carbonboy Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 (edited) Seeing as I spend so much time here & not into a typical travel blog, I'll just post this up here. For both Rollaclub & general people I know alike, those who don't do Facebook might wonder if I'm still alive. Should be able to post some updates along the way too, internet cafes are plentiful. :) Rollaclub tops Facebook in regards to priorities! :lol: *Insert paragraph about needing a holiday, chasing dreams, living life etc here* Fly out of Melbourne on the 16th August, get into Dublin, Ireland on the 17th. Pick up an Opel Corsa (or similar) hire car & head southwest to Cork, stopping off at Kilkenny Castle along the way. Plan to track down some family history in the area, visit a distillery or two, kiss the Blarney Stone & get back to Dublin to fly out to Southampton, UK on the 19th. Catching up with family in the UK, no wedding anymore but we're still making a holiday of it. Have a hire car here too (Vauxhall Corsa or similar, back to back model comparison? ;) ) so I have a little more travel ability, avoiding the general London area. Less than 48 hours later, I fly out from Southampton to Amsterdam on the 21st. Allowing an extra day for things to get messy as I'm 'seeing the sights', I've got a train ticket from Amsterdam to Frankfurt on the 23rd. From here, I pick up the BMW 1 Series diesel (or similar) hire car on the 24th & spend some time cruising around Germany, thinking Nuremberg then Munich & adjusting to LHD. On the 26th I have 4 laps around the Nurburgring in a Suzuki Swift 'Stage 2' car booked. Hiring a video camera, so it will be filmed & uploaded (any mistakes/spins included) to YouTube. Enough Playstation, time for the real thing! Keeping in the automotive theme, am heading south to Switzerland & the Stelvio Pass. Continuing on to the San Bernardino Pass. Don't plan to stay long, Switzerland's not too car friendly from what I hear. Dates are flexible from here, as I'm unsure how sidetracked I'll get. :blush: Debating about heading further South to a either the Ferrari or Pagani Factories, possibly both. But not before I get in a trip across to Monaco, then into France for the Col de Turini. Heading East after this into Austria to a stop in Vienna on the 31st, do a sneaky flight to Prague & back (can't take the hire car into Czech Rep.) then back across Germany to try & catch the Belgian F1 Grand Prix on the 2nd September. The trip to Prague part may change if I take too much time heading to Maranello & San Cesario sul Panaro in Italy. Photos at the factory gates will suffice me, a tour might blow my mind. Plans are somewhat flexible, so if anyone's got a suggestion of something to check out along the way/slight detour that's worthwhile, please post it up by all means. :y: Whatever happens, I fly out of Frankfurt on the 3rd & will be back in Australia on the 5th September. I admit, it's not everyone's idea of a holiday (so much driving) but *meh*, will be more fun in other countries than here. :laff: Passport - check, International Drivers Permit - check, Plane tickets - check, Hire cars with GPS - check, Train ticket - check, Accomodation - check, Bank cards sorted - check, Decent camera - check, Insurance for all of the things!!! - check, Dog-sitter sorted - check, Excited & nervous - check, Reason for project car laying dormant - check. :D Reason for edit: Revised navigation. Edited August 7, 2012 by carbonboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7shades Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Subbed :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickn5k Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 (edited) Subbed :) Me too. I don't do bookface. Have fun Luke!!! Edited August 7, 2012 by kickn5k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerfbat Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 awesome mate...! subbed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonboy Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 (edited) Subbed :) Cheers again for the helpful tips (Philbey, Bamboo, coln72, paddymoo, Parrot & Redwarf too), if I stay the night at a roadside toilet, I'll be sure to get a photo just for you. :lol: Suction cup window mount for my camera showed up in the mail today, so I can film the above mountain passes. Me too. I don't do bookface. Have fun Luke!!! Bookface is evil...evil I tell you!! Will do, Gokai's budget cuts had better be worth it! :D Edited August 8, 2012 by carbonboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.L.Z.BUB Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Jealous just for that one stretch of road. One day *stares off into the distance* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonboy Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 awesome mate...! subbed Cheers man, welcome aboard! Jealous just for that one stretch of road. One day *stares off into the distance* I couldn't decide which one to drive, so I decided to do all of them. Won't exactly be in this part of the world again anytime soon. Should be getting stuck into a house loan deposit, it can wait some more. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coln72 Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Colonge (Koln)- worth a look, the beer is goooooood, the church/chapel thingy is incredible and the train from Frankfurt rocks along at 300km/h or so. Also Toyota Team Europe http://www.toyota-motorsport.com/en/ is based there, so you could pose for a couple of pics or see if you can look inside to check out some of the old race cars. I managed a tour of the facilities back in the F1 days, but that was a one off I think :P Another option is the Micheal Schumaker Go Kart Centre http://www.ms-kartcenter.de/com/index2.php. Worth a blast. Still have the Micheal Schumaker Champers sitting on the shelf that I won, and it was a bastard getting the trophy back home......... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7shades Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 http://youtu.be/i6cqHcrt1ko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonboy Posted August 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Colonge (Koln)- worth a look, the beer is goooooood, the church/chapel thingy is incredible and the train from Frankfurt rocks along at 300km/h or so. Also Toyota Team Europe http://www.toyota-motorsport.com/en/ is based there, so you could pose for a couple of pics or see if you can look inside to check out some of the old race cars. I managed a tour of the facilities back in the F1 days, but that was a one off I think :P Another option is the Micheal Schumaker Go Kart Centre http://www.ms-kartce.../com/index2.php. Worth a blast. Still have the Micheal Schumaker Champers sitting on the shelf that I won, and it was a bastard getting the trophy back home......... :D Sounds like a good idea, all of the above! I'll be headed in that direction after acquiring the hire car & have a spare day, might see if I can talk/bribe my way inside TTE...I have to try! (hey bro, swaps my hire car & a fishtank for your GT-one? ;) ) As a kid on family holidays, I used to hate being dragged along to churches, to the point where I'd sit outside & read a book. First holiday as an 'adult' & the first place I'm headed? Saint Patricks Cathedral.....*facepalm* Nice work picking up a trophy, would be worth the hassle getting it home I'm sure! Bragging rights galore there! Cheers for the tips too! :y: So 7shades, what you're saying is don't expect too much difference between there & here? Or that they're things NOT to do? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coln72 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 There was also an outdoors shop some where in Colonge that had a huge pool on the bottom floor. Just in case you need to try out your kayak before you buy it or you want to scuba dive inside a building................................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7shades Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 Most of those vids are from the parts of Europe they don't like you taking rentals :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonboy Posted August 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Slight revision due to confirmation of a ticket to the Sunday of the Belgian GP, Vienna & the trip to the Czech Rep aren't happening. Instead, I've included visits to the Mercedes Benz & Porsche Museums, stopping by Toyota Team Europe & adding Lamborghini into the factory visit-list. Also, a small dilemma....#firstworldproblems...The 'Ring rental race car, I can get a slightly better version (an extra 11bhp, upgraded suspension & 6spd instead of 5spd gearbox) BUT it's only available in LHD. Considering I'll have less than 30 hours (compared to 10+ years in a RHD) driving a LHD car at this point, would I be better off in the slightly lower-spec RHD? The listed Pro-Lap Times they have only show a 5 second difference, worthwhile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7shades Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Good way to learn! :P In reality, you won't be driving either of them at 10/10ths anyway (the ring is f*cking scary, believe me) so I doubt you'll notice the extra 11hp etc. I'd go with what you're used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonboy Posted August 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 A.....crash course? *winces* A good point, the aim is to keep it on the tarmac, shiny side up & stay the f*ck out of the way of faster cars. :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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