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Dear Fellow Travelers,
Europe is known for its excellent rail system. Its punctuality and rapidity cannot
be equaled. Cosmopolitan cities and charming villages are connected seamlessly
to one other. Paris alone has five railway stations! Why then would anybody, let
alone a tourist, want to drive there? In this issue of the Untours Eurozine, we’ll
tell you why. Read about Marilee Taussig’s experience with Italian drivers, check
out our Top Ten Tips for driving in Europe, see which Untour is perfect for your
driving debut and read quirky facts about European license plates. Plus take a
look at some of our favorite apartments in driving programs. Sit back, relax,
and enjoy the...newsletter!
Happy Travels,
Kim Paschen and Marilee Taussig
Co-editors, Eurozine
PS Do you have any interesting stories from your driving adventures in Europe?
If so, email them to us. We would love to hear from you and they may even be published in future issues. |
Italian Drivers: Reputation vs. Reality
Top Ten Tips for driving in Europe
European Driving 101
Where in the world?
Untours favorite car program apartments |
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The aptly named 'Smart' car, the perfect vehicle for impossibly small spaces
Italian Drivers: Reputation vs. Reality by Marilee Taussig
During my two week Untour to Tuscany in 2002, no one could have been more surprised than I to discover that I actually
liked driving. This was shocking, given the fierce image of the Italian driver.
With the possible exception of the speed demons on the German autobahn, no European driver has a more wicked reputation than the Italian driver. The
reality that I experienced, however, is quite different: I would rather drive
a week in Italy than ten minutes on the Schuylkill Expressway (nicknamed ‘sure-kill’)
in my hometown of Philadelphia.
One reason Italian drivers don’t live up to their fearsome reputation is the
scale of their cars. For the most part, their vehicles are simply not big enough
to inspire true terror. The Europeans have engineered cars for a continent that,
by and large, has no parking whatsoever and whose medieval areas have streets
so tiny there is barely enough room for one compact car to fit through. With this
in mind, the European cars have made shortness into an art form. Their cars look
like eggs, cubes, and pillboxes. Ludicrous as the shape may look to our eyes,
these cars fit into amazing spaces.
It is important to know that my sanguine impression of Italian drivers is based
on virtually no city driving. We roamed all over the country hillsides of Tuscany
for two weeks in our tiny compact car, a Dodo (the actual name for the make of
the car), but by and large, I did no city driving in Italy. I am not sure any
sane American novice would attempt it. Untour staff are near geniuses at coaching
Untourists on how to approach an Italian city: find the best outlying parking
facility and enjoy it in the best manner possible; on foot. Yes, the powerful
Mercedes did tailgate me a little when my Dodo was insufficiently speedy while
passing on a hill. But I did not begrudge them a moderate amount of muscle. After
all, those drivers paid quite a lot of money for their vehicle, and lording it
over a Dodo is modest pleasure to ask in return. When I had to pass, I went as
fast as I could and got out of the way as fast as I could (neither of which was
very fast).
The reason I could cede the road so graciously is that, generally speaking, the
Italians set a good example. I drove in Italy for twelve days and was never honked
at, never given a hand-gesture, and never even had lights flashed at me, all of
which I merited several times over. Italians merrily steered around me, hardly
noticing my failings. In America, if I were driving behind someone as incompetent
as I on Italian roads, I would positively be sitting on the horn.
My sense is that all in all, Italians don’t expect you to live up to lofty standards—on
the roads and perhaps elsewhere as well. (I’ve not been here long enough to determine
just how broad this blanket of tolerance is.) Instead of the tight-fisted rush
hour rage that we Americans are all too familiar with, there seems, instead, to
be a warm, wry acceptance of their own flaws as well as those of their guests’.
In the face of folly, Italian drivers seem to give a good-natured shrug of the
shoulders and get on with their business. One could have worse views of the world,
either in or out of a car. Marilee Taussig is co-Marketing Director at Untours.
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Which way? Signs like these appear all over France and they are very helpful!
Top Ten Tips for Driving in Europe by Kim Paschen
Note: These are in no particular order except for the most important tip of all...number
1!
