Posted:
Sep 05 2011
Views: 32
Good Evening,
It's been a while since my last jolly through Europe - but things have been busy, so when friends announced that they were getting married in the Czech Republic it seemed like more than a good excuse for a bit of a drive!
As always, or so it seems we had an early ferry to catch.
But it did mean we manage to miss the worst of the M25/M20 and made good time to Dover. It also meant that we got across to France and on the road early. We caught a bit of slow traffic around Brussels but were in Nurburg for mid afternoon and watched various manufacturers testing their cars - it didn't look much like work too me!
And then it was my turn!
I managed a few laps - it's such a great place, but there are some seriously quick cars going around - this chap had a fantastic car and went past me as if I was going backwards.
There was the great mix, from the usual 911's, a Bentley GT, AM Rapide (his kids had colour co-ordinated helmets!), a camper van and an Espace complete with roofbox!
After a couple of nights in Nurburg we headed off to Prague. The autobahns across Germany were pretty free flowing, even through the seemingly endless roads works. We eventually arrived by mid afternoon and meet up with all our friends for a fantastic meal in a restaurant overlooking the river opposite the opera house.
The next day was a lazy start, a long drive and too much champagne has that effect! We headed deeper into Czech for the wedding venue, which was a stunning chateau - with a great hotel in the grounds.
After a fantastic few days and an amazing wedding we headed back to Prague for 5 days of relaxation and culture (and maybe the odd glass of Czech beer).
Now relaxed and rested it was time to start heading home, but not before a long weekend at the Belgium Grand Prix - I love Spa it's a wonderful circuit.
The autobahn gods were on our side and with the cruise control set at 100mph we sliced through Germany with ease. On one downhill section it was clear and dry, so temptation got the better of me and I took the needle off the speedometer! At that speed the MX-5 is VERY loud!
Later on that morning I was overtaken by a Transit van complete with a ladder etc. strapped to the roof rack - I was doing 100mph at the time!
Our GP weekend started with a pit walk, which was rather busy.
We had great seats between La Source and Eau Rouge. Although the weather at Spa was it's usual self - rain, sun, more rain and then back to sunshine all in 10 minutes!
It was a thoroughly brilliant weekend and our hotel was attached to a Michelin listed restaurant, so we dinned in style before finally having to head for home.
Overall it was a fantastic holiday - 2180 miles in total - a fitting end to holidays in the MX-5. We have a new addition to the family due in November, so in future our little trips to Europe will be in the Wife's car.