Oh my.. I trust this event is about to happen when, not next weekend but the one after??

Uhh. Ohh. I have my vacations set but on the other hand there's an interesting prospect of visiting Central Europe at the same time, maybe a quick launch into Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.. I guess I have to rally my friends to go drive a few laps at Nurburgring...and to pay a visit at the Empeg happening / event. hehehe. Though I trust everyone's scheduled full that weekend :(


Amarth

Well, if you were to zero your trips before you left, did the Nurburgring first (and had a jolly good time of it too, I should hope ) then accidentally forgot to tell anyone when you later arrive at the empeg meet, you may be well on the way to one of Rob's truly excellent prizes for the distance award (and believe me guys & gals, SB/empeg are being quite astonishingly generous about the prizes for this event; given the limited number of people coming to the event (relatively speaking, of course ) you stand a good chance of taking away an absolute dream prize on the day just by attending.

I myself am considering driving to Denmark and back the night before in the Mini to make myself eligible for the distance prize, anyway...

So pin down that date in your diary (Sunday 27th May), and check out the Announcements section for further details.

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

Is there a prize for shortest distance? :-)

Haha, o well, I am content without any prizes in mind (atleast at the moment !! :)) but I kept playing with the Idea and enquired some friends whether they would be willing to join the little tour.

Sadly enough, the first impressions were that we'd have to skip the Nurburgring part as it would bring great problems just to try to work the vacations accordingly.. But anyway, I made up a small travel-plan .. please check it out and give me some suggestions (I've been to fex. Germany a couple of times before but only once with a car and I was too young to remember much anything about it). Mostly what I'm wondering about is where-to-stay (and no, please no travellers homes :)) and how long do these drives I've included here Actually take:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Amersfoort, Netherlands

QUICK CENTRAL EUROPE PENETRATION TOUR 2001
+==========================================+

Finland-Sweden-Denmark-Germany-Netherlands
Netherlands-Germany-Denmark-Sweden-Finland

VW Golf V6 4motion 2.8 5-door, air condit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shorter Tour plan:


Thu 24.5. 17:00 Cruiser (Silja Line) Helsinki-Stockholm
- night on the cruiser -

Fri 25.5. 09:30 At Stockholm harbour, takeoff towards
Malmo (~6oo km) from where head towards
Kobenhavn over the bridge (~3o km)
19:00 Estimated Time of Arrival in Kobenhavn
- night in Kobenhavn or Odense, Denmark -

Sat 26.5. 10:00 Start forward Odense-Hamburg-Bremen-Osnabruck-
Enschede-... What's a nice location to stay at?
(~88o km, autobahns? to Amersfoort)
- night in a hotel, Germany / Netherlands axle -

Sun 27.5. 09:00 Final move towards Amersfoort, distance
depending on how far we drove on Saturday.
12:00 The 2nd European Empeg meet begins
http://empeg.comms.net/ (announcements)
- night at Campanile, Amersfoort, NL (40UKP) -

Mon 28.5. 09:00 Start back towards Kobenhavn (~88o km, autobahns?)
- night in Kobenhavn, Denmark or Malmo, Sweden -

Tue 29.5. 08:00 Start drive to Stockholm harbour (63o km)
17:00 Cruiser (Silja/Viking) Stockholm-Helsinki
- night on boat cruiser -

Wed 30.5. 09:30 Helsinki, Finland


About 3000 kilometers in total.

Erm, don't build the prizes up too much, people will be expecting Ferraris or something

Rob

Well, you can't quite see Rob's house from the meet venue. You probably could from one of the upper floors though!

Rob

Any chance of any big wigs turning up from Rio/sonicblue whatever they are called

Well, if we look out the back window we can see the neon sign on the hotel....

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

Kewl!
How nice to see all the folks again who attended the first meet and of course all the new attendees. Sadly enough, I also have the choice to do either the Nurburgring or the empeg meet. Uhm, still have some time to make up my mind.... I already know what you guys are saying, but driving a competition kart is also a very nice thing to do. Moreover, since it is my first encounter with a small fast-moving vehicle on wheels.
Oh well, don't want to bother any of you with my problem... Hope to see you all there in Amersfoort.

Gr.
Edwin

OMG.. I just found out that I'd be 'good to go' on behalf of my employer, they don't actually need me during that time and DO want me to cancel the first two days of my upcoming vacation..

But guys, look at that travelplan that I published. Yes, it's a bit rough to decipher but please give me a comment. Is that 880 kilometer drive possible (for one day) and how long would that take? (We're looking to take the A1 road, I trust that is an autobahn) .. As a comparison I'd claim 'inside Finland' the 880 km drive would take what, from 10 to 13 hours including breaks.

