Autobahnanza

160 km/hr on the A4

Buongiorno! After a fun filled first day in Munich, we hit the road to Venice at 9:30am local time. As I write this, we are about 35 kilometers west of Venice on the A4 Autostrade. With leadfoot-Natalie’s driving, this may be a short post as I will be required to help navigate to a suitable garage before too long. Here are some quick thoughts covering my first impressions of driving in each of the three countries we’ve been through this morning. Surprisingly, I noticed these differences very distinctly.

Germany
Fast, courteous drivers. People in the left lane get out of your way and slowpokes know that they belong in the far right. Nobody passes on the right, and no crazy people weaving in an out of traffic. A great driving experience.

Austria
Similar to Germany in that everyone is very courteous. Dissimilar in that it’s generally slower and they have a bunch of weird highway rules. For instance, at the border crossing, we had to purchase a vignette (Austrian highway toll sticker), and a reflective vest to keep in the car in case of emergency. I knew about this before we left home, so it wasn’t just a “let’s rip-off the silly Americans” ploy.

Italy
People are crazy fast! Similar to Germany, but a bit less courtesy with the passing, etc… If you’re cruising along at nice fast pace in the middle lane, someone in Italy may pull out in front of you forcing you to slow down. In Germany, they wait until you pass.

I’m about to get called away to navigator duties, but first some impressions of the car. It drives like a dream! The sport suspension is very tight, so you do feel the road at high speeds, but it handles amazingly well. It’s been fantastic. Driving through the Alps was an thing to behold. Ok, gotta jet. Peace!

posted by Chris @ 11:35 AM