We took the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk and managed a whole two hours sleep - more or less, with a fairly smooth crossing. And feeling fairly refreshed, I took the first stint on the right hand side too. The roundabouts were a bit dodgy but once we were onto the motorways, I was soon into the swing of things. We were out of France rather quickly (so it is as tiny a crossing as it looks on the map).
We stopped in Belgium - and got by in German :-S And then Bri took over the driving... Who's got right of way Bri?? BRI!! I got some sleep while Bri drove and then we swapped back.
The really hairy driving moments came in Bremen itself and actually, although I thought driving on the right hand side would be the biggest problem, it's really not. The biggest hinderance to driving in Germany are other road users. By this I am not arrogantly suggesting that I know or drive better than German car drivers, the problem is rather that I don't know when cyclists, pedestrians and sometimes even trams have the right of way. After a few near misses on day one, I have found it easiest to assume that they always have right of way and drive extremely cautiously - although this does then seem to wind up other German car drivers. The other big hinderance is the speed limit. Apart from them being different here anyway, everything is measured in kilometers and while I'm gradually getting used to this, I'm still waiting for a nasty surprise in the post after I was flashed on day one! Oops!
The hotel was lovely - thanks Dad! Bri found her German Peep Show star which made her trip (I think) and we kept the staff entertained most evenings with our skype conversations in reception. Skype is working pretty well so please download it so that I can call you for free too (Hayley)
I always have right of way Jen :-D
ReplyDelete