Nurburg ring to Munich 350 miles

A later start today after wrestling the coffee machine in the room with German instructions, and then cleaning up the mess.

We stopped to watch a touring car event on the track which had started at first light, so no one needed an alarm.

I left the carpark by the in entrance, nearly ran the attendant down, and while he was composing himself he obviously decided not to try to charge me, although I did not give him the chance anyway.

Today seemed easy with motorway almost door to door. We had not taken account of the weather, very heavy showers (the ones that even efficient wipers can’t clear), accidents (not us), and roadworks. These all conspired to make it a 10 hour driving day. The rain was so heavy it washed off the insulation tape being used as headlight converters. With the performance of these headlights it did not seem worth the effort of getting real ones.

The highlight of the day was stopping for fuel at this service station and discovering McDonalds were just 300 yards away. My compatriot was dispatched to get lunch while I got the overall’s on to adjust the clutch as we had crawled in far to much traffic. Then I checked the gearbox and axle oil which had given trouble with leaks last year. I am pleased to report that the additive used earlier this year must have worked and both were fine.

We hit Munich at rush hour and despite the voices of three females giving conflicting directions at the same time (Satnav, Google and my compatriot) I still managed to find the hotel.

The van behaved excellently, so we celebrated with several beers and a tapas. The van will get it’s oil and water check, and a windscreen clean in the morning for performing so well, before setting off over the Alps through Austria to Italy.