How fast can we make it (reasonably) on the Autobahns?


Amarth

AFAIK the germans can be very strict about speeding. That's why some autobahnen don't have a speed-limit. I drive from holland to Italy(900km) in about 8 hours, including some stops...

Frank van Gestel

Is that 880 kilometer drive possible (for one day) and how
long would that take? (We're looking to take the A1 road, I trust that is an autobahn) ..

I'm looking at 1035 km (of which 89km/3h by ferry Gothenburg-Frederikshavn)
which Shell's GeoStar website claim (at moderate speed) to take 12h44min
and that looks quite reasonable to me...

Regarding the Autobahn, many stretches are posted 130km/h (don't know
the status of involved portions) and if you end up in a queue you can
lose a lot of time. IIRC, the major queue season hasn't started yet, but
getting around Hamburg can be a pain anyday - got stuck for three
hours/20km when on the way to the world exhibition in Hannover last year...

As to the Swedish part of your journey, most of the way is 110km/h,
some is 90 km/h. The fast lane usually moves 15-25km/h faster than
posted (busted for 30+ above and you lose your license for a while here).
If the traffic is reasonably dense and you follow the flow you're
generally ignored by the police - while keeping the same speed in
light traffic they probably would stop you.

Max speeding fine is IIRC 2000SEK (just short of US$200) but they
might also hold on to your lioense - as some the participants
(won't write what I really would like to call'em) in the Gumball Rally
a couple of weeks ago.

/Michael

Hmmm.. Nurburgring, there all thr time but extremely exciting, vs. Empeg Owners Day with a chance to pose and see {censored} and the new {censored} plus there's the top secret {censored} which will only be at Amersfoort for that one day....

Difficult choice, I know - have you got the empeg installed yet? If so, you could win the {censored}, one of the {censored} valuable prizes that SB have donated for the main competitions of the day, which include a {censored}!!!!! Wow, you can't miss it!!!

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

What, so you guys aren't coming in the Lamborghini test car after all, then?

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

You did it again! You convinced me to attend, so count me in!!
Yes, I've got the empeg installed. It's in my parents second car (Kia Pride), which I use most of the time it's on the road. OK, not much to show for on some boulevard, but at least the sound system rocks! I had a friend of mine install it. It's nothing special though, just two Sanyo (?) amplifiers and 2x Kicx/2x Pioneer speakers. Oh well, when driving for 20min or so with the volume cranked up to the max, you're left with a peeping sound in your ears as if you went to a disco all night.
I'll see you in Amersfoort!

Any ideas how much this trip would cost in a Taxi :

Time Mile Instruction For Towards
Summary: 38.1 miles (52 minutes)
09:00 0.0 Depart Schiphol on Local road(s) (West) 54 yds
09:00 0.1 Bear LEFT (South-West) onto Calorieweg 54 yds
09:01 0.1 Turn RIGHT (North-West) onto Kraayveldstraat 21 yds
09:01 0.1 Turn LEFT (South-West) onto Randweg 109 yds
09:02 0.1 Bear RIGHT (North-West) onto Motorstraat 120 yds
09:03 0.2 Turn RIGHT (North-East) onto Piet Guilonardweg 0.2 mi
09:04 0.4 Bear RIGHT (East) onto Stationsplein Zuid-West 0.1 mi
09:05 0.5 Turn RIGHT (South-East) onto Hoofdingang 153 yds
09:05 0.6 Turn LEFT (North) onto N231 [Schipholdijk] 0.3 mi
09:06 0.9 At roundabout, take the SECOND exit 43 yds
09:07 0.9 Exit roundabout onto N231 [Schipholdijk] 0.2 mi
09:08 1.1 Continue (North) on Aalsmeer 0.3 mi
09:09 1.4 Bear RIGHT (North) onto A9 0.7 mi
09:10 2.1 Bear RIGHT (North) onto Knooppunt Badhoevedorp 164 yds E19 / A4 / Amsterdam / Schiphol / Den Haag
09:10 2.1 Stay on Knooppunt Badhoevedorp (North) 0.3 mi Amsterdam
09:11 2.5 Bear RIGHT (North-East) onto A4 [E19] 1.9 mi
09:13 4.3 Continue (East) on A10 [E35] 5.7 mi
09:19 10.1 Bear RIGHT (North-East) onto Knooppunt Watergraafsmeer 0.6 mi E231 / A1 / Almere / Amersfoort
09:20 10.6 Continue (East) on A1 [E231] 4.5 mi
09:24 15.2 Continue (East) on Rijksweg 10 yds
09:25 15.2 Continue (East) on A1 [E231] 19.7 mi
09:41 34.9 Continue (South-East) on Knooppunt Hoevelaken 142 yds A28 / E30 / E232 / Utrecht / Zwolle / Hoevelaken
09:41 35.0 Stay on Knooppunt Hoevelaken (South) 0.7 mi A28 / E30 / Utrecht
09:43 35.7 Continue (South) on A28 [E30] 0.7 mi
09:44 36.4 At E30 Exit 8, continue (South) on Ramp [Amersfoort] 0.2 mi Amersfoort / Hoevelaken
09:45 36.5 Bear RIGHT (North) onto Amersfoort 120 yds
09:46 36.6 Continue (North) on Local road(s) 10 yds
09:46 36.6 Turn LEFT (West) onto Hogeweg 0.8 mi
09:48 37.4 Continue (West) on Stadsring 0.6 mi
09:50 38.0 Turn RIGHT (North-East) onto Arnhemsestraat 10 yds
09:51 38.0 Turn LEFT (North-West) onto Stadsring 153 yds
09:51 38.1 Bear RIGHT (North) onto Achter de Arnhemse Poortwal 65 yds
09:52 38.1 Arrive Amersfoort

