We arrived in Frankfurt after what turned out to be a very long drive from Beaune. The French toll highway A36 was excellent and quite scenic. The tolls are comparable to what we pay for the 407. Many of the French main highways are tolled and it adds up quite quickly. Some of the highway trucks have a dozen transponders on the windshield for different countries and systems.

Arriving in Germany and the A5 Autobahn we realized that this southern section is a very busy two lane highway with all of the north / south commercial traffic on it. The traffic load makes the driving strenuous and slow with the right lane completely full of trucks for long stretches.

We did have a plan for boredom relief though. At exit 54 a side road (500) provides a loop to the east through several small towns and a section of the Black Forest ending in Baden Baden and then back to the Autobahn at exit 51.

We stopped in the town of Bad Peterstal-Griesbach for coffee and dessert.

A stream runs through the middle of town and many houses have bridges for driveways.

Fresh strawberry (Erdbeeren) shortcake at Café Rapple.

Heading out of town on 500 we realized we were not the only vehicle on the road!

The trucks seem to take it all for granted – you can still see my finger dents in the steering wheel!

The road climbs to the top of the hills and has a very Blue Ridge Parkway feel to it. There was a bit of construction.

Get the road in shape for the holiday season.

Later on it gets more interesting so here is a short piece of it:

Back to the A5, soon it becomes a 4 lane unlimited section and some time can be made up. Later though the highway merges with another and as we approach the exit ramp it all stops.

After sitting or creeping for close to an hour we realize the car navigation system receives FM traffic data and also has a “detour” function. We use it and are directed off the highway through some city backstreets and back to the highway after the blockage. What a great feature. The back-up turns out to be someone in a large black Mercedes who thought that after the on ramp that gap between the trucks looked just right until the one in front stopped…

Eventually arriving in Franfurt we check in at the Steigenberger Frankfurter-Hof. This is our last stop in Europe and tomorrow we have to check the car in at the shipper.