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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Default Overland to visit The Great Escape Museum in Poland

    Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

    Now known as The Great Escape Museum


    Hello Folks!

    YES! We are off again……

    I’m told while I have itchy feet, ‘Flamenco Red’ just loves the open road!

    So………

    With all the celebrations along with all the acts of remembrance that have happened and continue in relation to both World Wars in Europe we decided to head for a specific place on our next trip into Europe and came up with going to see the place in Poland where ‘The Great Escape’ took place.

    Some of you (Like ME!) might even remember the film of the same name as it has been repeated on TV innumerable times!
    You who do remember will picture Steve McQueen who was supposed to have jumped over the barbed wire at the border after making good his escape from the POW Camp on a stolen Motorcycle?

    Well the truth was, he didn’t and the barbed wire in the film that he allegedly went over on the Motorcycle was made of rubber, but after those small points, we will be stopping at a few other interesting places along the way so come back and see the pictures if you want.

    As we travel over you are more than welcome to ‘Come and join us’ in the Third Seat of ‘Flamenco Red’ for what we hope will be an interesting tour!

    Meanwhile as we get ready and set off on the trip here are a couple of links if you are interested in any of the information about the actual Great Escape from Stalag Luft III….

    With thanks to Rob Davis, in Telford, Shropshire UK for the following link.
    http://www.elsham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/gt_esc/

    Also thanks to Squadron Leader Alfie Fripp’s website and this link.
    http://therealgreatescape.com/stalag...-great-escape/

    Meanwhile as we get ready for the ‘OFF’!!

    Here is our Route to get there and back, while this time we are travelling in an Anti-clockwise direction….

    Well it makes a change going the other way round to always ‘following the way the clock goes!’



    Welcome aboard and Buckle Up as I don’t want the unfastened seat belts BLARING out their warning tones…….
    Thank you!

    Next stop Eurotunnel…..

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Calgary, Alberta
    Posts
    614

    Default

    Looks like it will be an interesting trip. Looking forward to it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssicarman View Post
    Looks like it will be an interesting trip. Looking forward to it.
    Hi ssicarman!

    I thought you would think that, and I hope so after doing the research and planning the places we have identified into the trip!

    So that makes at least 3 of us!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.


    As we will be travelling along the same roads across Wales & England to get to the Train that goes through that ‘Long Tube’ under the English Channel I will not bore you with the same pictures we have used before unless we spot something different!

    Our plan for the first night after we got to France is to head for Camping St Louis (GPS Co-ords 50.83807 N 1.97637 E) which is an ACSI Camping Card Campsite, while we arrived in the dark I will get a couple of pictures before we set off the following morning!

    Meanwhile as we head off out of Wales we see all the cars & trucks queuing up to pay to get in at the Toll Booths!

    We will also have that chore when we return…..


    Over the Second Severn Crossing and out of Wales we go while we get a view of the type of weather we have seen so far today…..


    Now crossing the Border and into England…..


    As there was not a lot happening on the route down here and we found the traffic quite light on the Motorways for a Sunday it wasn’t long before we arrived at…..


    As we then came up to the Check in Gates we found that as we were rather early Eurotunnel gave us two options.
    Pay an additional £245 ($343) to take the next train of wait for another train which was 1 hour before our booked departure for £0!
    So as we had a few things to sort out we opted for a Coffee and the £0 Extra Fare for our trip under the water…..


    Sounds like a Plan….


    Time to catch up with a few messages and re-set the headlights for Left Hand Driving!


    As time for Boarding rolled up it was around to Passport Control on the English side then pass through the French side at which point you are technically in….


    Then around 50 minutes later you are out of the train and off on the French Autoroute, well at least the Free bit towards the campsite…..


    As we pass on the normal road this rather ‘Fairy Castle’ style house….


    While on the other side of the road was this small Windmill….


    While 2 miles further on we arrived at Camping St Louis but the daylight was slipping away as it also started to rain, as we got onto our pitch for the night, so pictures tomorrow as we put together some dinner being rather hungry after a long day!
    Good night!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Sorry for the delay in getting Update in, we have had problems with getting Internet Access on the campsites we have stopped at on the way, while our current one also has no access so I am using the Local Library in a city called Plana in CZ!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.


    Set off this morning after a few things got sorted out on the campsite to go to the town of Tachov calling into Planá to get a couple of items from the store and then it was off across country!….
    After finding a good place to park up we set off back into the town centre, keeping an eye on the church tower….


    With a short walk alongside the river…


    Turning right and up a passageway we found ourselves in ‘Nam Republiky’ which is the main square in the town….






    Having spotted the Pop Art Music Café in the corner (Previous picture) it was time for a nice cup of proper coffee, which surprisingly came with a glass of ‘fizzy water’!...


