Originally Posted by vtgts300kw

Which Hertz location has Porsche?

Originally Posted by 4Wheels

Hehe same thing happened to us in Slovenia this year; we had driven through the entire country once already without any fuss. Then on our way back they stopped us at this massive checkpoint literally 500 yards from the Austrian border.

This huuuge female cop (?) came up to the car and the conversation basically went like this:

Slovenizilla: Papers!
Us: hello officer, did we do anything wrong?
Slovenizilla: You did not see sign on motorway?
Us: well yes actually but we're from Holland you see and oddly enough can't read Slovenia-speak. (there are some signs about 'vignettas' along the highway but not a single one is in English/German or whatever)
Slovenizilla: That is your problem, you must pay fine now, 300 Euros!

So we actually haggled them down to 150 (deal!) but the whole thing was very unnerving. You have to fill out a bunch of forms which are all in Slovenian or whatever their language is and they take pics of your car from every angle possible. To top it off, all this is done by some kind of private security company, not a government agency.

There was this German bloke next to us who got pulled over for not having a vignette too. But when he was at the van where you have to pay the fine (in cash, otherwise biiiiiiiiiiiig problem mister) they also showed him a bunch of pics of him speeding in Slovenia that day. He had to pay over €1k.

In the vid you can see the unlucky German's Zafira and notice the line of people at the white van in the background, all paying at least a couple of hundred €€€'s. Ka-ching!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB-vBhDuQ7M

Originally Posted by Schwabe

You already got the best answers and inside knowledge from ECB. Germany is NOT a vacation country, except for the few and far inbetween Amis (as US visitors are called in a friendly way).

Plus +1 on Avis for larfge rental company and best cars election whithout going with a shadey, small exotics rental place.

Traffic in the summer however can be a nightmare in germany. Germany is stretched North to South and presents for most bordering countries the fastest route South. So not only do you have ze Germanies rushing to leave the homeland (Germans are the largest visiting group in Italy, Spain, France, Austria and Switzerland) during July/August but also our fine neighbors in the Netherlands, Belgium, ze Norse countries and now the Eastern Eaurpean countries who try to make their way South through Germany. Traffic jams of 30-40 miles are not "unheard off"


Unless you have a clear plan on where to go North of Baden Wuerttemberg and Bayern, the two souther staes, DON'T DO IT. You got all what you want to see for a vacation trip in the SOuth and much closer by. If you start heading North you will waste a lot of time travelling from place to place.

Black Forest used to be great for spirited driving but especially on the weekend cannot be recommended anymore. Many fu roads either closed or heavily patroled by Police, not recommended for the "visitor". Unless you just cruise and take in the sights, only hit it during the week to avoid the pesky Polizei.

Don't know for sure how long you plan to stay. My recommendation for a nice loop of the South starting Stuttgart:
Baden-Baden
then heading South through the Black Forest (use all back roads)
to
Singen (Auto-Salon)
Konstanz, take car ferry to
Meersburg, have lunch there.
drive along Bodensee (Lake of Constance) to
Bregenz (Austria) from there go to
Appenzell (most rustic and authentic Kanton/Caounty of Switzerland) and have some cheese fondue or Racquelette (Cheese molten at a wood fire).
Then go to Thusis to enter Via Mala (translation "Bad Road" built by the Romans throught he Alps). You can do some sightseeing there.
then take the
San Bernardino pass to go to the
Italian Lake country of Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como etc, your pick, can't go wrong with either, best food you will ever eat.
From there head to
Chamonix and the Mont Blanc (you have to drive though the tunnel, amazing, hand cut through the rock, was for a very long time the longest tunnel in the world).
Start your loop back through Lausanne/ Lake of Geneva to
Bern and then Basel to enter back into the South of Germany.
I would take the Autobahn from Stuttgart to Baden-Baden, so you can check that off your list and then stay on county roads, which there should be one almost everywhere parallel to the highway. then when you come back get on the Autobahn in Singen and abck to Stuttgart, should all be unrestricted and fairly low traffic to blow out the end of your tour. Just distance wise you could probably do this whole tour in 3-4 days without sightseeing and stops.

Originally Posted by vtgts300kw

Which Hertz location has Porsche?

Originally Posted by Chris from Cali

My wife and I decided that next summer we're going to Deutschland, but we're kind of stuck on when to go. My understanding was that summer was a bad time since all the tourists would be there, but it's tough for my wife to get out of work until mid-June (she's a teacher).

Any advice on when to travel? We're planning on heading to Stuttgart, seeing the museums, renting a fun car, driving some good roads, etc. Any recommendations on a good rental company (we'd like to get something fun, probably up to 150 Euros/day) or a good hotel (Marriott chain is preferred since I'm a gold level member) are appreciated. Vielen dank!

Chris