Do you go through the Chunnel?
I do a 30 minute drive to Hook of Holland where there's a ferry to Harwich that takes about 6 hours. The drive to Dunkirk is 3 hours with a 2 hour ferry, Calais is half an hour further down the same road but a 30 minute ferry - or 35 through the Chunnel - but it's just so much more expensive we don't see the point. We've done Europoort to Hull, which is the same distance locally but an 8 hour ferry, and IJmuiden to Newcastle which is a bit further in both respects. In my childhood, our dad took us on a flight of sorts - we once took the Hovercraft from Calais.
That makes sense - I have never driven in Europe so never really thought about it, but remember reading stories about bands taking ferries over to play in France, Germany, etc. The Beatles, Black Sabbath, and Gong spring to mind, though I'm actually not sure which one was an actual ferry story...
Takes me about three days to get used to driving on the left side of the road, and those three days are somewhat terrifying, for me and everyone else! 
I have driven in a car almost every time i have been to the states and europe and never had difficulty. The only time it takes some focussed thought is when moving off for the first time especially when parked facing oncoming traffic, which you are allowed to do here and something i think Bill, tgo, advised me not to do on my last trip there.
Hmm, parked facing oncoming traffic - that sounds dangerous!
Although I lived in Japan for a total of 10 years, I only tried driving once - going straight was fine, but I never really grasped turning - couldn't figure out which lane to aim for! I was more than happy to get out and be a passenger again!
