Start of Europe Trip

Finding a car to buy in the UK was fairly easy, after just 4 days I had found a suitable car for my travels- its not very big but has a tow-bar for a bike rack and fold down seats for the gear, the icing is an amazing fuel efficiency rating considering the 2.2 turbo diesel engine. Thinking the hard part was done I immediately started planning my trip across to Germany, unfortunately I was cut short when introduced to the legal robbery that the insurance men of England have constructed. The first appraisals were looking to cost 5000 pounds ($9,000), no less than three times the value of my innocent Opel Vectra. After 3 days and many hours spent commuting on the London Tube between different insurance brokers and firms, I had found my best deal, the last and only option for 2,600 pounds. So I took it. Laying down the money was devastating but there was no other option, I had no time left to change my plans, with the first World Cup in only 1 week.

The night before I left I stayed at my Uncles’ house just west of London, thanks Derek. It was good to catch up with my cousin, Jordan, who is on the U12 Chelsea Football Team. He is unreal, able to make a good player nearly twice his age (and size) look like he has 2 left feet. I was with Jordan when he took on three 19 year olds and beat each of them to score a goal. Jordan Harrison is a name that will be up there with Renaldo and Messi.

The next morning started at 4:00am with a 2 hour drive in between me and the white cliffs of Dover where my ferry was departing at 7am for France. Now the real drive started, and thanks to a stuff up with my GPS settings, I was taken on a scenic back country route that took 13hours rather than the 10 it would have taken had I taken the relatively cheap toll road. Getting stuck behind tractors and being sent down one lane country roads is not the most ideal way to get from France to Germany. Finally, after 14 hours in the car and 2 hours on the ferry I made it to the accommodation in Sigmaringen, Germany where I am staying with the NZXC team and Sam Shaw for the next 11 days.