Fri 11 Oct 2002
Our Touring Bus
Posted by Ken Atherton under France, germany
No Comments
Here’s the vehicle we have been using to tour German, France, and Switzerland:
For those of you not used to to such trickery, the sign you see on the side isn’t really there. It sure does represent how we feel when we drive, though.
Our station wagon just will not fit 4 adult and 2 children in car seats. We first thought that we would rent a small car and drive separately to all of the places we planned to visit. After talking to several local car rental places, it just made more sense to rent one big vehicle.
The behemoth you see above is a Ford Transit. It is a 9-passenger van with room for luggage. It has a diesel engine, stands more than 6 feet tall, and drives like a bus.
On American roads, most people would never even notice such a vehicle, but in Europe, this is one BIG vehicle. When we went to Paris, we spent an hour looking for a parking garage that could accept a vehicle more than 2 meters tall. Trust me, it wasn’t easy.
The van slows down badly going up hill, which makes it hard to really make use of the autobahn. It also doesn’t corner very well, so we have to drive most of the smaller roads in this area very slowly, since the roads tend to wind through the valleys.
On the other hand, it is very intimidating to most of the tiny little cars we share the road with. When I turn on the turn signal, the other drivers tend to make way in a hurry.
Local Tags: autobahn, cultural differences, France, germany, paris, park, rental, switzerland
Format this post for printing
