Road trip to Wolfsburg to celebrate my Mk1 Golf GL's 35th Birthday

I've owned my Mk1 Golf GL for 12 years now and knew a special anniversary was on the horizon that called for a celebration of a different kind.

So last Thursday, in the midst of all the snow and ice that the Beast from the East could throw at us, we set off on an epic adventure to Germany that felt like a very bad idea at the time given the weather warnings! 



Naturally before such a long trip, some preparations had to be made. A frantic day of sorting the following before we set off involved:
 -Replacing the antifreeze with a much stronger mix  
- Fitting winter tyres
- Laying new soundproofing 
- Greasing the wiper spindles




 



Thankfully the journey to Dover was effortless and we encountered no traffic whatsoever, and no hint of what had plagued Kent earlier in the week. After a bumpy ferry ride across to Calais, we rested for the night in Coquelles before an early start to make it to Wolfsburg while it was still light. A steady cruise at 130kmh through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and finally into Germany went past without fuss, and gave me the opportunity to see what the old girl could do on the Autobahn. We managed an indicated 110mph after a few attempts, which was impressive given the car was carrying approximately 40kg of luggage. It also corroborates the official 98mph top speed, proving that all these years later TTY isn't down on power.



Most of Germany was covered off at 160kmh, with the Golf taking it all in its stride. After a seven-hour journey, we made it to Wolfsburg, exactly 35 years to the day that my car was first registered! 




Once we'd taken lots of photos to mark the occasion, we enjoyed a look around the Autostadt and then the AutoMuseum the next day (both thoroughly enjoyable), before heading to Hamburg that evening where it was a biting -10° for a welcome drink at some beer halls. The return leg on Sunday went to plan, and we made it through the door a full 12 hours later, having completed 1,400 miles in total. The Golf was absolutely faultless for the entire journey, even in sub-zero conditions, proving itself yet again to be a reliable everyday classic and a testament to Volkswagen build quality. I couldn't wish for a better car. 

Happy Birthday TTY.  

Epic

Wonderful in every way- would happily read a much longer write up of that trip. Happy 35th, TTY!

Great road trip and real adventure given the weather good job the heaters in our cars are like having an erupting volcano in the dash. Well done and inspiration to us all.


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Fantastic story and what a brilliant way to celebrate it!


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Brilliant, love it.

Glad to see you managed to top her out on the Autobahn too  

Congrats TTY!

Ian

Fantastic road trip, well done    

Great story and pictures! Something I want to do with mine if I ever get it back on the road! Happy Birthday TTY!

Thanks all, much appreciated! It was a great trip and something I thoroughly recommend doing.

I finally got around to giving the car a proper wash on Friday. It's now black again instead of light grey and brown! 

polynesian - I've done a longer write-up that includes more photos for Volkswagen Driver Magazine, which will be appearing in the May issue. 

Thanks, I will definitely look out for that!

Awesome.