    That done and the caffeine level restored, we set off for a walk around the town heading for the church tower in a round-about way….


    With the length of the queue at this ‘Chicken BBQ Van’ I think a number of people had already ‘Found their Chicken’!….


    As we finally came around to the church…






    Just outside the church is this rather interesting piece of history…..
    The right hand side concrete plaque translation reads ‘On 14th February 1945 two bombs fell on Tachov Church and neither exploded’….


    ‘Zámek’ this was the Cloisters in the town...


    As this building was quite elevated it gives you a good view of the lower part of the town….






    The small man made ponds in this next picture are used for ‘fish farming’ by the houses around them....


    While up the road we see part of the wall that used to surround the town….




    Along the wall at the rear was a pathway and gates that led via stairs up onto the ramparts, but unfortunately the gates were locked….


    A little bit further on we came to another memorial commemorating the liberation of Tachov by the American Army in 1945….


    While in the window of an office selling property there was this house on the market for the equivalent of £30,000 ($42,000)!


    While with all this glorious weather and temperature of 20C it was time for a nice Ice Coffee complete with a scoop of ice cream on top! ….


    We then made our way down to the river and looking over the side of the bridge we could see that there are fish in the water…..


    As we sat down by the riverbank two ducks must have smelled our picnic lunch as they both came over, however it was only the female who was interested in any food that we passed over. The male was more interested in showing us his ‘acrobatics’ as he went after other things on the bottom of the river!....


    While the man in the house on the other side of the river had his fridge in the garden with the beer in, which on a hot day made a lot of sense to keep it cool!...


    Time to move on tomorrow so it’s back on the road to our next destination which is Camping Kostelec which is another ACSI site, (GPS: 49.137500 N 14.472500 E) and not far away from the BIG town of ‘Budweis’ (Ćeské Budéjovice) which even though we have been to, I am sure we will go again!...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.


    A day in Plumlov….

    As the weather looked like it was going to be good and not rain, we set off for a walk around the town after breakfast which meant going up the road we came in on and see these figures opposite the house that looked after them….






    Getting to the top of the road we noticed a lot of cars parked in front of the Castle and so went to see why and if the Castle was open, which surprise, surprise it was!….


    The man behind the ticket counter explained that they were having a Fairy Story time for the children which included a tour of the rooms in the Castle that could be seen, so we ‘signed up’ and got two tickets, then made our way into the inside grounds….


    Time to join the group and we all head off down the stairs into the basement ,


    The first Fairy Story took place, in a large room and was about naughty people who when they met the Devil were taken away….


    After that finished we made our way along the corridor and saw a few in their rooms before we went up the stairs….




    While just before we went upstairs we all saw the White Witch who was a good Witch….


    Then it was up the main staircase….

    As we passed pictures of some of the former inhabitants of the Castle who came from Lichtenstein….


    With their hunting ‘trophies’ hanging on the walls…


    Around the corner and up the next flight of stairs….


    Then turn right and into the corridor on the first floor for the room and the next Fairy Story….


    This one was about the Chef who it seems cannot get the breakfast quite right for his Lord & Master of the house....


    The Lord and Master of the house accuses him of ‘sampling’ the food off the tray, which he did as we all saw him do it, and also tasting the red wine....


    As everyone moved out after that short Fairy Tale we managed to get a couple of pictures of the rooms….




    The next scene in another room started with all these Ladies covered up!….


    Except one was a real person and the Chef had to guess which one, but a little voice in the background gave him a few ‘clues’!….


    He finds her, and it is the Daughter of the Lord & Master of the House who he brings back to life with the Antidote of a Sleeping Potion that her Father had used on her! …..


    As the Lord & Master finds the cover laying on the floor and his Daughter awake….


    He then turns and sees the Chef kneeling in front of the Daughter to ask her to marry him! The Lord & Master is horrified, as he holds the Sleeping Potion & Antidote in each hand!....


    He puts some Sleeping Potion on the Chef who collapses. The Daughter is initially stricken with grief, but she then spots the Antidote on a table nearby and puts some on the Chef who recovers.


    They then run off and the Lord & Master returns, sees they have escaped and picks up the two bottles of Sleeping Potion and Antidote, but he cannot remember which is which!
    Sadly he uses the Sleeping Potion and the rest as they say is history!


    As the audience move on to the next Fairy Tale and another room we get another picture…


    And a view out into the Castle Courtyard….


    Then move along the corridor to another set of stairs….


    Passing a few more former occupants from Lichtenstein and their ‘trophies’….


    The ceiling in the first room for the next Fairy Tale was decorated by a mural which was still in good condition….


    Then the Fairy Tale began. I will leave what is was till the end, but a clue is that in this version there was only 1 Ugly Sister (She is the one in the yellow dress, the person with her is her Mother)!....


