So it all began with a screaming deal on a minivan through AutoEurope: a 22 day rental from Munich airport to Frankfurt airport in a 7 seater manual minivan with all insurance and zero deductible for $387. Yes, including everything except the additional driver fee of $67. Crazy deal. I emailed twice to confirm it was legit.
So we (5 adults and a 16 yo) arrived to pick up the van from Hertz. Our luggage: two checked bags, 3 carry on size bags, 6 backpacks. The guy at the counter took one look at our group and said “ You’re never going to fit. Never.” He offered us a full size 8 passenger automatic Ford Tourneo (Transit in the US). I was very concerned it would fit in the parking garages we had reserved. Let alone driving it. But my husband and brother-in-law (who drives a Ford Transit at work) were game. So we loaded up the van and my first thought was “Dangit, I could have brought a bigger suitcase!” Tons of cargo space.
So off we go heading toward the Dolomites. We have the windows down (only the driver and passenger windows roll down, the second row has worthless pop out windows). Life is good.
About an hour into the drive, we hit traffic. The temp is the mid 80’s, so we roll up the windows and turn on the ac. Or so we think.
After much button pressing and only hot air coming out, the four of us in the back are getting a little cooked. It’s fine when we’re moving. But we’re not moving as we approach the Brenner Pass and we can see that an accident has caused a delay of 30+ minutes. Oh dear. We literally getting no air and we’re stuck in this van. Sooooo, we open one of the rear doors and drive down the freeway with one of the doors open. At no more than 5 mph, mind you. I’m sure we were a sight.
So the next few hours is spent trying to figure out how to even place a call on my US cell phone from Italy (as we eventually arrive in the Dolomites) to the Hertz roadside assistance number (in Germany). When I finally get through, they tell me I need to contact the Italian roadside assistance number. They tell me to contact the closest Hertz and ask about swapping the van. But the nearest location is now closed.
So, next day I call Bolzano, hoping we can swing by and do a quick swap on our way to Venice. No dice. They have no vans. Well, I have parking reserved at Piazzale Roma, where there happens to be a Hertz! So I call them. Uh oh. They tell me that the Hertz fleet in Italy does not include ANY vehicles bigger than SUVs that seat 5. Period. Ugh. The guy at the counter says there is nothing he can do, because it’s a German rental. I tell him we are in Venice 3 nights. Can someone drive one from Germany and swap it out? Nope. Can they fix it? Nope. 3 weeks in a sauna, I say. Thankfully his co-worker overhears and offers to take a look at it. “The buttons can be tricky” he says.
So he drives with my husband up to the van and tries it. Still doesn’t work. He says, “If can be fixed, it will be done in 30 minutes.” Check back when we’re leaving town and we’ll either have a sauna or a fixed van.
Three days and lots of praying later, we return and are told the van is at the storage lot and they will drive us there. No word on the status. Five minutes later we hop in the van and turn on the ac. The most glorious cold air greets us. Hallelujah our prayers were answered!
So we all pile in the van and head for Stresa, where we encounter our first harrowing descent along narrow streets with hairpin turns. But we made it to our hotel (Hotel du Parc), which thankfully has parking.
One thing about parking a full size van: they don’t corner well. Like at all. You want parking spaces you can pull straight into. Perpendicular parking just really isn’t a good thing. So a good deal of research went in to trying to find suitable parking for this beast through the rest of the 3 weeks. And we drive a minivan. There is no comparison.
To be continued…