Euro tour to Duderstadt

[Lauren 2259]

Okay, time for our Euro trip. We are going back to Duderstadt to meet up with a load of Dutch and German friends. Principally we will be travelling from Calais next Tuesday and meeting up with Johnny in Belgium (if we can find the services!) on our way to a couple of nights in a nice hotel in Utrecht for a couple of nights. From there we head to Elburg for lunch. We have been recommended this by our Dutch friend, Erik (he runs the NL MR2 club called the 'Wild Bunch), before staying over at Erik's in Zwartsluis which is NE Netherlands. The following morning we meet up for breakfast just over the German border, where the rest of the Wild Bunch join us for a convoy to Duderstadt which is situated in Lower Saxony in the Harz region. It's a bit like the Peak District but with less caravans! We will then be camping with ze Germans, where we generally sit around the campfire and drink beer. Duderstadt itself is a beautiful German town on the old east/west border and there are many remants left of the 'Wall' which it makes it a very interesting place to visit. The town let us display our cars in the town square and it's a very nice setting with some very nice ice cream. From there we go on a drive out into the country and get to enjoy some very nice and quiet roads. After that it's all about the socialising and the BBQ, then we set off on the following Monday to drive back. Last year we stayed in Brugge on the way out, but this time we are going to stay over there on the way back as it will break the journey up nicely. We fell in love with Brugge so couldn't resist revisiting it again this year. Our route on Google maps:http://goo.gl/maps/Fw3n1Some pics from last year:Brugge:My AE86 and Erik's MR2 Roadster at Erik's in Zwartsluis:Cruising in the AE86:Ze mad Germans where we camp:JDM tastic in the Town Square in Duderstadt:Toyotas, okay mostly MR2s vill the town square:No particular shortage of wood for the campfire!On the drive out on the Saturday, fond memories of the AE86 and a whole load of fun:The old 'Anti car emergency barrier' at the Borderlands museum which represents the old East/West divide. 6 tons and cut you in half in four seconds when it flies across the border crossing!Ice cream time on the Saturday in Duderstadt:Convoy on the drive out:Traditional remedies at Duderstadt. Cures everything! Anyway, should be a fab trip. I'm going to have a chat with Dutch and German friends as I'd love to get something going for the GT86's next year. It's a great trip and perhaps more importantly a great social. I will add stuff whilst I've got wifi when I'm away and do a write up when I get back.

[rob275 1817]

Looks awesome, and something we should all consider next year! Keep us updated!

[Lauren 2259]

Will do. Just confirmed meeting Johnny in Belgium on our way to Utrecht on Tuesday.

[Keethos 842]

Looks awesome there Lauren. Would love to do a GT86 trip over that way! So why drive the AE over and not the GT? No other GT's there?

[Lauren 2259]

I drove the AE86 there last year, Keith. But I'm going in the GT this year of course. I would expect there is pretty much no chance of seeing another GT there, though I would wager the AE86 is far, far rarer still, but we shall see! I'm really not sure on sales numbers in Germany, though we know people are buying them in the low lying countries. I've just not seen any German members spring up.

[rob275 1817]

I drove the AE86 there last year, Keith. But I'm going in the GT this year of course. I would expect there is pretty much no chance of seeing another GT there, though I would wager the AE86 is far, far rarer still, but we shall see! I'm really not sure on sales numbers in Germany, though we know people are buying them in the low lying countries. I've just not seen any German members spring up.

I'm surprised about the numbers joining clubs, as it really is a drivers car i would of expected it to have a huge following club wise. I guess there is a lot of numbers, but perhaps i was expecting more given the number of sales.

[Lauren 2259]

A quick update, all is well, we have currently covered over 1000miles on our trip to Duderstadt taking in the sights of Utrecht, a night with our Dutch friend, Erik and then a convoy to get drunks with a load of Germans. As I type, Mark is driving and we are nearing a two night stop in Brugges before catching the ferry back over to blighty. Te car has done very well and had no issues with some very hard driving through the Harz region of Germany yesterday in 37C. I managed a near VMax today on derestricted autobahn of 226km/h (141.25mph). GPS logged it at 215 km/h as the maximum. I daresay I could maybe get a little more, but its a fair bit harder than it sounds to get a clear enough run at those kind of speeds. I comparison it's fairly easy to cruise at 150/160 km/h but a whole lot wider to be going over 200. Pictures and more detail to come when I got home and can upload the pictures.

