Nobody goes to the Ruhr, mate....

The Mosel, yes. The Loire, yes. The Rhine, yes. The Danube, yes. The Ruhr? Nah, only Lancasters at 20,000 feet, mate.

I’m sure it’s true but this ‘little’ (it’s longer than you think) route from Tourenfahrer-Motorrad magazine might be worth looking at, just the same. It’s in the Sauerland, a popular enough destination for bods wanting to visit the dambuster dams.




Pictures, lifted out of the magazine:











Even I can work out that is the source of the Ruhr river but, here’s a Google translation of the blurb:

Does the Ruhr fit in with its origins
rather reserved at Winterberg
in a contemplative landscape of
Hochsauerland, she will be in her
Course more and more dominant and
ultimately eponymous for one
whole, formerly of heavy industry
embossed region. Because of her mouth
at Duisburg, the Ruhr is finally one
Tributary of the Rhine and takes over
until then on their way especially the
Water supply to a metropolis.
Certainly worth a trip along the
Ruhr the visit of Quelle and Mün-
dung. Is the mouth barely visible,
it takes several for the origin
Signpost for exact localization
or the following GPS data: N51 12.913
E8 33,496.

From the GPS code (correct the magazine’s mistype to:
N51 12.913 E8 33.496) Google maps will show you exactly where it is:



Tapping on the camera gives:












While you were there, you could try out this suggestion:

https://www.tourenfahrer.de/tour-datenbank/tour/staugebiet-707/detail/

Changing the Google road map to the satellite view and then zooming in, it shows it to be much more rural than one might imagine. At over 300 km in length, it might well make a good day out.


You can find a whole load more ideas, here:

https://www.tourenfahrer.de/tour-da...]=Tour&cHash=5573946a4ba6567e99baec068493d79f







Zoom in / tap around, you can’t break it.

It’s odd where a little route like this and Google can take you.

I picked at random the town of Neheim from the map, Googling ‘Neheim WW2’. Up popped:

https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/37291/War-Cemetery-Neheim.htm

One of the hardest hit places near the Möhnesee is Neheim, today a part of Arnsberg. The cemetery contains many graves of victims who perished when Neheim was struck by a 12 meter high tsunami. An information board which is placed on the central path of the cemetery commemorates the breach of the Möhnedam and thereby killed victims.

Click to expand...

Go to see the dam and then go to see where a wave of 12 meters of water went.




Whilst you ponder on that, you can also see the so called, ‘Stumbling stones’ that can be found in towns and cities in Germany. A clever and somewhat moving way to commemorate individuals (which is the important thing) who were taken to be murdered. At some point in their lives they stood on that very spot, as they lived there.



https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/102099/Stumbling-Stones-Hauptstra�e-20.htm

I really liked the area when we did a tour of the dams a few years ago. Lovely scenery, don't recall seeing too much traffic away from the autobahns and around the dams themselves. The only minor downside was that we went in early May. Those rivers and lakes need to be kept topped with something, and that something is rain!

We also stumbled on a place that is twinned with Letchworth Garden City. Worth two days riding in torrential rain just for that!

When we went it pee’d down while we rode to the dams. Then the sun came out.

Twinning always makes me laugh or at least wonder who chooses the twins? I came across somewhere in Germany that was twinned with Bedford.

A quick Google tells me there is a Letchworth Town Twinning Association. Their website says:-

"Letchworth Garden City is twinned with Chagny in the Burgundy region of France and with Wissen, east of Cologne, in Germany. Each year a group from Letchworth visits either Chagny or Wissen and receives a visit back from Chagny or Wissen. Local families in all three towns host the visitors. The Chairman is Jon Marshall, phone 01462 673956. Fundraising events are held each year as the programme of visits has to be paid for by the individuals participating and by the Association's own resources. One major event that has taken place annually for many years now is the very popular Burgundy Evening, a splendid evening of fine dining in the French style, courses accompanied by a matching wine - from Burgundy, where possible."

My rural parish is twinned with Aviron in Normandy. Not much seems to have happened since 2012. In all honesty, not much seems to have happened before 2012 either.

One major event that has taken place annually for many years now is the very popular Burgundy Evening, a splendid evening of fine dining in the French style, courses accompanied by a matching wine - from Burgundy

Click to expand...

The reciprocal evening is 12 boxes of KFC and a large bottle of Pepsi Max. Would you like fries with that?

Nice timing Wapping. I can’t get on the Dusseldorf to Innsbruck auto rail so will be revisiting that area en-route to Austria.

Excellent, have a great time.