We started our trip at 12.30 AM and by the time we got some fuel, it was 2 in the morning. I was really tired, so Kimie would drive and I could get some shut-eye.. It was straight-ahead all the way to Dortmund, and there the Freeway would split: One way going south, the other going West (the way we needed to go)

An interesting fact about some stretches of German freeway is, that signs don't point in general directions - the largest cities in a 200 km radius for instance - no they point to little towns that don't appear on our 1:800.000 map. This may be very useful if you're heading for one of these little towns, but not for us.

Another interesting feature of the German Autobahn - they don't conform to the standards of other European countries when it comes to using international designations. For instance, if I want to travel East to West in Denmark, I would look for E20, (Europe-20) In Germany we tried to look for E34 and E37 -but that's impossible to find. You need to find the German designations (which are 40 and 43 respectively) in order to find your way.

Beign first-time long-distance motorist, we had no idea and consequently got lost. Thankfully I'd borrowed a PDA with GPS which led us safely through the worst freeway hell before freezing up and letting us drift casually towards the Dutch border.

Lesson Learned: Read the map carefully before travelling through the Ruhr District in Germany - or get GPS!