Day 5.
This is what the trip was really about, the Anniversary in Torgau:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57650613912254
Even more pics here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57652658517118
Day 5.
This is what the trip was really about, the Anniversary in Torgau:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57650613912254
Even more pics here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57652658517118
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hi ade ,im glad your friends came through in the end so pass on a thanks to them for the great pictures it looks like you earned your keep for sure ,the trabant looks superb and i didnt realise it came in an estate version ,great stuff
Day 6, Sunday.
Back to Torgau. We went to the Rowing Boat club in the morning, where a plaque was unveiled. This is where US troops took rowing boats in order to cross the Elbe to the Russian side. Our German hosts can around with Champagne, then Vodka. Lez and I decided to buy a beer, for which payment was refused. Our hosts then brought out free beer for all the English guests. Two crates of beer later....
We then drove to Dresden and the Bundeswehr Museum and some sightseeing.
At the theme restaurant, we went there last time we stayed with Bee, we had beer by the litre It is a bit touristy but a fun place and the food is great:
Sophienkeller im Taschenbergpalais | Die schönsten Gewölberestaurants Dresdens
Here are more of Sigita's brilliant pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57652658517118
Luckily, I was not the driver that day. In the car park there was a breathalyser (!) so for the sake of one Euro I discovered just how much I was over the limit...
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Day 7.
We leave Penig and head west. Looking to make a stop half way to our destination of Wewelsburg, we noticed that the KL Mittlebau - Dora at Nordhausen is a fine place to visit. Sadly, museums in Germany close on Mondays, but the site and visitor centre were still open, with just the tunnels where the V2 rockets were assembled being closed.
We had a good look around the site and then head off into town for lunch. Refreshed we continue to drive on to "Himmler's Castle". Once again this is a Youth Hostel and we had booked ourselves in for the night while at Colditz. This is somewhere I had always wanted to see.
We announced our arrival and the our German host exclaimed "Ah, so you are the party from Colditz!". I said to him "Can you see a pattern forming here?"
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great post Ade.
Great thread Ade, thanks for posting. As the tunnels were closed during your stop at KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau-Dora, I have taken the liberty of adding a few images of the internal sectors that can be visited, just to augment the thread.
The tunnel tour is only available through appointment, visitors will always find the gates and doors are locked if they just arrive. Inside, visitors get to see sectors '44' and '45', which were used for welding and machining parts for the V1 weapon. The atmosphere is breathtaking.
1) Former entrance area to tunnel 'A'
2) Original entrance to tunnel 'B'
3) View through the modern access passage (tunnel 'B')
4-6) Various exhibits within tunnel 'B'
7) Tunnel 'B' - Latrines
8) Tunnel 'B' - inside sector '44', "V1 machining" - note the high water level
9-11) Tunnel 'B' - inside sector '45', "V1 welding"
Regards,
Carl
Evening Day 7 and Day 8: Wewelsburg and Home.
One of the highlights of the trip for me. After booking in and on the advice of our jovial host, we quickly ran down to the local supermarket to get some food and drink. (Drinks being much cheaper than the UK, so we stocked up for home) As the Museum is closed on Mondays, everywhere else in the village shuts too, so there was no where to eat or drink. So we had a small party in our bedrooms. The castle was all open to explore, bar the lower floor which houses the museum. The site of the Castle is deceptive. It is on high ground but within the village itself and only has a very steep wooded bank on one side with water at the bottom. I guess this is where all the Honour Rings are!
Again, a great value place to stay. I can really recommend the Youth Hostel system. People of all ages stay there. All the kids were a credit to their teachers etc. You just have to make up your bed and leave the room clean and tidy. Breakfasts (Continental) are good, self service. Again just clean the table. Just like being in the Army really.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57650898624043
The museum is outstanding as you will see from the few snaps I had time to take. The Germans have really grasped the nettle with this one. For many years the local people had preferred to forgot the Castle and the Concentration Camp associated with it. But now history is being preserved. Entry to the Museum is free.
Wewelsburg -*Startseite
Sadly, we only had a short time in there due to it not opening until 10am As we needed to leave by just after 11am in order to make it back to Dunkirk for our ferry at 6pm. It was more like 11.30am by the time we left....... We made the ferry with about 20 mins to spare.
Sigita's final photos of our trip:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sigita...57650978627163
This concludes my thread.
We clocked up over 1,800 miles. A fantastic time. By taking the ferry, sharing the driving and petrol costs and taking only two cars and not using hotels, plus working our ticket with our friend Bee, we did the trip on a very tight budget of under £500 for me and Lez.
We returned home very tired but happy and already looking forwards to our next trip. In just over one weeks time Lez, Sigita and I would be off to MOSCOW for Victory Day! I will do a thread about that next. But I will let my Internet connection and our forum server cool down a bit, so keep an eye out for this thread in the coming days.
Hope you have enjoyed the pics?
Cheers, Ade.
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For those who may not notice such a feature, the Konzentrationslager inmate uniforms shown in the attachments above are extremely unusual. Present on several examples on display at Wewelsburg - which, I might add, is arguably one of the best museum presentations of any kind I have ever seen, are the purple inverted triangle insignia (aka Winkel) which were used to designate either a Bibelforscher (Jehovah's Witness) or member of the clergy. The camp at Niederhagen-Wewelsburg was a site were many such Jehovah's Witnesses were held.
Awesome thread and great photos!.....
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