10. Brush up on driving manual transmission if you are used to driving an automatic
car. Stick shifts are MUCH cheaper to rent in Europe; they are more fuel efficient
(especially diesel cars) which is very important considering the price of gasoline
is 4 times more expensive there; and they are easier to negotiate narrow roads
which could pass for sidewalks in the U.S.
9. Get an international drivers permit if the country you are traveling in requires
it. If you get pulled over, you could be assessed a fine for not having one. Countries
with Untours programs that require this permit are: Italy, Austria, and Greece.
These permits can be purchased for around $10 at any local AAA office. Beware
of offers on the internet. The only authorized issuers are AAA and the National Automobile Club.
8. Keep possessions out of sight in your car or, better yet, not in your car
at all. Most vehicles get broken into not for the car itself but because of what
thieves want to steal inside the car. Don’t leave valuables in your car.
7. Try to plan your itinerary before you get in the car. If you have a ‘co-pilot’,
make sure he or she knows how to read a map (this ability is not inherent in everyone).
It is nearly impossible to drive safely while reading a detailed map at the same
time.
6. Be aware that in Europe, directions are often signified by destinations, not
by numbers or directions like in the U.S. When planning your itinerary, use cities
and towns as points of reference to help you find your way. Although most roads
have numbers assigned to them, they are not always prominently displayed.
5. Use websites like www.viamichelin.com before you leave home (or if you have internet access overseas) to plan driving
trips and check out distances.
6. Familiarize yourself with parking rules. If the curb is yellow, it is a no-parking
zone. If you see a parking lot but no attendant, be aware that there may be a
central machine where you buy a ticket for a certain amount of time, which you
prominently display on the dashboard of the car. Also, don’t forget that sometimes
you must pay for parking at a vending machine before you get in your car. If you
haven’t paid ahead of time, your ticket won’t be validated and you will not be
able to get out of the lot.
5. On multilane roads, use the right lane to drive in. Use the left lane ONLY
to pass. If you stay in the left lane, sooner or later, someone is going to be
glued to your bumper willing you to move out of the way so he or she can whiz
by you. It’s much safer to stay right and pass left.
4. Don’t fear traffic circles (except maybe the one around the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris)...just be aware that the cars already in the traffic circle have priority
over you and you must wait until all is clear before entering. If you miss your
exit point, no problem. Simply go around the circle again until you find the exit
you need to take.
3. Avoid driving in large cities like Paris or Rome. It is generally not worth
the headache and it can be very difficult to find parking. Most large European
cities have excellent public transportation systems and have accessible parking
outside the city with easy ways to get inside (by walking or taking public transportation).
2. Check over the rental car before you drive away with it. Figure out how to
put it in reverse (if manual transmission) which is not always as obvious as one
thinks and know how to open your gas cap (often you need to insert your ignition
key directly into the cap).
1. Above all else, enjoy the ride and don’t worry too much if you get lost. You
may discover some adorable, off-the-beaten track village that you never would
have normally thought to visit. A minor mishap could turn into an unforgettable
adventure.
Kim Paschen is co-Marketing Director at Untours.
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Fantastic scenery in Alsace...the perfect place to develop your European driving
skills
European Driving 101 by Kim Paschen
Europe by car is a completely different experience than Europe by tour bus or
train. Your schedule is yours alone-no tour schedules to keep up with or trains
to chase. Pulling over to marvel at a gorgeous vista or taking as long as you
want to snap the perfect photo is easy with a car. Plus, you can discover those
‘off-the-beaten’ track gems like the perfect picnic spot under a shady tree or
a picturesque village with a population of thirty. Despite these obvious benefits
to driving, people still express trepidation about venturing out onto European
roads. If you are looking for a way to ease into the driver’s seat of a European
car, my advice would be to try driving in Alsace, France.
The region of Alsace makes driving inherently easier than in many places. To
begin with, the main autoroute is the A35 and it essentially extends in a North-South direction. Most major points
of interest are located off of this highway and are often denoted on brown-colored
signs before the exit. To help with your orientation, the Vosges Mountains appear
on the left side of the car when heading North so you can almost always tell which
direction you are going. Furthermore, signs to the must-see quintessential Alsatian
villages are very prominent and simply need to be followed according to the direction
in which they point. If your destination is somewhat removed from the main road,
simply use your map to go from village to village until you reach your final destination.
