"E. Julius" (soonerfrommi)
01/18/2015 at 18:28 • Filed to: Journeys
5
11|
"E. Julius" (soonerfrommi)
01/18/2015 at 18:28 • Filed to: Journeys | 5
| 11 |
A few days ago, I broke a dry spell of four months without driving in one of the most fantastic ways I could imagine. Here's a picture of me with Clyde, the wonderful Skoda Octavia wagon my girlfriend and I rented to tour Switzerland. This all–wheel drive companion carried us comfortably over highways with stunning views and dark tunnels, while the diesel engine effortlessly pulled us up the steep mountain passes. On top of it all, I honed my skill with its six speed transmission and truly developed as a driver while navigating the alpine switchbacks.
I'm preparing tons of gorgeous pictures, a few good stories, and an Oppo review of the Octavia, so you can expect the full writeup sometime next week. Hopefully you can share in the fun I had on this trip when it gets posted. In the meantime, here's another pretty picture for you.
> E. Julius
01/18/2015 at 18:30 |
|
Looking forward to this. I drive from Buffalo to Los Angeles every couple of years, never thought of doing a road trip story. I got a bunch of pictures from one I did a few years back but I think quality is garbage. I should see if I can find them.
Chris McMays
> E. Julius
01/18/2015 at 18:32 |
|
I can't wait for the review of what's quite possibly the most Jalop car in recent history: a manual-transmission, diesel-powered, all-wheel-drive wagon.
|
E. Julius
>
01/18/2015 at 18:33 |
|
The pictures I have aren't amazing quality, but the country is so beautiful they all look great anyways.
|
E. Julius
> Chris McMays
01/18/2015 at 18:33 |
|
Unfortunately they didn't have one in brown : (
|
Chris McMays
> E. Julius
01/18/2015 at 18:34 |
|
Yeah, that would've been even better.
duurtlang
> Chris McMays
01/18/2015 at 18:44 |
|
Diesel powered wagons with a manual transmission are very common in Europe. More common than gasoline powered sedans, just to give you some perspective. Especially in Western Europe.
Birddog
> E. Julius
01/18/2015 at 19:13 |
|
Fecal Matter brown is overrated!
|
Birddog
> E. Julius
01/18/2015 at 19:15 |
|
I can't wait for this. I spent 4 days there for business several years back. All I wished for was one day to drive around.
|
E. Julius
> Birddog
01/19/2015 at 02:42 |
|
We considered taking the trains, which I've done everywhere else in Europe, but for this trip we thought it would be a good idea to rent a car. I was actually pretty nervous, as I'd never done it before and never driven internationally, but it went surprisingly smoothly. If you do ever get a chance to go back, I highly recommend it.
BigManLittleHair
> E. Julius
01/20/2015 at 16:58 |
|
hey, I'm European and still find it strange that you just cross borders with out stopping. My best was London to Budapest, 7 countries, without showing id/passport. How was it for you?
Really looking forward to you next installment. fyi, my first big Euro adventure was wagon. But my best car ever for Euro adventures was a citroen bertingo diesel, should be shite but it's so versatile. Sips diesel, does 100mph with a breeze, eats up luggage/bikes and has no fear of rutted mountain tracks.
|
E. Julius
> BigManLittleHair
01/20/2015 at 17:34 |
|
Yeah it's super convenient! It's been very easy getting around, and the only time I had to use my passport was going between the continent and UK (which is not in the Schengen area). Hopefully the writeup of the Switzerland trip will be out next week, so keep an eye out!
Regarding the Citroen: I see so many of those here in Paris, and it's unbelievable how many cars like that you see zipping around the mountains in Switzerland. I can definitely believe they're as versatile as you say.