First euro run, any help appreciated!

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EURO DRIVING FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi all, so yes my first trucking trip into Europe is looming!

It’s music/entertainment work, that side of it isn’t new as I’ve been doing it in the UK for 2 years now but never been to Europe.

Here’s the list of dates I’m doing, basically wondering what I’ll need to take with me and if anyone can suggest anywhere to stop on the days off in between a couple of the shows that’d be great. Also any rules/bans I need to know about would be good!

Sat Oct 29th - Tilburg, Netherlands
Sun Oct 30th - Leuven, Belgium
Mon Oct 31st - Day off/Travel
Tues Nov 1st - Zwolle, Netherlands
Wed Nov 2nd - Day off/Travel
Thurs Nov 3rd - Day off/Travel
Fri Nov 4th - Berlin, Germany
Sat Nov 5th - Day off/Travel
Sun Nov 6th - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Mon Nov 7th - Paris, France
Tues Nov 8th - Travel back to Blighty, won’t be through Calais!

Ta

2

Can’t really help you much other then to state I’ve seen a thread on here about Germany banning trucks on a Saturday iirc. On phone so can’t link it easily for you.

3

Looking at your schedule you should be ok for any truck bans you can run on a Saturday in Germany but you need to check the local times for when the ban kicks in as it does differ in different areas.
You will need a toll box for Belgium you can use pay as you go or get one pre trip and have it pre-paid, you’ll still need the euro vignette for Holland and Luxembourg. Best bet is to get the euro vignette online there has been a previous thread on here about this.
The German toll system is easy to use as all the terminals have an English language option, there will be a toll machine at the border crossing from Holland into Germany, make sure you know the exit you are using in Berlin and get the toll to there. When you have paid for the toll the machine will spit out 2 tickets one is your receipt the other will tell you what route to take to your destination and for how long the ticket is valid. You must follow the route on the ticket if you leave it and get caught you will get fined. If you wish to use a different route to the one the machine suggests then you can change the route to suit yourself when you are buying the ticket, watch out when following your sat nav as the sat nav and toll route may vary.
The toll routes in France are easy enough as you enter take a ticket then pay as you leave most major fuel cards are accepted, DKV AS24 and Shell etc or failing that VISA cards.
It is a not a black art driving in Europe but there are subtle differences such as overtaking bans on a lot of the major motorways most come with times of when you can and can’t overtake don’t forget you are an hour behind time wise when looking at these timed bans!!

4

I’ll add a couple of websites that might be useful to you.

trafficban.com
Details of driving bans and restrictions for all Euro countries.

toll-collect.de
German toll system. You can also order a toll atlas free of charge from here, worth having as gives all the junction names and toll machine locations.

satellic.be
Belgian toll system.

eurovignette.com
Vignette for Netherlands & Lux. I find it easiest to book online for the days required but can be bought at ports or major service stations as well.

Truck Parking Europe is not a bad app to download if you have a smartphone too to help with parking on route.

5

One other thing you may require for Berlin is the sticker to allow you to enter the low emission zone.
environmental-badge.co.uk/en … badge.html
Can either order online or buy at a TUV centre somewhere on route.

6

From Zwolle you can boot straight to Berlin and park up at the Avus: google.de/maps/dir/Motel+un … 54!1m0!3e0

Free parking (for 14 days!!) and a 5 minute walk to the train into town. You won’t get a better opportunity to wander around.
Should also be pretty handy for your venue.

You should be able to hack Berlin to Esch in one shift: google.de/maps/dir/Motel+un … 008805!3e0

The Saturday holiday ban in Germany finished at the end of August so you’re good to go.

There is only a restriction on entering Lux on a Saturday night if you are transiting to France so as you are tipping in Lux there will be no problem.

Diesel in Lux is about 20 cents/l cheaper than Germany so aim to hit Lux with empty tanks and fill up before you leave for Paris.

Baccy and coffee are also canny cheap.

7

Inselaffe:
Baccy and coffee are also canny cheap.

And that is the most important piece of information so far :smiley:

8

Thanks for all the help so far guys. Sounds like it won’t be too much of an ordeal!

Any more info on that place in Berlin would be good. Showers, food etc. If it’s suitable then I’ll probably stop there for the days off and have a good look around Berlin.

Also, how much are the toll roads roughly?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

9

Avus truckstop is ok. Go into the hotel there for your shower. It’s 3 euro. The food isn’t brilliant, but there’s lots of it and cheapish. Walk to the left of the TV tower for the train station and local shops if that’s your thing. Beer also at the hotel. Hope that helps! :wink:

10

Always try to get to the next venue for days off Hammy. Obviously dependent on what venue though, as not all will have parking or facilities on non-show days.
I assume the Lux gig is the Rockhal, which should be ok for non-show day parking. It also has bars/restaurants/shops on site (its an old smelting works).
Where you doing in Berlin?
Can you say which trucking co. you with?

11

To get an idea of what it used to be like to travel by road to Berlin, you could swing by the Marienborn memorial at the old border crossing into East Germany on the A2.

It is now a service station but the border crossing facilities have been preserved to serve as a reminder of what life was like just over a quarter of a century ago. (3rd October is the 26th anniversary of reunification).

The old admin building has been turned into a museum and is well worth a look. No admission charge and all exhibits signed up in German and English.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmstedt … r_crossing

Approaching Berlin on the A115 you will pass the former border crossing at Dreilinden which was where vehicles had to undergo border controls to enter West Berlin after transiting through East Germany.

As West Berlin was a walled island surrounded by communist East Germany, the city was entirely dependant on stuff being trucked in from West Germany in order to survive. This made West Berlin probably the most truck friendly city in the world.

The 14 days free parking at the Avus which I alluded to earlier is a throwback to this era.

The good people of West Berlin were just happy to have food in the shops so trucks could park basically anywhere in the city and nobody gave a toss.
As a lot of the main drags in the city are 6 lane boulevards, this was not a problem. Indeed the “Strasse des 17. Juni” which is the main drag down to the Brandenburg Gate used to be a favourite spot, lined with West German trucks on a break before heading back to West Germany. (Don’t try this nowadays, however! :laughing: )

These days you will be hard pushed to find where the wall divided East and West Berlin. In some of the remoter areas of the city it is still possible to see subtle changes in styles of architecture or changes in road surfacing to indicate the location of the former border.

Take a hike down to the East Side Gallery which is a section of the wall that has been left in situ to get an idea of what the wall was like. google.de/maps/place/East+S … 13.4396951

The other obvious wall related spot is the infamous Checkpoint Charlie which was the allied checkpoint between East and West Berlin. Swimming in tourists and fake communist tat but worth a quick look.

Today it is usually hard for people to get their heads around the fact that West Berlin was basically an island of western decadence in the midst of dreary communist East Germany. The city took great pride in being an in yer face shiny advert for capitalism. Brash neon signs abounded. Pubs could open 24/7 without restriction. Yank muscle cars throbbed through the streets. And a populace with an “up yours” attitude to their neighbours :laughing:

'Twas truly a wonderful place and a cracking spot to parrrtaaayyyy :laughing: :laughing: