We had a nice sleep in today as breakfast had been arranged for 9am. Unfortunately, Jill’s bronchitis is not getting any better and she did not have a particularly good night. We might have to track down a doctor’s appointment for her – being Sunday, with a public holiday tomorrow is not a good start. Eckhard and Kira had risen early and had headed off as they were involved in the organisation of an old car meet called Oltimertreff Zollverein where we were going to join them later.
We had a lovely breakfast of fresh buns, cold meats, cheese, eggs, coffee, etc etc. After a homeopathic Jill was feeling a bit better and was particularly excited about breakfast as Eva had tracked down gluten-free buns, sheep and goat cheese and soya milk for her.
After breakfast, we headed off to the Oltimertreff Zollverein. Oltimertreff Zollverein is a meet for vehicles over 30 years old and is held on the first Sunday of the month from April to October. Eckhard and a couple of friends started the meet and it has now been operating for some years. There were over 500 cars there today and some beautiful old machinery ranging from a 3 wheeled BMW Isetta up to a Mercedes limousine. While mostly German cars (obviously), there was also a sizeable collection of British cars including, Triumphs, MGs, Austin Healeys and a beautifully prepared Jaguar E Type (and a few French and Italian cars as well). It was interesting to see the 1960 -70s Opels and realise the influence that General Motors Europe had on the design of the Holden Toranas of the time.
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| From the cute (BMW Isetta) |
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| To the beautiful (Mercedes SL190) |
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| Holden Toranas by another name... |
The meet was held at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, a former industrial site now turned into open space and a museum site which has, since 2001, been inscribed into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The first coal mine here was founded in 1847 and mining continued until 1993. Shaft 12, built in Bauhaus style, was opened in 1932 and is considered an architectural and technical masterpiece, earning it the reputation as the ‘most beautiful coal mine in the world’. We climbed to the top of one of the buildings at Shaft 12 where there is a panorama over the city of Essen. One would be able to see ‘forever’ if it weren’t for the haze. The building we were in had a museum in its upper floors. Another building we walked through had lots of artist’s galleries. There is also a lot of reforestation happening on the grounds. It’s great to see these buildings being used rather than being left idle and an eyesore in the community.
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| From the Zolleverein site |
On our way back we passed an airstrip where there was a Zepplin just taking off. Apparently, it takes something like 10 people at a time for joyrides over the city.
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| One way to see Essen |
Back to the Lupp home for a restful afternoon.
Dinner was raclette (a bit like a fondou except instead of cooking in oil you cook on a grill). It was delicious and it was finished off with a desert raclette of fruit and chocolate - scrumptious.
