German road trip

[Steve Q]

Day 1 - 17/09/22

We left Donington Park race circuit and headed along the M1 & M25 for the channel tunnel as Ronan had been racing and finished 2nd in class.

We made good time to the tunnel and managed to get on 2 trains earlier than planned, which was great! 

During the train ride through the tunnel we decided to fit the UK sticker and headlight stickers we forgot to fit before leaving the UK. 

Once we departed the train, we had a 30 minute drive to Dunkirk where we were staying. The drive  thankfully was straightforward and the motorways are far smoother than the ones back home.

You can also follow the trip on audi_a6_adventures on Instagram or audia6adventure on twitter 🙂

[Steve Q]

Day two 18/09/22

So today we drove 4 hours from Dunkirk to the Nurbergring and had a fantastic time! We took the A6 round the track and then had a hot lap to get a full experience of the ring. 🙂

[Steve Q]

Day 3 - 19/09/22

Another cracking day, we drove from Koblenz to Barden Barden via the autobahn. Unfortunately we couldn't max the Audi due to traffic but did get her up to 120mph. We'll give it another go tomorrow though! 

Once at Barden Barden we stopped to have a look around at this beautiful historic town. We visited the museum and had a hot chocolate at the Lindt shop. Then we hit the B500 and surrounding roads into the Black Forest which was absolutely stunning! 
It did give the car a good workout as the steep hills caused the engine temperature to climb but she never failed us. 

We then fought through Stuttgart traffic to get to our hotel and went for dinner in a lovely Chinese restaurant along with our first German beers of the trip. Here's to tomorrow where we'll visit the Mercedes Museum.

256.6 miles covered today. 

Day 4 - 20/09/22

Today we made the short drive from the hotel to the Mercedes Benz museum which wasn't as bad as I thought It'd be. However we're still not sure if we have entered the low emission zone or not. But I guess time will tell with a ticket in the post. 

The Mercedes Benz museum was truly incredible, and it took us 5 hours to see it all. We definitely had earned our lunch after looking around all the priceless exhibits. Exhibits which included early cars, prototypes, celebrity owned cars as well as planes and trucks. 

After the museum we made the 2 hour drive to Munich, and managing to max the A6 on the autobahn which was 135mph which was indicated as 142mph on the Speedo. 

On arrival at the hotel in Munich it was a chance to get ready quick before meeting family and heading out on the train to Octoberfest. Octoberfest was incredible, the Germans certainly know how to do things properly! The rollercoasters and other rides could easily put some of our theme parks to shame,  and this is for a temporary event! 
As was to be expected the beer was great, entertainment great and period dress very smart. I couldn't leave without buying a new hat! 

Here's to tomorrow, where we will be heading to the BMW museum.

Day 5 - 21/09/22

So today we visited the BMW museum which was ok. No where near as nice as the Mercedes Museum and felt it could have done with more exhibits such as BMW movie cars or more classics from the 90s. There was no BMW E39 for example. On top of this the parking was the most expensive we've found at €15 for 5 odd hours. 

The BMW Welt had a good display of current BMW models available of cars and bikes including those from Mini and Rolls Royce. Ronan did well on the simulator. 

Afterwards we met up with Dad who had just got a train from Munich airport and we went off to explore the 1972 Olympic stadium. The stadium was fantastic and still widely used. We even got to go up the tower and get some stunning views of the city. 

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow as we are taking the Audi back to its birthplace! Let's hope we make it! 🤞

[Steve Q]

Day 6 22/09/22

So the Audi made it back to its birthplace today! We had a nice day looking around the museum and the dealership. The exhibits were great and on the whole staff were friendly. We were met with hostility by one staff member which was a shame. We didn't let this deter our day however. 

After going to the Audi museum we visited family living near Kronach which was great. 

Day 7 23/09/22

Today we went to visit Colditz castle which is steeped in history and was well worth a visit. We went on a guided tour and learnt a lot about the castle history and its use as a prisoner of war camp during the second world war as well as the various escape attempts. After this we drove onto our hotel and went to explore the city and had a lovely meal. 

Tomorrow we'll visit our last car museum on this trip - Volkswagen at Wolfsburg.

Day 8 24/09/22

So today we visited Volkswagen at Wolfsburg and visited both museums. The site is the biggest by far and we got to see all the new and classic vehicles from all brands that Volkswagen owns including Audi, Skoda, Seat and Bugatti. There was also a car show that was on in the grounds which had various movie car replicas such as Kitt and the Back to the future Delorean. The site is incredible and we got to see the glass towers used for storing new cars. 

Tomorrow we're going to pay our respects at Mohne and Arnhem. 

Day 9 25/09/22

Today we had a lot of driving to do. 7 hours to be exact (not that we knew that at the time!). Our first stop was the Mohne Dam where in 1943 the RAF dropped the bouncing bomb that destroyed the Dam and killing 1300 people. Also known as the Dam Busters. After we had paid our respects there we went on to Arnhem in the Netherlands to visit the bridge that crosses the Rhine River, visit the museum and the war cemetery. The mission to take Arnhem bridge led to a massacre of British and Polish forces. 

After we paid our respects he headed on to our over night stop and best hotel of the trip. The famous SS Rotterdam, a former ocean liner/cruise ship converted into a Floatel. It was late when we arrived so we will explore the ship properly tomorrow.

Day 10 26/09/22

So here it is, the final day of the trip abroad! 
As such it was more of a lazy day, where we went on the tour of the SS Rotterdam and saw the Bridge, engine room and other spaces which have been lovingly preserved or refurbished. The ship was stunning and has kept her 1950s charm. After the tours we had coffee and cake in the lido restaurant then headed for the hook of Holland where we were getting the ferry at 10pm. 

As we had time to kill we went to the beach and walked along the beach front before heading to the ferry early. Once on the ferry we got dinner onboard and then went to bed as we knew we had an early start in the morning. 

Day 11 27/09/22

So we disembarked from.the ship at 6:40am and drove the 3 hours home stopping along the way at Cambridge services for breakfast. 

Conclusion

All in all we had a fantastic trip and made memories which will last a life time. I feel fortunate I've been able to tick this trip off my bucket list and take the Audi back to Germany for its 20th year.

[gsmdo]

No pictures of the new hat? 🤨🤣😂🤣

[coupe4]

well done steve,it sounds like an interesting and well planned trip.i might look into doing a similar trip next year.

[Steve Q]

On 9/27/2022 at 8:50 PM, coupe4 said:

well done steve,it sounds like an interesting and well planned trip.i might look into doing a similar trip next year.

I'd strongly recommend it 🙂

[Steve Q]

On 9/27/2022 at 7:11 PM, gsmdo said:

No pictures of the new hat? 🤨🤣😂🤣

Here you go! 🤣