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Not exactly what I'd want to drive around Europe!Lastly, a few days in Ghent, Belgium. I know- connect the dots on the map and Belgium seems to make no sense. But I'm sort of a beer snob too. Just can't combine my hobbies! Since I'm a sucker for bargain airfare and a flight into Venice and out of Belgium was less money than round trip from Venice, I threw in one of those cheap Euro airfares to route me to the source and voila, I'm sipping a $6 Euro Cantillon- happy camper. So I ended my trip in Belgium, a country that isn't really known for having an exciting car culture other than if I ever get to Spa. But there were some surprises.
The Volvo 480 turbo hatch was a rarity in Volvo's lineup with Lotus tuned suspension, first ever popup headlights, a Garrett turbo, and electrical gremlins that kept most people from wanting to own one.On the last day of my Belgian bar crawl, I found myself in the middle of the DWARS DOOR GENT parade of classic cars.
Meticulously maintained specimens holding up the bicyclists and driving on trolley tracks!
This dude gave me the fingers- hang loose bro!
My inner group of car friends always jokes about our future. When eyesight goes and reflexes slow, we'll be cruising around in 50 year old modified rice burners.
We're all familiar with this fate- hood up on the side of the road during a car cruise. I've been there- melted fan wire, busted clutch spring, and too many tire changes thanks to NJ potholes the former size of their governor.I'd love to hear any MIQ readers experiences driving around these countries. For the most part, the roads were smooth, the traffic was light, and the scenery was pretty much perfect for a good road trip. I'd go back to Slovenia any day. Ljubljana was great- an amazing riverfront downtown area, Metelkova (former squatters block home to super talented artists and the best graffiti I've seen), and the area around Lake Bled was full of twisty mountain roads and emerald green glacier lakes. Budapest was very cosmopolitan and energetic. I love to travel but a road trip really gives you a perspective you don't get while flying overhead.
