NORTH GERMANY May 2008- Seriously now: maps, itinerary, prices

[Hertz van Rental]

I'm driving. Just deciding which ferry route to take.
And I might swing by Wuppertahl for old times sake.

 

[Tangerini]

I'm driving. Just deciding which ferry route to take.
And I might swing by Wuppertahl for old times sake.

Feel like taking on three passengers? :mrgreen:

 

[Alex_B]

I'm driving. Just deciding which ferry route to take.
And I might swing by Wuppertahl for old times sake.

Wuppertal?

What would make someone visit Wuppertal?

Unfortunately they stopped the Harwich - Hoeck v.Holland fast ferry link these days only slow ferries operate on that route.

 

[Jeff Canes]

i'm flying in to Hamburg on May 23

 

[LaFoto]

Wow, Jeff. Cool!
And hey, Alex --- Hertz was born in Wuppertal (!!!). Not that he would remember any of his times there, but...... :idea:

And I was thinking of this (still very rough) itinerary for the week:

Sat, 24 May: Day of Arrival, only arrival for most and settling in, dinner in the "Bistro" here in Lauenbrück (about 5 min on foot from "Ole Hoop", where the first 18 of you will stay)

Sun, 25 May: Maybe, if I can get that cleared with our choirmaster, my choir will sing in the Sunday Service and you could thus hear me sing, if that is so, some might like to come and listen (?), other than that I am thinking of spending the day in the swimming pool for everyone to acclimatise and overcome their jet lag, and we can get lunch and dinner (maybe?) from the "Aloha", i.e. the restaurant within the premises of the pool (http://www.ronolulu.de/ ).

Monday, 26 May Hamburg
(transport there and back by train!)
Guided tour round the port on a boat just for us with catering on board (still to be decided what that should comprise) (1 - 2 hours), walking to the sites (Town Hall etc) and after that there are sooooooooooo many DIFFERENT things for you to do, I still cannot tell what we WILL do (or you will do) --- one thing of interest is the Miniature Wonderland (http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/ ), but Digital Diva is super interested in following The Beatles on their paths through Hamburg, there are options to get guided round there (http://www.stattreisen-hamburg.de/deutsch/stadtrundgaenge/beatles/index.html - only in German, I'm afraid...) , too, and and and. The day might be packed, there is just soooooooooooo much there to see (and take photos of!!! ) in Hamburg.

Tuesday, 27 May Lüneburg and the Heath
Transportation is still an unsolved problem, we would need to travel there by car. Depending on how many we will be and how many cars there will be around, I would need to ask if some of my friends would lend us their car and time (?).
But the town is worth a visit! (http://www.lueneburg.de/index.htm?baum_id=3221&langu=en )
For the afternoon, I would like to take you on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the Heath (but once more transportation to where the tours start - and they don't start out of Lüneburg, not one of them does), and I would want to book a tour that includes some sort of catering. Still working on that.

Wednesday, 28 May Bremen
Transport there and back by train
Mostly walking through the old centre of town
Guided tour through Old Town Hall
Lunch in the vaults underneath the Old Town Hall
Ample chance for shopping (you can see that I have not made any definite plans on the Bremen-day)

Thursday, 29 May
Canoe trip down the River Wümme starting right in Lauenbrück to Scheeßel (about 4 hours), lunch in Scheeßel (shopping for the salads for the barbecue!)
Preparation of salads and the barbecue

Big barbecue in Corinna's garden !
If for some reason you cannot be here for any of the previous excursions, make sure you are here for the barbecue!

Friday, 30 May
free ... no plans made for that day as yet

Saturday, 31 May
Departure day

Sounds ok?

 

[Chris of Arabia]

If I remember rightly, I ticked the "Yes, I am working towards going and hope to get there" box. That still stands. I'm still a way off sorting out the practicalities though. I'll have to give this a bit more thought and see how we arrange next years' travel plans.

 

[LaFoto]

Oh yes, Chris, please do! Think very much in favour of including this meet-up into your plans, will you? I mean, the dates have been known for a year now. I gave everyone ample time and chance to plan accordingly, and to save up for it or win the lottery. Mostly so WIN THE LOTTERY!

 

[Alex_B]

And hey, Alex --- Hertz was born in Wuppertal (!!!). Not that he would remember any of his times there, but...... :idea:

he will remember more than I do .. since I never was there Often drove past though!

Sun, 25 May: Maybe, if I can get that cleared with our choirmaster, my choir will sing in the Sunday Service and you could thus hear me sing, if that is so, some might like to come and listen (?),

Hmm, would that be a protestant church? You know I am from a region where we still burn witches and believe Luther came straight from hell

... just kidding. Well, anyway, I never took images in Hamburg, strange enough. So that would be even new for me.