SUMMARY
Driving distance: 38.1 miles
Total travel time: 52 minutes
Driving time: 52 minutes
Cost: £4.73


- --
Rod, UK Mk2 64gig Red S/No.341 2xDell RioReceiver

Anyone else from the uk planning on going?

look at http://www.vliegtaxi.com
If I take their tarifs, you'll end up paying about fl 250,- ( $100 )

Frank van Gestel

Lots of people are coming from the UK, including at least 7 of us from empeg. We're staying at the Campanile as it isn't really practicable to do the journey and meet in a day. The room rate is pretty good, and it's comfortable (stayed there last year as well).

Rob

great lots of brits going but are any willing to give us a lift as being scottich i'm a tight git who don't want to pay for the ferry.

Heh, well we have two full cars I'm afraid. On the HSS additional passengers in a car only cost an extra 12 quid so a car share would be good value if you can find someone who's up for it.

Rob

Right Who is up for a car share I am coming down from the north of scotland so i can pickup almost anywhere. I don't think any Empegs have been spotted north of aberdeen.

I have 3 seats available in a BMW but the boot will be half full with a stereo stand possibly so not to much luggage

Contact me Thinfourth@yahoo.co.uk

Come on join the fun.

Well, I wouldn't do it in a Taxi (about Fl 200!!!!), I would get on the train at the airport and get a return ticket to Amersfoort-Schothorst (about Fl 25-, or GBP 6.00, one-way). It's about 50 minutes, and then there's a direct bus to the meeting from A-S (number 12).

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

Thanks, still weighing up my options. From Nottingham ( UK ) its around 420miles via tunnel, or 200 to Harwich then another 100 the other side. Or 20 miles to airport this end, then a few miles the other end.
Would love to go, however it blows several days at a Bank Holiday weekend where I had already promised SWMBO that I would complete several jobs around the house.

- --
Rod, UK Mk2 64gig Red S/No.341 2xDell RioReceiver

Well then, bring her with you! If she's into sewing machines, Merrigan's bring her nuclear-powered computer-controlled embroidery machine along to put serial numbers (in your panel colours) and names on your tee-shirts, so there will be some female company!

Go on, talk 'er into it!

Rob

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

No chance of her taking the ride with me, she is happy to borrow my car all the while, because the empeg is installed, but does not take an interest in how the technology works.

- --
Rod, UK Mk2 64gig Red S/No.341 2xDell RioReceiver

This outright SUCKS. I had arranged my time schedule so that a trip to Amersfoort would have been clearly possible (even my woman said it was ok for me to go even though she couldn't come herself due to work reasons). Then, guess what. I became ILL on Sunday.

I'm having a fever, flu, sore throat and a cough...what a perfect combination to ruin this week totally. I was supposed to finish the pending things (at work) this week so I could take the trip. Now it seems it's a no go since I'm still on sick leave and cannot go finish the stuff at work.

I'm a bit bummed about it, not that I was expecting too much (I was looking forward to having a couple of beers and something small to eat, just simple hanging out in the Netherlands), it would've been a perfect 'waste of kilometers and money'!

I guess the 'longest distance price' (the two year old Ferrari Modena, right?) goes to someone else this time...Atleast I get to sleep next to my luvly girlfriend at home so there'll be a lot of comfort for not going but I wish you guys will have warm weather and a great time there.


Amarth