    King and Queen arrive and make the announcement of a Royal Ball where it is hoped that the Prince will chose his bride and wife to be!....


    The Royal Ball commences as each pair of ladies present themselves to the King, Queen & Prince….






    Then the dancing starts with a little pushing and shoving as all the ladies want to dance with the Prince….


    But then, this strange person appears, who can it be?….


    The blue coat is removed but her face is covered in a veil…..


    While the King & Queen are having a good old ‘chinwag’ trying to recognise the pretty lady….


    The dancing recommences, then the clock strikes Midnight and the pretty lady disappears!.....


    As the audience then move into another room we look up and sadly the mural on the ceiling has also disappeared in this room….


    While in the next room this one has survived.…


    With a rather large Camine in the corner, used for heating the room in previous times….


    As we then all gather for the final part where the Prince explains that he needs to find the foot that will fit the shoe that was left at the Royal Ball….


    He tries some of the children with no luck….


    Then the Ugly Sister and her Mother come in but the Prince sees through her disguise and dismisses her!...


    Then Cinderella arrives, the shoe fits and they all live happily ever after!...


    Sadly this other mural in the ceiling did not fare so well and cannot be restored as no one knows what the original looked like….


    As we then pass some more of the former occupants….




    We see some more of what the furniture might have looked like in the corridor….


    While some of the floors have been replaced as damage occurred in a storm that happened a few years ago….


    Outside in one of the other buildings we see this old Butter Churn used for making butter from milk….


    A couple of close up pictures of the top of the columns and along the top of the wall under the roof show some really good detail which has weathered the years fairly well….




    A really interesting morning which was good fun to see…

    Hope we get some decent weather again tomorrow!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.


    Back on the road from Frenštát pod Radhoštěm to Vrbno….

    Sorry folks! My laptop ‘died’ 3 days ago and after some time spent in a computer repair shop it is good for nothing but 'scrap' so I have been putting together a method whereby we can continue to get some decent pictures and update the blog as we go along!

    Yesterday weather wise was absolutely abysmal with thunder, lightning and very heavy rain until late afternoon, while this morning as we set off to our next campsite which is also a change from the plans we laid it was a dismal, dreary and damp morning as you will see....












    We then spot this light pinkish/yellow building in the distance which looks very large….


    Then we get closer & can see that it is a rather grand chateaux but have no details….




    As we make a sharp left hand turn off the main road onto a narrower ‘cross country’ road this Fire Engine comes towards us with all the blue lights running but as the camera shutter went off it was in between the lights flashing!....


    As we then went through the next village….


    We went along a road and across the cross roads not realising that the road ahead was closed as a dam wall across a lake that had a road going across was being rebuilt and there was no way we could get through, so we had to turn around, then make a left turn at the end of the road we had just come down, then another left turn when we came to the next junction to get back to the road we should have come along if we had come across the dam road! ….




    Railway crossing on the way to Vítkov….






    New ‘Summer House’ under construction....


    Narrow cross country road….


    Then it was through the forest ….








    As we then see the lake again where the dam is at the end we should have come over…..


    Next village….


    As the lake continues on our left hand side….


    As we the get to the next village….


    The road finally passes the end of the lake….


    Then a few hundred yards further along we pass all these little ‘Summer Houses’ in a large field that also looks like vegetables are being grown….




    As we missed the City Signpost for ‘Bruntal’ on the way into the place we got it on the way out! That’s why it has the red stripe going through it! BUT the next 4 pictures are from the town as we passed through....










    As we then came into…..




    Back out in the countryside…..


    But not for long!....




    Must admit it felt longer driving between the villages than the impression given by the pictures…..




    As we got through that village we came to some ‘Roadwork’ signs where for quite a distance after nothing was happening and then we started to see long rectangular sections of the road that were ‘missing’ as they had been dug up, and they were all over the road with no further warning, as 40 Tonne Trucks were coming towards you and also trying not to drop their wheels in the holes!....


    This little place is a ’Pub’!....


    Then we reach this large statue in wood at the entrance to the Hotel/Restaurant & Dolina Camping….




    As we then get set up after registering, then around 30 minutes later the little caravan pulls in with a family of 4 from Poland!….




    Time to enjoy what could be the last of the Sunshine for the next 4 or 5 days as the forecast is looking very bleak….


    Even some of the small clouds passing cross the Sun looked interesting wth their different shapes…..




    Let’s see what happens tomorrow!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Bella Coma BC Canada
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    93

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    Good to be back on the road with you folks again.
    cheers
    Hank

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by Da Tow'd View Post
    Good to be back on the road with you folks again.
    cheers
    Hank
    Welcome back, and we hope you enjoy the trip.

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