At Easter in the Harz

Welcome here as a virtual co-driver of my Paula2.0, my sleeping beauty!

Maiden voyage.

On Maundy Thursday, I went to visit my mother in Hessische Bruchköbel and then my brother in Bad Vilbel - the city of springs - and make the first stop on the marketplace. My thoughts wander back 40 years, when there was still a reasonably large "Vilbeler Markt" here in my hometown. With carousels, stalls with delicious chocolate popcorn and kidney skewers! Today a sober parking lot for the source companies' trucks and for undemanding camper van drivers. No service. No costs. Some are probably also practicing for their driver's license here. Not everything gets better, more beautiful...

The deflowering of my motorhome mattress marks the end of my day.

Let's see if everything works?

The next morning the disillusionment: the water from the shower was just as wet as at home😈🙈...

After breakfast and realizing in front of the mirror that I was undoubtedly the most beautiful, attractive and intelligent guy within a radius of 10 meters (because the only one🙈), we went to meet Carmen and her parents towards Braunlage/Harz - the stopover on the way to Heide Park/Soltau😇

Wow! The journey took a long time.

I made a stopover in Friedland (photos) during the rather gloomy weather and climbed the short but very steep (🙈) paved path to the "Heimkehrermahnmal" (monument for returning soldiers). Nothing in ice or snow😈! A very well-kept, spacious plateau welcomed me - a great place to commemorate the victims of war...

Braunlage was already a special place in the Harz! Not only winter sports enthusiasts have their Mecca here. A vibrant, tourist-oriented place. Not far from the Brocken - the highest elevation in northern Germany and the Harz Mountains. The huge (!) deforestation - presumably due to bark beetle infestation - is a dark picture😩!

After the reunion and half a liter of coffee, it's off to Soltau! Overnight stop at the Quick Camp in Imbrock near Soltau.

Tomorrow we're going to Heide Park - more about that here in the blog in my theme park special😅!