Hello, it's me again back with another trip report. Long post with lots of pictures. For those of you who read about my previous 1,000-mile roadtrip, I've outdone myself.

<Billy Mays voice> That's right, I'm giving you 50% more!

This trip encompassed 1,500 miles across six countries, and best of all I got my employer to comp some of it.

So here's how it went down. At work, I found out I needed to be in Stuttgart, Germany with only eight days of notice. After running the numbers, I managed to convince the finance guys that it would be cheaper to drive than getting plane tickets and a rental car. Yes, in Europe the best answer is usually the train, but they didn't mention it. Unfortunately, by the time all the funds and authorization had gone through, I was down to two days to get everything planned and put together. I tossed a couple of vacation days on top the base trip and headed out without much of a plan.

Day 1:

In looking at the UK ports of debarkation on the map, I noticed that I could save myself a little bit of drive time, not to mention take a route I hadn't seen before, by catching a ferry to The Netherlands.

After filling up with £1.65/L ($7.58/gal) gas near my place in Cambridgeshire, I set out in the evening.

About half an hour later, I realized I forgot my jacket. Must have been the full moon...



It was a two hour drive to the coastal town of Harwich. From there, I loaded on the overnight ferry bound for Hook of Holland, near Rotterdam.

The room I got on the ship was little more than a closet, but fine for the 2300-0800 trip, when I wouldn't be doing much else besides sleeping.

I paid an extra £10 to select my choice of cabin as close to the center of the ship as possible, but as smooth as the trip was, it didn't really matter. I didn't really notice any wave action at all.




Day 2:

The ferry arrived at Hook of Holland the next morning and I set off. Right near the ferry terminal is an old bunker that was part of the **** Atlantikwall. It's now a museum, but is unfortunately only open one day per week.


The bunker in the background, the port, and a slightly amusing sign.

East of Rotterdam, I passed by the city of Gouda, famous for the cheese. In terms of other things of local interest, I kept my eyes out for the famous Dutch-style windmill. I did see a few, but the majority were the three-bladed wind generators.

The speed limit on Netherlands highways is 100kmh (62mph) in the daytime (0600-1900) and 130kmh (81mph) at night, which seems a little backwards to me. After observing the locals, I cautiously set my cruise control to 110kmh.

I made my first fuel stop just into Germany. They had 102 octane, so I tried it out, but it came with an eye-watering price €2.65/L ($10.54/gal). At least the car's computer said it was getting 28.3 imperial mpg, (22.7 US mpg, 10.4 L/100km). When I ran the numbers manually, it was pretty close.

I figured that would probably be the best I would get during the trip, given the higher speeds in Germany. I think if Google Maps can't find a speed limit for a road, it assumes 55mph. Thus, 300 miles in Germany was calculated as a little over 5 hours. Yeah, no, this is Autobahn territory.

The trick is planning to stay on the unlimited sections as much as possible, even if it ends up not being the GPS-suggested directions. I used autobahnspeedhunter.com to scout the route.

On a previous trip to Germany I'd wrung out the XKR for all it was worth - up to the speed limiter, anyway. While I was willing to take the risk to do that once, briefly, with a lot of preparation beforehand, for this long stretch I set my cruise control to somewhat more sedate 100mph (161kmh). That was about how fast most Germans were driving. (The XKR does 2800 rpm at 100mph, if you were wondering.)

The problem with the Autobahn, though, is that popup speed limits keep traffic going like an accordian. And in western Germany on a weekday, there was a lot of traffic. Even when a 130kmh (81mph) sign appears, that's still significantly slower than "unlimited." Still, though, even with some construction and stopping for gas and again for lunch, I managed to beat Google's projected arrival time.

In Weisbaden I attempted to eat at a place (though it was closed) called Graveyard Burger Guys. It's located in a cemetary, which is kind of weird. Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, is buried in Weisbaden, though since the restaurant was closed I didn't visit.

Along the way, I passed near the Hockenheimring racetrack, as well as a city named Worms. That's what it's called.

