Preparing a Road trip from Budapest to Cologne, Germany
There are several basics for a good road trip: check your car, clean your car to free up space for things to 'take' with you. Paper work: insurance, registration cards, map of the location(s), plans ahead (stop-over accommodations' bookings, parking facilities at stop-overs. Food & water, snacks, meals, music for the ride, GPS, batteries, charging your mobile phone. If you are traveling with your pet dog, you can read the link there about the road trip preparation tips.



We started the drive from as early as 2 a.m. This was intentional as we know our time on the road will be more than 10 hours, so we want to arrive in Germany before the TUV office for 'Low Emission Zone' sticker closes at 4pm. Working backwards, the buffered time to arrive is 2pm if we start at 2am :)



The first stop is to the gas stations in Budapest. It is here we filled up 50 litres of gas. The other plus point of night driving is that the traffic at the gas stations will also be less (in this case, you can see, there is almost no one) :) So you do not have to queue and time savings.



This is the toll sticker for using the highway within Austria. I am supposed to stick it on the windscreen on my side. So if you have previous toll stickers, you will spend a little time to peel that off first and stick the new one on.



When we begin the road trip, it was already raining. At first it was drizzling only, but it started to get a little heavier.



The roads are quite empty in Budapest at this hour, so you can drive past the greens of the traffic lights in a breeze.



This is out of Budapest already, still within Hungary, our plan was to cross Austria inorder to get to Cologne, Germany.



In the early morning, the skies are getting brighter and brighter.



We saw a lot of windmills, with signaling red lights as we get closer to the Austrian borders.



Passing it, the motorway signs that shows us leading to Linz and Salzburg.



As it was raining, we didn't really get to see a sun rise. Glad that it is already the morning, we decided to have a light breakfast in one of the Austrian's gas stations' eating outlet.



Nice seats at a bar counter that serves hot coffee or tea. This place serves also fresh "cold-cuts" sandwiches which Zsolt likes.



This was Zsolt's breakfast for that morning:



Doesn't the baguette looks crispy and fresh?

There is a separated smoking area (separated by a sliding door) where people who smoke can have their breakfast in the other part of this station. Seems all the drivers who are taking a break at this wee hour are all smokers except us :)



We continue our way heading to the direction of Salzburg.



With the GPS, it was quite easy.



And the sign leading towards: Amstetten-Ost



To Haag...


And past this part of the highway where the BK 'crown' gets more visible! :)



Just a quick snap. In Austria, the Burger King seemed to be cleverer in their point of sale :)



The early morning blues showing the mountains in the distance and morning mist and clouds...


Electronic road signs on the highway with morning transportation trucks starting to increase in numbers.



We are not going to Salzburg, just that we will be closed to Salzburg.



Within a few minutes, we pulled over again, where we decided to have a break near this field.



It is a highway rest station where there are parking lots. Other than transportation logistics drivers, families on vacation grab their breakfast which they prepared for the road.



The above is the rest rooms (toilets, WC) at the resting stations.



Zsolt took a little nap before we set off for the next part of the journey.



At about 8AM, the skies looked more blue and there were more clouds.



The weather here is slightly better for a couple of hours.



Finally we arrive to Donautal. Another gas station, but now we are in Germany.



Crossing the borders, we found out that we need not buy toll for Germany, ALL THE WAY! :) From afar, you can see this upright structure...



It is actually this bridge.



Driving past lots of mountains, some with clouds, quite beautiful...This is a settle in Germany and their houses look neat like this.



A larger German settle.



Frankfurt a.M. Wurzburg, Nurnberg....a couple more hours to go and we arrived in Cologne.

Budapest as 'base city', road trips to elsewhere, do check out our series of road trips:-


Road trip to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Holland