EU Mid Europe Mid Europe Meetup Spring 2022

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NotGumby

NotGumby

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For those that could not make it, we had a great meet up last weekend. Here is a little recap.

Friday afternoon started out with a trickle of arrivals starting around 14:00 until late at night. We had 19 members with a good collection of rigs show up - Cherokees, Sprinter, RAV4, 4Runners, Prado, Mitsubishi L200, Defenders and even a Peugeot that was a placeholder for a G-Wagon that we hope to see soon. The camping spot could easily accommodate all of the rigs. It was nestled in a small valley along the banks of the Itter, the small stream running through the Odenwald.

We had started the camp fire in the afternoon and slowly the crew gathered around piecemeal as they finished setting up their individual camps. The late arrival of a group of our Dutch travelers rounded out the members on Friday night. A breakdown showed the strength of our members as Dutch convoy remained with the stranded vehicle until the problem was sorted enough to continue.

Soon the BBQ grills were sizzling as beer and cokes were heartily drunk. Fireside chat kept us awake until past midnight.

We awoke Saturday to a dreary and wet morning with a light sprinkle of rain and grey skies. A light breeze didn’t help with the wind chill adding another layer of clothes to most of us. Luckily, that is all we had was some intermittent light sprinkles. When the breeze died down in the afternoon you could immediately feel the difference as the temp seemed to rise a few notches. Coffee was on the stove as Björn returned with Brötchen for everyone. Breakfast burritos were aplenty as well, and the usual spread of eggs and bacon, assorted meats and cheeses, jams and jellies, joghurts and cereal could be found. Some sat down to eat and some just stood as we all recounted the night’s sleep and previous day’s drive.

Around noon we gathered at the campfire, with the heat of the fire taking the edge off the chill, to start our workshops and fire ring discussions. We started the conversations with an open round on breakdowns on the road. We discussed tactics, techniques, spares, repairs and managing stress. We had valuable input from members’ experiences and some examples of what you could or should bring on the road. After breakdowns, we discussed tire repair and tools and actually had a tire available for demonstrating and practicing plugging a tire.

We took a nice break for some chow before moving into the next session on first aid. Thore, our paramedic trained member from Hamburg started the discussion with helpful ideas on what to carry in our first aid kits, approaches to handling a first aid emergency and CPR. We passed some items from the first aid kit around so everyone could get a good look as everyone chipped in with their experiences and ideas. We learned that a banana can fix almost everything (NOT)!

Shortly after finishing the first aid workshop the BBQ grills were prepped and food was being served. after eating the members gathered in small groups to discuss the days events, get to know each other, talk shop and tell stories. The small groups merged with others and members circulated around as the night grew long and the stories grew better. Typical overlander banter could be heard throughout the late night.

Sunday morning arrived with better skies and again a big basket of Brötchen. Pancakes were served up by Claus with help from Ena. As we ate, each at their own pace slowly broke camp. “Goodbyes” were said as members slowly drove out of the valley pointing the noses of their rigs towards home. This weekend some of us saw friends we haven’t seen in years, some of us met new members and we all definitely made new friends.

Hopefully we will see them again soon.
 
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El-Dracho

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That's a pretty great summary, Rick. Thanks for that!

It was a really awesome weekend and I'm glad you all enjoyed it. It was fun to organize it. We had a great time together. A wonderful mix of good conversation around the campfire, education on bushrepair, tire repair and first aid (very important!), good food from the barbeque and more and meeting familiar and new faces.

Looking forward to more meetups like this. Hopefully we will meet again soon.

Bjoern
 
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NotGumby

NotGumby

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El-Dracho said:
That's a pretty great summary, Rick. Thanks for that!

It was a really awesome weekend and I'm glad you all enjoyed it. It was fun to organize it. We had a great time together. A wonderful mix of good conversation around the campfire, education on bushrepair, tire repair and first aid (very important!), good food from the barbeque and more and meeting familiar and new faces.

Looking forward to more meetups like this. Hopefully we will meet again soon.

Bjoern
Click to expand...
Yes, it was a spectacular weekend. A few good takeaways for me. @XC70_OVERLANDER , we ordered the Super Sonic Turbo Kleinschneider and I’ve got some new ideas for the first aid kit. @Taco_runner the simple tip with the 550 cord on the RTT zipper makes all the difference in the world. @El-Dracho the Colby valves are definitely missing in my kit. These are just a few of the “bits and bolts” I picked up.

Hope everyone is “brushing their teeth.” You know what I mean.

Thanks again Björn for organizing the meet.
 
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XC70_OVERLANDER

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NotGumby said:
For those that could not make it, we had a great meet up last weekend. Here is a little recap.

Friday afternoon started out with a trickle of arrivals starting around 14:00 until late at night. We had 19 members with a good collection of rigs show up - Cherokees, Sprinter, RAV4, 4Runners, Prado, Mitsubishi L200, Defenders and even a Peugeot that was a placeholder for a G-Wagon that we hope to see soon. The camping spot could easily accommodate all of the rigs. It was nestled in a small valley along the banks of the Itter, the small stream running through the Odenwald.

We had started the camp fire in the afternoon and slowly the crew gathered around piecemeal as they finished setting up their individual camps. The late arrival of a group of our Dutch travelers rounded out the members on Friday night. A breakdown showed the strength of our members as Dutch convoy remained with the stranded vehicle until the problem was sorted enough to continue.

Soon the BBQ grills were sizzling as beer and cokes were heartily drunk. Fireside chat kept us awake until past midnight.