I know the Heath quite well ... but had to work so no time for photography either

Sounds ok?

Sounds like you not plan on wasting many days then And sounds like a lot of preparatory work! :hail:

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Feel like taking on three passengers? :mrgreen:

Could do. Share the petrol.
I might see about renting a whale and getting the Dover/Calais ferry.
Shorter sea crossing/ longer drive but driving in France is fun. And then there are the autobahn's... vroom! vroom!

Why anyone without a death wish would want to be a passenger in my car is beyond me...

 

[LaFoto]

Now this list of people wanting to spend the nights of that week in http://www.ole-hoop.de/ ... is it still valid???

Tangerini - 3 beds
Corry - 3 beds
Hertz - 1 bed
Antarctican - 1 bed
Digital Diva - 2 beds
Jeff Canes - 1 bed

And Hertz --- no downpayment necessary for accomodation. I was there on Saturday and the entire house is booked for us for that one week, and you can fill it to capacity, if you like, though some beds are double beds (might be good for Bace, he looks for opportunities to find himself mates for procreation!!!), and some are sleeping sofas, and there is one room with bunk beds, and she is willing to set up additional beds, too, but then it will become quite a bit ... erm ... "cosy", you must not "need your space" then!! But anything goes, and the place really is all as pretty as is shown in the photos of their homepage. Check it out.

And let me know ... especially those who might want to come all the way from the Americas (Jeff is certain, his flight is booked, Jeanne is certain?, Tangerini is certainly combining a trip to the UK with the meet-up?) ... how far have your plannings advanced!

In order to organise the things I want to offer you, I need to know numbers soonish............!

 

[photojazz]

LaFoto, I am sending you an email reply to the one I received today.

 

[LaFoto]

Do I have to change the list to ...
Tangerini - 3 beds
Corry - 3 beds
Hertz - 1 bed
Antarctican - 1 bed
DigitalDiva - 2 beds
Jeff Canes - 1 bed
photojazz - 1 bed ?

 

[LaFoto]

Update:

Tangerini - 3 beds
Corry - 3 beds
Hertz - 1 bed
Antarctican - 1 bed
DigitalDiva - 2 beds
Jeff Canes - 1 bed
Daan (doenoe) - 1 bed
photojazz - 1 bed (still with question mark) = 13

(18 would mean the place is PACKED ... well, not really, the rooms are spacey, but ALL the beds would be filled and several people would need to SHARE not only a room but maybe even a double bed! Check their website to find the floor plans and photos).

As soon as "Ole Hoop" is full, I will have to talk to the other person who lets holiday homes nearby... these (Dot No. 4 in Map 4 ... if you scroll up). Though Britta Bollenhagen of "Ole Hoop" also knows of two other persons in my village who rent out holiday homes.

Keep in mind that they are all strictly SELF-CATERING places. They cannot be compared to a hotel or even a B&B. You'll have to make your own breakfast! Did you realise that?

 

[Alex_B]

I estimate a 90% chance for myself to be at the meeting.

cannot remember if I am planned for any bed yet

 

[LaFoto]

No. You aren't. Not yet. You are too undecided! :greenpbl: But - as soon as I know you are going to be here for all the week, have in mind you might need to bring people up with you from Düsseldorf Airport (maybe). Your Audi might be QUITE welcome!

And here is some price information on "Ole Hoop" (which SO FAR is the only accomodation we are talking about), and I hope you can follow me...

Here we go then (you can check this all here - though not all of you might be able to follow the text in detail, but look at the photos!)

The price for Apartment 1 (for 2 - 4 [max] persons) is € 32.- per day for 2 persons and € 6.- per day for every additional person. And a payment of € 26.- (to be paid ONCE) for towels, bed linen and cleaning afterwards. Which adds up to a maximum of € 11.-/day/person (given you equally share staying costs = € 77.-) plus the € 26.- divided by four.

The price for Apartment 2 (for 4 - [max] 6 persons) is € 36.- per day for 2 persons and € 6.- per day for every additional person, plus the downpayment of € 26.- for towels, bed linen and cleaning. If that apartment gets filled with 6, the price is € 10,-/day/person (if costs are equally shared by 6 = € 70.-) and the sixth of the € 26.-.

The price for Apartment 3 (for 6 - [max] 8 persons) is € 39.- per day for 2 persons and € 6.- per day for every additional person, which adds up to € 75.-, divided by 8 is some € 8,20/person/night, is approximately € 58.- for the week (plus one eighth of the € 26.- for towels, bed linen and cleaning). Apartment 3 stretches from ground floor to right under the roof (three storeys), and those in Apartment 3 also have direct access to the big community room, so Apartment 3 will probably be the busiest.

You see: the more people come, the cheaper it gets for each of you to stay there!