>My most memorable road has been 101 up the California coast, particularly through Big Sur. At some points the speed limit is 15 mph and you wouldn't feel safe driving much faster. The highways in New Zealand are also very cool. Wide open spaces, well, unless you get stuck in a sheep traffic jam. (I'm not joking). I suppose my driving fantasy is a yellow Corvette convertible on the Autobahn. You have probably driven on it -- does it deserve the hype?

Let me give you the typical vfp answer: [yes, no, sometimes, it depends].
If you want to have fun just driving and you have a nice car, you HAVE to pick a nice morning.

The autobahns are constructed so you can keep up at least 220 KM/H even on "curvy" tracks, which sometimes happen if height above sea level changes. But usually a quarter up to a third of any serious stretch has some speed limitation. Not only construction work (if any money is pent there at all), but noise reduction, safety reason... the zones kept growing in the eighties and nineties. Since the fall of the wall almost all money is going elsewhere - we have now of speed limit signs because of faulty roads on the autobahn and other roads as well.

Still, I don't like driving in other countries, because going at 100 - 130 Km/H is boring and makes me sleepy <g>. Realistically you only save a few minutes if driving high speed on workdays during business hours: I have a stretch of 200 KM I drive quite often, which will take 2.5 H on mondays and fridays, 2H other workdays between 8:00 and 10:00, 100 minutes if driving at noon workdays and slightly less than ninety minutes if driving very early or on a saturday. But it is only fun if I am under 95 minutes: that means nearly every part of "free driving" was done high speed - 180-200 Km/H is the usual speed of fast bulks, you are very seldom totally alone to reach your car's high speed.

Another stretch I sometimes drive is to bavaria: about 420 KM which take 3.25 H on workdays but only 2:35 H after starting at 4:30. 130 Km are at moderate speeds taking about an hour, but the rest is nice.

Possibly the fastest stretch is just south of Frankfurt, 4 lanes straight down to Darmstadt - where the speed records in the 1930 were reached. Only 40 Km, but on the leftmost lane you can go FAST. AT the very end the autobahn splits into 2 directions, whith a speed limit of 100 Km/H introduced 2 KM before and a radar control once a week. That radar control nabs quite a few people from other areas <g>.

So: if you can put your driving needs at unusual hours, it is GREAT. And, don't try this with older Vette's if you are going on curvy autobahns. If you are coming (probably via Frankfurt), mail me a few weeks before. Might be fun, even if don't drive a sports car any more <g>.

regds

thomas