Rotterdam to Berlin

[DocSteve]

I have to go to Berlin in April and although the obvious solution would be to fly, I don't especially enjoy flying and thought it might be nice to take the motor for a jaunt. Unfortunately I don't have unlimited time to make the journey so I will have to mainly stick to the motorways. I was considering getting a boat from Hull to Rotterdam and then making the journey by road from there. I've heard mixed reports about the A2 autobahn - not sure if it's mainly derestricted? If anyone has any other route suggestions, or advice not to do it I'd be interested.

Cheers
Steve

[dcb]

DocSteve said:

I have to go to Berlin in April and although the obvious solution would be to fly, I don't especially enjoy flying and thought it might be nice to take the motor for a jaunt.

Seems a good idea to me.

DocSteve said:

Unfortunately I don't have unlimited time to make the journey so I will have to mainly stick to the motorways. I was considering getting a boat from Hull to Rotterdam and then making the journey by road from there.

Presumably downto Folkestone, tunnel or ferry isn't an option ?

Cars tend to move faster than boats.

DocSteve said:

I've heard mixed reports about the A2 autobahn - not sure if it's mainly derestricted?

I don't have any personal experience of that one, but I
think it is all unlimited and three lanes each way.

Much more detail on

http://www.autobahnatlas-online.de/index_e.html

[DocSteve]

dcb said:

DocSteve said:

I have to go to Berlin in April and although the obvious solution would be to fly, I don't especially enjoy flying and thought it might be nice to take the motor for a jaunt.

Seems a good idea to me.

DocSteve said:

Unfortunately I don't have unlimited time to make the journey so I will have to mainly stick to the motorways. I was considering getting a boat from Hull to Rotterdam and then making the journey by road from there.

Presumably downto Folkestone, tunnel or ferry isn't an option ?

Cars tend to move faster than boats.

DocSteve said:

I've heard mixed reports about the A2 autobahn - not sure if it's mainly derestricted?

I don't have any personal experience of that one, but I
think it is all unlimited and three lanes each way.

Much more detail on

http://www.autobahnatlas-online.de/index_e.html

Thanks for that. Going from Folkestone could be an option - just thought an overnight boat whilst sleeping might be a better option. Any ideas on routes from there - presumably you were thinking of crossing to Calais. I thought that might be a bit of a nasty journey from there.

Steve

[dcb]

DocSteve said:

Any ideas on routes from there - presumably you were thinking of crossing to Calais. I thought that might be a bit of a nasty journey from there.

Nah.

Calais to Germany is an easy peasy 3 hour run.
If you find that tricky, you really shouldn't be driving in Germany.

Calais - Brussels - Gent - Antwerp - Eindhoven - Venlo

After that, some serious foot down to Berlin.

I suggest you stay out of the fast lane if this is your first drive in Germany.
The 150 mph club don't appreciate clueless newbies.

You don't tell us your UK starting point, but it seems
that Google thinks it is about 580 mile run from Calais
to Berlin.

Doable in a long day, although a more leisurely schedule
with an overnighter might mean stopping off somewhere
delightful like Krefeld or Duisberg ;->

[anonymous-user]

The stretch between Essen and Hannover is pretty recent and you can make some serious time although this time of year the Westfalia part will be pretty snowy, Hannover to Berlin also good roads and from Calais/Dunkirk to Berlin should be no longer than 7-8 hours usually.

[DocSteve]

dcb said:

Nah.

Calais to Germany is an easy peasy 3 hour run.
If you find that tricky, you really shouldn't be driving in Germany.

Calais - Brussels - Gent - Antwerp - Eindhoven - Venlo

After that, some serious foot down to Berlin.

I suggest you stay out of the fast lane if this is your first drive in Germany.
The 150 mph club don't appreciate clueless newbies.

You don't tell us your UK starting point, but it seems
that Google thinks it is about 580 mile run from Calais
to Berlin.

Doable in a long day, although a more leisurely schedule
with an overnighter might mean stopping off somewhere
delightful like Krefeld or Duisberg ;->

Thanks for the info - helpful, although not sure there's any need for the condescending tone (perhaps you didn't mean it that way). Although you're not to know, I have driven extensively in Europe, including Germany, and had my old M5 on the limiter on an Autobahn on the way from the Ring to Austria. When I said a nasty journey I meant it looked rather boring on potentially busy roads, but to be fair I don't often go that way and I've never driven over towards Berlin. I'm starting in the East Midlands so Hull is a better port - I always find the grind around the M25 a killer after a spirited journey in Europe.

Steve

[DocSteve]

CDB1983 said:

The stretch between Essen and Hannover is pretty recent and you can make some serious time although this time of year the Westfalia part will be pretty snowy, Hannover to Berlin also good roads and from Calais/Dunkirk to Berlin should be no longer than 7-8 hours usually.

Yep, that doesn't seem so bad actually - I'll be going in April so hopefully no snow then. I think I'll check that out - it seems a bit far in advance but I need to decide whether to take the flights on offer. I think I'll be driving, it's much more fun...

[stefan740]

I would take a plane and a Avis Porsche 911 when u get there.

[DocSteve]

Well, I'm in Berlin and went the route suggested above from Calais. It was a shocker - solid traffic all the way with multiple hour or so standing jams on the A2 between Hannover and Berlin. On the two lane sections earlier in the route it was continuous Polish lorry racing, so I was down to 56mph a lot of the time. Whenever it was possible I had some 130+ blasts but they weren't sustainable due to the heavy traffic flow. The autobahn often had temporary 130kph limits in place (red circles on the gantries) so it was basically like doing 600 miles on the m25...

Now, I'm heading back via the Ring and spending a couple of days there. The a9 and a4 look like the obvious choice - anyone any experience of those roads or alternative suggestions? Thanks!