Classic car friendly hotel in Germany

[Bustedmattress]

Hi

I am taking my Healey on a road trip across Holland and Germany to see friends in Bayreuth, Germany very shortly. I will need to overnight somewhere between Rotterdam and Bayreuth and the 470 odd miles is too much for one day. I was thinking of going to Cologne (there is a cathedral which I hear is worth seeing) but wondered if anyone has any recommendations of (a) anywhere to go but more importantly (b) any classic car friendly hotels, hostelries, B&B's who would have somewhere secure to overnight my car.

As ever all suggestions very welcome and appreciated.

Cheers
Busted

[alfa-chris]

Hey,

I´m from Cologne, and yes, the Cathedral is worth a visit.

Most Hotels in the city have underground carparks which are quite safe and have security cameras.
So just take one of these and have a look at the old centre and drink a Kölsch at the Rhein.

regards
chris

[Bustedmattress]

Chris,

Thanks - the underground car park sounds just the thing.

Cheers

Busted

[Mk2Ed]

Bustedmattress said:

Chris,

Thanks - the underground car park sounds just the thing.

Cheers

Busted

I'd want my classic car a bit closer than that a drive in double room would be just the trick.

Good luck with the trip.

[neutral 3]

I'n Oct 07, I stayed at a nice Hotel I'n Recklinghousen Town ( trying to remember the name ) not far from Munster, the parking was in a small barrier controled public underground car park , almost oposite, entry and exit was via a card suplied by the Hotel,. the Griff was ok there, but I would have prefered it to be I'n the Hotel grounds as I was constantly worried re it getting damaged by other cars, as they are very vulnerable to body damage. But I couldn't find another Hotel.

The Scrambled Egg and Smoked Salmon breakfast was the best I have ever had but they put me in a room over a very noisy late night club , which for E100 per night was not acceptable.if you are stuck it would be worth staying there.

[Bob CD]

Reviving this thread having just stayed in the Hotel Goldener Engel in Speyer, a town an hour south of Frankfurt, near Heidelberg, Mannheim and about 7kms from Hockenheim. It has an enclosed car park, admittedly not covered, but more importantly, you can hire three classic cars from the hotel itself. They are a VW Kafer convertible, a Triumph TR4 convertible and a Borgward Isabella convertible. Check them out on www.goldener-engel-speyer.de. The town is by the Rhine and is also host to the Technik museum - as you approach the town, you find yourself at eye level with a 747 for instance, which can be slightly alarming. Lots of nice things to do with your classic for the day, and air conditioned rooms, important in what is one of the hottest parts of Germany - normally.

[LordBretSinclair]

Bob CD said:

Reviving this thread having just stayed in the Hotel Goldener Engel in Speyer, a town an hour south of Frankfurt, near Heidelberg, Mannheim and about 7kms from Hockenheim. It has an enclosed car park, admittedly not covered, but more importantly, you can hire three classic cars from the hotel itself. They are a VW Kafer convertible, a Triumph TR4 convertible and a Borgward Isabella convertible. Check them out on www.goldener-engel-speyer.de. The town is by the Rhine and is also host to the Technik museum - as you approach the town, you find yourself at eye level with a 747 for instance, which can be slightly alarming. Lots of nice things to do with your classic for the day, and air conditioned rooms, important in what is one of the hottest parts of Germany - normally.

The most amazing aircraft and car museum is well worth a visit, http://speyer.technik-museum.de/en

[Bustedmattress]

It was good to see this thread again and it sorted of prompted me to finish it off.

In July of last year I finally resigned from my job to take up a new position. Because of what I do and because I was going to a competitor, I was immediately put out on Gardening Leave. I can highly recommend this by the way - particularly being paid to do you own thing at home in summer. I absolutely loved it! Anyway I was determined not to waste the time so the first thing I did was to plan a big European trip in my car - an Austin Healey 3000. Hence my original post as I was planning my way. A few days after posting that message I left home in Crewe to Hull (via Buxton and Sheffield - great run in the countryside), caught the overnight ferry to Rotterdam, called in at Nijmegen, Cologne (hence the original post - I did find an underground car park and the cathedral is indeed beautiful) and then on to my destination, a place called Eckersdorf in Germany - very close to Bayreuth near the Czech border.

I was heading to Eckersdorf to catch up my mate, John, from my Polytechnic days who married a German girl and has settled down there. When I arrived John said, in between many, many beers (we have never quite left our student drinking days behind us) that there was a local classic car show - Zum Oldtimerzeltfest - in town the next morning. John said it was just a local thing with lots of German cars, Opels and VWs, but would I take the car down as the locals would love it. Also his lad fancied riding shotgun with me on a blast cross country to get there. No problem said I although I did point out (and you can see on the photo) that the car had around 600 miles under its belt since home and was as filthy as its ever been - just look at the state of those wire wheels!

Anyway next morning, complete with hangover, I was driving into the village with John's lad riding along side me ready to translate. I am following his car into the fair town/village of Eckersdorf when these guys in high visibility jackets jump out looking very excited. My mate's son said "they would like you to drive straight in" after which I get a sort of celebrity style welcome. It was really something. As my mate said there would be - there were a lot of VWs etc but there was a fantastic Aston Martin although that and my car probably was it for UK motors. I was waved into a bay and had barely got out of the car, when a crowd has gathered and the organiser came bustling over and whisked me away to meet a local reporter to do the above interview and picture. You can just about make out me in the drivers seat, slightly obscured by the windscreen corner but grinning like a man with a hangover who knows he is getting into the paper. To be honest it was really good fun.

My mate got a couple copies of the newspaper the next day (it is a local one in Bayreuth) and his wife kindly did me this translation of the first few paragraphs ...

"His name is David Anderson and he has travelled several thousand miles to the fifth Eckersdorf vintage car tent festival - the proud driver of a black Austin Healey 3000 mark III. A foreign vintage car enthusiast is here for a short holiday break and has left his everyday Audi in the garage. Via Rotterdam, the drive has brought him to Upper Franconia to his friends; he mostly drove a comfortable 75 mile per hour. It would be possible to go 120 miles, but the beloved car is to be spared. The Friends of Historic Vehicles Bayreuth, and with them the main organizer Claus-Dieter Vogel cannot just be happy this year about well travelled friends of classic cars from Cologne and about the first Englishman attending their meeting. They can list more vehicles than in previous years, despite the weather which is little vintage car friendly."

It was a fantastic journey and I can recommend the experience of striking out on a big trip in Europe to anyone. It wasn't without its moments - I was like an expectant father with the car sometimes (prodding it, listening for rattles that weren't there, worried about ones that were!) but I had a fantastic time. Too many stories to tell in one go (including the stop over on the way back to Rotterdam ferry at the campest truck stop in the world where it seemed to be de rigueur for the truckers to walk around in tight shorts with no top on in the restaurant wearing a bucket load of aftershave!

The car made it back in one piece but did need a new radiator and new wiper blades on its return. Oh yes, and then I had a new (fast flow) cylinder head while I was at it, which made the whole thing slightly expensive!

As a friend back in the UK said when I showed him the above article "I love the fact that you are being famous by your car".

Dave

PS To the moderators - I hope I haven't infringed any house rules by putting a scan of the newspaper article up. If I have my apologies and please delete.