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| A trip for Porschephiles Guenter in Ontario - 4 years ago |
For a couple of years, I've had a few Porsche friends wanting me to plan a trip to Germany. So, I finally gave in, started some planning and booking. And, by September of 2019 we set out on our 17 day trip through Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Of course, all of us being Porsche enthusiasts, it also meant exploring some Porsche history and also driving a Porsche on the Autobahn. Here, I'll just stick to the Porsche related part of the trip.
After a few days exploring Cologne and drives along the Rhine River, we arrived in Stuttgart (actually, Zuffenhausen where the factory and museum are located).
The first full day, in the morning, we visited the Mercedes Museum, which had an impressive display of cars and German history. In the afternoon, we had lunch booked at the at the Boxenstopp (pit stop) restaurant at the Porsche Museum.
with the main factory just across the road. The three Porsche sculpture is in the middle of a traffic roundabout.
The forerunner of the Taycan, the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton - electric car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1898.
The Type 64, designed by Ferdinand Porsche (but didn't carry the Porsche name) in 1939, for a Berlin - Rome race that never happened due to WWII.
And of course, the very first Porsche - the 356-001 (looking in better than new shape).
The interior of 356-001.
Then there's the second Porsche that few people mention, the 356-002 AKA the Gmünd Coupe. This is the first rear engined Porsche.
My dream car for almost 25 years, except that mine HAD to be in silver.
Then in 1993 in that split second when I first saw it, my dream car became the Boxster. It's been almost 26 years and I still feel the same about it. A timeless, classic design and still modern looking.
Porsche's first 1,2,3 win at Le Mans in 1970, the 917 KH
The 917/30
Carrera GT in GT Silver.
And the stereo speakers mounted right behind the driver's and passenger's seat in the 918 Spyder.
At the end of the museum visit, we went to pick up the Porsches (all 2020 911's. I'd have loved to get my hands on Spyder or GT4) that we had arranged to rent for the next 24 hours. We started with a short warm up, 80 km drive on the A81 that runs north-west from Stuttgart. The guys drove them out and the ladies drove them back. Then it was time to get ready for the main event next morning.
Next morning, we were on the road by 7:30 am, trying to avoid some of the Stau (traffic jams) around Stuttgart. We headed east on A8, then south on A5 where traffic opened up a bit and we manage to get in some speeds of 210+ kph (130 mph). What's amazing is how German drivers, even when they're passing other cars, will try to get back over into the right lane to let faster cars pass. By 8:30, we were in Baden Baden, having breakfast. Then we took the Schwartzwaldhochstrasse (Black Forest High Road) through the Black Forest. Along here, we made a driver change to let the ladies experience the Porsches.
My wife, had a good giggle going by a Polizeiauto at 160 kph (100 mph) on her way to
(191 kph = 119 mph)
We did take a few pictures when we were stopped.
The boys and toys.
And the gals and cars.
We stopped for lunch in Donauschingen where the source of the Danube river is located. Then it was time to head back to Stuttgart. On the way back, I managed to get a bit more open road before hitting more traffic. Unfortunately, there's a reflection on the instrument cluster.
For those who can see it, 245 kph = 152 mph.
My wife commented that the last 20 km really seemed to go by quickly. Yup. at 240 kph, you're covering 4 km = 2.5 miles every minute. No time for texting, brushing teeth or eating Oktoberfest sausage.
It seems that the faster you drive, the faster the day goes by. And, so we arrived back in Stuttgart and reluctantly returned our Porsches.
Driving a Porsche on the Autobahn, for the type of driving it's designed. Having drivers around you who actually follow the rules of the road. What a great experience. If you get the chance. Do it.
The next few days where spent exploring more of the Black Forest, a day in Lucerne Switzerland, some time in Salzburg and Vienna and then it was time to spend the next few days heading back toward Frankfurt. Even here, we managed to sneak in some Porsche history.
The first place was the little town of Gmünd, Austria with a population of 1,500. This is the place where the very first Porsche, the 356-001, was completed on June 8, 1948. 51 more cars would be built here before Porsche moved production to its factory in Zuffenhausen in 1950.
The Porsche Museum now owned by Helmut Pfeifhofer located where Ferry Porsche built the first Porsche in Gmünd. There are cars on loan from Stuttgart here, along with a video and lots of pictures and artifacts from the beginning of Porsche.
A recreation of the original wood form, which was destroyed by fire. All the body panels were formed by hand. The large mallet was used to beat the sand bag to shape the metal over the wooden form. Picture in the background shows components lined up for assembly.
From Gmünd, we headed back toward Germany via the Grossglockner, the highest mountain road in the Austrian Alps, with its 36 hairpin turns.
Where we even encountered a group of Porsches playing on that fun road. They that probably started out from Zell am See, where the Porsche family has a home.
I sure wish that I had the rental Porsche instead of the rental Peugeot on that stretch of road.
We ended up in Munich for a couple of days for the start of Oktoberfest and a visit to Rothenberg ob der Tauber on our way back to Frankfurt and home.
After a few days exploring Cologne and drives along the Rhine River, we arrived in Stuttgart (actually, Zuffenhausen where the factory and museum are located).
The first full day, in the morning, we visited the Mercedes Museum, which had an impressive display of cars and German history. In the afternoon, we had lunch booked at the at the Boxenstopp (pit stop) restaurant at the Porsche Museum.
with the main factory just across the road. The three Porsche sculpture is in the middle of a traffic roundabout.
