The excitement for us began towards the tail end of 2018, mootings about the forthcoming trip to Germany, which would include the Black Forest - one on my bucket list! As soon as we heard bookings were being taken we jumped on the phone! We knew spaces were going to be limited and we did not want to miss out... Place secured, phew!
Friday 14 June 2019 was a long wait, but eventually it came. The trip proper didn’t start until Saturday 15 June but like everyone else we didn’t want to travel to Folkestone first thing in the morning, so we set off at 12 noon for the Premier Inn at Folkestone. In no rush what so ever I switched on the cruise control of my 996 and casually sauntered up the A3 and around the M25, barely needing to touch the pedals, the trip was a breeze in a little over two hours and the trip computer told me I had achieved just over 37 mpg. I was quite amazed. We were the first ones there and got parked and checked in. We sat in the sun and slowly but surely more familiar faces turned up throughout the afternoon.
Saturday morning was a quick dive for fuel and head to the channel tunnel terminal. Having previously registered our vehicle and its occupants the check-in was swift. Off the other side we were greeted by blue skies and warm sun, and we set off on our way to our first nights accommodation in Bonn. The journey was 265 miles and it took us through France and Belgium with a couple of stops - some unintentional, Julia - and into Germany where I thought I was really going to legally stretch the legs of my 996. It didn't happen as Saturday afternoon the autobahns are quite busy but I managed a steady 125mph on a few occasions.
The first hotel was the Maritim Hotel in Bonn, it was huge but weirdly quiet, not too many guests about and the room was very pleasant, before we got too comfortable we went out to top up with fuel ready for the next morning, 102 octane was chosen at a princely sum of 1.96 Euros per litre, I had to fill right up too. A lovely set menu was provided for dinner and a few German beers washed it all down and soon it was time for bed.
Sunday saw a reasonably civilised start heading off toward our second destination of Heidelberg, but we followed the Rhine at a more sedate pace from the previous day and we stopped for coffee and cake at the Lorelei cafe. Charlie had been fantastic as ever and managed to secure us the restaurant balcony so whilst we gracefully stuffed our faces we had fantastic views of the Rhine. We were soon on our way and we elected to remain on the scenic route stumbling across our hotel a few hours later almost by accident. Again we checked in and went out in the town for a leg stretch. Dinner was a buffet and there was plenty of local fayre to choose from, as usual I was probably putting all of the wrong things on my plate, but I enjoyed what I had immensely.
Monday morning most of the ladies headed into town for shops and more cake and the rest of us headed a short way to the museum at Sinsheim. I have seen this place before from the motorway having travelled to Stuttgart two years previously, but I was so happy to be paying a visit this time around. The museum itself covers most aspects of transport from push bikes to huge locomotives, and on the roof were several commercial and military airplanes including Concorde and its Russian rival Concordski, all of which you could board and have a look around, which was quite peculiar at times as some were mounted at rakish angles.
Chris, Jon and myself were the last to leave hoping we had seen everything we could, and there was a LOT to see. Later that evening we all headed into the old town at Heidelberg for a group meal of traditional German food at 'The Golden Fleece'. We left for a walk up the road to grab an ice cream to keep us going as we headed back to the hotel. We never got all of the way back without diving into a bar with a large outside space to enjoy the last of the evening.
Tuesday we checked out of our hotel and headed for Stuttgart. Here we enjoyed VIP parking right outside the Porsche Museum - another of Charlie's great organisational feats - and a few hours inside before we met our guide for the factory tour. Germans aren't known for their humour, but we had a real character, Martin and he had me laughing throughout our tour. A very knowledgeable individual who gave us great insight to what its like to be one of the twelve thousand 'Poschiana'.
We watched the main production line produce Boxsters, 911s and even a few 911 race cars were spotted dripping with carbon and track orientated goodies all going down the same line. Then the engine shop and seamstress shop were equally fascinating with the emphasis throughout on the hand made products we all drive and love.
After the tour some of the group returned to the museum, but we were hot and wished to get going onto the next hotel. This was a couple more hours on the road but as we approached and entered the Black Forest the scenery improved and the last hour was a delight to drive. We were soon checked in to the Waldhotel Luise in Freudenstadt enjoying our huge room with balcony and freshened up and went for dinner, via the bar. The group were on two large tables and we tended to change about most nights who we dined with so we could all enjoy each other’s company. The food again, was very good.
Wednesday was warm. We headed to Hohenzollern Castle perched on a mount. We chose the scenic route and got there first, others took the motorway and nearly didn't get there at all. We bussed up the hill to the entrance and enjoyed a winding walk up taking in the most fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. At 12 noon we enjoyed a guided tour of the castle - which has never been lived in - and even cleaned the floors for the owners. We walked back down off the mount to the car park below jarring our knees at every step and were soon on the very slow road back to the hotel (we got lost) but once back we walked into town to meet up with others in the Brauhaus for a typical German stein of beer, a lot of laughs and ice cream dessert called sexy love.
Thursday was supposed to another day where the girls went into town and the men went to look at machinery, however a public holiday put paid to the shopping expedition for most and we all went to look at machinery! This was in the Unimog factory at Gaggenau, I used to watch truck trialing in the '90s and was amazed at how these Unimog things could scale near vertical muddy surfaces with ease and I wondered then how they did it.
Our guide at the museum, Karl, was very informative and explained exactly how these utility vehicles came about. Starting in 1948 and how there are over two thousand attachments which turn your Unimog from a plough, to a drill to a ditch digger and everything in between. Outside we enjoyed a ride in a new Unimog, over a very complex course demonstrating just how able these vehicles are at going anywhere - I think I secretly want one.
After the museum we headed over to Knebis, via the B500, the Black Forest 'Alpine' road to a Black Forest viewing platform where we had a short walk into the trees - it was just like being in an actual forest - and we stood on a huge platform overlooking an expanse of pine trees as far as the eyes could see, hugely stunning scenery if ever there was.
Friday was a sad day. Firstly our RO Charlie and Kathryn were leaving us to head north for a school reunion, and we left Germany and headed toward Reims in France, we really were on the homeward leg now. The weather was warm and soon we were on the flat dull landscape heading west. We managed to stop close to the border at a German supermarket to stock up on Hela curry sauce - just the eight bottles - and onward along endless motorway until our hotel outside of town. One of our group managed to have his collar felt and promptly relieved of a few Euros due to a heavy right foot.
Saturday saw us head six miles west to the historic site at Reims-Gaux where the remnants of the old French GP circuit have been absorbed into the local highway. Spooky grandstands and pits are a mecca for car enthusiasts and it was very busy whilst we were there. We moved on to the city centre and visited the cathedral and grabbed a bite to eat and explored a little. We were soon back at the hotel for our last night, the heat had taken it out of me and we had dinner and a few drinks and it was time to hit the hay for the last night, tomorrow was home day.
We were up early for breakfast Sunday as we planned to depart early to visit 'La Coupole' the Nazi V2 rocket launch site from WW2. Now a place for “Remembrance”, there are fascinating exhibits showing just how close we could have been to a different outcome in 1944, all halted by a 'Tall boy' bomb dropped from an RAF Lancaster. We got to Calais just before 2pm and were able to get an earlier train crossing, with the clocks having to be set back an hour too upon arrival back in the UK we were home with plenty of time spare to reflect just how much fun we'd had with such a great bunch of people. I could have turned around and done it all again, if it wasn't for my Monday morning 5am alarm...