To wrap our journey here’s a few things we noted along the way. In no particular order…
1. Rule 1 when travelling in these parts: Take a cork screw with you. Wine bottles with twist tops are rare. I think we only stumbled across 2 bottles with twist tops. But we sure popped heaps of corks!
2. Cash still rules. Sure you can use your debit and credit cards in supermarkets, a few restaurants and certainly in touristy joints (souvenir shops etc), but don’t expect to pass your card across for virtually everything as you do in NZ. Always have cash on you. You’ll need it.
3. We never had a good coffee on the entire trip. Expect the ordinary coffee.
4. Germany closes on Sunday. Be prepared – buy what you think you’ll need by Saturday. Exceptions being service stations, some restaurants, some tourist shops. Even supermarkets are closed on this ‘no shopping’ day. They’re a well behind NZ in this regard. The same applies in France. You’d think in high tourist traffic areas there’d be an exception. Nope there isn’t.
5. If there’s such a thing as city councils in the German towns then they certainly don’t have a department who attends to looking after mowing grassed areas and removal of weeds in pavements, kerbs, roadside berms etc. Towns we drove through (and there were lots of them) would looks so much better if they were looked after. It was so common that we decided to take a photo to show what we mean. I’ve already posted this example of neglect as we drove through Reutlingen. On the whole the French were winners on this one.
6. Smoking in restaurants is still well alive. Yuk, there’s nothing worse when you’re enjoying your meal and the couple at the next table have just finished theirs and both light up a cigarette. It’s so inconsiderate, but then it’s accepted (as it once was here back in the 1980s!! ). Come on Europe, grow up change the rules!
While smoking is dying in NZ, it’s the smokers who are dying in Europe. There are still plenty of them.
7. You almost always order from the table at bars and cafes. Now there’s nothing wrong with that if the table service was a little more efficient. Time and time again we’d get our order taken and then see the waitress or waiter clear a few other tables, and take a few other orders, and then eventually our drinks would arrive. It doesn’t end there. You’re sitting there with empty glasses. Hello, we might want another. Many times the bar or cafe missed a follow up sale due to sloppy service. Plus you almost always have to flag them down to get your bill (or another drink). Disappointing and very common. We noticed this in both Germany and France.
8. German autobahns. Love them. Being strangled at 100kmph on roads where there is no good reason not to go faster is so annoying. So it was a joy to open up on the autobahns where there are 3 lanes of organised speed. At least that’s what we experienced. If you’re not passing then stay right, and they do. Limits (or not) are clear. While 130kmph is the recommended speed (unless other limits apply), there is still the opportunity to go faster in sections of the autobahns, and that’s what they do. The autobahns are purpose built to cope with high speeds (e.g. long sweeping bends, double barriers between the two traffic directions etc). Drivers are excellent at indicating when changing lanes.
9a. Road rage (Germany). I never saw any. I’m sure it exists, but instead of road rage I saw heaps of examples of patience, even where a driver had every right to go off at someone who was doing something silly. All we saw were polite, patient drivers.
9b. Road rage (France). While I never saw any extreme examples of road rage in France (but again I’m sure it exists) there was a bit of tooting and a desire to get from a to b as fast as possible. French drivers don’t mess around so you have to be ready for anything.
10. Away from the autobahns in Germany and motorways in France the speed limits vary. In Germany the limit is 100kmph until you meet another road that is intersecting with your road, in which case you’ll see a 70kmph sign which expires once you’re clear of it. (There are of course other reasons why it drops to 70 or 50kmph). But when travelling on these roads you never get to stay at 100kmph for any long period of time. It’s quite annoying when you have to drop your speed so regularly (sometimes your 100kmph burst may only last a few hundred metres!). I can see why they do this (it means you’re more alert to any traffic coming your way and therefore you’re in a better position to avoid an accident if that vehicle crosses your path).
In France there is no slowing for intersecting roads BUT the upper limit is 90kmph (which in many cases is a tad slower than what it could be).
11. Still on the (non autobahn) rural roads, one thing I learned early. Don’t wait to see speed signs when you’re about to enter a town or village because they may not be there. Just assume you should drop to 50kmph (don’t wait for your GPS to advise of the change as it could be too late). This is how I got flashed by a camera (in a tiny town where I never saw another car or human!). I was tripped up because there was no speed change sign. Sometimes they’re there, sometimes they aren’t.
12. Beware the Stuttgart region. We learned from a local that the expanded area that surrounds Stuttgart is notorious for speed cameras. They are everywhere, even in places where they’re not needed (e.g. the small village I mentioned above). In other parts of Germany we never saw any for days on end. In France we never saw any except on motorways where radar warning signs usually warned you of their presence.
13. Traffic lights. In Germany there were way to many instance of bad positioning of traffic lights. They could take a leaf out of NZ’s book on this one. I’d like a light to be visible through the front windscreen please. Not above (where you need to be P3 on the grid to see it, or to the right where it’s obscured by your internal mirror, or to the left side of the road across the other lane. On most occasions you need to have a very flexible neck to get in a position to see a traffic light when you’re in P1 or P2 on the grid. Crazy. In France they’d place a smaller secondary light halfway down many traffic poles which made them easier to see. Again they could also benefit by positioning lights where you can see them through the windscreen (i.e on the other side of the intersection).
14. Ok enough road related points, let’s talk German sausages. We love them! On multiple occasions we ordered Bratwurst (a cooked or grilled sausage) without knowing what the flavour would be. There was never a fail. They know how to make these things. NZ butchers – get the recipes!
15. Alsace wine. Never tasted a bad one. So cheap, so good, so much to choose from. GOLD!
16. Mosel wine. Same as above. Cheap as chips and soooo drinkable.
17 Middle Rhine wine. While we didn’t sample as many as we did in the other regions we still never had a bad one. In fact we may have had our best one here in Bacharach. The Jost Riesling.
18. If you’re on the road and it’s after 2pm and you feel like a late lunch somewhere (even a simple flambée). Forget it. Most chefs seem to pack up their knives at 2pm. Get in beforehand or go to the supermarket and find something there.
19. Speaking of flambées (aka Flammekueche or Tarte flambee). These are a famous Alsatian and South German dish which might look like a pizza but it’s not. It’s better! (and we had a few!). They’re basically a bread dough rolled out very thin in the shape of a rectangle (traditionally), and covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions. Alternatives have chopped up ham or mushrooms or Munster cheese on top. Simple and very popular.
20. In both France and Germany the people were fantastic. Very obliging, polite, friendly and usually with a good sense of humour. Typically there is a business like start to a conversation which quickly settles once the ice is broken. We met some wonderful people all through our trip, and never had a “What a dickhead” situation.
21. Tourist sites – Use of English. Whilst many Germans have a good grasp of the English language, we thought that there was prominent lack of written English at tourist hotspots (whether it’s a notation next to an item on display, signage, or on menus etc.).
Murray’s highlight: The Porsche 911 GT3 high speed ride around Nordschleife (the northern loop) at Nurburgring. Breathtaking, and something that he’ll never forget.
Kathryn’s highlight: The wine. The flavours, the drinkability, the consistently good product, and the cost!
Ok I think we’ll wrap it up there. I know there are a couple of negative things mentioned above, but don’t read it the wrong way. They’re only an observations (although the smoking one is the exception!). Roll with the way things work and it’s all good. We had a wonderful time away in Alsace France and South-west Germany. These regions are well worth visiting and we would totally recommend that you take a look. You’ll not be disappointed, and you’ll love the wine and the hospitality! Book now!!
Guten Tag.
Croozader @ Europe 2015 