4,000+ Miles in a Skoda - EuroTrip 2015
Discussion
It's come to my attention I never posted the write up from my trip this Summer on PH. Since there are so many people on here planning trips, I thought it may be of use to you all. Mods, if this is in the wrong section please move. First off I'd like to say if this looks a tad Copy and Pasted... thats because it is. For some reason the thumbnails on PostImage are the wrong orientation, but when you click on them they are correct. I also no longer have the mighty Skoda (It was too sensible and good for me - haha). But anyway, I digress...
Okay, so where to begin? Maybe two years ago. Because it was during that summer, me and 3 friends jumped in an Audi A4 and drove around Europe. We Visited the South of France, Monaco, Milan, Lake Como, The Stelvio Pass, Munich and more. It was a fantastic holiday, and upon seeing some Pictures I convinced my Mrs it was probably the best way to do ours as well. What started as a trip to a family members holiday home in Sicily, turned into my own personal planning nightmare for a few weeks. But trust me, it was more than worth it.
The route I devised was as follows:
Start: Oxford (Home)
Stop 1: Nurburgring, Germany.
Stop 2: Munich, Germany.
Stop 3: Lake Como, Italy (Via the Stelvio Pass).
Stop 4: Rome, Italy.
Stop 5: Sicily, Italy.
I stopped at "Lake Bolsena" just north of Rome on the way home, and Baden-Baden in Germany.
First off I want to say, despite my excessive photography normally nearly all of these were taken on my phone. I really couldn't be bothered to lug my DSLR around and didn't really use it. Did use my GoPro so a video is on its way! So apologies for the terrible terrible phone photos.
Okay, so it was an early start Saturday morning to get to the port. In fact, some might say too early. I ended up arriving over an hour before I was meant to, but the lovely lady at P&O simply said “Would you like the next Ferry, it leaves in 10 minutes?”
Fantastic. Meant getting to the ‘Ring a bit earlier and more time to look around. Annoyingly, before we even hit Belgium one of my beam adapters flew off. Had to improvise with some electrical tape. This turned out to be the only real car mishap of the trip though, so I cant complain too much.
My first trip was April of last year, in a friends very loud and very fast Corvette C6. We missed a couple of classic places to go so made sure to do that this time…
After a nights sleep, I got up early on the Sunday and headed to the track to drool over cars and turn a few laps.
Its the first time I’ve had the car at its “Limits” and both on track, and the local roads I have to say i was very surprised. The “Boring” and “understeery” characteristics everyone says about on these cars wasn't boring at all, it was very manageable and great fun in the tight corners to chuck around. It didn’t take much to get the back end round and help the nose tuck in, and once you got used to using its weight, its smiles all round really. Definitely need more track time booked for it now!
Next stop, MUNICH. Now, I have a friend out there I met up with. And due to the local Beer, pictures are fairly thin on the ground for here. Did manage to give my Girlfriend a brief, but extremely hungover tour mind you. In the drizzle.
As you can see, I felt great.
Fun fact, the Bavarian flag is apparently painted in such an odd way as to cover up the Swaztikas (Spell?)
So on to the Stelvio Pass…. via Austria of course.
The top of Stelvio was a little misty, but it cleared quite fast.
Had to get the "Oh Look I went travelling on my GAP YARRR" shot, of course.
Once again, the car was flawless. The steep inclines, sharp bends and adverse weather didn't hold it back (just some traffic!)
Via Bormio. Always worth a stop here! Lovely little Ski Town.
This route provided a beautiful drive into Como, and the next day we went on a bit of an explore.
Ditched the car for a bit, too…
Next up, ROME. And yes, the drivers are even more madder than you could possibly imagine. But I soon realised if you drive like them, the whole system sort of “Works”. Lanes become optional, as do speed limits and personal space. Horn use is not optional.
On route. Long old drive but the Skoda just kept on taking the punishment in the heat!
Did a few touristy bits which gave the car a nice break…
I'm sorry, I had to keep up the stupid photo...
I still love Alfa 159’s!
Annoying construction was everywhere this year, not just in Rome! Apparently some designer was paying for this to be restored.
Next trip was a long one, Sicily.
Due to the unique way Italian ferry services work, and their websites, I was unsure how or IF I’d even get across when I got to Villa San Giovani! But we were fairly confident after reading some out of date comments on trip advisor, and we didn’t have a choice anyway so we just went for it.
Fortunately, after the mammoth drive through italy (10 hours by this point) it was as simple as buying a ticket, and then a classic “Italian” Boarding (Read as, fast and dangerous) we were on! By this point the trip had already reset itself after hitting the 2,000 mile marker.
It was another 3hour drive before we got to the house in Sicily, up a tiny and very steep cobblestone road which has probably taken about 10,000 miles of life off my clutch and a definitely taken a lot of the rigidity out of my Cupra R splitter.
