RALLY NIEDERLAUSITZ bis REGION DRESDEN
17th May – 4th June 2011

We travelled from Dunkirk across Belgium and Germany for the start of our rally with our German leaders Dietlinde and Johannes Schütze ably assisted by Resi and Sigurd Hoting to be held in the eastern region of Germany. Accompanied by David and Pauline Hirst we were the only two English couples to join our German and Dutch ICA members on this sightseeing tour.

We were made very welcome by everyone and were presented with a tour book in English which had been specially prepared for us. We met everyone for a group tea party, where were given a folder with explanatory literature of all the places we were going to visit during the rally and the ladies were presented with a specimen rose. Instead of a plaque we given a picture coaster - ours displaying a couple we recognised immediately as Brian and Celia Jones which had been taken at an earlier ICA Rally. In the evening we enjoyed a Welcome Dinner in the camp restaurant.

Next morning we were taken into the Spreewald area to visit the Slav Castle Raddush a prehistoric settlement where many artefacts were displayed as a self guided tour. Then to “Leipe” a village situated on an old waterway for lunch which was followed by a trip on a flat bottomed boat. We four English members were joined at our lunch table by Ingrid and Sascha Wäse who live in East Berlin. After some hesitation Ingrid started to speak to us in very good English which she had learnt more than 65 years ago at school. Both she Sascha had not spoken English for more than 10 years which was when they visited New Zealand. They surprised themselves at how much they could remember. This set the scene for us throughout the rally as nearly everyone tried their knowledge of “English” to help us enjoy the places we were visiting.

We visited a Power Station and stayed for lunch in the staff canteen and then a site demonstrating open cast mining of “Brown Coal”. We were taken on a tour on the machinery which rose very high into the sky reminiscent of climbing the “Sydney Bridge” on a previous ICA tour. We learnt that this area is very rich in minerals; the next one to be mined is copper. Our caravan site was alongside a lake which was formed when a “Brown Coal” site became exhausted. This reinstatement of disused mining sites is happening right across the region, forming forests and leisure parks for the benefit of the people.

One vast park and castle the “Furst-Puckler-Park” was visited by way of an historic  narrow gauge railway and horse drawn carriage; we were proud to be told that the park was set out in the early 19th Century in the manner of our great English estates.

Another visit was to the village of Hornow noted as being the place where the Russian soldiers fought their first battle on German soil on their way to conquer Berlin in the last days of the 2nd World War. Our visit to the village included an interesting 500 year old church with special coloured picture windows and a museum. After eating lunch served by the village women we were taken to a chocolate factory and shop where we could indulge our love of chocolate.

On the 11th day we moved campsites to one situated close to the city of Dresden. On two days we visited the city; the first day to walk through the area which was devastated by bombing raids in World War 2. These historical buildings, palaces, churches and the Opera House have been restored to their former glory; we attended an organ recital at the cathedral and a tour of the Opera house led by the stage manager. We also visited the transparent factory producing VWs and the 100 year old Hygiene Museum.

The highlight of our rally was a trip on a steam paddle boat on the River Elba to visit Bad Scandau in the area known as Saxony Switzerland. The views on either side of the river were spectacular; houses with gardens down to the edge of the water and rock formations rising high into the sky. We observed walkers and cyclists on both river banks enjoying the stunning scenery

We were served lunches, dinners, cakes and coffee at regular intervals throughout the rally. Often to our delight we could sample local delicacies like a “Cheese Soup” prepared by Wolfgang Magnussen and homemade waffles cooked by our two lady leaders. Our happy hours were also special we enjoyed home smoked cheese, baguettes and wine at just one of them.

One of our last visits was to the Steyer Art Flower manufactures in the next village where we learnt that they produce silk flowers to grace the hats of our own queen and the rest of the royal ladies.

Sometimes we travelled by coach and sometimes by “Car Pools” which was an opportunity of getting to know some of our ICA members from other countries.

The rally gave us the chance of discovering the history and culture of the region as well as the industry in the past, present and in the future.

The rally ended with a final dinner in the campsite restaurant and an opportunity to bid farewell to new and old ICA friends.
We look forward to joining our very able leaders again in the future at another rally perhaps in this beautiful and interesting region of Germany.