Mini Roadtrip 2020 - Staying Local and Going Loco

I'll start with the only Day 0 picture I have:

vlcsnap-2020-08-01-19h59m34s494.jpg


Best Jaaag plate. Ever.
 
Day 2, big bridge is big.

PANO_20200803_115441.vr.jpg


IMG_20200803_123154.jpg


I don't have own pictures of day 2's evening entertainment, so have a satellite image instead:
Zwischenablage01.jpg
 
Day 3 - waiting for @leviathan to explain the Model 3 to @DanRoM at the bakery...

PANO_20200804_100759.vr.jpg


Hydropower museum:

IMG_20200804_124737.jpg


One of the two turbines was still operational, albeit with a slightly more modern generator... also slightly more compact, the old generator occupied a building :lmao:

IMG_20200804_122010.jpg
 
Noone wants to do day 4? I only have two shots from my Winterberg hotel, looking outside and seemingly looking inside the owners' very very large a-brain :dunno:

View attachment 3558346:lmao:

While some might find this boring, I find this absolutely lovely.
 
I'm not sure if or by how much the visit to the Tesla juice factory made the loss easier to bear, but at least it was a distraction.

DSC_5230.jpeg

"steam electronics" (Dampfelektronik) and mechanics behind mirror-like plexiglass

DSC_5233.jpeg

A "double hydraulic ram". Still more interesting than the Dodge Ram.

DSC_5234.jpeg

some aspect of one of their old water turbines in a room that was so poorly lit that I didn't even bother with trying to find a plaque with an explanation

DSC_5237.jpeg

Nice countryside as well!

DSC_5239.jpeg

This bit of the above-mentioned model shows the village with the museum.

DSC_5238.jpeg

And this is a pumped storage plant... I could have sworn I took a photo when we drove or walked by the real thing, but cannot find it anwhere.

DSC_5247.jpeg

some more standing/walking/rolling around looking at things before we departed

IMG_0459.jpeg

We stopped for a very late lunch/very early supper in Zella-Mehlis. That was where I learned about the layout of superchargers. Always leave some space! :lmao:

IMG_0463.jpeg

Final stop: Eisenach, where lots of Opels are made. The town centre was just as boring. Looked nice, though.
 
So then, let's continue with day 4.

We started by having a lovely breakfast at a really good bakery/café just two corners from our hostel. They also sold cakes with a twist - I present the "dream weight scale":
20200805_104856665dc4b151ac4327.jpg


And someone decided to brighten up traffic signs. :)
20200805_1056075f871f6a8aeb18ce.md.jpg


This day was nearly free of stops, as we transitioned from the East to the West (Sauerland), and there's not much of interest in between. We managed to split up the group due to poor navigation, but reunited at the banks of the Eder Reservoir. Well, what should have been the banks of the lake. It was missing quite a bit of water - this nice meadow should have been flooded and it quite clearly hasn't been for some time. After the trip I read on the website of the reservoir that the water level is was about 15 metres below full capacity. :(
20200805_160143_IMG_3394ffd75ed585643b05.md.jpg


At the end of the day, we clearly ended up in Dutch-occupied territory, a.k.a. Winterberg, probably the most known vacation spot in the nearest skiable (used to be, anyway) hills from the Netherlands. Well... at their coast they often have German-language menus, so let's call it a draw. :D
20200805_180447715aa3b131ca84d0.md.jpg


Next day, lunch stop at the Bigge Reservoir, which was in noticeable better shape than the Eder Reservoir. Before we had our group photo shot from the opening post, but I didn't take any pictures there.
20200806_121823_IMG_339528d3ed61bf839217.md.jpg


After lunch, @shad_68 decided to split, as this was reasonably close to home and Ringmeet was also within reach for just one evening's visit. So he
didn't get to climb the tower at the Panarbora, some kind of forest educational centre or something.
20200806_151753_IMG_341367903f16928b54ca.md.jpg


Apart from the tower, they also had a path built through the forest at treetop height:
20200806_144147_IMG_3398c8937d011172cff5.md.jpg


The quietness and closeness to nature was quite the change after driving around for a few days, and I found it really pleasant.
20200806_144537_IMG_3405cbc2ffe56c40ef82.md.jpg


Up on the top of the tower, I could also relax, in stark contrast to getting up (and down), when I really suffered from vertigo.
20200806_150323_IMG_3407ef218b16044343de.md.jpg


Of course, this being essentially a 13-story building on top of a hill, we could see quite far:
20200806_150356_IMG_34089b76f4b81bf29460.md.jpg

20200806_150502_IMG_3410d4b8d1091c58bbf9.md.jpg


And also look at our cars.
20200806_143946_IMG_3397e48f32a4aa2b1ca8.md.jpg


This concludes my recap. After the Panarbora, @Adrian went on to bring @calvinhobbes home, while the rest of us went on directly to Ringmeet, also skipping some of the Eifel roads we had initially planned. But the trip had been long enough and cold drinks from the frailer were waiting. :D

To summarize, it was a really great trip. Rather short at only about 1450 km for me, but in terms of roads much better than my not exactly low expectations. And the company was great! Thanks @Adrian, @calvinhobbes, @leviathan, @narf and @shad_68 (in alphabetical order :D)!
 
I wish I had the time to come with you guys on the roadtrip, looks really, really good.
 
There's always next year :nod: assuming we can find a route with enough fuel stations...

...smiles in 8,5 liters per 100 kms. :)
 
a few more from me:

IMG_0464.jpeg

Breakfast in Eisenach was a lot nicer than the search for dinner the evening before.

IMG_0465.jpeg

The architecture, however, struck me as somewhat dubious.

IMG_0467.jpeg

On the way to Winterberg, we decided to get some go-juice (and visit a gourmet restaurant) right by the A7. Just like everybody else. 3, S, X, S and S, S, X if I'm not mistaken.

IMG_0468.jpeg

I think that whoever did this was going for "German somethingorother", but didn't quite get there. :unsure:

IMG_0473.jpeg

Lunch was eaten at an old train station by the reservoir and afterwards, this was parked in front of the building. :love:

IMG_0482.jpeg

While climbing the tower at Panarbora, I decided to walk ahead and take a photo of the others. @leviathan and @DanRoM are present, @narf seems to have escaped and @Adrian had already had enough of a workout and stayed on the ground.

IMG_0484.jpeg

Quite a few nice views from the top!
 
Top