Retro Road Trip: Joanna and George Tour Europe

3.000 KM, 4 days, 5 countries. That was the Heritage Retro Road Trip 2018: Joanna and George travelled to Austria in the T25 Tischer. They set their satnavs for the Volkswagen Klassiker auf der Postalm event. Google maps estimated the trip at 850 miles each way, sadly a little further than our Single cab shop truck would care to be driven in all honesty. Fortunately, although currently up for sale, we still have  our  T25 Tischer XL65 motorhome and it fitted the bill perfectly. Originally imported from Germany, it’s one of only 27 ever made, and was ideal for this Retro Roadtrip, as it provided a cool set of wheels and somewhere to rest after long days of driving, too. Taking this epic European adventure would be Heritage Aircooled Specialist George, who has worked with us for over 4 years now, and Joanna, a relative newcomer to our Customer Services team, but handily a native German speaker. With the show starting on Friday afternoon, they set their alarm clocks for early Thursday morning and were on the road by 6am. Boarding the 9 o’clock ferry from Dover, George and Joanna spent all day behind the wheel before poor weather prompted a premature sleep-stop at Landau which is 70 miles west of Stuttgart, around 10pm. The good news was that most German motorway services offer places for cars, campers and trucks to pull up for the drivers to sleep, so they did just that. Although the Tischer is equipped with more than sufficient catering equipment, George and Joanna favoured sandwiches for lunch and fast food for dinner rather than losing too much time on the road by stopping to cook. Friday offered the pair a slight lay-in in comparison to the previous day, setting off just after 8am with 320 miles to cover before they could set up camp for the weekend. The Tischer handled the European motorways perfectly, and once George and Joanna had become accustomed to the size of it, and saw benefit from it being LHD, the captain’s seats upfront became a great place to be. Pulling into the show around 5pm, they conveniently missed the morning rain, and arrived fashionably late, causing quite a stir with the Tischer drawing an immediate crowd. “No one had seen one before, one guy even thought it might have been an English ‘man-in-a-shed’ conversion” George recalls. Food for Friday night was an all you could eat BBQ buffet, put on by the show organisers in the Blonde Hütte. This was the hub of entertainment for the weekend, and hosted traditional Austrian music, and an abundance of traditional beers to keep everyone suitably lubricated! As expected, this was a show like no other, and Joanna describes it best “Up a mountain, surrounded by even bigger mountains, with cows roaming free. It was a really peaceful atmosphere with around 150 VWs. The cars and buses on show were beautifully turned out and varied from early Beetles and Karmann Ghia’s through to T25s, a trio of Mk2 Golf Ambulances and a Beetle Ambulance not to mention a beautiful yellow Puma that really caught George’s eye!” Saturday morning came around quicker than expected, and Joanna and George hitched a lift with Bernie from Carmaxx Classics in their Split Pickup, for a cruise through the countryside and mountains with 100 or so other show goers. Moving on from Abtenau after a couple of hours, the convoy head back to the mountains, and the campsite for a communal dinner and more drinking! Sunday was upon them in the blink of an eye and it was time to consider the long drive home. Departing their new friends in Austria at midday on Sunday, George and Joanna stayed on the road until 11pm, before they found a suitable services to rest their heads for the night. As expected, Monday was another long day too, with the drive to the port taking in the same route in reverse. Sadly sightseeing had to be kept to a minimum due to a tight time schedule, something the pair would allow additional time for if they were to repeat the trip for Volkswagen Klassiker auf der Postalm 2019. Eventually getting home at midnight, we’re pleased to say both George and Joanna were in the office on time Tuesday morning, full of stories from their trip, although a little tired to say the least! A big thanks to Johannes and the entire VW Postalm team, Bernie and the guys from Carmaxx Classics, and our friends from Bus OK, and of course everyone who came and said hello and made George and Joanna feel so welcome at this great event.