We awoke Saturday to a dreary and wet morning with a light sprinkle of rain and grey skies. A light breeze didn’t help with the wind chill adding another layer of clothes to most of us. Luckily, that is all we had was some intermittent light sprinkles. When the breeze died down in the afternoon you could immediately feel the difference as the temp seemed to rise a few notches. Coffee was on the stove as Björn returned with Brötchen for everyone. Breakfast burritos were aplenty as well, and the usual spread of eggs and bacon, assorted meats and cheeses, jams and jellies, joghurts and cereal could be found. Some sat down to eat and some just stood as we all recounted the night’s sleep and previous day’s drive.

Around noon we gathered at the campfire, with the heat of the fire taking the edge off the chill, to start our workshops and fire ring discussions. We started the conversations with an open round on breakdowns on the road. We discussed tactics, techniques, spares, repairs and managing stress. We had valuable input from members’ experiences and some examples of what you could or should bring on the road. After breakdowns, we discussed tire repair and tools and actually had a tire available for demonstrating and practicing plugging a tire.

We took a nice break for some chow before moving into the next session on first aid. Thore, our paramedic trained member from Hamburg started the discussion with helpful ideas on what to carry in our first aid kits, approaches to handling a first aid emergency and CPR. We passed some items from the first aid kit around so everyone could get a good look as everyone chipped in with their experiences and ideas. We learned that a banana can fix almost everything (NOT)!

Shortly after finishing the first aid workshop the BBQ grills were prepped and food was being served. after eating the members gathered in small groups to discuss the days events, get to know each other, talk shop and tell stories. The small groups merged with others and members circulated around as the night grew long and the stories grew better. Typical overlander banter could be heard throughout the late night.

Sunday morning arrived with better skies and again a big basket of Brötchen. Pancakes were served up by Claus with help from Ena. As we ate, each at their own pace slowly broke camp. “Goodbyes” were said as members slowly drove out of the valley pointing the noses of their rigs towards home. This weekend some of us saw friends we haven’t seen in years, some of us met new members and we all definitely made new friends.

Hopefully we will see them again soon.
Click to expand...
Cheers for this neat recap. Good memories
 
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XC70_OVERLANDER

XC70_OVERLANDER

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XC70_OVERLANDER said:
NotGumby said:
For those that could not make it, we had a great meet up last weekend. Here is a little recap.

Friday afternoon started out with a trickle of arrivals starting around 14:00 until late at night. We had 19 members with a good collection of rigs show up - Cherokees, Sprinter, RAV4, 4Runners, Prado, Mitsubishi L200, Defenders and even a Peugeot that was a placeholder for a G-Wagon that we hope to see soon. The camping spot could easily accommodate all of the rigs. It was nestled in a small valley along the banks of the Itter, the small stream running through the Odenwald.

We had started the camp fire in the afternoon and slowly the crew gathered around piecemeal as they finished setting up their individual camps. The late arrival of a group of our Dutch travelers rounded out the members on Friday night. A breakdown showed the strength of our members as Dutch convoy remained with the stranded vehicle until the problem was sorted enough to continue.

Soon the BBQ grills were sizzling as beer and cokes were heartily drunk. Fireside chat kept us awake until past midnight.

We awoke Saturday to a dreary and wet morning with a light sprinkle of rain and grey skies. A light breeze didn’t help with the wind chill adding another layer of clothes to most of us. Luckily, that is all we had was some intermittent light sprinkles. When the breeze died down in the afternoon you could immediately feel the difference as the temp seemed to rise a few notches. Coffee was on the stove as Björn returned with Brötchen for everyone. Breakfast burritos were aplenty as well, and the usual spread of eggs and bacon, assorted meats and cheeses, jams and jellies, joghurts and cereal could be found. Some sat down to eat and some just stood as we all recounted the night’s sleep and previous day’s drive.

Around noon we gathered at the campfire, with the heat of the fire taking the edge off the chill, to start our workshops and fire ring discussions. We started the conversations with an open round on breakdowns on the road. We discussed tactics, techniques, spares, repairs and managing stress. We had valuable input from members’ experiences and some examples of what you could or should bring on the road. After breakdowns, we discussed tire repair and tools and actually had a tire available for demonstrating and practicing plugging a tire.

We took a nice break for some chow before moving into the next session on first aid. Thore, our paramedic trained member from Hamburg started the discussion with helpful ideas on what to carry in our first aid kits, approaches to handling a first aid emergency and CPR. We passed some items from the first aid kit around so everyone could get a good look as everyone chipped in with their experiences and ideas. We learned that a banana can fix almost everything (NOT)!

Shortly after finishing the first aid workshop the BBQ grills were prepped and food was being served. after eating the members gathered in small groups to discuss the days events, get to know each other, talk shop and tell stories. The small groups merged with others and members circulated around as the night grew long and the stories grew better. Typical overlander banter could be heard throughout the late night.

Sunday morning arrived with better skies and again a big basket of Brötchen. Pancakes were served up by Claus with help from Ena. As we ate, each at their own pace slowly broke camp. “Goodbyes” were said as members slowly drove out of the valley pointing the noses of their rigs towards home. This weekend some of us saw friends we haven’t seen in years, some of us met new members and we all definitely made new friends.

Hopefully we will see them again soon.
Click to expand...
Cheers for this neat recap. Good memories
Click to expand...
Tomorrow I will add a list with first aid stuff. Am I allowed to put down links as well?
 
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