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  1. #81
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    1,901

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    Overland to Scandinavia and more!
    Spring 2017


    Brandenburg and der Havel to Lemgo

    Up and away from the Ex Fire Station ‘Car Park’ now called a ‘campsite’ for the next stage to Lemgo, and as we get out into the countryside to the Autobahn we pass a very large field full of Sunflowers!......





    Some BIG loads on the Autobahn this morning, but it was Friday!......



    We were rolling along quite nicely and had just around 25 miles to go before we came off the Autobahn and then we ran into this lot.
    It was around 15 miles long of a Traffic Jam, that was very slow moving and took around 1.5hrs to get to the front which in 30+C was not really very nice!......



    But we did have a chuckle when we saw this German Tour Bus with a picture of the Welsh Flag & Caernarfon Castle on the back!......



    Finally we get to the campsite in Lemgo!......





    As it was rather HOT, we just got set up and took it easy in the afternoon, and in the evening as the temperature dropped and a nice heavy short shower also cooled it down a bit, after dinner we took a walk over to a Schloss, passing this Heron sat on a branch in the middle of a small lake looking no doubt for its dinner……



    As we then see the ‘Castle’, the ‘Tower’ gave it away!……



    Then we saw the sign......



    As we come around the corner and get up close, then there it is, while it looks just like a very large house......



    As there was a ‘social event’ going on in the grounds for which a fee was payable, we explained that we only wanted to have a look at the castle and were allowed in free of charge!.....
    It was then that we saw part of the ‘event’ going on in the large yard inside, which consisted of food and beer stalls! Bit like a “Friday Night Outdoor Social”……



    Looking a bit closer I then found this door in the wall of the Schloss with a date of 1666 on it, so it looked like it has been there for a few years!......



    Then I turned around to look at this part of the event……



    Had to try a rather expensive dark beer (Schwarz Beer) which wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it……



    Then we took a stroll down to the other part of the event in the lower part of the Schloss grounds……











    As we came out of the event and started to make our way back to the campsite, we spotted this water wheel that was turning……





    As we got to the side of the building there was a push button that when pushed, turned on the lights inside the building and illuminated the working of the Mill, while the Waterwheel was not connected to anything inside!......





    One of the sets of mill stones……



    Off for a look around what is supposed to be a very picturesque town tomorrow!......

  2. #82
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    South Wales UK
    Posts
    1,901

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    Overland to Scandinavia and more!
    Spring 2017


    A day in the town of Lemgo

    The town of Lemgo is only a short walk from the campsite, so off we went for a look around......
    As we get to the start of the pedestrian street with all the shops on, we see this small water fountain with a collection of models of people and animals on while some of the arms on the models can be moved into different positions……





    The ‘shopping street’ is lined with some nicely decorated buildings and also some interesting ones that are not quite upright, but I guess if you had been stood upright for as long then you would be starting to ‘wilt’ a little!......













    Rather glad the ‘Tie Bars’ were fastened to the rear of this top section as it was leaning a bit!……



    As these two buildings were also leaning in towards each other!......





    Going around the back of the street the buildings were just as good as the front while in a number of places we had been it was a different story!……



    Saturday was Market Day here!......







    Not quite perpendicular, or should I say ‘upright’!……



    Then we saw a number of large holes in the street with these pipes being laid.
    The pipes interestingly have a thick layer of insulation material around them…..



    While a further layer of insulation material is fitted after the pipes are joined together.
    I first thought it was to provide hot water to the shops, BUT it is a new Fresh Water Supply, while the pipes are insulated to prevent any bursts from occurring and it works!......



    A small church at the far end of the pedestrian street……



    While being rectangular the layout inside was different……





    Then as we came outside we saw this Bi-Plane going overhead with a smoke trail coming from it and thought for a moment it was a re-enactment of the Red Baron being shot down, but the plane carried on…..



    Back we then went to the large church with the two different spires......







    The center piece was a picture of ‘The Last Supper’......



    One of the brightly coloured windows……



    While there were a lot of Renaissance items in the church that the organ players wife told me had come from France!......









    Then back outside I see this pulley at the end of the bar protruding from the wall on this building that was used for lifting items up and into the building……





    Nice façade which was not leaning!......



    And finally the Bus Station with the UK Telephone Box, but it was painted white and not its usual red!......



