THE
AUTOBAHN E-TICKET RIDE
160 to 0 in .5 seconds
Buzzing
along the autobahn at what feels like breakneck speed, pushing the
needle of your rented Opel Astra to 160 kilometers-an-hour (about
95 mph), feeling the freedom of an open speed limit, no radar wielding
black & whites waiting behind the sign board to nab your lead
foot, Robby Gordon’s got nothing on you. Then you glance in
your rearview and see a tiny black object. The next second, it’s
the silver eye of a Mercedes AMG coming up behind doing about 225kph
(see Mercedes
Benz Museum). You dutifully yank the wheel to scoot
back to your slow as growing grass right lane, before receiving the
dreaded
headlight
flash.
When I first heard of the German autobahn I thought it was some mysterious
race track lost in the Black Forest, like the miniature one at Disneyland.
But it’s just Germany’s version of the super highway, engineered
for high-speed and the truly egalitarian theory of driving as fast as you’re
comfortable, just get the heck out of the way. Stay to the right unless you’re
passing. In fact, it’s illegal to pass on the right. And if you should
attempt this casual maneuver, the local Teutonic driver at whose bumper you’ve
been staring at for the past few minutes in tight traffic will wave a camera
to warn he will take a picture of your license. It
is difficult to resist the urge to wave back at them as you whip
past. But do resist
the urge because your rental car company will just send you the charge for
the ticket on your Visa card.
The Greens in Germany have been for years now
trying to end the road rageless freedom of the no speed limit autobahn and
when you
fill
your tank, you clearly get the idea why. Remember that 2.15 euro on the meter
that doesn't look so bad is per liter not per gallon, so multiply it by 3.78.
It can be cheaper for long distances to get a diesel car, but make sure you
put
diesel
in it and
not gas (Benzine).
There are regular rest stops along the autobahns with restaurants and fuel. Sleeping
in your car at a designated rest stop is not a problem. Some have showers.
The wash rooms are usually free, but a tip for the cleaning person
When
there is no limit (indicated by a sign with four thin diagonal black
lines), you may
find a cruising speed between 120-150 kilometers-per-hour (about
75-90 mph) fairly common, the fast
lane in the open countryside can be up
toward 200
kph (124 mph) depending on your thrill tolerance, engine power and
fuel
consumption. A basic rental car
with a 1.6 liter engine will only top out around 170 kph anyway, so
if you want to go with the fast boys, you'll have to upgrade your
vehicle. If you don't happen
to have a Porsche peddle below your foot, just accelerating up to the
fast lane no-limit speed with the average car may put that
AMG with the flashing lights back in your mirror, and closing on slower
cars
at that speed usually makes for rather short bursts of adrenaline -
with your fuel needle dropping with each glance. When
there is a speed limit, it is 120
kph.
Speed
limits
around
cities
drop
to between
80-100
kph, with some electronic lane control signs that vary with changing
traffic conditions, and 80 through construction zones. The real pleasure
of the autobahn is you get to go the speed you're comfortable with,
and if you're running late, you can just go a little faster.
The other reason to reconsider speed without limits is when you’re rolling along in the verdant countryside, far from any city where the normal speed limit slows and congestion is as expected as the Washington beltway, you smoothly cruise past a sign placed out by the roadside “Stau” (conjestion). This might be your clue to find an exit and take a scenic back road detour, because there is no traffic jam like an autobahn wreck. That Mercedes which passed you awhile back has slammed into a slow moving shoebox car passing a truck. If you’ve missed the last exit opportunity, you simply park along with a few hundred new found friends for a couple of hours and wait until the emergency crane comes out to hoist the mangled metal from the road.
Some of the auobahns are under reconstruction and can get very congested at times. If driving through an area you can listen to the radio and even if unfamiliar with German language, the traffic reports can give you a clue what is happening, usually mentioning a city, a route number and kilometers distance and the word "stau" means congestion on a highway that distance from the city. © Bargain Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
RENTING
A CAR IN EUROPE Part 1 Part
2
LTU
AIRLINES TO DUSSELDORF
GERMANY'S
BLACK FOREST
HAMBURG'S
REEPERBAHN