I had a little time in the afternoon after I arrived in Stuttgart. The city was once home to a panzer headquarters and lots of panzerstraße, cobblestone roads built to support tanks, are still left over. Most are converted to hiking and biking, but I did find this one.


When I stopped to take this picture, I noticed a rattling sound from the rear of the car as it idled. It sounded like it could have been an exhaust heat shield?

This trip to Germany came just a little too late and most Oktoberfests were already over. Probably a good thing, I read that the average price of beer at Oktoberfest is getting close to €13/L. In what world is German beer more expensive than their gasoline!? Rather than doing that, and being beat from almost 500 miles on the road today, I just grabbed whatever discount beer the guy at the grocery store recommended and went to bed early.


Prost!

Day 3:

Other than to work (Oh, yeah, that's why I went on this trip!), I didn't drive much today. I got gas in the morning for €2.20/L ($8.72/gal). Despite the high speed and highly variable driving the day before, I was surprised to have gotten 26.1 imperial MPG, 20.9 US mpg, 11.2 L/100km on this second tank of the trip.

In the afternoon I got a chance to explore Stuttgart.

There's a large park called the schlossgarten, which means palace garden. The palace in question was built in the late 1700s, bombed in WWII, and restored in the 1950s. There's a beer garden in the schlossgarten - I guess that means you can get schlossed.

I went to the Porsche Museum. It's €10 plus €4 for parking. Super awkward to have to unbuckle my seat belt and reach out the passenger window to get the automated parking tag.

I thought the museum was nice, but noticed that they didn't talk much about what Porsche was doing in the early forties. Shame, because having a tank in the collection would have been cool. I thought it was notable, for a car museum, that there were no velvet ropes and you could walk right up to everything.

As I left the Porsche Museum, a guy on the street corner took a picture of my Jag and gave me a thumbs up.

That evening, a lot of things were closed because it was German Unity Day. Also, it was raining. With nothing else to do, I ended up at a movie theater and watched The Creator, mostly because Sturgill Simpson was in it. Some are saying it's the sci-fi movie of the decade. I wouldn't go that far, but it was pretty good, even if I don't speak German.

Walking back to the underground garage after the movie, at 2300 on a weekday, the XKR was all alone.



Day 4:

After another day of work, I took off from Stuttgart in the afternoon. I had a choice: head directly back home...or drive another 300 miles to add three more countries to the count? Obvious choice. I turned south.

On the way out of the city, I had wanted to stop by the Mercedes Museum, which is also in Stuttgart, but just didn't have enough time. I did my due diligence, though, and attempted to take a tour virtually. Like the Porsche Museum, they have a cool building. Mercedes is a little more sterile, but perhaps with more history inside. Mercedes is also €12, slightly more expensive. I guess if you're in Stuttgart and could only pick one, neither is a clearly ahead of the other, so just choose your preference.

I headed south towards Lindau. It's on the shore of Lake Constance, which occupies the Germany-Austria-Switzerland triborder, at the foot of the Alps. The drive from Stuttgart gains about five feet of elevation for every mile. Lindau hosts an annual gathering of Nobel laureates. Speaking of, I passed through Ulm on the way, birthplace of Einstein.

In the evening, and on the less busy southern roads, the Autobahn was finally clear and I cruised nearly unimpeded.

At my next stop for gas near Lindau, I figured I was about to exit Germany and be done with Autobahns, and so opted for the cheaper 95 octane, which came in at €1.98/L ($7.88/gal). The pump clicked off early, though, so I wasn't able to calculate mileage.

At the gas station, I picked up an Austrian toll pass.


Austria pass (top), and Switzerland pass

In Austria and Switzerland, you have to have buy a pass to use the highways - just a one time purchase. Austria sells various passes, the cheapest of which is ten days for €9.90, but Switzerland only sells them for a year and cost CHF40. I was able to mail-order the Swiss one before the trip, but had to pick up the Austrian one close to their border. Both passes are available as digital, but I decided I wanted the souvenir sticker.

A strange, intermittent rattle had developed. It seemed to be coming from the left rear. It sounded like sheet metal, which made me think of the exhaust rattle I'd noticed.

