Going To Germany!!

[DanMan68]

I am planning to go to germany next year in the fall as part of a study abroad program through my school. Basically i'm going to spent three months over there (october-december).

So, my question to you R3V is this? What crazy and awesome things can I (and my two friends that im going with) do?

On my current list

1. Buy an car (e30 or equivilent)
2. Drive said car on the nuremburging!
3. German beer?!
4. Go to the alps

So what say you R3V?

Also, for the natives of the fatherland, is buying a car a good idea? Or should we just rent one?

[Alkasquawlik]

Oktoberfest

[BillBrasky]

Drive said car on the nuremburging!

Nuremburging is overrated. Hockemhime is where it's at!

[Desaevious]

Oktoberfest

^Yes. All I had to read was "October" to know this must be done.

[ethree]

I'm pretty sure you can rent cars at the ring but you might want to focus on beer, architecture, history, sausages and beer and german women?

[shellback]

do a german chick (or dude)

[DanMan68]

^Yes. All I had to read was "October" to know this must be done.

No fears, this will be on the list as well.

[Ferdinand]

Nuremburging is overrated. Hockemhime is where it's at!

Blasphemy and sacrilege! Wash your mouth out with soap boy.

By the way, it's the "Nürburgring" and "Hockenheimring". ;) The Nürburgring is a Mecca that must be visited at least once by any true motorsport pilgrim.

The Hockenheimring once was a very formidable track with a high speed loop far out into the forest and a nasty decreasing radius turn at the far end, before it was neutered with several chicanes, and eventually reduced into another modern F1 go-kart track by Hermann Tilke.

For some real nostalgia, take a lap on the Solitude Ring, located just outside Stuttgart. The famous photo below of Jim Clark leading Graham Hill was taken at this spot (see map) in July 1964. Nearly all of this track still exists as public road. Only one short section in the south-west corner, marked in green on the map below, is now cut off.

Here are a couple of laps of the Solitude Ring as modelled in Grand Prix Legends. The wall on the left of this photo can be seen at 27 sec into this Vimeo clip, and 25 sec into this YouTube clip. There is a steep uphill right hairpin (the Hedersbach kurve) just after this point.

[DanMan68]

So how reasonable would it be to buy a car while we are there? Versus renting one?

[daniel]

Blasphemy and sacrilege! Wash your mouth out with soap boy.

Ferd, I think he was being sarcastic because the OP misspelled it.

[daniel]

So how reasonable would it be to buy a car while we are there? Versus renting one?

why don't you check regulations about how much it costs to get a drivers license, what you have to do to get one as a foreigner, and how much each liter of gas will rape your wallet. most german cities are incredibly easy to get around without a car. yes you will need a car on the 'ring, but is it worth buying one just for that? probably not.

[McGyver]

it would be very reasonable to buy me an engine (and other tid bits) and ship it back for me for free.

[Bimmerman325i]

Reality check- I lived there (Munich, interned with BMW) all last year. I had no need for a car my entire time there. Didn't miss one really.

--Buying a car for a short time might be fun, but is a royal PITA. Check with the consulate, and make sure someone in your group speaks German enough to work with a dealer.

--Renting a car: expensive, cannot take on Ring (see below). Gas was about 1.2 Euro/L, so about 4.8 Euro/Gal, or about $8-9/gal. It's stupid pricey. I imagine the price is similar, it didn't fluctuate much while I was there.

-- Oktoberfest is the last two weeks in September, and the first week in October. I doubt you will find any hostel/hotel rooms, but if you do it's well worth the trip. Depending on when you arrive in Germany, you might miss Oktoberfest.

-- Driving on the Ring in a rental car: bad idea. Many rental services now employ GPS trackers and permaban you if they find out you went on the Ring. You can rent racecars there which also removes a significant liability risk on track. Check into german liability law (i.e. consulate) and how it pertains to the Ring. It is considered a public tollway, and any damage the track sustains YOU are responsible for (barriers, etc). Same with if you hit someone on track, your rental insurance is going to say they aren't covering it and screw you royally. Either rent a racecar or drive your own car with your own GERMAN auto insurance. Renting a car from sixt.de is just foolish, risk is far higher than reward.

Where in Germany are you going to be? You'll have a great time.

[DanMan68]

Reality check- I lived there (Munich, interned with BMW) all last year. I had no need for a car my entire time there. Didn't miss one really.

--Buying a car for a short time might be fun, but is a royal PITA. Check with the consulate, and make sure someone in your group speaks German enough to work with a dealer.

--Renting a car: expensive, cannot take on Ring (see below). Gas was about 1.2 Euro/L, so about 4.8 Euro/Gal, or about $8-9/gal. It's stupid pricey. I imagine the price is similar, it didn't fluctuate much while I was there.

-- Oktoberfest is the last two weeks in September, and the first week in October. I doubt you will find any hostel/hotel rooms, but if you do it's well worth the trip. Depending on when you arrive in Germany, you might miss Oktoberfest.

-- Driving on the Ring in a rental car: bad idea. Many rental services now employ GPS trackers and permaban you if they find out you went on the Ring. You can rent racecars there which also removes a significant liability risk on track. Check into german liability law (i.e. consulate) and how it pertains to the Ring. It is considered a public tollway, and any damage the track sustains YOU are responsible for (barriers, etc). Same with if you hit someone on track, your rental insurance is going to say they aren't covering it and screw you royally. Either rent a racecar or drive your own car with your own GERMAN auto insurance. Renting a car from sixt.de is just foolish, risk is far higher than reward.

Where in Germany are you going to be? You'll have a great time.

Ok so buying a car = bad idea. I got it lol. Thats why im planning this in advance.

Renting a car and going on the ring also = bad. Thats what I figured. You can just rent a racecar though? Wouldn't that be crazy expensive? Or are they just prepared streetcars? Probably less that buying a car though for sure.

I have my choice to study at Ulm, Esslingen, Konstanz, or Reutlingen. But the way the program is set up you have lots of time to travel on long weekends and such.

[Bimmerman325i]

Sounds like a good program. If you really want to learn German well, don't hang out with Americans/people on your program. If you just want to hang out, have fun, and learn a bit, don't worry about it. You won't learn a whole lot in three months anyway.

How old are you? The racecar rental places (prepared streetcars) like rsr-nurburg, rent-racecar.de, and others all require you to be 25. It sucks. They also cost 500euro or so for a half day, on top of the 23 euro/lap ticket cost. It's bloody pricey. BTW: Renting a racecar there still doesn't absolve you from the liability aspect. Only the cost to your car up to a certain cap is covered.