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Post by greensquirrel on Aug 1, 2006 8:36:28 GMT
Paper itineraries went out yesterday by snail mail.
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Post by Dieter Koennecke on Aug 21, 2006 21:06:47 GMT
OK, this was the great Kempenrit .... so far Over to the next one with a few cars going on to Marburg/Dresden and Berlin. Had a call with Ted at 6pm. They arrived at Marburg save. Tomorrow I'll go and meet them near my home town and we will have a small convoy to Dresden then. Speak to you on Thursday again.
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Post by greensquirrel on Aug 21, 2006 21:44:11 GMT
Look forward to seeing you again Dieter!
We are just back from a true 'Treffen' style evening in this ancient old town of Marburg.
Yep the Kempenrit was great just marred by the accident that Art & Christine had - fortunately they are OK even if the car isn't.
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Post by Patrick on Aug 31, 2006 14:39:43 GMT
Well finally returned home late on Tuesday night and spent yesterday indulging in the vulgar activity of work. Now I have time to post some snippets of the Grand Tour!
I tried to post this on the MG BBS but it seems to be experiencing problems so here goes...
I am shocked that some do not know of Augustus the Strong – so much for Comprehensive education eh! He was Elector of Saxony (Head Man!) between 1694 and 1733. He was also King of Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine. He was known as “strong” because he could break horseshoes with his bare hands or because he fathered 365 children of which only one was legitimate! While he was pretty crap at the martial arts expected of a King, he was a real art and science buff. His fascination with Chinese and Japanese porcelain led to both a very fine collection and the setting up of the Meissen porcelain factory. He collected around him the finest of painters and architects and is largely responsible for the baroque splendour of Dresden and indeed transforming this city into the most beautiful and culturally significant in German. He was also a noted for his love of parties and there extravagance.
Overall surely a good chap and worthy of our respect!
Now back to the Treffen. After Dresden we moved onto Berlin and the bi-annual meeting of the MG Club Berlin. This was an excellent 4 day bash worthy of Augustus himself. The range of MGs was extraordinary ranging from 70 years old to quite modern with people travelling from Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, America, Canada, Britain and even a few Germans!
The hotel was very close to the centre of Berlin with a fine multi story car park. After nearly a week of driving through Europe, the car was looking a tad grubby and was looking particularly scruffy when compared to the other MGs in the car park. The car park housed a car valetting business and for a mere 50 euros they promised to clean the old car up overnight. Lady wife was concerned about leaving the car and keys with an establishment we knew nothing about. I explained that the company had three Ferraris and new Bentley and a clutch of Porches so it was unlikely that our 9 year old would be top of a thief’s list of targets. (Cheers also to the nameless MGF owner who said “what you paid 50 euros to have your car cleaned” in front of Lady Wife – friends eh!)
The event started on the Thursday evening with a wonderful 2 hour cruise around Berlin while being warmed by the late summer sun and cooled by plenty of the local beer. A great way to wind down at the start of the bash.
The cruise was followed with a jolly evening meal in a Greek restaurant within walking distance of our central Berlin hotel to ensure we could enjoy even more German beer!
The following morning had us driving to the old Avus motor racing circuit to collect and line up for photo opportunities and convivial chat about cars. While I have to admit we got lost on the way but there were sufficient MGs around to always find one to follow and ensure we arrived safely.
Once we were safely collected at Avus, a large squad of Police Motorcycles arrived to give us an escorted trip around the tourist sites of the City. Now I think the desire to form convoys, which seems an integral part of MG ownership for some people, is just too ovine for my taste. However if the convoy is managed by a Police escort then I start to see the point. Our Police escort took us through the tourist sites of the City like royalty. We never had to stop for red lights and were order not to late any drivers join us from side roads. As our stately collection of MGs made their dignified progress through Berlin we had small crowds at the side of the road waving and taking photos. Marvellous experience and made for 50 euro clean-up was money well spent!
The escorted tour ended in a large square between two magnificent churches and a theatre. We then went off to the Meilenwerk for a late lunch. This place is in an old tram shed and contains a number of garages specialising in the maintenance and restoration of exotic cars. It also supplied secure storage for exotica as well as a museum of interesting cars. Finally it also has a restaurant and bar. A great place to spend and afternoon. Before returning to the hotel for the evening entertainment, we went to visit Checkpoint Charlie. A bit Disneyland but with a very good museum nearby on the Wall and how people escaped.
The Saturday was dedicate to a brilliantly run rally around the countryside outside Berlin that allowed us to drive through largely empty roads in beautiful scenery with a break for lunch at a disused Russian airbase. Lots of silly games to add to your rally score together with a bar and restaurant. While the beer was excellent, the food suggested that the Russian Air Force cook had stayed on when the wall came down!
The evening was held in an old water pumping station that had been changed into a trendy bar. A wonderful atmosphere and fabulous food! Much prize giving followed with a team driving a very shiny red F getting a prize for coming 19th in the Rally! We also had a slice of birthday cake to celebrate the 70th birthday of the oldest MG on the event. This had been driven from the Midlands and was going onto the South of France before returning home!
Sunday started mercifully late with a fine brunch. With so much focus on cars in the rest of the weekend, the afternoon provided something to interest the ladies with a visit and tour around the Rolls Royce aero engine factory on the outskirts of Berlin. They manufacture the V2500 engine together with the Tay and some derivatives. The tour was hugely informative. Unfortunately this did not have time to discuss how you might fit one of these fine engines to an F. Such a conversion would surely end all these silly threads about how to get your F to make the most noise! Might also improve the performance if not MPG……
At the end of the factory tour we were admiring the engine bay of an A. someone commented on how brilliantly shiny all the brass looked. The owner explained that he had had all the brass items gold plated so that he would not need to shine them! I pointed out to lady wife that such extravagance makes 50 euros for a wash seem positively frugal – not sure she agreed so perhaps I should investigate getting parts of the F gold plated (for durability, you understand……)
The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the summer sun in a local beer garden located in a Schloss (castle). In the evening we went back into the heart of Berlin and had a light dinner in a very elegant 1920 Café seated outside watching the locals enjoying the end of the weekend. (some of them were damned pretty!)
The following day (Monday) we had to head back to Blighty although for those more hardy and with more time on their hands there was a further rally through the woods and rivers around the city.
In short therefore, a huge vote of thanks to the MG Club Berlin for organising such a major event and allowing all us foreigners to join in. It was a magical weekend both for what we did and saw and also for the range of other happy MG owners it was our privilege to meet.
Also a big vote of thanks or Ted and Karin Newman for bring there years of travel experience to organise such a superb trip around Europe.
The next one is in 2 years time so suggest you all start saving for this extra-ordinary MG event.
Cheers
Patrick
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