Trip report: Western Europe 4000+ miles, 7 weeks

[angrybeard]

So a few days ago I got back from 7 weeks away, a little jaunt where me and Casper the Yeti took in Belgium, Luxembourg Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France, Spain and Andorra, mainly for the Alp's and Pyrenees.

I notice that a few other members have also been enjoying foreign trips, but have yet to scroll thru the mass of forum posts that I missed whilst away.

So rear seats taken out and camping items and worldly belongings in the back, and for the initial blast from Dunkerque to Munich my mountain bike and roof rack were shoved on top inside to save on ferry prices and to increase fuel economy. Having had a 2.0l petrol xtrail on previous adventures, it was nice to have the sharp pull of the diesel, no more changing down to first on steep hills. Economy improved on that first trip, filling up for £1.02 a litre in Luxembourg the MFD was showing a range of 750miles, which unfortunately decreases as I entered the German autobahns, the desire to go of the engine inadvertently taking me to over 110mph.... it didn't feel anywhere near that fast! the speed warning was put on for 85mph!

After a few days in Munich sampling the culture(mainly Hofbrau...), i headed to the Bavarian Alps and assembled the roof rack where the bike remained during travelling until my final blast home, the fuel consumption finally getting up to the high 50's whilst away. I travelled to Innsbruck and then into Switzerland, a major aim of my trip, at first trying to avoid purchasing motorway tolls, but my 4 year out of date sat nav and its odd 'avoid toll roads' kept putting me on them, so a 40chf sticker was bought, which sucked, as Switzerland has far to many tunnels obscuring the view! My trip took me to Davos for mountain biking, via the amazing San Bernadino pass Lucarno to not Bungy jump the contra dam, Lucern, Bern and then to a life time goal of Grindelwald,where after a few days hiking in the rain the rain cleared and I got to pay £110 to go up the Jungfraubahn, totally worth it and unmissable, walking around a glacier and standing in a wind chill of -15 having been taken there by such an amazing engineering feat. Swiss Prices made me head into the French alps and down to Avignon and Nimes for some history, the Med coast for chilling and The Pyrenees for more biking and hiking(paying £0.92 a litre for super diesel in Andorra), the N-260 and N-152 roads in Spain were amazing drives) but it was way to hot up there, so after a tourist pilgramage to Lourdes I spent my time heading further and further up the Atlantic coast, Biarritz, La Rochelle and finally a final 10 days in Normandy to visit the D-day sights, a long held ambition.

So being the Yeti forum, how did Casper fair?

Positives: Well, i loved having a diesel, having craved it on trips before, it was so crisp and gave me all the power I needed, the handling on some of those twisty mountain roads was great, even with the bike on the roof and worldly goods in the back, I had all the overtaking power I needed(being by myself; when i could see to overtake!), i loved having all my music on the SD card, and it was the first time I got to really use cruise control. Being able to take the back seats out to add space and save weight(they are bloody heavy) was great. The spare wheel takes up room, but love all the storage around it.

Negatives: The bloody water run off when the windows were opened with any kind of moisture, with limited clothes its great smelling of screen wash for days on end! Window deflectors are a definate purchase, the leather seats and black interior were such a heat trap and it really attracts the dirt, seat covers are needed Auto lights and wipers can be a little slow. Not quite as comfortable on the longer drives for my 6'4 frame as the xtrail(maybe i'm just older), audio and climate controls are very low down and i always forgot where the hazards were!

Any problems: . I did have one forced regen of the DPF, was a worry, as i think it was first time it happened, but considering I'd just been driving over mountain roads, it seemed odd that it happened then. The engine sounded a little rough on the left hand side as i neared the end of my trip, but first service is nearly due, i got a stone stuck in the caliper, which was a horrible noise, and I have had calipers seize before, so wanted to get it checked out, but a kill or cure pressure wash solved the problems before the brakes got hot.

Did see quite a lot of other Yeti's, Switzerland probably the most, but Luxembourg seemed to have a large Yeti to car population, but really in the mountains the Duster reigns supreme as far as numbers are concerned. More people abroad seem to recognise what good cars Skoda's are, but maybe they just say that to me as i look scary...

So in conclusion, Yeti was great to travel in, esp with diesel being so much cheaper abroad(unleaded isn't far off Uk prices in France and Germany), it handles mountains beautifully, never had one concern about its performance, main fault is the window soaking, i shall be purchasing deflectors and perhaps seat covers, possibly look into stone cheap protection for the front end.

Driving abroad, i find it more relaxing than the Uk, but i worried every car in France had some kind of damage, couldn't find breathalysers anywhere in France, road side rest areas are so good, and its easy to avoid toll roads in France if you want to take it easy, save fuel and see French 'stuff'

Now i have to come back and do grown up stuff, but will be complimenting my love of German food, with the genius of Tapas and the sophistication of good red wine and seafood, but me and casper have now developed a bond which we shall take into everyday life!

Sorry for the Length of post, i shall add some pictures later on, when server errors are gone...

[Llanigraham]

Sounds like an excellent trip. Now I want to see the photos!

Didn't realise the Jungfraubahn was that much!! One of the few lines that give discount to any railway worker in Europe, not just those with "privileges", so is on my list to do!

[nickguzzi]

Sounds great, glad you enjoyed it so much.

Any particular recommendations, apart from the ones already mentioned? Hotels, restaurants, roads, passes, sights, towns, villages, monuments etc?

[angrybeard]

A few pictures of casper in different Locations throughout our adventure.

[angrybeard]

I will upload all my pictures on photobucket for any one interested in any particular parts.

I do have a diary of the trip which at some point i will do something with as well.

There were so many places I went to its difficult to pick out a few to recommend. I review a lot on trip advisor as marktheevilude, so lots of posts going up on there. I stayed at campsites, so can recommend a few around the places. For beer houses in Munich, always hofbrauhaus and augustinerkeller! I am very into my military history, so anyone planning a trip to Normandy sites, just let me know and i'll tell you about the MANY museums i went to! But happy to let people know about anywhere i've been to, just PM me.

The Jungfraubahn was amazing, i didn't think it was that much, but well worth it, i read a book on the making of it 'Jungfrau express' by verena gurtner, which although old, gave me a lot of info and allowed me to know what to look out for, there by adding to my experience. Only negative on the cost was couldn't justify the cost of going up the pitz gloria/schilthorn, which luckily was out of service the day i visited, so worked out well!

I love the Mountains though, and it seems casper does to!

[r999]

Thanks for the interesting reviews. Anyone else who wants a look will find all Angrybeard's Tripadvisor reviews listed here: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members-reviews/marktheevildude

You certainly did a thorough job on the Normandy invasion sites.

Thanks too for drawing my attention to the Auto & Technik Museum at Sinsheim, which I'll try to drop by next month.

[hmibennett]

Thanks for these interesting posts. My Yeti has been to the south of France and back four times now, and I have always found it a delight to travel with, especially filling up with cheap diesel! You are right about the number of damaged French cars - I think it's a combination of 'active' parking in towns, narrow roads and an altogether less protective (healthier?) attitude towards cars as objects. And yes, the Duster reigns supreme, at least in the parts of France I regularly visit. I intend having a look at one - and perhaps a test drive - when I can, just out of interest, as I think there are a number of Yeti 'toys' I would miss on the more spartan but admittedly very keenly priced Dacia.

[r999]

Still looking forward to more pictures if you have time!