The forerunner of the Taycan, the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton - electric car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche in 1898.
The Type 64, designed by Ferdinand Porsche (but didn't carry the Porsche name) in 1939, for a Berlin - Rome race that never happened due to WWII.
And of course, the very first Porsche - the 356-001 (looking in better than new shape).
The interior of 356-001.
Then there's the second Porsche that few people mention, the 356-002 AKA the Gmünd Coupe. This is the first rear engined Porsche.
My dream car for almost 25 years, except that mine HAD to be in silver.
Then in 1993 in that split second when I first saw it, my dream car became the Boxster. It's been almost 26 years and I still feel the same about it. A timeless, classic design and still modern looking.
Porsche's first 1,2,3 win at Le Mans in 1970, the 917 KH
The 917/30
Carrera GT in GT Silver.
And the stereo speakers mounted right behind the driver's and passenger's seat in the 918 Spyder.
At the end of the museum visit, we went to pick up the Porsches (all 2020 911's. I'd have loved to get my hands on Spyder or GT4) that we had arranged to rent for the next 24 hours. We started with a short warm up, 80 km drive on the A81 that runs north-west from Stuttgart. The guys drove them out and the ladies drove them back. Then it was time to get ready for the main event next morning.
Next morning, we were on the road by 7:30 am, trying to avoid some of the Stau (traffic jams) around Stuttgart. We headed east on A8, then south on A5 where traffic opened up a bit and we manage to get in some speeds of 210+ kph (130 mph). What's amazing is how German drivers, even when they're passing other cars, will try to get back over into the right lane to let faster cars pass. By 8:30, we were in Baden Baden, having breakfast. Then we took the Schwartzwaldhochstrasse (Black Forest High Road) through the Black Forest. Along here, we made a driver change to let the ladies experience the Porsches.
My wife, had a good giggle going by a Polizeiauto at 160 kph (100 mph) on her way to
(191 kph = 119 mph)
We did take a few pictures when we were stopped.
The boys and toys.
And the gals and cars.
We stopped for lunch in Donauschingen where the source of the Danube river is located. Then it was time to head back to Stuttgart. On the way back, I managed to get a bit more open road before hitting more traffic. Unfortunately, there's a reflection on the instrument cluster.
For those who can see it, 245 kph = 152 mph.
My wife commented that the last 20 km really seemed to go by quickly. Yup. at 240 kph, you're covering 4 km = 2.5 miles every minute. No time for texting, brushing teeth or eating Oktoberfest sausage.
It seems that the faster you drive, the faster the day goes by. And, so we arrived back in Stuttgart and reluctantly returned our Porsches.Driving a Porsche on the Autobahn, for the type of driving it's designed. Having drivers around you who actually follow the rules of the road. What a great experience. If you get the chance. Do it.
The next few days where spent exploring more of the Black Forest, a day in Lucerne Switzerland, some time in Salzburg and Vienna and then it was time to spend the next few days heading back toward Frankfurt. Even here, we managed to sneak in some Porsche history.
The first place was the little town of Gmünd, Austria with a population of 1,500. This is the place where the very first Porsche, the 356-001, was completed on June 8, 1948. 51 more cars would be built here before Porsche moved production to its factory in Zuffenhausen in 1950.
The Porsche Museum now owned by Helmut Pfeifhofer located where Ferry Porsche built the first Porsche in Gmünd. There are cars on loan from Stuttgart here, along with a video and lots of pictures and artifacts from the beginning of Porsche.
A recreation of the original wood form, which was destroyed by fire. All the body panels were formed by hand. The large mallet was used to beat the sand bag to shape the metal over the wooden form. Picture in the background shows components lined up for assembly.
From Gmünd, we headed back toward Germany via the Grossglockner, the highest mountain road in the Austrian Alps, with its 36 hairpin turns.
Where we even encountered a group of Porsches playing on that fun road. They that probably started out from Zell am See, where the Porsche family has a home.
I sure wish that I had the rental Porsche instead of the rental Peugeot on that stretch of road.
We ended up in Munich for a couple of days for the start of Oktoberfest and a visit to Rothenberg ob der Tauber on our way back to Frankfurt and home.
| Wow! Pedro (Odessa, FL) - 4 years ago |
What a wonderful vacation!
I recognize the faces in the pictures.
Happy Porsche'ing,
Pedro
Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)
Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna
I recognize the faces in the pictures.
Happy Porsche'ing,
Pedro
Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)
Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar
"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"
"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti
"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna
| another emphatic “ditto” (WOW!) *NM* SMILIN - 4 years ago |
MikenOH - 4 years ago |
CarreraLicious - 4 years ago |
Laz - 4 years ago |
| Re: A trip for Porschephiles jg wnc - 4 years ago |
| Re: A trip for Porschephiles Guenter in Ontario - 4 years ago |
Quote
jg wnc
Great trip Guenter. Did you manage to get a factory tour in? If not, you have a reason to go back!
That was the one thing that I had planned to include but didn't happen. I had started planning the trip during the summer of 2018 and was unable to get factory tour dates at that time. We had decided to book the trip for September 7 - 23 and had all the bookings for flights, accommodation booked by early November 2018. The factory tour schedule for Fall of 2019 didn't come out until end of November. As it turned out, tours after the summer break didn't start until September 23, the day we were flying back home.
I think you're right about going back for the factory tour.
Boxsterra - 4 years ago |
| Re: A trip for Porschephiles BLKBOXS - 4 years ago |
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