[Lauren 2259]

Okay, 1750 miles later and we are back! :)We started off on Tuesday the 22nd July with a ferry to Calais and from there we drove to Utrecht. However, I factored in a mini GT86 meet up with some Belgian friends in Minderhout, which is near the Dutch border.Here we are ready for the 0640 ferry from Dover:From there we subjected ourselves to the truly awful Ferry fry up, but at least it was free!Then it was back on the road again for our rendezvous with Johnny and Dennis:Here we are!It was very hot! Next stop, Utrecht:Beer ensued!http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1016276_10151475217746467_721955406_n.jpgFine foods were had:http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/998407_10151478990001467_898090171_n.jpg' alt='998407_10151478990001467_898090171_n.jpg'>Erik also has his first car which is a rusty Capri in his garage. He plans to be buried in this!The following morning after a humid night, more of the Wild Bunch arrived:An hour and a half later and we stopped in Germany for breakfast. It was great to meet up with the Wild Bunch again. We were met with a huge thunderstorm when we got to Rote Warte, but forunately it was after we got our tent up! Benno provided the hospitality and more food than we could eat.The following day dawned and it was a hot one at 37C by lunchtime. We took our cars into the centre and gave them a quick wash before lining up for the usual display in the town centre.It's a pretty place:Did I mention, it was bloody hot!Ice cream was consumed and with some relief (dual climate) we were back in the car for the drive out into the Harz region of Lower Saxony.The Wild Bunch welcomed to 'their' ice cream shop:It made me chuckle they had a picture of a GT86 on it!It's a beautiful place;A quick stop and Martin lets his M5 cool down:More Wild Bunch and a pretty MK3:Erik's MK3:More MK3s:A view down the display:Well in terms of the drive out, we took some great roads but due to the heat everyone was pretty tired so a fair few of us decided to find our own way back to Rote Warte (where we were staying with ze Germans). We got a bit lost despite the sat nav as there were a few closed roads which hampered our progress somewhat. But, we were not alone and we ended up in a convoy with two of the Dutch guys and a German couple. Though we were all tired and wanting to get back with thoughts of ice cold beer, this part of the drive became pretty epic as the pace upped considerably and it was a pretty good burn up all the way back! That woke me up again!Eventually we got back and much cold beer was had. The evening was simply glorious. I think it was still 22C at 1am in the morning! Needless to say Peter decided to take the opportunity to get naked and wave at any passing traffic. In the end I had to call it a night, but Peter and Paul were seen to be naked with a stuffed fox. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but there are just some things you don't ask!Sunday morning loomed and everyone was heading off. We were off to Brugge (a real favourite of ours) and it didn't dissapoint. But before we could get there, there was the small matter of 600kms of motorway with some derestricted autobahn on route. I tried to get my car to maximum speed but it's no easy task when there is traffic to watch out for.As you can see I got to 226km/h (GPS verified 215km/h) though I daresay it would have gone more, I had no option but to back off as I was fast approaching slower moving traffic.We made it to Brugge and gave the car a rest in the hotel garage:Another hot day, so much beer was consumed:Mark was happy with his favourite Tripel:Yes, Brugge is beautiful:There did seem to be something of a mosquito and various other biting insect plague, which doubtless was due to the bonkers hot weather we've all had over the past month, but it was a great trip.We are already planning for Duderstadt 2014. There is a lot of work to do and I must say a huge thanks to Erik for his organisational skills, hospitality and for offering us a room at his house for the third year running. Also to Mario for some of the local organisation and for being a brilliant host as usual.We are hoping that we will get some GT86's there next year and it looks extremely likely that we will be looking at a new location for us to stay. There is a lot to work out but it will so be worth it!

