Our next objective was to get to Nürburgring historic race track as Sean is booked in to do a lap of the 21km Nordschleife track in a Porsche GT race car driven by a racing driver. There were many famous races on this track from the 1920s including Fangio winning an epic from 3 places behind the leader in the last few laps. The track is regarded as quite dangerous and was stopped being used for Grand Prix’s in 1976 following Niki Lauda’s near-fatal crash during the 1976 German Grand Prix.

We left Mainz after farewelling Angela and Oliver. On the way to Nürburgring we saw some good views from the long high autobahn bridges.

We arrived at Nurburgring and found there was a race event on at the 5km Grand Prix circuit. This meant everywhere was very busy. We tried several motorhome spots but eventually parked in the large carpark area next to the large central building.

We checked out the track with cars racing. They were going incredibly fast on the straights with lots of noise from the gears and brakes on the corners.

We then checked out the shops full of car racing paraphernalia.

Soon Lisa and Sean arrived having parked next to us. They joined us in the centre and we continued finding some photo opportunities.

We went back to the van where we set up the table abd chairs outside. I cooked a Goan curry and dhal for dinner. It was good to have normal home cooked food – everyone enjoyed it.

Next day we checked out the Nürburgring centre at 8am before anyone else got there.

We then got organised and headed off to the check in area for Sean’s hot lap with a racing driver. 

When we arrived the parking area was absolutely packed with cars. We found out the track was temporarily closed due to a crash. All the cars here were waiting to do a lap of the race circuit. It costs 30 euro and any car can go round. 

Sean found the car he will be racing in.

The track was soon cleared. We checked out the cars as they started going through the barriers onto the track. There were all types of cars – hotted up, old, or just standard road cars.

Sean got ready to go.

We drove 8 minutes up the road to YouTube corner to see him go past. A large audience was there watching this notorious corner where many crashes have happened in the past.

The cars were shooting past at enormous speeds, so we were worried we would miss seeing Sean. 

We were lucky to spot him and Glenn got some good shots.

I got a video. 

Sean enjoyed it immensely but was a bit wobbly afterwards. The top speed was 280km/h and it took only 8.5 minutes to do a 21km lap. The average speed was 150km/h.

We watched more crazy car drivers – there were many people with small cars with tyres screeching going around the bends. I bet their tyres wont last long after that!

After lunch in our van we then drove to our next overnight destination- Wetzlar. 

On the way we saw a very dry part of the Rhine. Large boats can’t move past these areas. 

We soon arrived at the aire where we got parked up. It was 33 degrees so we decided to cool down in the shady beer garden right next to the aire. We had beer and decided to have pizza too. 

We then walked along the pedestrian and bike path into the old town. 

We walked next to the stadium where non Germans had been imprisoned in WWII and used as forced labour- a grim reminder of the nazis. 

We arrived in the old town which is from the 1200s. The wood framed houses were amazing – very ancient with no straight lines. 

There were many interesting sights.

The cathedral was at the top of the town abd is from the 1200s with bits added over time. The belfry still isn’t finished. It’s a joint Catholic and Protestant church – good to see. The carvings were amazing. 

The first 35mm camera was developed here by  Oskar Barnack in 1913. The first picture was taken from this point. 

The first Leica factory is here in Wetzlar.

By now we were flagging a bit in the heat.

We found an ice cream shop opposite the cathedral and enjoyed a cool ice in the shade. 

Revived we then continued to the Kornmarket where the old court for the Imperial Roman Empire in the 1700 and 1800s was located. Goethe the famous poet also lived here.

After checking everything out we headed back to the aire along the river.

It was good to have a shower and go to bed in the now relatively cooler night.