mast

what is the best road map for Germany? kindly advice. <BR> <BR>thank you. <BR> <BR>mast

Bob

Detailed Orange Michelin maps are great. We use them and never get lost. What do you want them for? Roads or sites?

bo_jack

I don't know about "best" -- however, most Barns and Noble's bookstores also have good international maps. Large, readable and detailed -- the only problem is that they can be awkward to open up in a car.

mast

<BR>we need a road map with detailed and accurate direction. of course if it shows all the direction to interesting sites that will be of even greater help. <BR>we check the route and distance from cwlease website, do you think that the informations and instructions are reliable? <BR>thanks and regards, <BR> <BR>mast

Bob Brown

I have the Aral Strassen Atlas Deutschland und Europa. I am not sure where it is available in the US of A. It is in a book format, with a cover and center stapled pages. The size is about 8.5 inches by 11.5 inches. So it is handy to thumb through. Although I find the Michelin maps to be very detailed and uniformly excellent, they are large and a little awkward sometimes in the car without folding them in ways they were not designed to be folded. <BR>I have both. I do my map studying on the Michelin maps, but use the Aral in my lap in the car, with the Michelin maps on standby just in case I need the detail. The main language of the atlas is German, but Legends are in 3 languages, including English. You just have to know what a few names are in German. Like Oesterreich is Austria to us and Deutschland is Germany. (I cannot make umlauts on this thing, so the Oe is actually the German O with two dots over it.) <BR>The Aral Strassen Atlas covers all of western Europe as far east as Bucharest. Jeff at www.onemapplace.com might be able to scare it up for you. He has gotten me quite a few items.

harzer

My bible for Germany and Europe is the Shell Atlas, in a similar book format to the Aral atlas described above. It covers Germany and the German-speaking parts of the Alps in great detail plus has city maps for some 40 of the major German towns and cities, together with notes on their main areas of interest (in German only). There are also detailed environment maps for the major German cities. All European capitals have dedicated maps as well. Its coverage extends as far as Turkey, Israel and the northern coastline of Africa. In addition there are accommodation listings for a large number of towns in Germany. It is of course designed as a touring atlas for motorists, so is not something you haul about when you are on foot. Probably there are many more features than these - I am referring to a copy from the eighties.

mast

<BR>harzer, is the description of shell atlas in German? How about the Michelin maps? I am afraid I couln't read German (my English is rather poor either), so I need a map written in English. <BR> <BR>mast

wes fowler

Mast <BR>I'd suggest you don't get a German map in English. It will do you no good since the English word on the map will not correspond to the road or directional sign you'll see when driving. It will do no good to familiarize yourself with directions to Munich when you'll never see a sign for Munich; it'll be Munchen; Brunswick will be Braunschweig. Get a German map in Germansignn Don't

wes fowler

Mast, <BR>Sorry for the ending of the previous note. In addition, pick up a German phrase book and familiarize yourself with the words for entrance, exit, one way street, detour and the like. You won't find them on maps and they're essential to know. Without knowing that "ausfahrt" means exit, you'll never get out of the rental car lot.

alan

Hi! Just read your posting and I agree, it's useless having a map in English if the signs are in German. It is also useful if you get lost, then you can point to the town you want to visit and get directions.. This worked for me in Czech Rep past fall. In Germany I am currently using the Marco Polo Euro Atlas. I prefer a map because of the continuity of a map rather than flipping pages to find the next section of road when traveling. Much better for me. Used to use a Kummerly & Frey map, liked it better but after several years they get outdated. alan

harzer

Hi Mast! <BR>Like the Aral atlas, the Shell Atlas has the English and French equivalents for all of the mapping conventions, not something you can commit to memory of course, but a refernce guide for when you are puzzled. <BR>The traffic symbols (as distinct from the mapping ones) are meant to be self-explanatory and consistent for all European countries - you will find these too in the Shell Atlas in three languages. There are basically 'Verbotsschilder' <BR>(prohibition signs with RED borders) and 'Gebotsschilder' (advisory signs with BLUE borders). You can get fined for not complying with the Verbotsschilder. Nuff said on this topic.

mast

<BR>thanks guys! now I just hope that I could find those maps in my country. <BR> <BR>mast

Bob Brown

Hi Mast. The other guys are correct on the language stuff. I can read German to some extent and find the knowledge to be very helpful. (And I carry a dictionary with me at all times.) <BR>As for finding the maps, I don't think that is a problem as long as some package service can find YOU!! Adventurous Traveler at <BR>--http://www.gorp.com/atbook.htm <BR>has maps. Jeff King at www.onemapplace.com has come up with maps for me. He will accept a credit card and, for me, he shipped via Federal Express. With Jeff you can ask a bunch of questions via email before you buy, which I find helpful. My suggestion would be to get the detailed maps as well as the handy reference in booklet form - such as the Shell or Aral Strassen-Atlas. (They sound very similar based on earlier comments.) <BR>One reason I think you need the detail is this: often the route numbers are not posted -- at least that is the case in Switzerland. So you have to know the name of the next village or city you want to find. In the US, just pick the route number and follow the signs. (I 40 doesn't change from Wilmington North Carolina to Barstow California -- about 2800 miles) But in Switzerland I had to know the name of intermediate destinations when going on a long drive. One day we started out from Interlaken and made a circle trip through Afolten, Sarnen, Meiringen and back to Interlaken. I don't think I saw any route numbers per se. But signs pointing to the next village were easy to spot. I just had to know which one to follow. <BR>I think you will do fine. Many Germans speak English, and are usually willing to help. One thing I might suggest, however, is asking veteran drivers of German roads where the worst traffic jams are liable to be found. I know that 20K backups are described in the news reports that I see from time to time. Maybe Harzer knows about this.

Ray

Mast, during a recent trip through Switzerland and Tuscany, I mapped out my route from the CWlease site, and information given was flawless. You can depend on it, totally.

harzer

70km to 80km backups are not uncommon in winter fog or when there has been a traffic accident on the autobahn. Backups due to heavy traffic are not so dramatic because of the constant upgrading of the road system where they were once common. If you really want to avoid the risk of delays travel in the wee hours, say 2am through 6am. You could do Munich - Hamburg in that time if you pushed the Merc along a bit.

Miriam

Hi Mast, <BR> <BR>if you are member of the AAA in the US you`ll get similar services from the Geramn ADAC. I think you have to obtain a card or number from your AAA before leaving the US. You the can always call 0180-5101112 for any information regarding traffic or if you have an accident. They speak English. I`ve done that vice versa while traveling in the US and it worked out perfectly. <BR> <BR>Miriam <BR>