Last minute preps - nearly

So with my first Euro tour less than a week away, there are just a few
more questions to ask:

1. We arrive in Rotterdam at the Europoort at 0900 on Sunday. Are we
likely to have trouble getting petrol en route through Netherland/
Belgium on a Sunday?

2. Is there anything I need to know about the Nurburgring that I won't
find on Ben Lovejoy's site? [1]

3. Having gone mad and spent 40 quid on brand new WE maps for the
Tomtom [2] I can't get the bugger to work with Tomtom Home - even
though the device works fine it shows up as no maps on PC. Anyone know
why or how I can fix it? [3]

[1] I assume it's exactly like it is on Forza Motorsport and I can
take all the bends at 150 mph - on my ZR-7.
[2] Obviously still-semi pikey - BNIB Tomtom branded 2Gb SD card off
Ebay.
[3] I'll bog off to something.satnav, where my sort may or may not be
tolerated, soon but thought I'd check the knowledge base here 1st.

 

No

I did 2400 miles in Europe recently. France & Belgium have pumps that take
UK cards when they are not manned. It's not universal but you will find
somewhere. Look for the multi-lingual LCD panels rather than the old style
LED displays. Autoroute stations are manned 24/7.

Germany & Austria won't be a problem unless you are very remote.

Italy & Switzerland have pumps that take cards and currency when they are
not manned. Less likely to accept UK cards so have some small denominaion
notes handy. Swiss bancomats often issue nothing smaller than 100CHF which
is a PITA if you want fuel from a robotic pump.

I've never been to NL.

 

Should be fine as long as your not using twisty backroads.

Lots - don't fucking crash - alright.

I assume you are logged into tth and have downloaded the maps via tth ?

If you lob a question in supports direction they're normally pretty quick to
respond.

I bought the latest version of WE maps, but my tom tom home still wants me
to install the older 7.20 version iirc everytime I check for updates.

 

Sounds good.

Even though I'm not going to either, I guess I ought to get some more
cash - I was going to take just 40 Euros plus my Nationwide cards.
I'll have to send the wife to the PO.

 

Ah crap. I'm actually rather nervous about my first ring experience
(yeah I know). I have a lit idea about some of the turns to watch out
for but my basic strategy is going to be much like riding on the road
- as in check mirrors before moving over, be able to stop in the
distance I can see to be clear, etc.

What are the chances of scrounging a lift round from someone with a
"Ringers" sticker when I arrive? I'm sure it'd help me get my bearing
before I try it on my own.

Nope. Brand new sealed SD card pre-loaded with maps. The maps show as
v710.1561. TTH made me upgrade the app to 7.162. Now it does say on
the site that you can't read maps that are of a higher version than
the app and I can't help wondering if it's screwing over the maps
shoing as 710 rather than 7.10.

I've always found them to be hopeless twats in the past - I realise
that's rich coming from me - but I guess that ought to be the next
step.

Cheers anyway.

 

:

I used very little cash. 120 Euros and 100 CHF for 2 trips[1]. Everything
else went on cards[2]

[1] long weekend in France & Belgium then 2400 miles in the
Swiss/German/Austrian/Italian Alps

[2] Egg Money Mastercard averaged 1.22 euros to the £. Post Office
Mastercard averaged 1.26 to the £. Egg gives a 1% cashback, PO zilch.

 

A pax lap is always a good idea, I did a couple on my first visit many moons
ago.

Anyone with a ring sticker or a btg sticker should be accomodating.

Watch out for fast porkers, damp patches under trees and fluid spills.

 

Not a problem at all in the Netherlands.Plenty of deecent service
stations on the motorways, and loads of independents all over the place.
The only thing we find in .nl is that Sunday is a little more relaxed,
so small town/village shops/petrol dont open on a Sunday, but main road
petrol is always open.

OOI, how are you getting to Rotterdam?
We always used to get the Cat from Harwich, but since that was stopped,
we've not bothered taking the car over since.
Alan.

 

Swiss ones take just about any card from anywhere, IME.

Eh? Naah, I don't think so. But just be aware that they _may_ issue
100 and 200 notes, and if you need smaller ones then just select an
odd amount, like 190 or something.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Perhaps I was just unlucky. Not really an issue as petrol stations seemed
to be manned for reasonable hours anyway, including Sundays.

well, the sample size is small

The Bancomat I used in <checks receipt> Disentis Muster on the Oberalp Pass
only had 100CHF notes. This was on a Sunday afternoon, so it was probably
getting close to empty.

The other was the one opposite our hotel in Meiringen. I didn't use it but
my travelling companions reported it had only 100CHF notes. The one just
down the road at the Co-op was more obliging.

 

As I live oop North (Lincolnshire) we're doing Hull-Rott. Nice
overnight kip and then off earlyish in the morning.