Roads in the US are an embarassment. I saw a special on Discovery or TLC or one of those channels about the AutoBahn network - it really is amazing how far behind we are.

I would just leave early enough in the morning to offset the chance that you might hit a stau. You should be good until you hit Mainz, then traffic gets a bit heavier heading towards the airport. But between Bingen and Mainz you shouldn't really get much traffic at all. Does Hertz have a drop off in Mainz? I would just pad your time a little and get to the airport a little earlier. For what its worth, the roads and directions to the airport are marked quite well.

+1 to just leaving a little earlier. Turn in the car at the FRA airport. It is too much hassle to do the public transport thing with four people and luggage while you still have to be on time. Plus, who knows what kind of connection you'd get anyway? Might be that you'd have to leave even earlier than taking the car.

OT!


Tom, what do you mean? Do you mean this type of car would have its suspension tuned before being allowed on the road in Germany? I don't get you. I really think the suspension is fine. Not as good as a BMW but definitely on par with a Ford. Quite sporty and firm. Steering ratio could be more aggressive for my taste but road feedback and steering feel are very good.

I don't think I ever traveled on the roads you mentioned so I have no reference there.

I also don't think my car ever saw Bremerhaven. It got imported directly from Australia to the USA. They did change the gas tank location for US safety norms, which sucks because now the tank takes up half of the trunk.

Otherwise, I love the car. It is rather well made, has a nice design (when the wing is taken off like I did), is very comfortable and is as fast and quick as a Porsche 911 or BMW M3 but with even more torque. Obviously, it doesn't reach anywhere close to these two cars in handling and prestige but one has to remember that it costs only 1/2 or 1/3 of the other two.

Besides that, being a German in Texas and driving an American muscle car has a nice exotic flair. Good story to tell back home.

Till

As others have said, by all means do not take the train if you have a large family and luggage. The trains themselves can be confusing if you aren't paying attention. For example, one day I got on a regional (slow) train instead of the ICE (fast) train. Both were headed to the same destination within minutes of each other from the same platform. As a result I missed my connection and had to wait an hour for the next train.

In another case I was sitting comfortably on the train with other passengers waiting to depart when after awhile the conductor came on and told us surprisingly to get off. When we got outside we saw that they had decoupled the front half of the train and just left us there!

You shouldn't have any problems driving if you just leave early enough.

The A66 between Wiesbaden and Frankfurt is done. Very nice to drive now.

Don't forget that Germany was also the country where the first Green party came about - and Green parties do not like roads. Whereas 20-30 years ago a new stretch of motorway could be built quickly, these days you need to consider and compensate for the disturbances to all sorts of ecosystems...

Road-enthusiasts in Germany often lament the influence of what they call the 'eco-fascists'. For example, the missing part of the A143 in Saxony is will not be built for years (litigation tied up in the courts) because it runs through... an area with an abundance of porphyry, a type of igneous rock!!

Thanks all for the advice - I'll stick with my original plan of driving to FRA. Getting on a train with kids and luggage and then finding seats and places to stow the bags can be pretty stressful (we've done it before several times).