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A Road Trip to Colditz |
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Friday
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The Castle dominates the small town of Colditz in the eastern Germany. This was to be our destination when we organized a leaving do for Duncan Graham, our Transport WO. He'd been one of the boys and all round 'good egg' during his time with us and we wanted to have a leaving do with a difference. It was a long drive on a Friday with a complete inability to drive past a McDonalds without stopping. One planned stop along the way was a visit of Buchenwald concentration camp where we were shown a film and given guided tour of the camp. Once back on the road and encountering lots of problems with the traffic we saw this view. At this point we had a sneaking suspicion that we had arrived.
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We were greeted at the Youth Hostel by a hot meal and a couple of crates of beer, all of which were very welcome. We settled into our accommodation and then hit the town, which to be honest was quite quiet, but, once the local pubs had closed, there were plenty of beers left over from the journey to get rid of on the patio. |
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Saturday
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The Saturday began with a walk up the hill opposite the castle for a bit of fresh air and a view of the town. Some were more willing than others to climb the stairs to the top viewing platform, but it was all voluntary and well worth it. |
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Here's the happy group at the castle gates with our guide. We were given an excellent guided tour of the castle, taking us through the history of the castle before it was Oflag IVc and the many escape attempts during it's time as the 'Bad Boys' prison. The rest of the day was taken up by having a few beers with the locals. There were local elections on the Sunday, so all day Saturday there was free food in the town, and a concert of local groups in the castle in the evening.
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Duncan looks like he's having fun, joking about something/somebody during a pause in the drinking back at the hostel. The Youth Hostel looked after us very well, despite the noise and the many childish games. I don't really know what else they expected but they took it all in good spirit and no damage was done.
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Steve Cowe & Taff Philips testing the beer during the Saturday afternoon. There have been comments that all the photos from this trip seem to show the same things, just different locations. And what's wrong with that? |
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Spending a quiet Saturday afternoon supporting one of the local hostelries.... |
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...and a wild Saturday night at the concert in the castle. |
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Sunday
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It took most of the Sunday to drive back to Herford in glorious summer sunshine, and even if one or two of us did have a hangover, everyone had lots of good memories to aid them through the journey. Everyone enjoyed the trip and it was a real change from the norm. And for all those who decided not to go? You missed a great road trip and a leaving party not to be forgotten. |
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