Germany driving question
 

I am planning a trip to Germany. `have not been in a number of years. Would like to travel from Heidelberg to Zurich Switzerland. Terrified of mountain driving. `how mountainous is this route - And the same question going from ZurIch to the Neuschweinstein castle.
Thanks`

In Germany, you should be fine. Taking a quick glance at the route from Zurich to Fussen, as long as you are on the major highways, it doesn't look too bad at all. I don't think there are any significant alpine passes to worry about, although the foothills can be a bit on the hilly side. I'm not that familiar with Switzerland, so perhaps someone else can chime in here.

Depending on the level of terror, you might also simply consider train travel.

Heidelberg to Zuerich is all autobahn, quite flat.

Zuerich to Fuessen: Take autobahn Zuerich - Winterthur - St. Gallen - St. Magrethen. From there take the Route-202 to Bregenz (Austria) - Lindau - Autobahn A- 96 to exit#4 - Route B-12 to Isny and Autobahn A-7(south of Kempten - A-7 to Fuessen. Again, all flat.

Be sure you familiarize yourself with the need to have a window toll sticker (Vignette) for driving the autobahns in Switzerland. To avoid a different Vignette for the short distance of autobahn beween Bregenz and Lindau, get a good map of that region, and drive the non-autobahn route along the shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) Bregenz to Lindau. German autobahns don't require a toll.

Probably the biggest unexpected surprise I had in all my travels was finding out that Zurich was about a good 30 minute NORTH of the Alps and anything you would consider mountain driving.

We broke through the clouds and saw these lush rolling green fields and I thought - "Where the heck is this pilot going because this isn't Zurich."

What a maroon.

I upped my pre-travel research considerably after that event.

Just obey the laws.

Germans follow the laws very carefully, unlike Americans.

Stay in the right lane unless you are passing.

Only pass when it's safe, and keep your left turn signal on. When you want to return to the right lane, put the right turn signal on.

Watch out for cars driving very fast and don't get in their lane at all, until they pass.

About passing, what may not be obvious, depending on where you are from, is that you are not allowed to pass on the right even on multi-lane highways (driving the right most lane to get around a slower car in the center lane.) There are exceptions such as if the road is congested and you are forced to go past the cars on their right. My German friends always remind me this, because what I can do legally in my state in the US is illegal on German highways.

Greg- is passing on the right illegal or just bad manners? Thanks for the info...

Undertaking (passing on the right) is highly illegal in Germany (and all of Europe), and when caught, you can be fined. It can also be very dangerous, as other drivers don't expect you to do this and may cut in.

The biggest nuisance of driving from Heidelberg to Zurich will probably be that A5 in Germany is one of the major European North-South arteries.
So, you probably won't have too much traffic zooming by at 200kph but a rather long and not too exciting drive on an often seriously crowded 6-lane motorway with lots of truck traffic and an average of 100-120 kms per hour (if you stop for the basic necessesities).

My friend was driving near Lindau and was not paying attention to the speed limits. She got approached by an "unmarked" police car. The officer held up a sign that said "HALT". They were in uniform and the car stated "Police" on the back window. When she finally pulled over (which took a bit of convincing), she was instructed to sit in the car and watch a video of her infraction. She was fined on the spot. It cost her 90euro right there. She continues to this day to get information from the police regarding owing more fines.

Moral of the story... Obey the speed limits when you are in Germany. And if you get pulled over, expect to pay the fine right then.

Have fun. I loved driving in Germany!!! When the roads open up and you can go as fast as you want provided there is not a ton of traffic or construction (expect lots of both).

On the autobahn don't expect to see "scenery" from your right side. All you will see is truck after truck after truck. As the passenger, I noticed license plates from all over Europe.

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When she finally pulled over (which took a bit of convincing), she was instructed to sit in the car and watch a video of her infraction. She was fined on the spot. It cost her 90euro right there. She continues to this day to get information from the police regarding owing more fines.
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I'm curious why she owes more fines if she paid the fine on the spot.

As a student in Germany, I was stopped at a checkpoint for not wearing my seat belt (An unusual, albeit stupid lapse in judgement by my 23-year old self). The officer asked where I was going and I told him I was driving to the Mensa (University cafeteria) to get lunch. He asked how much lunch would cost, and I told him about 5 Euros. He then asked to see inside my wallet. In my wallet I had a 5-Euro note, which the officer promptly yanked out as my fine. He quickly wrote me a receipt and sent me on my hungry way.

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When she finally pulled over (which took a bit of convincing), she was instructed to sit in the car and watch a video of her infraction. She was fined on the spot. It cost her 90euro right there. She continues to this day to get information from the police regarding owing more fines.
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I'm curious why she owes more fines if she paid the fine on the spot.
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I was pulled over by the same(?) officer showing me the same HALT paddle through his passenger side window many years ago.
After the obligatory lecture the Polizi said the fine was 120 Marks. I told him I only had two 100 Mark bills and asked if could they make change. I guess they couldn't because they said 100 Marks would be sufficient. I never heard another word. I also carefully observe the speed limit every time I drive the A7 between Crailsheim and Rothenburg ODT...

Thank you to everyone