Hey guys,

Going to Munich next week for Oktoberfest and after a week in Munich, I'm heading to Nurburg with my dad and brother. Just wanted to see if there was any input from those who have been there before on "must see/do's." We're renting a Renault clio, definitely going to the museum, and also have a ticket to ride in the Ring Taxi with Sabine. Anything anyone could recommend would be greatly appreciated!

Matt

 

Please post some pictures and video if you can. I have a trip planned next year and I'm going to hit the ring also.

 

If you go to the ring you must stay at the hotel am tiergarten- http://www.am-tiergarten.de/en/home/

The hotel is owned by sabine schmitz mother. There is an awesome pub in the basement of one of the buildings and an incredible free breakfast upstairs every morning as well.... great value as well.. I believe it was 100 euros a night. When I went there last year we rented a BMW 335 race car to track the ring. This is a must for any enthusiast... next time I will probably get an E46 M3. The best experience of our week was riding along in a 997 cup car during open practice on the north loop... the driver put down somewhere around a 7 min lap!

 

I am just starting to research a trip to Germany this coming summer. Plan is to go see the German Grand Prix then spend the following week touring the country. The Ring is absolutely on the must see list.

Anyone have any tips for car rentals or other regional sites to see?

-Tim

 

NJSpeeder,

I got to go a few years back and had the time of my life. If you are looking for some tips for your vacation, here is what I did:

When I went I stayed at a great bead and breakfast in a town called Dollendorf. During the GP it might be a good idea to stay a little out of town.

I hear hotels fill up really quick when F1 comes to town, so you might want to book soon. http://www.slidersguesthouse.com/
That is where I stayed and it was great. The owner knows the Ring like the back of his hand and he will take you around for a couple of PAX laps if you ask. The husband is English and his wife is American, and a pretty decent cook. I wouldn't stay anywhere else.

If it's your first time to the Nordschleife, I HIGHLY recommend getting a ride for your first time around. Memorizing the circuit by playing video games and watching the videos is a terrific way to figure out which corners are where, but you just don't know how massive the elevation changes are until you go in person. Before I went I knew all the corners already because of all the gaming time I had invested. So I could really enjoy my trips around.

For car rentals, Hertz forbids driving the Nordschleife by rental agreement, but there are other companies that don't have these restrictions. You could go in a van and have a blast. I had a BMW 320D and it a great choice for me. Pretty understeery and slow, but I still managed to pass a 911 when I was pushing. There are places that rent out things like Catherams that are local, but honestly, you had better be pretty confident of your driving if you plan on going quick in something more advanced.

The circuit humbles even some of the best out there, and you have to pay for any Armco you damage. Not to mention, people die out there.

That said it is an absolute blast to go. If you want to take a break from driving, Brunnchen is a great place to spectate, and they sell bratwurst there out of a truck.

 

Sorry I'm just getting back to this thread now. We stayed here: http://www.blaueecke.de/start/ and had a great experience. We rented a Suzuki Swift from http://www.rent4ring.de and the people were awesome to deal with. The car was very good as a first time ring lapper, considering it was wet most of the time and it was difficult to get into trouble. We ran a little over our KM limit, let them know this upon return, to which they replied "No problem!" and didn't charge us. As far as things to do while there, I would definitely get a track map and go here: http://www.northloop.co.uk/photography.htm to spectate some. We also did a ride in the ring taxi, which was awesome to say the least. Imagine lapping the ring in the wet, in an M5, drifting around corners and passing everyone like they are standing still (save for a very talented driver in an RSR exige). You can go to the ring werk but honestly, besides the main souvenir shop, there isn't much else to do (maybe the kart track or the ring museum). Having said that, there is a gas station down the same road as the ring werk (can't remember the road name) that sells basically all the merchandise they do at the ring, as well as thousands of model cars, track maps, etc. Oddly enough, on the road back in to Adenau, there is a VERY good pizza place on the right hand side! ha! The whole track and surrounding area was surreal to me, you see the kind of exotics you only dream about running around in town and in the parking lot on the ring. If there is anything more specific you'd like to know about feel free to ask. Also, keep checking your rearview/side mirrors while maintaining focus on staying on track, I would be running with groups of cars and we would all become livid when we would come up on a "Sunday driver" who was just cruising the track and not letting anyone by, plus it's dangerous for everyone involved.

 

can't wait to track at the ring!