could you need for a trip abroad... ? I know the autobahns and the nurburgring spring to mind, but I have the think of the children.... The extra weight will slow me down ;-) I suppose if I was being picky, a little more steering lock could of come in handy on the narrow streets, and more than 300 miles between fill ups would be good, but hey, everything else was perfect... I'm totally converted to this aftermarket sat nav lark. The pioneer has been absolutely brilliant, without reservation. It knew every single kiddies park, point of interest, shop, restaurant and petrol station I needed, whilst still able to let me watch Oceans 11 on the way up the A1 while the wife drove.. awesome... Its also a real contrast when you land back in the UK to appreciate just how bad we are at driving...... The dutch motorways are excellent, almost as disciplined as the Germans, but it goes downhill all way though Belgium, France and finally into the UK..... I'm just desperately seeking an excuse for travelling to Germany... on my own... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 [ QUOTE ] spent 5 days in Leiden, visting Rotterdam, Amsterdam etc, then 2 nights in Ostend (Belgium) before returning on the Chunnel... [/ QUOTE ] Glad you had BIG fun. We should've got you to seek out the Svenmonator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crackdown Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Its also a real contrast when you land back in the UK to appreciate just how bad we are at driving...... The dutch motorways are excellent, almost as disciplined as the Germans, but it goes downhill all way though Belgium, France and finally into the UK..... I'm just desperately seeking an excuse for travelling to Germany... on my own... ;-) [/ QUOTE ] Couldn't agree more about the driving, but I wouldn't put the French in there. The only reason they seem better is because their roads are so much emptier. Try driving through Berlin at rush hour- it's unbelievably easy. As soon as they see you're not a local they give you loads of room and let you pull out etc. Wide roads, easy on street parking and a traffic flow system we'd do well to copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Its also a real contrast when you land back in the UK to appreciate just how bad we are at driving...... The dutch motorways are excellent, almost as disciplined as the Germans, but it goes downhill all way though Belgium, France and finally into the UK..... I'm just desperately seeking an excuse for travelling to Germany... on my own... ;-) [/ QUOTE ] Couldn't agree more about the driving, but I wouldn't put the French in there. The only reason they seem better is because their roads are so much emptier. Try driving through Berlin at rush hour- it's unbelievably easy. As soon as they see you're not a local they give you loads of room and let you pull out etc. Wide roads, easy on street parking and a traffic flow system we'd do well to copy. [/ QUOTE ] Nothing pi$$es me off more then the way that the French drive an inch away from your rear bumper as you overtake someone, whilst still showing their indicator. Then, just as you pass the slower car and pull in, they pull in behind you and then pull out immediately! Whilst talking about car driving, a few more motorway points that drive me nuts... 1. Lorries that decide to use the middle lane to over take another lorry AS your goin past them! I once quite litterally found myself 1/2 way under a lorry in this situation once as the fast lane was already occupied, there was someone behind me and it was peeing down with rain. 2. Inside lane overtaking... typically I find most common when one lorry is overtaking another and everyone filters out to the fast lane to get past them both. 3. Rubber necking... countless times I've been delayed 1/2 hour + on my trips between london/glasgow by this. You cant blame individual drivers though, its more a cultural thing. These traits are all experienced on british roads, to be honest I've done too little to say if it occurs elsewhere but I would say French are much better drivers on the whole than use (putting the above aside). Lane control is much better and for the fast driver as a result it's much safer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rothwell Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 I love driving abroad. Infact I'm doing a 7,500 mile roadtrip next year.... France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, France and back home again... Should be interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IT_S8 Posted September 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 Got stuck in Belgium breifly whilst a Passat went up in smoke. It was really ablaze, scary. It was confined to the engine compartment, but i'd say it was one of the last of the previous models, so 2004, 2005 maybe.... Didn't expect it.... Wasn't so much a case of rubber necking as get me out of here ! I've got a video of it somewhere ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie61 Posted September 3, 2006 Report Share Posted September 3, 2006 [ QUOTE ] 3. Rubber necking... countless times I've been delayed 1/2 hour + on my trips between london/glasgow by this. You cant blame individual drivers though, its more a cultural thing. [/ QUOTE ] While runbber necking is obviously a problem I think the long delays are usually due to the weight of traffic, a crash on the opposite carriageway is obviously going to attract your attention causing you to brake or slow down, especially if it's a high speed crash as you're not sure where the vehicles are going, This creates a ripple effect with the traffic behind having to slow down, it seems like the guy in front is rubber necking but he can't move off until the road is clear which will be around the site of the accident Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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