Today we did the drive to Germany from Denmark. Normally we crossed from Rodby to Puttgarden via the ferry, but this time we took the land route.
On the drive we passed the shipping docks in Hamburg (where our sea freight and air freight had visited on its world tour):
The drive was around 8 hours and we arrived in Oberhausen at around 4pm. It was strange that we had not yet received any communication from the accommodation we had booked, so I messaged them with our arrive time. They responded that we should ring the doorbell for their apartment (in the same apartment block) when we arrived. Kris found a carpark and then we located the apartment and rang the bell. A confused voice answered and when we said we were there to check in, the boy who answered said he would need to call his mum.
While we waited, we could hear a conversation in German that sounded a little panicked. I decided to check the booking app and saw that we had a bit of a problem. