We'd just arrived in Rotterdam after having caught the overnight ferry from Hull and having not a lot of sleep due to some stag/hen parties causing mischief..........Enjoy!
After Eventually getting off to a fitful night of sleep we were rudely awoken at 6 AM local time with a "bingbong" on the public address system. There was no emergency, no man overboard or anything like that. No we were being woken up to be told we can now have our breakfast or indulge in some shopping. Good job they woke us up as we dock in 2 HOURS TIME! Just to rub it in this announcement is then repeated in 47 different languages. Thanks P&O.
coming into dock at rotterdam
We grabbed a croissant and a cup of tea from the on board cafe and then went to the shop and bought some earplugs. I knew these would come in handy for camping later in the trip and had actually left four free pairs at home. Arse. We disembarked into the Europoort (this is not a mis-spelling its just the Dutch have a tendency to stick a couple of extra vowels into words for no particular reason). The weather was glorious we couldn't ask for a better start as we pulled onto the motorway to begin the 3.5 hour drive to destination number 1 - The Nurburgring.
in the queue for Dutch customs. I would have looked cooler if the sunglasses were straight admittedly
Being Saturday the traffic was nice and light and as this was our third visit to the 'ring it was almost a familiar journey. We pulled over and got a drink a couple of hours in and spotted a UK M3 CSL in a services carpark. We later saw the same car in Nurburg. Anyone would think its the only place Brits go in Europe! The rest of the journey passed by quite uneventfully bar a little dice I had with a standard looking golf GTI. We were pressing on and he was right behind me. In the Z4M this situation usually lasts as long as it takes to drop one gear and press the accelerator in a bit but after doing that he was still with me! We were hitting traffic so the fun came to an end. He turned of so gave him a little wave which was returned. A serious bit of kit obviously tinkered with somewhat!
Soon enough we arrived in Adenau which along with Nurburg village is one of the main areas people congregate to spectate and access the track. From here you can buy a half lap ticket which gets you round to the main entrance without having to use the road. We bought a 4.5 lap ticket and after filling up (picking up the superduper unleaded pump by accident and paying 1.47 Euro per litre - oops) we rolled up to the barrier and scanned the new transponder card ticket. Nothing happened. A Kind German man came over, turned the card the other way and scanned it. We were off.
Accessing the circuit in Adenau is a bit tricky as you have to wait for a gap in the traffic which comes thundering down a hill and round a left hander just in front of you. We found a gap and set of on our first (half) lap. Boy was it good to be back! By now I know my well round the track reasonably well so we were soon into the swing of it. This didn't stop us getting passed plenty of times by the usual suspects - 911's and M3 CSL's flying past us at quite incredible speeds. It was all over before we knew it and we rounded the final right hander to see the big red Audi gantry. Always a welcome sight after a scary lap of the Nurburgring. The intention was to do another lap and then go check into the hotel and unload our kit (which was noticeably weighing the car down in the corners) we queued at the barrier on the pit straight so we could get straight back out. When we were about 10 cars from the front we noticed the barrier had stopped going up and down. This can mean only one thing.....closure!
waiting out our first closure on the pit straight
As is quite normal at the Nurburgring the track was closed. This is normally to clear an accident or breakdown and sometimes just to mop up an oil spill. This particular incident must have been a minor one because within half an hour we got the now familiar "Bing bong - zee track ish now open". We cut short our chat with a British guy in a GT3 (hmm mmm mmm) and hopped back in the Z4. We knew we were amongst the first cars out so made the most of a pretty quiet lap. Already in front of us within 5 minutes of the track opening there had been another oil spill and another biker fallen (luckily not injured) we skirted round the spillage and pressed on. Audi sign. Relief. The going was good so we went straight back out for another lap as I didn't want to feel pressured into making sure I got my remaining laps in tomorrow.
we were snappeed by a pro photographer on the way round
view from the hotel room
We decided to go check into the hotel. By now the track was getting seriously busy with queues right back to the village. Good timing. A Beer and 40 winks to undo the tiredness our hen and stag mates caused us was in order. Before coming out I'd arranged to meet some Renault friends who also happened to be at the 'ring this weekend en route to a trackday at Spa. They were staying down at Ringhaus which is a well known hotel just down from the Zur Burg where we were staying. I hadn't been before so wasn't sure exactly where it was. Its also quite confusing that the hotel doesn't actually have a sign on it saying "Ringhaus" however 5 Renault Meganes in the carpark gave it away.
We found the guys and girl and tagged along to the Pistenklause restaurant for one of their world famous "Steak on a Stone". The restaurant was very busy and also very hot inside but this didn't put us off our dinner I can tell you. I have to say this was the finest steak I've ever had in my life and well worth a visit if your in the area. Helena pinched a bit and instantly regretted ordering lasagne!
A couple of the guys wanted an early night so they went back to the Ringhaus and we went back to the Zur Burg for a few nightcaps with some of the other guys. It was a really enjoyable evening and a fantastic start to our holiday.
Knowing what the 'ring can be like in terms of closures I'd made my mind up last night that I would get up early and head straight down to the track for 8.00 to get on and do my two remaining laps. Leaving Helena sound asleep I got down to the track for just before 8.00. Despite the nightcaps and not having had breakfast yet I was feeling fresh. The adrenaline had kicked in and I was itching to get out on track. We were kept hanging on until around 8.15 before the marshals finally opened up and let us on. I did two quite clear and very enjoyable laps back to back and already on lap 2 there was an oil spill and an annoyed looking biker at the side of the track. This was a sign of things to come today so I was glad I'd made the decision to come down early as it left us with the rest of the morning to relax and do some spectating.
We had a hearty breakfast and after giving up on trying to find any proper tea I settled on a cup of green tea (for some reason finding proper builders tea is always a problem when we come to the 'ring!) Shortly afterwards we packed up again and headed down to the main carpark.
I met up again with the Renault guys and had also arranged to meet another pal from Meganesport who lives in Germany and was popping up to say hello and have a few laps. After a chat we said our goodbyes. When planning the trip I wanted to make sure we got up to a viewing point I'd never been to before - Adenauer Forst . I'd read up on how to find it and found out it was a bit of a climb up a big hill to get to. I thought it best not to tell Helena in advance....
What I found out is that the reports that it was a quite steep climb were underexaggerated! It was a real bugger to get to to be honest and the hill seemed relentlessly long. When we were near the top we were surprised to see a UK registered 911 rumble past us. We'd walked through a locked barrier after leaving the car in a carpark so where this car had come from we had no idea!
By the time we reached the top I'd noticed that cars had stopped zooming by. This could mean only one thing....you guessed it - closure. Time was pressing on and we couldnt wait round for too long. After about 40 minutes we saw a police car come past (giving it full beans!) followed by a tow truck carrying a car and a bike. A few minutes later I heard the distant buzz of engines being thrashed, then screeching tyres followed by the best sight of the whole weekend. The two BMW ring taxis came drifting around the corner in unison!! The noise was amazing and it made the hellish climb totally worthwhile!
We stayed a while longer and took plenty of pictures. I got chatting to the guys in the 911 that had some tootling past us. apparently when they arrived the barrier was unlocked so they just moved it back and drove up the same way we had walked. Now I had seen on some guide sites before coming that this barrier if it is unlocked can be locked regardless of weather anyone is up at the viewing point. The guys did comment that we'd have the last laugh if it was indeed locked when they went back down.
All too soon it was time to leave. We only had a short drive today but wanted to make sure we got some time in Heidelberg so reluctantly we got ready to leave. I took a few moments as the stream of cars snaked through the chicane in front of us just reflecting on what a totally amazing place the Nurburgring is. In these health and safety obsessed times we live in its a totally insane and highly dangerous place. After coming back I hear that one of the lengthier closures was due to a biker coming off the track and over the armco. There was a delay as the paramedics couldn't actually find the poor guy. I've not been able to ascertain weather he was killed or not. This is a sadly common occurrence on the Nurburgring and always sobering when you hear of such things. We have been very fortunate on our 3 visits not to have actually seen first hand any bad accidents although there have been a few deaths when we have been there.
Its also a beautiful place and there is something almost primal about it especially for petrolheads such as us. The obvious danger is doubtless a big part of the appeal. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by it. Just before I turn away for the final time I just catch a 911 and an Audi R8 chasing a bike out of the corner. The noise is more intoxicating than last nights beer. What a place. We trudge off before I start getting too emotional about having to leave!
The walk down the hill proves to be a little easier going and as we get to the bottom we're surprised to see the barrier at the bottom firmly closed. Checking more closely I see that it has been padlocked. Oh dear. Far from having the last laugh we hope our 911 friends got out. They did mention they had a ferry to catch later on!
