Blogging at 21:30 on a Sunday 21st August from intended overnighting spot N 48.47080°, E 10.30112° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:48.47080%2C10.30112
I suspect when Kraftwerk penned Autobahn they didn't have miles of standing traffic in mind.
But that's been our experience of the A8 today... again.
We've used the road quite a bit over the years and about half the time we've driven it we've ended up in snags. It's a bit like the M25 only straighter, and with many more sinister looking growly sports saloons.
And so much for the celebrated Teutonic zip-merging. I'm afraid today indicated that such logic and reciprocal altruism is perhaps a thing of the past. We saw a lot of bullying and downright prattish driving today that was more unbridled carve-up than civil. It was all a bit disappointing, really.
Anyway, because we've used this route a few times we know a few decent lunch and tea spots; so made good use of one of these to punctuate the tedium / aggression.
By mid afternoon the jams were so frequent that I think even Kraftwerk would have called it a day: so we did the same. I sussed some promising map features from the sat-nav and pointed the truck away from the A8 to the spot we're now at. It's pretty cool. It's a quiet little lane that peters out into cycle tracks that overlooks a bit of open water in some mature, mixed woodland.
It's a good spot to look out over and as well as woodpeckers, nuthatches and such, it's the best place I've ever been for spotted flycatchers, there are dozens of them and all are restlessly and constantly feeding.
The wider area is also excellent for walking and biking and the like: most of the many lanes around and about prohibit motor vehicles (other than those of residents and those used for agriculture) and even on the larger roads hereabouts there are excellent, beautifully smooth and immaculately maintained cycle paths; which are also totally segregated from the road.
Whilst out on my bike I saw literally hundreds of people cycling, walking and even swimming in a couple of open water bodies only a couple of kilometers away.
Build it, and they will come...
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