Never 'done' Germany - tips/help please (1 Viewer)

[MisterB]

Sat on the ferry to Holland and the weather isn't looking great for the next few weeks, so tempted to detour through a bit of Germany, the Champagne region in France and down to the Med.

Is there anything I need to be aware of when travelling through Germany to make sure I'm 'legal' as I've never motorhomed there?.

Thanks

 

[EuroTrotters]

Hello mr b.

Fear not, Germany is very easy and the have many stelplatz and acsi camping card sites.

Do you know the route you are taking ?.

We have just spent 2 weeks in Germany

 

[Lenny HB]

Great county for Motorhomes loads of Stellaplatz (equivalent to French Aires).

Mosell river is a good starting point from Trier down to the Rhine, Stellaplatz or site at nearly every village.

Further south you can take the romantic road.

To the north the baltic the islands of Rugan and Usedome, are great if the weather is good.

September is a great time loads of wine festivals, shame about the wine.

Most restaurant food is pretty dire unless you find a good fish restaurant.

On the Autobahn keep your eyes peeled on the outside lane, Germans don't take prisoners.

We will be in Germany next week first stop to get our 10 year old Alugas bottles changed then follow the sun, we don't do planning, just meander about.

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[MisterB]

Lenny HB
EuroTrotters

Thanks, we're not nervous travellers but prefer to be a little bit better prepared!!

The Romantic Road looks like a great journey so we will do a bit of planning when we pull over this evening and work out if it's best to just head for the sun as fast as we can and come back home along parts of the RR.

We are arriving at HoH in an hour or two and have a couple of places bookmarked for tonight.

We're not big wine buffs but if it tastes ok, then it's ok .....

 

[WESTY66]

Germany is great for touring, when we got off at HoH we went down to the free aire at grobbendonk east of Antwerp.
The RR is fantastic don’t miss out Rothenburg ob der Tauber, but go to the P2 Stellplatz just across from the entrance to the walled town, also Dinkelsbuhl, Nördlingen and Landsberg am Lech are Great places too

 

[Gina M]

We toured Germany a couple of years ago and it wasn't for me. What spoilt it was our first stop off at a campsite with a bar/restaurant when the barmaid was sitting outside drinking lager and as we approached she snarled "English approaching" to the rest of the staff sitting with her. Then everyone continued with English jokes how tight we were blah blah. We had a meal and a couple of drinks then left and never went back to that bar. Our vet over here is German and she told me don't worry about learning to speak German as everyone speaks English we found that not to be true. I will go back as the Mosel was lovely and I would like to see more of Germany and I am aware there are bad bar staff everywhere not just in Germany!!

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[Grianan]

We went to Rothenburg ob Der Tauber on a wet day and it was still wonderful. Enjoy!

 

[WESTY66]

We toured Germany a couple of years ago and it wasn't for me. What spoilt it was our first stop off at a campsite with a bar/restaurant when the barmaid was sitting outside drinking lager and as we approached she snarled "English approaching" to the rest of the staff sitting with her. Then everyone continued with English jokes how tight we were blah blah. We had a meal and a couple of drinks then left and never went back to that bar. Our vet over here is German and she told me don't worry about learning to speak German as everyone speaks English we found that not to be true. I will go back as the Mosel was lovely and I would like to see more of Germany and I am aware there are bad bar staff everywhere not just in Germany!!

If I heard them I’d have told them a few English jokes I know, one from 66 one from 45, well you get the jist, if they flip to German it’s a quick “ich kann Sie verstahen” usually wipes the smile off their faces

 

[WESTY66]

We went to Rothenburg ob Der Tauber on a wet day and it was still wonderful. Enjoy!

We like to get there twice a year

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[hja]

We have been to Germany several times and to quite a few parts of it, but not for some years so things may have changed. We preferred the eastern part, less pristine than the west. It was not so many years after unification and there was lots of reminders of the old regime. Fascinating country. At that time in the east, very little English spoken, more so in the west. Obviously you try and speak a few words. Did get told off for crossing a very minor road in a town (on foot) against the pedestrian lights! Not a car in site!

 

[Lenny HB]

We're not big wine buffs but if it tastes ok, then it's ok .....

Best not to try German wine then.

 

[Lenny HB]

We preferred the eastern part, less pristine than the west. It was not so many years after unification and there was lots of reminders of the old regime. Fascinating country. At that time in the east, very little English spoken,

Yes eastern side is good like a seperate country, West Germans still treat it as such. As you say very little English spoken their second language is Russian.

Did get told off for crossing a very minor road in a town (on foot) against the pedestrian lights! Not a car in site!

That a big no, no, in Germany as the Germans say "a child could be watching".

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[lorger]

We’re currently sitting sunning ourselves at a CC Aire in Seltz sitting on the Rhine, had a lovely cycle over to Germany.

 

[Landy Andy]

Good plan. Head through Germany, and then you can enjoy France, with its decent wine, good food (that even includes salad, and veg).

More seriously, be wary on the autoroutes. They aren’t polite with how they drive, and have no interest with the fact you may not be in a rush.

 

[Jewellbags]

We are “German” virgins and travelled from Belgium .

