First visit to the Nurburgring

[Wootang]

As some of you may have seen, I just had probably the WORST experience in small claims court that any one could have asked for. That being said, I lost my focus with the daily grind and needed to escape for a short while to re set. After some negotiation with work, scraping together every penny I could find, and an incredably generous offer from a friend in Germany, I jumped on a plane and am now here in Europe.

I have spent the better part of the night reading into doing ome laps of the 'ring, and it would appear that it's an awefully lot less expensive than it has been in the past. Since I'm not 25, my choices of cars to drive is pretty dismal, but a chance to drive the ring is a chance to drive the ring regardless of the wheels you have. I don't have a comuter car while I am here, so the train system is what I use to get around, and what will be the transportation method to the Nurburgring. As it seems, all the hotels located around it are placed "close" if you have a car... And seeing how I will be walking..

Question here is: Have any of you been to Germany to drive the ring before? If so, was there a hotel that was within walking distance to the Nordschleif? I'm pretty positive that is the entrance for tourists doing laps.
I don't really mind if I have to take a taxi from the train station to the hotel, but I would like to be within walking distance so that I can walk around the spectating areas and chat to some other people to see if any one would be willing to give me a passanger seat run seeing how that is suggested for first timers.


Thanks in advance guys.

[MarusGTR]

Hey do me a favor and enjoy yourself, I wish I could be there.

I'd love if if you could paint "Marus" on the track somewhere btw (protip, take a picture)

[dustyGTR]

I have been to "The Ring" and I have driven around it in a rental car. My Dad was hanging on for dear life while I put our Opel Corsa 1.3 thru its paces, at least most rental cars are stick shift over there. I dont know about hotels as I was staying with friends and family. I know that you are not supposed to drive your rental car around the ring and that they now have spotters for the rental companies . There is a good museum there and I know that there are lots of changes since I was there last. You may consider going for a ride in the Ring Taxi (usually an M5 but not sure these days). If your pockets are a little deeper you could do something like the 75 experience where you get to drive a race prepped Alfa around and get instruction. Hope you have a great time!!

[Sri-LanKING]

oh wow that sounds like the ultimate getaway have fun for all of us!

P.s Marus was right, take pics (lots of them)

Sorry I wasn't much help though and again have fun

[rolyaT]

My buddy lived in Germany for like 3yrs I'll ask him tomorrow if he knows of any hotels around

[GTR-Dad]

There are a few hotels about 1-2 km from the tourist entrance. The walk will be most enjoyable as there will be some very nice wheels going back and forth. Hitch hike? You'll want to book them ahead as they fill up if there are 'ring events.

http://www.booking.com/searchresults.en-gb.html?aid=314920;label=nuerburgring-racetrack-EgFpVKBCzRbkrldAiOLM6QSM6739229908%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=a7d33609644be9db99e9130d2762c55c;dcid=1;landmark=10312

Enjoy!

[Kunzz]

RSR Nurburg, going to give them a call when I move Germany in January.

They overlook the age of a driver and focus more on their experience, prices aren't bad either.

[Wootang]

Thanks for the heads up on the RSR page, Kunzz. I checked it out, but the site seemed to be geared towards tourists who have more driving experience than I, aswell as more money to spend. Needless to say, I decided to keep the search going with the link GTR-dad supplied - Cheers for that one btw.

But back to why I'm here. The Nurburg guys told me I cant drive ... It turns out that even though the ring is indeed a racetrack on "track days" and not a toll road, there is a section that remains a regular German road, with a speed limit. That being said, if you wish to drive on a German road, and you're from Canada, you need an international drivers license... Something I neglected to pick up... Brutal, I know! I was under the impression that the entire track was a closed off section of the road, making it a completely enclosed race track .

I actually found out about this on saturday, but after my friend here in Germany saw how much I was dissapointed, she surprised me with train tickets to Florance, Italy. Suddenly it didn't seem so bad .
Let my ignorance be a lesson though! When travelling abroad, always acquire an international drivers license. You never know what might come up!

[dm1133]

That's gotta be some ******** they're feeding you, I've driven with my Ontario licence throughout Europe without any issues... hell, it was even a G2(5 years ago), they didn't know the difference. That's ofc unless some laws changed, but I highly doubt it, if you move to Canada, and you have a German driver's licence, they'll immediately convert it over to a G, and same thing in Germany, those countries basically have universal signs/road laws, so no special permits should be required...

And my dad consistently goes to Germany, rents cars, they never ask him for any international driving permits, he shows his Ontario licence, and he's good to go. That international permit would be required if you were coming from an Asian country etc... where the licence would basically be unreadable for German authorities, with you being in Germany, you must have noticed that most Germans are able to speak English decently, and at the very least understand it, English is a Germanic language after all.

[Wootang]

That does seem a little crazy.. Even though I was this close *squeezing my fingers close together* I'm not going to fret over it. After all I am in Europe, and have had an amazing time here just experiencing life on the other side of the planet. Not being able to race the 'ring this time is just a good excuse to come back again .

[Shadao]

u may have to have an endorsed license for use internationally, but to have an actual international DL is not something you simply apply for... there are 3 road tests involved in getting an actual international lisence recognized in europe... ther is a rural, and urban and a poor weather conditions road test... its not something u just get... ive alsoi NEVER heard anyone needing such a thing... we come from CANADA we are loved everywhere, i doubt you woudnt be able to drive... and even if you werent... pull off the track and swap drivers... lol hahaha