We were staying in the town of Castellammare del Golfo and it was a very beautiful place.
Had an amazing 5 days here in the beautiful sunshine, trying to cram in as much as we could! Including remote classic sicilian restaurants, boat trips, eating some more, beaches, more eating, and a lot of Red Wine. One trip I enjoyed was going to “Erice” a small ancient Arab town on the top of a mountain. Once again, the Skoda played Mountain Goat very well…
And after taking the photo above, I turned around and took…..
It’s pretty high up.
TOURIST SHOT!
So lets skip forward to the trip back? This is a Car Forum after all. 3 days, each with over 12hours worth of driving. All the way to north of Rome to a beautiful lake, then onto Baden Baden via Switzerland!
Looking a bit dirty at the First Italian stop…
Booked this place on a whim, had no idea what it would be like. I think I won?
Next up, the Nazi state for cars: Switzerland.
I paid your €40 bloody fee and I find myself sat in one of the worst traffic jams of my life, thanks for that! Turns out I was queueing for the San Gothard tunnel. Nightmare. However, it was in a valley next to an airfield doing an amazing air show. This was accompanied by passing Steam Trains.
So we were all out of our cars, since we had something to watch.
As soon as we hit Germany, it was derestricted autobahn. My last go at driving at high speed legally, and managed to hit an indicated 145mph on the speedo in the end. My girlfriend grabbed a sketchy photo at one point of the speedo, just to prove you can get that needle that far on a SKODA!
No photos from Baden-Baden, but I can assure you it IS worth a stop. Twice now I've used it as a "Stop Off" and I really would like more time there.
Last stop on the trip home was Reims, where I could tot up the epic fly massacre on my bumper. This place is a must look for anyone driving through, its on the way back so why not!
Was a classic rally type thing going on. Love this!
Another rarity whilst waiting for the ferry!
Home Time
England!
So after nearly dead on 4150 miles, the Skoda made it back. And although the brakes are now dead (they were on their last legs before I left) and its MOT is due, its still as good as the day it left. It swallowed all of our gear with ease, and had masses of space to go. It took a battering on long drives on the motorway, up mountain passes, dodging mad italians and down ancient cobbled streets. It even survived the Green Hell with me driving! I know these cars divide opinion in the car community, but its now a car I really love. It’s fantastic fun, and yet somehow sensible too. The perfect all rounder on a budget.
Link to the full Gallery (Sorry, again not used to this as all my proper photos are on Flickr!)
http://postimg.org/gallery/euqbqpqo/
Okay, so where to begin? Maybe two years ago. Because it was during that summer, me and 3 friends jumped in an Audi A4 and drove around Europe. We Visited the South of France, Monaco, Milan, Lake Como, The Stelvio Pass, Munich and more. It was a fantastic holiday, and upon seeing some Pictures I convinced my Mrs it was probably the best way to do ours as well. What started as a trip to a family members holiday home in Sicily, turned into my own personal planning nightmare for a few weeks. But trust me, it was more than worth it.
The route I devised was as follows:
Start: Oxford (Home)
Stop 1: Nurburgring, Germany.
Stop 2: Munich, Germany.
Stop 3: Lake Como, Italy (Via the Stelvio Pass).
Stop 4: Rome, Italy.
Stop 5: Sicily, Italy.
I stopped at "Lake Bolsena" just north of Rome on the way home, and Baden-Baden in Germany.
First off I want to say, despite my excessive photography normally nearly all of these were taken on my phone. I really couldn't be bothered to lug my DSLR around and didn't really use it. Did use my GoPro so a video is on its way! So apologies for the terrible terrible phone photos.
Okay, so it was an early start Saturday morning to get to the port. In fact, some might say too early. I ended up arriving over an hour before I was meant to, but the lovely lady at P&O simply said “Would you like the next Ferry, it leaves in 10 minutes?”
Fantastic. Meant getting to the ‘Ring a bit earlier and more time to look around. Annoyingly, before we even hit Belgium one of my beam adapters flew off. Had to improvise with some electrical tape. This turned out to be the only real car mishap of the trip though, so I cant complain too much.
My first trip was April of last year, in a friends very loud and very fast Corvette C6. We missed a couple of classic places to go so made sure to do that this time…
After a nights sleep, I got up early on the Sunday and headed to the track to drool over cars and turn a few laps.
Its the first time I’ve had the car at its “Limits” and both on track, and the local roads I have to say i was very surprised. The “Boring” and “understeery” characteristics everyone says about on these cars wasn't boring at all, it was very manageable and great fun in the tight corners to chuck around. It didn’t take much to get the back end round and help the nose tuck in, and once you got used to using its weight, its smiles all round really. Definitely need more track time booked for it now!