The roads are generally excellent quality , wide and well signposted (well sort of ) . The Stellplatz where we are - in the south are packed so we are booking a few “treat nights” in advance at camp sites but having said that the overflow Stellplatz we are in tonight (with no services ) isn’t too busy , very level but has road noise . My tip is to do your driving in the morning and get yourself settled before 2 pm if you can . Not eaten out yet so can’t comment on the food but so far the bartenders have been friendly enough .

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[BikerGraham]

We toured Germany a couple of years ago and it wasn't for me. What spoilt it was our first stop off at a campsite with a bar/restaurant when the barmaid was sitting outside drinking lager and as we approached she snarled "English approaching" to the rest of the staff sitting with her. Then everyone continued with English jokes how tight we were blah blah. We had a meal and a couple of drinks then left and never went back to that bar. Our vet over here is German and she told me don't worry about learning to speak German as everyone speaks English we found that not to be true. I will go back as the Mosel was lovely and I would like to see more of Germany and I am aware there are bad bar staff everywhere not just in Germany!!

That’s a very sad experience.

I’ve been a number of times both on holiday (always on a motorbike for some reason) and through work (worked for an Austrian company with factories in Germany) always found the Germans to be very lovely friendly people.

 

[Leith Laddie]

Lenny HB
EuroTrotters

Thanks, we're not nervous travellers but prefer to be a little bit better prepared!!

The Romantic Road looks like a great journey so we will do a bit of planning when we pull over this evening and work out if it's best to just head for the sun as fast as we can and come back home along parts of the RR.

We are arriving at HoH in an hour or two and have a couple of places bookmarked for tonight.

We're not big wine buffs but if it tastes ok, then it's ok .....

The Germans are not big wine buffs either, beer is king. With one or two exceptions re the wine.

 

[BikerGraham]

The Germans are not big wine buffs either, beer is king. With one or two exceptions re the wine.

A number of years ago came across a steak house not far from the B500 (Black Forest area out of Baden Baden) they had bottle of wine on each table as a recommendation by the publican to try. Obviously to buy and try.

So we did, of course we did. Big wine drinkers we are.
We were very pleasantly surprised at how palatable it was. All red wine
Visited the place a couple of times as the owner would drive you back to our Pensions (B&B hotel type) afterwards. All as part of the service.

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[pagey]

Diesel is around 1.90€ at the moment and on the motorway today it was 2.30€ this was in the sonnebourne area

 

[Fdhadi]

Always enjoyed are travels through Germany

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Diesel is around 1.90€ at the moment and on the motorway today it was 2.30€ this was in the sonnebourne area

Paid €1.74 in Düsseldorf a few weeks back and was the same when we were near Strasbourg last week.

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[pagey]

Paid €1.74 in Düsseldorf a few weeks back and was the same when we were near Strasbourg last week.

Yes It tightened a few ass muscles it's 1.84 just up the road from me but if you must

 

[MisterB]

WESTY66 and others

Where would you suggest we stayed near Wurzberg I think we will drive from where we are near Amsterdam to Wurzberg, but take a couple of days to get there.

So we need a stopover aswell tomorrow evening somewhere between Amsterdam and Wurzberg. Happy to use free parking or small sites. We have ACSI card with us ....

Thanks to everyone for helping

 

[WESTY66]

There’s an aire in wurzburg and if you’re lucky you might get a pitch facing the river, but get there between 9.30-10.30 that is the sweet spot for German stellplatz, they like to get to the next aire mid morning Whilst you’re in wurzburg don’t forget to have a glass of wine on the bridge over the river (it’s a tradition)

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[WESTY66]

As for a one night stop, I haven’t looked at a map but see if Alsfeld is on your way, nice aire there and a short walk into town, but it might be of your route, but nice anyhow for a one nighter

 

[MisterB]

There’s an aire in wurzburg and if you’re lucky you might get a pitch facing the river, but get there between 9.30-10.30 that is the sweet spot for German stellplatz, they like to get to the next aire mid morning Whilst you’re in wurzburg don’t forget to have a glass of wine on the bridge over the river (it’s a tradition)

So that's 0930-1030 at Wurzberg which means we need to be not too far away the night before .....? Do you have co ordinates for the aire? Is it free ? On P4N?

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Yes It tightened a few ass muscles it's 1.84 just up the road from me but if you must

€1.63 in Luxembourg so for me topping up with 170ltrs it’s worth a bit of a detour as we were heading to Belgium but definitely the rest of Europe is getting expensive now and not just fuel

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[MisterB]

Sorry to be a pain, but can we not let the thread drift please ..... I'm more interested in where to stay at the moment rather than best place to get fuel and hoping for suggestions around Koblenz .....?? Would like to sample a free German Aire if there are any within 50 odd miles? Thanks

 

[Howard B]

All the Stellplatz we stayed at were full by mid afternoon. Advise get there early.

 

[WESTY66]

So that's 0930-1030 at Wurzberg which means we need to be not too far away the night before .....? Do you have co ordinates for the aire? Is it free ? On P4N?

It’s on s4s, I left Alsfeld and got to Würzburg for around 11 to get the last riverfront pitch

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