[Lauren 2259]

Oh and I fully intend for our club to be going next year. It's a great trip, we'll do our best to make it into a bit of a tour. The driving roads around the Harz region are pretty epic in places. I really hope we can get some of our European cousins, like Johnny and Dennis there too.

[Lauren 2259]

Ooh and one more thing, a word or two about how the GT86 handled the trip. Well we shoved the rear seats down as we did have some camping gear. We were relieved to have decent air conditioning considering how hot it was. The car was a great high speed cruiser and on derestricted autobahn it was easy to cruise at 100-110mph no problem at all for seemingly ages. It certainly helped us despatch a few miles on the way back. But, it was in the twisties when it shone. Our company was mainly MR2s (well there was the odd M5 and stuff around too) and it was no issue at all keeping up with the other cars in the group. I think I recall one of the German guys saying in his best English which was to be fair better than my German, that he couldn't keep up! ;)Overall economy was 36.5mpg. Though there were sections where an 80mph cruise was the case, over the Harz region much revs were used and of course high speeds on the autobahn do wreck your miles to the gallon somewhat. Overall the car managed it with some aplomb, so no worries for next year!

[Keethos 842]

Good write up Lauren and could be keen for this! Love it when other people plan a holiday and I just tag along :32 (18):

[faith 237]

Love the photos and sounds an excellent trip. Always up for a holiday :-)

[Lauren 2259]

Duderstadt is already sorted for 25-27 July 2014. We just need to do all the planning! It's great fun, with a great bunch of people. We so need to be there!

[rob275 1817]

Already told you I will try to come next year, looks like great fun and would be good to go along as a club. How much does it cost roughly?

[Lauren 2259]

Costwise it depends what you go for. We did a bit of a Euro trip with four nights in very good hotels a night with Erik which was free of course and then camping for two nights which wasn't that cheap. For us the trip cost £1500. We were away just over a week. But we did not spare any expense. One thing I would prefer next year is to stay in a hotel at Duderstadt rather than camp (getting too old and cramming in camping gear is a bit of a pain). But I would like to know what people want. The Germans seem to like to camp, whilst the Dutch insist on a hotel. We are looking for a new venue which preferably will be a hotel, but we must have a campfire and all that stuff. Somewhere in the mountains would be good. Others have simply gone from the UK to Duderstadt on the Friday all the way from Calais, stay till Sunday morning and get the Ferry back on Sunday night. It can be done and this would significantly reduce costs. I think though, if you're going that far it makes a lot nicer to break up the trip a bit. I also think the drive with the Wild Bunch which takes the scenic route to Duderstadt is definitely worth doing. We are planning a stop over in Brugge on the way back again. It's beautiful, the beer is amazing. I have a contact for hotels (we've stayed at the same hotel for two years running). I daresay at the other end of the scale you could do the trip for £500. Last year it cost us a £1000 or so but we did a few stopovers at hotels too but didn't go as mad as this year!

[rob275 1817]

That's cool, I'm not too fussy about the cost it's just nice to know roughly so I can save the money so to speak so that i don't realise that when it gets closer to the time i actually can't afford it! Which is what it would be like as i'm useless at saving...

[will300 812]

Looks like an awesome trip. Definitely need to do a euro trip at some point.

[Lauren 2259]

It was great fun. Lots of driving, lots of socialising and a damn good time. I've been talking to the Dutch guys (the Wild Bunch) and I think it's important that we convoy in with them and perhaps spend a night with them and a night with the ze Germans. I was also contemplating an overnight somewhere near Amsterdam (It'd add an extra day to the trip though most likely). It's a cool city and worth a look if you haven't been. We've been many times and know all the museums and all that stuff. But, we can stop over elsehwere and perhaps nearer Erik in Zwartsluis (think NE Netherlands) as it'd make the next day with an early start a whole lot easier. There's a great place called Gierthoorn nearby which is known as the Dutch Venice, it's a lovely place. There is a lot to work out, but you guys so have to come!

[Keethos 842]

Sounds like a right plan!Also Lauren, what alloys was the orange 86 rocking?

[Lauren 2259]

You'd need to ask Johnny, I can't remember what they were.

[Subarman 10]

What a great trip, with great pics and write-up!