The city of Bernkastel along the Moselle River. Photo by Bill Tillman.
In the fall of 2011 my wife and I decided to fly into Germany and rent a car to see Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland. First I went to AAA and got an international driver’s license. Don’t try and rent a car without it, as you cannot get it in Europe.
Another tip is to work without a schedule. Schedules are a no-no for Space-A. Although, you might have to wait a day or two to get a car. There is another good reason I do this–it’s sneaky. I was only 81 years old at the time but if you call ahead they need your information. The rental companies sometimes have a cut-off date for age on a reservation.
Be flexible–if you walk in the office briskly, have good posture and a charming smile they can make a judgment exception. I think this worked for me two out of three of times. A license with no violations could have also helped. (They apparently didn’t look at my California license!)
A Gautshous in Belgium. Photo provided by Bill Tillman.
It also helps that you represent an unexpected increase in their profit margin. Due to the latest Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), we are not eligible to rent a car or buy gas on base.
The other thing you shouldn’t do is rent a car or turn one into a civilian airport or you will pay a VAT Tax for both renting and returning. I mistakenly tried this in 2010 and realized I could not afford to do it. The very nice young lady at the car agency set me up a rental just a couple of metro stops away and I avoided the extra VAT Taxes.
Now the most valuable planning tip!! Get a GPS that has European map capability. I bought a Garmin Nuvi-something-or-other.
I discovered that it didn’t have enough internal memory for the Europe map but I just had to buy a 4GB micro SD chip, insert it and tell the computer to put it on the chip. I now have all the maps for the United States, Canada and Europe.
The GPS I have tells me everything including all speed limits and if you exceed them the numbers turn red. It’s all on the screen. This is helpful because they have license cameras all over. (Don’t ask me how I know that.)
A restaurant in a wine cave along the Moselle. Photo provided by Bill Tillman.
Last minute hotels are easy, usually. If you are going through a small town shortly before arriving to, let’s say Brussels, stop at that town and go to the train station (you can put that in your GPS), ask for a nearby inexpensive hotel. You’ll win nine times out of 10 and not bust the budget.
Small towns are fun too. In Belgium, we stopped in Namur. The train left for Brussels every 20 or 30 minutes and two round-trip senior fares was 6.40 Euro.
On the hotel bit, over the years I have been told that due to a festival or other event, there are no rooms in a particular town. Either I punch hotel in the GPS or ask in a nearby hotel for other ones.
Since they are full they will help find a small one near by that has very few rooms and no advertising budget. They have always been clean, well-kept and had a room.
I hope this helps. Since I have already made all the mistakes, you don’t have to.
PS: After leaving Holland I received orders to get us to the cathedral in Cologne. I entered the cathedral in the GPS, started driving and when we stopped I was in the parking lot below the cathedral. The GPS did the work–I got the credit!
Happy travels, Bill CWO-W3 William R Tillman, USAF, (Ret.) and Sarah Tillman Vacaville, CA wtillman@att.net
Reprint from Nov-Dec 2012 • Volume 42, No. 6