    As we then came back along the main shopping street we met a couple who knew quite a bit about the town, and the lady was told us of a house outside the town center that was unique, interesting and rather special, so being intrigued by this we then went back to the campsite for some lunch, and found that the lady on the campsite had some information in English about the place, so after lunch we set off as it was only a short walk to get there………

    The results will be in the next update, and we were amazed by what we saw and learnt!……

  3. #83
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Overland to Scandinavia and more!
    Spring 2017


    Junkerhaus Museum in Lemgo

    After our conversation with the lady in Lemgo and having a bit of lunch back at the campsite as we also read the information from the lad on the campsite, we set off to visit the ‘Junkerhaus Museum which was around 10 to 15 minutes in the opposite direction to the town centre……



    While this is the house as you go up the pathway towards it……



    While the house was constructed of normal house bricks, instead of having a rendering applied, carved wooden panels and sections were fixed to the walls by Karl Junker as he spent his entire lifetime putting the house together......



    This was his workshop inside the house, and while some people think he was insane, others think he was eccentric, and others an artist.

    While he wanted to build this house he made a model and with plans submitted them to the authorities for approval and what is shown in the next pictures was all crafted and built by one man over his lifetime as he never married or had any children……

    All the pictures that were painted separately and on the wooden panels, all the wood that went into making the items in the house, including the furniture, ceilings, doors, panels and lattice work was carved, coloured and assembled by Karl Junker (1850 – 1912).



    A ceiling……



    The kitchen including the water pump and sink, notice the strange high backed chair!……



    The cooking range in the kitchen……



    That ‘chair’……



    A corridor just in from the front entrance……



    The kitchen table and seats......





    Another ceiling with paintings in some of the panels that some have sadly lost their colours due to UV exposure……



    This was a chair that you could get into by the 3 steps on either side, while the wooden seat had no covering or padding fixed to it!......



    A lattice framework……



    The wooden wall panels at the side of the stairs……



    The living room, notice the writing cabinet in the corner?……



    This was a zoom shot as you could only enter the room on a ‘raised walkway’ that only entered a short way into the room as the original floor had been painted on by Karl Junker and was being preserved but the carving that had been carried out was very intricate and detailed from what we could see…..



    While the cupboard in the other corner was just as detailed......



    Even the 3 seater couch was hand made by him!……



    I thought this was a bit ‘rough’ for a child to sit on! Then I was made aware that the top lifted up and it was a child’s WC for night time use in their bedroom! Oops!……



    The center of the ceiling that you could look up towards the floor and roof above, but was not accessible at the moment due to safety and renovation concerns……



    An interesting ‘picture’ which was a ‘picture’ on the outside…..



    Then when opened up showed a picture on the inside......



    A couple of Karl Junkers paintings that had not been terribly affected by UV discolouring……





    Then from the house we went into the Museum that displayed more of his carvings......





    Karl Junkers life......



    The man himself……



    Fascinating!......

    While if anyone would like to see more information on or about Karl Junker, then this link should help:

    http://www.young-germany.de/topic/li...ts-karl-junker

    Back on the road tomorrow and into the Netherlands and a campsite in De Peelport……

  4. #84
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    South Wales UK
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    Overland to Scandinavia and more!
    Spring 2017


    Lemgo to De Peelport

    Not long and we were on the Autobahn from Lemgo as we then passed a few of what looked like Rubik’s Cubes at the side of the road!……



    Passing over the Rhine River we just manage to see a large Barge through the railings at the edge of the bridge and all the industrial buildings on the far side……



    While a little further on as some work was being carried out on all 3 lanes of the Autobahn at the same time!
    This nice long traffic jam was building up very quickly even though it was Sunday as the 3 lanes tried to get into 1 lane and get off the Autobahn onto a diversion via a traffic island at the bottom of the 1 lane Off Ramp!......



    Then for us it was a bit of ‘cross country’ to the next section of Autobahn……



    A working windmill in Germany!……



    Then we are back on a different Autobahn as this wide Sidecar & Motorcycle went thundering past us!……



    Crossing the ‘Open’ Border between Germany and the Netherlands…… ……



    Down the leafy lanes we go!……



    As we come into De Peelport and the nicely thatched houses along the road……



    Cycling Team out for a bit of training, but sadly in this part of the world there are no hills……







    Then we got to the campsite which is called Camping De Peelport……



    While it was surprising to find that we were the only outfit on the site, as we went to have a look at two other campsites nearby who were charging the same prices and found they had a number of outfits on them!……





    While the site was not cheap, when we were told by a Dutch friend whom we met today, that it might be due to the negative comments posted about no toilet paper for your use, and no soap to wash your hands as it is not supplied in the WC’s when using the facilities.