Since I was now in vacation mode, I chose a quieter, out of the way Airbnb around Lindau, which ended up being on a country farm. I avoided a deer on the way there.


Middle of the night, middle of nowhere

Day 5:

In the morning, it was 8C (46F) and I was regretting forgetting my jacket. Some small creature had left tracks in the morning dew on the car, and smudges on the glass. I left early and had a short country drive back into Lindau.

After that, though, I was almost immediately in Austria.


Crossing the border on the shore of Lake Constance

I had time to notice that Austrian traffic lights flash green briefly before going yellow. I didn't spend much more time in the country (25 miles total) before crossing into Liechtenstein.



The world's sixth-smallest country, Liechtenstein is home to less than 40,000 people. It's about five miles wide and fifteen tall. I took a diagonal route across it.

I looked around for signs of a unique culture. The first two businesses I saw were a strip club and a pizza restaurant. There are at least two McDonald's in the country. Apparently, Liechtensteiners just a lot like everyone else.

Liechtenstein license plates are black, but given the low population, there seemed to be a lot more plates from elsewhere on the road.

In Liechtenstein I encountered something I'd never before seen as a suggested route on Google Maps: cable cars.


Liechtenstein

Even faster than my drive across Austria, I'd crossed Liechtenstein into Switzerland.

I've been here before, including spending a Christmas in Zurich, and didn't stop to see anything. The route was scenic enough, though.


Switzerland

I went through more tunnels in Switzerland than the rest of the countries on this trip combined.

The speed limits were practically schizophrenic, though, constantly bouncing between 80-120kmh. It's a good thing that the Swiss are some of the most calm and unhurried drivers in Europe.

Switzerland has several travel plazas that span the road like a bridge from one side to the other. I stopped at one for a break. They had a Lindor chocolate truffle buffet. Gas there was €2.17/L.

I've gotten pretty good at spotting My Fellow Americans around Europe. There was a bus at this travel plaza full of a tour group from New York. I'd say my XKR was a lot better way to travel.

Crossing into France that afternoon was my fifth country of the day - only in Europe!

Unlike Austria and Switzerland with nationwide long-term passes, France charges tolls by the road. I couldn't find a straight answer on whether French toll booths accommodate right-hand-drive cars, so I didn't bother, and just made sure to pick free routes. That led to a few interesting diversions.

Along the way, I saw on the GPS a marker for Ancienne base de Chenevières-Saint-Clément. I don't speak French, so I thought it might have been a war memorial or historic site. Fortunately, I realized it was an active military base and turned around before I got to the gate so I didn't get hauled out of the car at gunpoint and strip-searched.

A little further down the road was Saint-Dizier Air Base. I had seen a few French Air Force Rafale fighter jets flying around, but was surprised when one came in for a landing nearly on top of me.



The strange rattle from the rear appeared to be affected by aerodynamics: it only happened at highway speeds and mostly only when a car passed to my left. I hadn't seen anything hanging, and if it did turn out to be exhaust-related, I wasn't about to go poking around under the car while it was still hot.

My Airbnb that night was in Châlons-en-Champagne. Yes, that Champagne. I read that a brand called Nicolas Feuillatte was the bestselling champagne in France, and decided to pick up a bottle. I checked at the local Aldi. Did you know that there are actually two different grocery store chains in the world that are both called Aldi? Now you do.

As I parked outside the place I was staying, an old man and his grandson were walking by. The kid seemed excited about seeing the XKR. Again, I don't speak French, but I thought heard the man say, "A Maserati?" He walked around the back, read the nameplate, and corrected himself. Just when you think you've reconciled the American versus British pronunciation of "Jaguar," a Frenchman comes along with something entirely different.


Day 6:

With my prerogative to not use toll roads, that sent me off on a maze of two-lanes. Trying to get back home early, I set out before 0600 and well before the sun. Those of you who are fairweather XK drivers are missing out on awesome headlights.

When the sun came up, I just happened to spot a farm road...


Somewhere in France

Not much else to say today. I've driven western France and used the Eurotunnel train to get back to the UK before. Final stop for gas in France came up to €1.99/L.