In most cases, extensive knowledge in the French language is not a factor in being
a good navigator. It’s more important to know how to read maps.
There are also no scary, stressful cities to worry about in this region. Colmar
and Mulhouse are moderately sized and easy to negotiate. While Strasbourg is bigger,
it does not share the same kind of frenzied madness as the streets of Paris or
Rome. Even so, if you don’t feel comfortable driving into Strasbourg, many park-n-rides
are situated just outside city limits where you can hop off the autoroute, park your car, and take the tram into the city.
Ease of driving aside, Alsace is an unexpectedly beautiful region to explore
by car. In the distance, the looming Vosges Mountains provide a perfect backdrop
to the endless rolling vineyards which sweep across the landscape in an endless
succession of miniature hills and valleys. The many drives you can take are varied
and interesting and include the Cheese Route, the Wine Route, the Route of Five
Castles or the Route of Peaks. After driving here for two weeks, I found, upon
my return that it was more stressful to drive in the U.S. than in Alsace. At impossibly
slow traffic lights, I thought wistfully of traffic circles, so ingenious for
the way they keep traffic flowing. Stuck behind a slow moving car in the left
lane on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I felt nostalgia for the A35 where the left
lane was always open for passing slower moving traffic. If you are thinking about
taking a European road trip, now is the time to reacquaint yourself with a 5-speed
and hone your map-reading skills so you can hit the road for an adventure unlike
any other. Kim Paschen is co-Marketing Director at Untours.
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Pristine scenery, like this in southern Spain, begs for a photo stop
Have you ever wondered what all the numbers and letters on European license plates
really mean? Although it’s not quite as obvious as the information on U.S. license
plates, if you know what to look for, you can usually figure out what region the
car is from. After reading over this list, you’ll be ready to play the ‘license
plate game’ across the Atlantic.
Greece: vehicle registration plates start with a group of three letters, the first two
indicating the city, prefecture or island of registration. Example: AP - Argolis (near Nafplio)
France: vehicle registration plates end with a group of 2 numbers indicating the départament the car is registered in. Example: 75-Paris
Austria: vehicle registration plates start with a group of one or two letters, indicating
the place of registration. Example: HA - Hallein
Switzerland: vehicle registration plates start with a group of two letters, indicating the
canton of registration. Example: LU - Lucerne
Czech Republic: vehicle registration plates start with a group of 3 numbers and letters, with
the letter indicating the town or district of registration. Example: A - Prague
Germany: vehicle registration plates start with a group of one, two or three letters,
indicating the town or area of current registration. Example: MZ - Mainz
Spain: vehicle registration plates usually start with a group of one or two letters,
indicating the district of registration. Example: CO - Córdoba
Italy: pre-1995, Italian vehicle registration plates have two groups of characters,
one of which is a group of two letters, indicating the province of registration,
or is ‘Roma’ indicating the capital. Example: SI – Siena. Post-1995, plates have three groups of characters, which do not indicate location
in an obvious way but some also display the old-style province code as well.
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Untours favorite car program apartments |
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The Chant des Oiseaux vacation rental apartment makes a wonderful homebase for your Alsace Untour. This two-bedroom accommodation has all the amenities you could want, including
satellite TV, a lovely balcony, and fantastic views of the surrounding countryside.
What's more, this apartment is just a short 10 minutes' walk into the village
of Ribeauvillé. |
Located on a picturesque farm, the Maria farmhouse apartment is situated in the ideal location in Umbria. Close to both Trevi and Spoleto, you are perfectly situated for day trips,
yet you will be able to return to the peace and tranquility of your 'home' at
the end of a long day. This vacation rental has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and
is owned by friendly, welcoming landlords. |
The Spanish cortijo, La Cubertilla, makes for a wonderful home for your Spanish Untour. The sprawling house features 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a spacious living
room/dining room. Your host, Maria, is also the Untour's staff person and is mayor
of her town, Fuente Tojar. The farmhouse is situated on an olive grove with beautiful
views of the surrounding countryside. *Note supplements may apply. |
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Idyll, Ltd.
415 E. Jasper Street
Media, PA 19063
www.untours.com
P. 888-868-6871
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