    There was also the question about the Tourist Tax as an ‘extra’ on top of the campsite cost (€1.35/Person/Night), while Internet Access was by a 24 hour voucher. The point being made quite fiercely by the owner that it was “1 voucher for each device you want to connect”! That would have cost us an additional €18 for our time here……

    So as I can achieve a lot more with €18 than feeding into a Campsite ‘Profit Box’ thank you! 3 Nights ‘Oh Naturel’ seemed like a better proposition, using a bit of Mobile Data for quick messages and emails!......



    First Sunset for quite some time!......



    Next stop and our last before we head back to a rather traffic congested UK is Ypres……

  5. #85
    Join Date
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    South Wales UK
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    Overland to Scandinavia and more!
    Spring 2017


    De Peelport to Ypres

    Around 03:30 hrs we were woken by the rain hammering on the roof of the ‘TinTent’ while between that time and 08:30 there was very little let up in the force of the rain, so getting seriously wet when packing up and pulling out was not an option!......



    Even the motorway in Holland was not a nice place to be……



    While a bit further on we came into very slow moving traffic, and pulled out into a service area and waited for over an hour for the road to clear before we set off again!......



    The border point for Belgium as the bad weather continued……



    Nice Rolls Royce, but at least this owner is not afraid of getting it wet!……



    As we get to the Kennedy Tunnel but on the other side this time for going home!……



    Not long after and we get to the traffic island for Ypres……



    So we get onto the campsite, get set up and head off late afternoon into Ypres, for a bite to eat!……



    After having a short stroll around the main square, we head up to the Menin Gate to attend ‘The Last Post Ceremony’ that takes place every night at 20:00hrs, and a number of groups and individuals come to lay wreaths, flowers or crosses with poppies attached in rememberance .
    It is nice to take part in this short ceremony and be able to say a silent ‘Thank you’ to all the military personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice to give us our freedom, because if they hadn’t I doubt if I would be writing this and you would not be reading it!……



    19:40hrs and the road through the Menin Gate is closed to traffic as the attendees fill the area for the ceremony……



    The Buglers who are all volunteers from the Ypres Fire Service start the ceremony off……



    Then after a minutes silence, the eulogy is then spoken, which after the groups and individuals then walk over to the place to lay their wreaths/flowers or crosses……



    The Buglers then complete the ceremony and that ends it, but as we moved off we found another piece of interesting information about the Lions of the Menin Gate……









    Then we made our way back to the campsite to get ready for being able to set off early in the morning as the next stop will be South Wales and home, but that is tomorrow……

  6. #86
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    South Wales UK
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    Overland to Scandinavia and more!
    Spring 2017


    Ypres to South Wales

    Managed to be up and away after making and eating breakfast by 07:15hrs this morning although we did not have any idea at what time the electronic barrier would open and we could pull out, but all was OK!......
    Thankfully going through some of the side roads there was not much traffic around……



    Looks a bit like part of the body of the metal horse that was in the film ‘War Horse’!……



    Hop fields for all the Beer Brewing in Belgium!......



    As we then cross the unmanned Belgium – France Border……



    Then we get onto the French Autoroute and run into the first traffic jam!……



    As we could see our time advantage slipping away, something else in the Tunnel was also not moving which we found out after we checked in!……



    Rolled up to the check in gate to find that our train had a 1 hour delay on the departure time, due we found out a bit later to a French Train that had a ‘problem’ in the Tunnel, and it wasn’t ‘Wet Leaves’! ……



    We finally get on board the train and set off, then 40 minutes later we are driving off to quickly get ‘snarled up’ on the congested motorways in the UK as we travelled with very slow traffic on the M20, M26 and M25, while interestingly the M4 to South Wales and The Second Severn Crossing was running clean (NO Holdups!)……



    As we then came up to the ‘Welcome to Wales’ sign out comes the piece of plastic as you have to pay to enter Wales via this route, but hey we are back home and the sun is shining!



    In Summary, as that is it for this trip:………

    We covered just over 6000 Miles (9650Km)

    The Temperature during the trip went from -35C to +34C, while we were very glad we packed our thermals!

    A ‘new experience’ was collecting around 30+Kg of Snow from a Snow Storm in Sweden while on the way to Norway! The Snow froze and turned into ICE mainly on the front and chassis of the ‘TinTent’ which then took 2 days to be chipped and thawed off where it could not be chipped off!

    That’s it!

    We hoped you have enjoyed the trip in the 3rd Seat.

  7. #87
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    Calgary, Alberta
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    Thank you very much for allowing us to tag along.

  8. #88
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssicarman View Post
    Thank you very much for allowing us to tag along.
    Our pleasure.

  9. #89
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    Jun 2018
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    Thank you very much for allowing us to tag along.

  10. #90
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    Quote Originally Posted by MidwestAM View Post
    Thank you very much for allowing us to tag along.
    Our pleasure.

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