Finally drove on the Autobahn!

[glock19]

I just got back from a week long trip in Germany and I have to say my favorite part of the trip was the driving. We toured through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and I never want to drive in America again. The roads are in perfect condition, people actually respect passing lanes/traffic laws, and of course no speed limit.

It was 7 days of mixed autobahn and Austrian/Swiss alps driving bliss in a BMW 530i with M-Sport package. At first I was amazed that 80% of the cars in Germany were German cars, but after a week with that BMW I've been checking them out myself.

Anyways, just wanted to share and tell anyone if you get the chance to drive in Germany definitely TAKE IT!

 

[SMB]

It's on my to do list!

 

[A_Harman]

My dream vacation:
Ship the Camaro to Germany.
Drive the Autobahn.
Run the Nurburgring.

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
My dream vacation:
Ship the Camaro to Germany.
Drive the Autobahn.
Run the Nurburgring.


You would definitely stand out with a Camaro in Germany.

I really wanted to do a rental for a few laps at the Nurburgring but my fiance wasn't too excited about it. Plus, it's around 500 euro for 2 laps in a BMW RS-M3.

 

[Danh]

Just got back from a similar tour in southeast Europe and have the same reactions. The passing lanes are used for, well, passing, not just a place for people who prefer to drive on the left. Given the speed differences it's also pretty remarkable how quickly cars vacate the passing lanes. Inattentive driving seems to be very rare.

In Europe it seems driving is regarded as a "privilege" rather than as a "right" as it is here. More training, more peer pressure, more pride. Unfortunately I don't think there's any way to get there from where we are.

On the other hand, roads there tend to more congested and driving is generally more difficult. European driving is not exactly relaxing.

 

[Boomer]

The roads in Germany, as my German friends tell me, are built not by the lowest bidder but by the company willing to give the longest warranty. Hence, they are thick concrete, not watered down (S*** soup) that falls apart under the weight of trucks.

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: Danh
Just got back from a similar tour in southeast Europe and have the same reactions. The passing lanes are used for, well, passing, not just a place for people who prefer to drive on the left. Given the speed differences it's also pretty remarkable how quickly cars vacate the passing lanes. Inattentive driving seems to be very rare.

In Europe it seems driving is regarded as a "privilege" rather than as a "right" as it is here. More training, more peer pressure, more pride. Unfortunately I don't think there's any way to get there from where we are.

On the other hand, roads there tend to more congested and driving is generally more difficult. European driving is not exactly relaxing.


I'm surprised to hear you say the roads were more congested, but then again it could be the location difference. We hit some traffic in Stuttgart but for the rest of the trip we didn't hit any traffic and I didn't set the cruise below 110mph.

I will admit once you get into a European town things get very stressful. They are a little looser with what's a designated walking area (walking mall, sidewalk) and what's drive-able. But the highways were wide open compared to the highways around DC that I normally deal with.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: glock19
I just got back from a week long trip in Germany and I have to say my favorite part of the trip was the driving. We toured through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and I never want to drive in America again. The roads are in perfect condition, people actually respect passing lanes/traffic laws, and of course no speed limit.

It was 7 days of mixed autobahn and Austrian/Swiss alps driving bliss in a BMW 530i with M-Sport package. At first I was amazed that 80% of the cars in Germany were German cars, but after a week with that BMW I've been checking them out myself.

Anyways, just wanted to share and tell anyone if you get the chance to drive in Germany definitely TAKE IT!


Congrats! You just experienced what high road/fuel taxes can do.

Keep in mind, for the most part, the drivers you complain about in the US are probably taking the train in Germany. Automobile ownership isn't cheap in Europe. 1/8 of the cars on US roads would be instantly impounded in Europe.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

You can pay for the price of gas out there not me! No thanks!

 

[DoiInthanon]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
...Congrats! You just experienced what high road/fuel taxes can do...

Not to forget a land area the size of Michigan+Indiana with a GDP that is fifth in the world. A lot of wealth per kilometer of autobahn.

What astonished me about the autobahn was overtaking drivers flashing their lights when they were still a kilometer or two back. I found it high stress driving. The autobahn system is tremendous and I was very impressed.

I wish our country was as well run as Germany, but I am still happy my German ancestors made the move in the 1830s. Up until WWI, rural Missouri where I live had German and Swiss country schools. Even in my day, my dad's farm neighbored the farm of two old German brothers that had immigrated. They grew alfalfa hay that was as pure as hay can be. If we really wanted to get them going, my brother and I would take a cedar tree sprout up to their house and tell them we found it in their hay field. They would laugh it off, but we would see them out walking the meadow that evening or the next day.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
You can pay for the price of gas out there not me! No thanks!


I recently spent a month in Demark and Sweden, the roads were superb and not too congested .
( other than Copenhagen, but that's another story) as for cost of fuel, we had a largish, Nissan SUV/ crossover type verhicle with a TDI Diesel engine.
After a month of fairly heavy driving, often fully loaded we averaged
5.4 liters per 100 Km which translated to, almost exactly 1,000 Km (600miles) per tank of Diesel
Diesel was just about $2 per liter or $8 per US gallon, a fill up would cost just about $100.