Now that I've made a second European roadtrip, next time I'm just going to print out a cheat sheet for all the countries' speed limits and tape it to the dashboard instead of trying to remember them.

I'll investigate the rattling noise tomorrow when the car is cool. Sleep now.

 

Another great post.

I've just done north of England to southern Spain and back (3000 miles). Done it before in the XK but used the F-Pace this time. Big mistake never to be repeated! Like you, I was horrified at the fuel cost in mainland Europe. The worst was Euro 2.28 per litre on the Autoroute north of Rouen.





I hope your Eurotunnel crossing was better than ours. We've used it many times since it opened but Sunday evening was worse than fleeing from a war zone.

Graham

 

Great write-up. Reminds me of the summer I took the ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland with my touring bicycle and cycled over 5,000 miles through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and then back across to Shetland Isles, Scotland and back down the UK east cost to Harwich. Don't think my knees are up to that anymore, so next time, I'll take the Jag

 

Great trip and write-up.

Very true about the Autiobahns - usually overcrowded and slow. We were also at Lake Constance on Unification day, at the Dornier and Zeppelin museums in Friedrichshafen but we went the other way down the A81. As it was me and my son, there were a few blasts to 200 km/h and one to 274 on the GPS but then we suddenly realized that one of the bonnet latches hadn't caught!!! Not a good move but nothing damaged

I haven't been to the Porsche Museum for a while now but I found it a bit sterile back then. The Mercedes Museum on the other hand has loads of associated history and is much warmer. Worth a visit even if you aren't really a car fan.

Fuel is expensive around western Europe, but E10 is currently €1.75 - 1.80 here (just south of Stuttgart) but €2.32 at the nearest Autobahn services!

 

Looks like a minefield of construction in Spain. I was surprised how much I encountered in Germany, but I suppose nice roads do require maintenance.

It went well. I had originally booked for 11:50, but showed up early and the ticket machine offered me 11:24. I skipped the duty free store and got straight into the boarding line, and they waved me aboard the 10:24.

​​​​​​​Wow! I used to teach the Cycling merit badge at Scout camp, and was riding maybe 500 miles per summer, if that.

I wish I knew about this! Maybe I need to take another trip...

 

The roadworks warnings look a lot worse on the map in Spain than they were as we drove through. I used the Autoroute in France and the Autopista in Spain to cover the distance as fast as possible with toll charge units for both systems so can drive straight through.

I see you came back on the M20 and will have had to use the Dartford Crossing. That's a pain to have to pay by phone within 24 hours unless you have an account. I used to have an account but they close them automatically if not used for twelve months.

We crossed to France on an almost empty Shuttle at 00:20 on a Sunday after getting straight through the check in and passport control process.





It was the return at 20:35 on a Sunday which was absolutely packed and delayed by over an hour.

Graham

 

Excellent narrative! Very envious of your trip👍

 

Off TOPIC/
See how French people are suffering from this electric dictature. Macron clearly said he won't make any effort on the fuel price as "this would divert people from what "we" want which is going to full electric"
(but, Macron, stopped 3 Nuclear central in the last 5 years...to please the germans who were jealous, so last winter we lack electricity for first time in 50 years, had to shut off street lights, were pushed to shut off house lights, companies had to stop their industrial plants and average consumers had an increase in price of more than 25% while profesionnals like bakeries had up to 200%!)...And today they claimed fuel prices might increase even more in the next weeks...
ps: taxes are 63% of the fuel consummer price..
An hell...That's why i'm thinking about Ethanol conversion for my XKR.
/

 

Thanks a lot for your trip feedback and the time you take to describe it and publish photos.
It really makes me want to do the same once it'll be out of a jaguar specialist giving a go.

 

Here's the rattling noise that I noticed during the trip.

The two circled bolts have pulled through the heat shield, letting that side of it flap around in the wind.



Not my actual car, image courtesy Spires Tuning

 

I had the one in front of that fail on my XK 4.2 for the same reason.

It sticks in the memory because it's probably the lowest cost part I've ever purchased for a Jaguar. Less than 20 UKP including fixings!

Graham