About 12 hours ago, I set off from Munich to start approximately 48 hours in possession of a Porsche Cayman S. About nine hours ago, I got a ticket bigger than anything I've ever received in America. Here's how not to do what I did.
After picking up ace photog GF Williams in downtown Munich, we set-off on ze unrestricted Autobahn, making obscenely good time on our way to the Stelvio Pass (more on that coming). The Cayman really cranks when you get up in the revs and keep the foot planted. People clamber out of the way.
It also doesn't hurt that in a nation of grey, black, and white cars, this bright yellow little dude is actually noticeable. We still ended up topping out in the 240 kph range, mainly because of traffic and because even though the Autobahn has no speed limits, it's still a public road and you're still in a street car. A tire could blow, there could be debris, someone could pull out in front of you.
Better safe than dead.
After some blasts in the tunnels of Austria to really take in the gargle of that sport exhaust, we got off the highway where we then met a police man with a van. He stopped us and started speaking German. I don't speak German. I thought he was probably complimenting the car.
He was not.
He was actually pointing to an area of the windscreen where a sticker was supposed to be. An €8 sticker. We didn't have it. That's a €120 fine. Gullllllllll.
Apparently this is the toll for driving on Austrian roads and must be on all cars. They can be bought at gas stations near the border. Problem is, the border wasn't all that clearly marked, and basically everything was closed because Europe is on holiday now.
Luckily, the man with the van took credit cards. He also informed us that Switzerland require the same sort of sticker. Since we're planning on going to some amazing roads there tomorrow, we bought one ASAP.
So basically, the moral of the story is don't be stupid like me and look up the road laws of the nation you're driving in before driving in said nation.
The more you know.
Then we got out of Austria and into Italy, a country where road laws are more of a suggestion than a law. A country that understands the appeal of horsepower. A country that has lakes and amazing roads near those lakes.
I totally forgot about the dent my wallet just took. Just look at it.
And before you ask, yes, a huge photodump of all of the amazing Cayman pictures will be coming next week once the trip is over. True background quality material.
Photo Credits: GF Williams
How Not To Get A Huge Ticket In Austria