So 6 miles per $ worth of fuel.

Also consider, in a small country, you would not normally need to drive too far.

All in all, not as bad as I would have imagined

 

[KrisZ]

Grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence...
All those nice highways, roads and infrastructure come at a very high cost and it's not just monetary cost I'm talking about.
It's a highly bureaucratic country with a very narrow mind set. If you have that type of personality you will fit in, otherwise life there would be miserable for an average American.

 

[glock19]

Honestly, as nice as the whole experience was it wasn't the roads or the lack of speed limits that I enjoyed. What I enjoyed most was that Germans their take pride in their driving. They pay attention and their courteous (they actually drive on the right and pass on the left!). The problem with driving in America isn't the roads or the laws it's the people IMO. Everyone here is too busy on the phone or the radio or anything else besides driving. Maybe some people find it stressful to be forced on focusing on that task at hand (driving the car) but I found it very refreshing and I felt safer (even at 120 mph) knowing other people were doing the same.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: DoiInthanon
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
...Congrats! You just experienced what high road/fuel taxes can do...

Not to forget a land area the size of Michigan+Indiana with a GDP that is fifth in the world. A lot of wealth per kilometer of autobahn.

What astonished me about the autobahn was overtaking drivers flashing their lights when they were still a kilometer or two back. I found it high stress driving. The autobahn system is tremendous and I was very impressed.

I wish our country was as well run as Germany, but I am still happy my German ancestors made the move in the 1830s. Up until WWI, rural Missouri where I live had German and Swiss country schools. Even in my day, my dad's farm neighbored the farm of two old German brothers that had immigrated. They grew alfalfa hay that was as pure as hay can be. If we really wanted to get them going, my brother and I would take a cedar tree sprout up to their house and tell them we found it in their hay field. They would laugh it off, but we would see them out walking the meadow that evening or the next day.


Very true and they also have a relatively homogenous population.

 

[gman2304]

My nephew spent 2 years in Germany when he was in the Air Force. He met a German girl and married her over there. I talked to her on the phone before he married her and except for a slight accent she spoke english as well as any American! She goes to see her family occassionally and they come over here occassionally. I was amazed at how fluent they are in English. He loved driving the Autobahn and commented they rarely have an accident on it but when they do it's usually catastrophic! They have cameras that cover almost the whole system and are very intolerant of those who disobey the rules. Even a hand gesture could get you fined or arrested. Youtube has some amazing clips of speed runs and accidents on the Autobahn. I saw an episode of Modern Marvels about the Autobahn...very interesting.

 

[shDK]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence...
All those nice highways, roads and infrastructure come at a very high cost and it's not just monetary cost I'm talking about.
It's a highly bureaucratic country with a very narrow mind set. If you have that type of personality you will fit in, otherwise life there would be miserable for an average American.




Bin in Germany many times. And i really can,t recognice your picture of germany and it,s people.

 

[expat]

[quote

Very true and they also have a relatively homogenous population.

[/quote]

They did some work on that.

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: shDK
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence...
All those nice highways, roads and infrastructure come at a very high cost and it's not just monetary cost I'm talking about.
It's a highly bureaucratic country with a very narrow mind set. If you have that type of personality you will fit in, otherwise life there would be miserable for an average American.




Bin in Germany many times. And i really can,t recognice your picture of germany and it,s people.



I tend to agree.
I first came to America almost 40 years ago, and was disappointed that it was NOT the Free open-minded place I thought it would be.
Perhaps a LITTLE less Bureaucracy, but a whole bunch of FEAR of litigation.

But it is true many Germans have a firm idea of 'How things should be'

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: glock19
Honestly, as nice as the whole experience was it wasn't the roads or the lack of speed limits that I enjoyed. What I enjoyed most was that Germans their take pride in their driving. They pay attention and their courteous (they actually drive on the right and pass on the left!). The problem with driving in America isn't the roads or the laws it's the people IMO. Everyone here is too busy on the phone or the radio or anything else besides driving. Maybe some people find it stressful to be forced on focusing on that task at hand (driving the car) but I found it very refreshing and I felt safer (even at 120 mph) knowing other people were doing the same.


I experience this driving in bad snowstorms!! Most people give lots of room, drive appropriate speeds, and seem to have a pretty good plan. I drive work-a-day roads that don't get many tourists or passers-through, who I imagine would sour the deal.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: shDK
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence...
All those nice highways, roads and infrastructure come at a very high cost and it's not just monetary cost I'm talking about.
It's a highly bureaucratic country with a very narrow mind set. If you have that type of personality you will fit in, otherwise life there would be miserable for an average American.




Bin in Germany many times. And i really can,t recognice your picture of germany and it,s people.



I have family members living there and my dad and uncle both lived there for several years and my comment wasn't about German people, but rather their social and gevernment structure. Sure they are highly organized and structured, but that brings some big negatives as well. For most German people it's business as usual as they lived this way for centuries, but for foreigners the way they govern themselves might seem overly restrictive.