I am set to pick up my Cayenne in Leipzig on July 8th. We are heading over the 4th of July and are going to spend some time in Berlin before taking the train to Leipzig.

Our plan is to stop in Dresden, Krakow Poland (visit Auschwitz), down to Prague, and then onto Salzburg. This is the route we are roughly going to follow, but these are the three places that are definitely must see's for us.

My question is this: Will we have any issue entering Poland and the Czech republic with the vehicle?

 

There have been rumors of a P!g traveling up to 50km without issue.

 

nope, there are no borders if you mean that, you just drive through. if you mean fuel or whatever, there are no issues apart from that it's freaking expensive other than that, if you don't park in front of some funny looking bar in the middle of night nothing will happen.
in Poland, nobody gives a f... about speed limits. even if you get caught by local police (which is spread out to about 1 policeman every 200miles), you can buy yourself out for a couple of euros. you can park right next to entrance to Auschwitz, don't be fooled by some locals tryin to get yo uto park & pay in their private lots. some country roads (especially around Krakow) are TERRIBLE. the highways are very good.
in Czech republic, the police is tougher, the fines are higher but nothing you wouldn't handle. they easily tolerate 150km/h on the freewyas and +10 - 15km/h on other roads, just go with the flow. in Prague, be sure to park at the hotel garage or some other guarded area, they do steal cars there and a brand new p!g is a nice bait. anyways, it's waaaaay better to use cabs or the tube (trust me, done my share of driving there).

don't even think about serious speeding in Austria (the fines are OK till about 150km/h on the freeway, then it gets crazy), you can land in jail in no time & car gets confiscated. they are f. crazy. don't speed in towns or at construction sites, they've got photo radars all over the place. DO NOT use a radar detector in Austria or Switzerland, you can land in jail or pay up to 5K euros fine.

in Prague, go to Celnice restaurant (Namesti republiky, in the middle of the city), they've got some really good local food & tank beer. http://www.kolkovna.cz/index.php?language=en
in Poland, go to this restaurant : http://www.ochodzita.com.pl/ it's more or less on your way and you can eat some real Polish food there.
in Vienna, visit http://www.figlmueller.at/en/

I hope that's enough for now

 

one more thing: in Poland, Czech republic, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland etc. you gotta pay toll to use freewyas. In PL they've got toll booths, so that's a no brainer.
In Czech republic, Slovakia (if you pass through Bratislava on your way to Vienna), Austria, Switzerland, you have to buy a sticker to use the freeways, they vary in prices and validity (10 days to 1 year). in CZ there's a 7 or 10 day IIRC, Slovakia has a 7 day sticker, Austria a 10 day, Switzerland only a 1 year.

 

Zorba, no you will not any problems at all! Porsche will give you the proper paperwork and insurance card, etc. But my 2 bits of advice for you since you will be in a nice/new/shiny Porsche/German temp plates: 1. Follow speed limits specially at night and if on the rural country roads in both Poland and Czech as (sometimes) the law enforcement pull you over and expect instant settlement. If you get pulled over and settle, don't assume that 30mi later the next guy will not pull you over again... 2. If you are spending a night at a hotel, stay at the top of the line hotels where they park your car behind locked and gated secure parking to avoid theft of your car...

Otherwise, great countries, great people, great roads! Have fun!

 

This is exactly what I was meaning. Thank you for a very thoughtful and thorough response. I will take note of your suggestions for sure.

If there are any other things you wish to share I am all ears. I have never planned a trip like this before and we don't have a heap of time so anything you guys could offer that would save me time/frustration/fights with the husband would be great.

Thanks a lot for your help. Again, if there is anything else you would like to add, I would love to hear it.

I am getting pretty excited about the whole thing actually. It has sort of snuck up on us and now I can hardly wait.

 

Hey zorba,
One cautionary event happened to us.

We were on our way from Prague to Germany, still in Czech, when a late model Mercedes pulled up behind us & began flashing their high beams.

I thought maybe there was something wrong with our car, or something was hanging out of the bottom of the tailgate, so I pulled over.
The passenger came over to our passenger side and began a tale of needing to get to Germany to see his son, but not having enough for gas, and offering what looked like substantial gold jewelry to trade for cash.
Some quick negotiation to get him out of our window at no cost and we were on our way.

** My thoughts: don't pull over for anyone who doesn't have the appropriate markings and lights for police.

Any input from the Europeans on this would be great to help zorba.

 

the fines are mostly collected cash all over Europe and you get a little piece of paper as a receipt. or, if you are willing to negotiate (especially in Poland), you get off cheaper by not getting one. do not try to negotiate in Austria ;-)
you might get pulled over apprently for no reason, but in EU it's fairly common that the police check cars during the night especially around (now nonexistent) borders up to 30kms deep. if you observe the speed limits, stop signs and do-not-pass zones, you're okay. if you run into a d*ckhead policeman trying to fine you for no reason, take out your cell phone and tell him you will record his actions and consult an attorney.

zorba, go ahead, ask anything you'd like. I live in Slovakia in a city very close to Czech and Polish border, I visit both countries very regulary and I also do a lot of business in Austria. how much time do you have? what do you want to see? there's loads of things to see over in Europe, just don't try to do everything at once unless you have 3 months time

 

oh yeah, those are mostly Romanian, Bulgarian or Gypsy guys trying to rip off people. pure scam. they might be faking a broken car in the middle of nowhere, trying to stop you etc. do not pull over unless you see an accident.

the police can and might stop you in an unmarked car w/o strobe lights etc. but they will at least have something like this: http://www.elasbrno.cz/img/prod143_1.jpg or this http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...TRCiWErYlBQxBw
otherwise, do not stop and go to the nearest gas station.

 

I was curious about how the drop off works. We will need to be back in berlin on the 14th so I was thinking the drop off would occur on the Sunday. Will that be a problem? Do you basically drop it off where you picked it up? Also I want to keep my tourist plates as a souvenir and they suggested that I remove them on drop off. What tools will I need for removal? Just a screw driver?

Thanks.

 

Where do I buy the sticker from?

 

you'll just need a screwdriver I presume.
you can buy the stickers on gas stations, but buy them BEFORE you enter the freeway that has to be paid for. gas stations around borders carry them - you can buy Czech and Slovak sticker in Poland and Austrian sticker in Czech republic or Slovakia.

 

Great, thanks.

 

Zorba1331
I believe you have to set up your drop off if you aren't going to be at the factory when it is open.

We did our drop off at the factory just before the factory shut down for the holiday break.

I would urge you to do your drop off during open hours for the factory if you are dropping it off at the factory.
If you aren't dropping at the factory, not sure what the process is, but I guess you would want to ensure the facility is open.

 

Thanks.

I read on the website that there is someone there 7 days a week to accept drop off. I will clarify when we get there, but need to be sure all goes smoothly because we have to catch a flight out of Berlin on the 15th and I was planning to drop off in Leipzig on the 14th. I will try to get a better answer before I leave just for planning sake and peace of mind.