may, 13 2008

We made it to the local papers and TV!!
To watch the arrival of the Naughty Lamp Lighters in Ven-Zelderheide and Stanley's interview for the local Dutch TV you can go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy1YObYFtcw.

End statistics on GPS

Odometer: 13118.67 km

Moving average: 56.9 km/h

Max speed: 117 km/h (Downhill and wind in the back!!!)

Saturday 3 May (day 64)

Up early for our last day of driving!!  It is hard to imagine that our little adventure is almost over.  We are driving to Ven Zelderheide where Johan and Stans Luchters live and the specified end of our journey.  Niels gives the family a call in the morning and Stans says that she has contacted the local news station and they will be waiting for us!  The drive through Germany is beautiful.  It takes us hours and there is an endless stream of Mercedes, Audis, BMWs and Porches whizzing past us in the fast lane as we motor along.  We drive into V.Z. at 4pm and as we turn into view of the house we see a lot of the family waving and cheering with flags and signs and the TV camera filming!  What a great reception!  We are out of the car for hugs and kisses and Stanley gives an interview for the local television station (broadcasted this coming Sunday 11 May 2008).  The media was mainly interested in the fundraising for the Gender Based Violence and Recovery Clinic. The trip managed to collect nearly 1500 Euro from various generous donors. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Without any doubt, your entire contribution will reach those people who need it most. The charity will remain active so don't hesitate to continue to donate. 

Nearly 14.000 km of tarmac, rocks and sand were crossed by our old red lady with its heavy cargo in a record 64 days. Given the 56.9 km/h average speed, this translates to over 246 hours of driving. We greatly enjoyed the continuous flow of messages in the guestbook and we hope that our brief journal gave you the same pleasures. It was a fantastic journey and a beautiful way to leave our time in Africa.  An "once-in-a-lifetime experience", though we are already silently thinking about the next trip so watch this space….. 

End of part one…

Friday 2 May (day 63)

Hang over Friday.  It is a slow, slow start.  Luckily we have a rest day and not much planned.  Just after breakfast, with the awesome coffee machine, the ones that were awake, that is Julia, Niels and Alex, went to the Karl May house. Sometime around 11 we make our way into Dresden center for a look around.  Much of old Dresden was destroyed at the end of WWII (basically just out of revenge or something, there where no military objects).  Over the past 60 years the city has been working to rebuild this beautiful old section having just recently finished the Dresden Cathedral, the Frauenkirchen.  Old bricks are incorporated where possible and you can see the contrast of the old black bricks against the white new ones.  Similar inside with the statues.  The inside of the Church is stunning with lots of gold and a huge dome painted in pastel colors.  In the evening we take it easy (with only 1 bottle of wine and lots of water) with another good meal before an early bed time.

Thursday 1 May (day 62)

We are up early for another long day of driving.  This time we are trying to make it to Dresden, Germany to see our friends Alex, Katja, Antonia and Gregor.  We drive through Slovakia and Czech Republic with brief stops at the borders to pay for road tax stickers (16.50 Euro for both countries which can be purchased from point of entry into Slovakia).  The last 50km we go off the highway for a scenic drive through a beautiful valley and along a river before getting back on the Autobhan in Germany.  There are so many signs it is a little distracting (especially for Julia) – yield, slow down when wet, speed limits, etc.  The speed limits we can ignore after a while because it is usually 100km/hr, 120, 130 and then unlimited.  Since we can basically go 100 at top speed (unless we are going down hill) there is no need to monitor the speedometer.  We arrive in Dresden in the late afternoon and Alex and Katja set about the business of taking care of us.  Cold beers to start and then light up the BBQ.  It is a dual holiday in Germany – May Day and Männerstag (Men's Day)!  Stanley and Niels can't believe their luck – what better day to arrive somewhere then Men's Day.  So Katja and Antonia had prepared the extensive meal with fresh bread, garlic humus, salads, and Katja grilled the pork, chicken and duck while the guys sat back and sipped wine.  This really was the best meal we have had in a long time.  The wine flowed late into the evening (and then early into the morning for some….). The result was that 9 people finished 5 bottles of wine, or was it the other way around?

NLL-team arrivel

The NLL-team will arrive 3 mei 2008 between 16.00 and 18.00 hours in Venzelderheide.

Aankomsttijd NLL-team in Venzelderheide 3 mei 2008 tussen 16.00 uur en 18.00 uur.