Thursday, January 17, 2008

To kill a myth

It's a myth to believe you can drive as fast as you want on the motorways in Germany. It is only true for some portions and be careful because the police is controling very hard (respect the 30 km/h speed limit even in the middle of the landscape). And even when it is allowed for a few kilometers the traffic is so dense you can't enjoy the horses of your engine. You always will find on the way a snail who enjoys his place on the left side. There are also only two lines. Take for example the one from Basel to Hamburg between Freiburg and Karlsruhe, you can forget even to drive more than 100 km/h. The trucks of course, the buses then, and the one who believes his Renault is faster than your Audi. Unlike France where motorways cost a fortune (but I never saw anywhere else in the world so beautiful and secured roads (maybe Switzerland ?) german motorways are a state issue. In France it is a private system and that's why you pay (and again you understand why) but in Germany it is free (and you understand it as well) meaning that there are "work in progress" for hundreds of kilometers. If the winter season is bad they have to rebuild everything. In the end, it never ends. There is also this "Umwelt" policy (only activists care) which means that protect the birds, the trees and your neighbour from smells and noises and you understand the speed regulation 60 kilometers away from the nearest city. And Germans loooove their car. Even when it's clean it needs to be washed. The federalism system of the country allows you to travel by car because you find big cities almost in the whole country, that explains the density of the traffic. So if you expect to play the Fangio, if your car wants to free the full power of its engine, if you think you will race against time, that nobody will put you on your nerves, that you will save money, that you will enjoy the journey, that the weather will be beautiful, that you will find toilets when you need a pee, or a gas station when your car is thursty, my advice, take the train : It's safer, cheaper, you travel everywhere, you even can sleep, toilets is easily reachable, there is a bar, the speed limit is more than 300 km/h (and it caaaaan drive that speed Yeah ! Baby) and you even can bring your bike that you will use once you reached your destination. Maybe as far as the last train to London ?

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