After 2 weeks of going to the beach and pretty much nothing else we were going home and it was time to put the knowledge acquired going out into practice.

We started with a modest amount of fuel, because fuel is less expensive in Spain. Naturally there were no gas stations the first 50 km in Spain.. It got a bit exciting for a while there - but luckily nothing like our experiences in Germany.

Then we headed North towards the freeway we'd come down on. Halfway we were pulled over by the Police. The road was closed because of an accident, and the officer suggested we go in direction of Madrid.

On the Madrid turnpike, road works lead us into downtown Madrid, where we spent a good half hour trying to find back to the freeway.

Things went smoothly and at San Sebastian, we opted for the toll road into France. (a total of 5€). Back at N10 past Bordeaux we had a minor problem with the radiator, but got i fixed and in record time reached Poitiers.

N10 is a nice two-lane road all the way to Poitiers, but from there to Tours it narrows to 1 lane and leads through 5 or 6 villages.. We were back to 50 km/h.

At Tours we didn't get lost and used the toll road to Paris (250 km = €19.60).

Paris was hell. Not only were the roads jammed (rush hour, of course), but whenever you could go more than 100 meters before stopping, the Parisians would speed up to 100 km/h.. They even have roadsigns that can change to reflect whenever there's an accident... scary. But we survived, had a horrible meal at a motor way stop and headed for Belgium - again toll road, 200 km at €13.

In total we spent less than €40 on toll roads, so to all you folks scared of French toll roads .. don't be. We saved more than 10 hours and it cost us the same as a refuelling would have.

Belgium and Holland went past us, and we were back in Germany, wher E34 suddenly turned into "40". I was driving and didn't see any exits going the right way, so I ended up in more road works and some time later in the Suburbs of Essen.. lost again.

Somehow we got back on track, and then it was smooth sailing back to Denmark. Result: Going out: 50 hours. Going home: 35 hours.

Final Lesson Learned: Using the toll roads in France is not so bad.. but going through Paris is.