We often live by the mantra that the drive to the destination is part of the adventure. Usually, we never drive for hours on end. We tend to stop and to check out new places and just enjoy ourselves. Driving through Germany was great even if nothing of our mantra worked out. We spend the whole day in the car. But we also noticed a lot about driving in Germany!

Rules for the German road

Germany is a great country to drive in. First – Autobahn is located here and the rumor is true, there are parts where you can drive how fast you desire. But driving a motorhome does not make you a Formula 1 driver. There are several things that we reflected upon driving for more than 10 hours during one day. Here are some of the things that are good to know while driving in Germany.

1. Unless you are driving a truck over 3,5 tons – it is free to drive on the highway.
2. There are a lot of nice stops along the road where you can fill up – both your car and yourself.
3. If you get tired, you can park at a truck stop and sleep in your motorhome for free – no need to find a camping. You will not have electricity though.
4. The roads are nice and well kept. No potholes that will destroy your car or motorhome!
5. The roads are wide and easy to drive on. Even if they have roadwork, there is plenty of space for you to pass.

How we drove through Germany!

So we went from Jaroszow (close to Wroclaw) through Dresden and Nuremberg to Mulhouse, France. We had 10 hours and 33 minutes of driving time. The whole route was 857,5 kilometers and we had 81 kilometers per hour as the average speed. Why were we going so slow? Well since we are “on the road” all the time and this is our way of living we try not to drive to fast. First off we want to save on gas and then we want to see our surroundings while driving. So why didn’t we stay and explore in Germany? Because it was getting cold outside and we just wanted to get to warmer places :).

There are loads to explore in Germany but that will have to wait – we are heading for Portugal! And listening to German radio is a trip down memory lane. A lot of their songs are oldies but goodies – and they are international so that kills some time to while spending time on the road.

How to pass time while driving in Germany?

You can only talk so much and Mini and I have been together for so long that we sometimes enjoy the quiet. Our ten and a half hours were spent differently. Mini was driving and finding funny license plates. The best of the day was without a doubt BAD AS – and that’s not a joke! I, on the other hand, listened to the complete Swedish book of Soran Ismail “Absolut Svensk”. It is a great book written with humor about a Swedish guy that doesn’t “look” Swedish and his problems that he had to overcome. Very interesting and very funny. Unfortunately, it has not been translated into English.

And when I think of it… It might be that you have to be Swedish to enjoy the book?! However, it was really good. I love listening to audiobooks and podcasts and there is no better way to kill time while in a car!

Games to play in a car

Even if Mini and I didn’t play any games this time, I’m pretty sure that we will do it sometimes. To be prepared I have found some games to try out while driving (and riding) in the car.

• Oranges or lemons: Choose if you want to be an orange or a lemon. After that, you wave to all the people you meet. If they wave back they are oranges and if they don’t they are lemons. The person that first comes to 20 is the winner!
• Alphabet game with license plates: Play from A – Z. Look at license plates and once you see one with the letter A you both have to say a word that starts with that letter. Continue with the rest of the alphabet.
• Find the song: One of you start to sing a song and the other one has to guess which song it is. Add extra points for singer or group as well.
• Sing together: Just Sing! It might be hard to dance but singing makes you happy and also it makes time fly by!
• Listen to audiobooks or podcasts together: You learn much from listening to books or podcasts. I love true crime podcasts but Mini prefer documentaries. We listen to both of them :).

MAKE SURE THAT THE DRIVER KEEPS THEIR EYES ON THE ROAD AT ALL TIMES!