Next stop, MUNICH. Now, I have a friend out there I met up with. And due to the local Beer, pictures are fairly thin on the ground for here. Did manage to give my Girlfriend a brief, but extremely hungover tour mind you. In the drizzle.
As you can see, I felt great.
Fun fact, the Bavarian flag is apparently painted in such an odd way as to cover up the Swaztikas (Spell?)
So on to the Stelvio Pass…. via Austria of course.
The top of Stelvio was a little misty, but it cleared quite fast.
Had to get the "Oh Look I went travelling on my GAP YARRR" shot, of course.
Once again, the car was flawless. The steep inclines, sharp bends and adverse weather didn't hold it back (just some traffic!)
Via Bormio. Always worth a stop here! Lovely little Ski Town.
This route provided a beautiful drive into Como, and the next day we went on a bit of an explore.
Ditched the car for a bit, too…
Next up, ROME. And yes, the drivers are even more madder than you could possibly imagine. But I soon realised if you drive like them, the whole system sort of “Works”. Lanes become optional, as do speed limits and personal space. Horn use is not optional.
On route. Long old drive but the Skoda just kept on taking the punishment in the heat!
Did a few touristy bits which gave the car a nice break…
I'm sorry, I had to keep up the stupid photo...
I still love Alfa 159’s!
Annoying construction was everywhere this year, not just in Rome! Apparently some designer was paying for this to be restored.
Next trip was a long one, Sicily.
Due to the unique way Italian ferry services work, and their websites, I was unsure how or IF I’d even get across when I got to Villa San Giovani! But we were fairly confident after reading some out of date comments on trip advisor, and we didn’t have a choice anyway so we just went for it.
Fortunately, after the mammoth drive through italy (10 hours by this point) it was as simple as buying a ticket, and then a classic “Italian” Boarding (Read as, fast and dangerous) we were on! By this point the trip had already reset itself after hitting the 2,000 mile marker.
It was another 3hour drive before we got to the house in Sicily, up a tiny and very steep cobblestone road which has probably taken about 10,000 miles of life off my clutch and a definitely taken a lot of the rigidity out of my Cupra R splitter.
We were staying in the town of Castellammare del Golfo and it was a very beautiful place.
Had an amazing 5 days here in the beautiful sunshine, trying to cram in as much as we could! Including remote classic sicilian restaurants, boat trips, eating some more, beaches, more eating, and a lot of Red Wine. One trip I enjoyed was going to “Erice” a small ancient Arab town on the top of a mountain. Once again, the Skoda played Mountain Goat very well…
And after taking the photo above, I turned around and took…..
It’s pretty high up.
TOURIST SHOT!
So lets skip forward to the trip back? This is a Car Forum after all. 3 days, each with over 12hours worth of driving. All the way to north of Rome to a beautiful lake, then onto Baden Baden via Switzerland!
Looking a bit dirty at the First Italian stop…
Booked this place on a whim, had no idea what it would be like. I think I won?
Next up, the Nazi state for cars: Switzerland.
I paid your €40 bloody fee and I find myself sat in one of the worst traffic jams of my life, thanks for that! Turns out I was queueing for the San Gothard tunnel. Nightmare. However, it was in a valley next to an airfield doing an amazing air show. This was accompanied by passing Steam Trains.
So we were all out of our cars, since we had something to watch.
As soon as we hit Germany, it was derestricted autobahn. My last go at driving at high speed legally, and managed to hit an indicated 145mph on the speedo in the end. My girlfriend grabbed a sketchy photo at one point of the speedo, just to prove you can get that needle that far on a SKODA!
No photos from Baden-Baden, but I can assure you it IS worth a stop. Twice now I've used it as a "Stop Off" and I really would like more time there.
Last stop on the trip home was Reims, where I could tot up the epic fly massacre on my bumper. This place is a must look for anyone driving through, its on the way back so why not!
Was a classic rally type thing going on. Love this!
Another rarity whilst waiting for the ferry!
Home Time
England!
So after nearly dead on 4150 miles, the Skoda made it back. And although the brakes are now dead (they were on their last legs before I left) and its MOT is due, its still as good as the day it left. It swallowed all of our gear with ease, and had masses of space to go. It took a battering on long drives on the motorway, up mountain passes, dodging mad italians and down ancient cobbled streets. It even survived the Green Hell with me driving! I know these cars divide opinion in the car community, but its now a car I really love. It’s fantastic fun, and yet somehow sensible too. The perfect all rounder on a budget.
Link to the full Gallery (Sorry, again not used to this as all my proper photos are on Flickr!)
http://postimg.org/gallery/euqbqpqo/
The Video I put together for the trip.
https://vimeo.com/134981431
Thanks for reading! I'll happily answer any queries people have about costs, organisation and anything else.
https://vimeo.com/134981431
Thanks for reading! I'll happily answer any queries people have about costs, organisation and anything else.
Gassing Station | Roads | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff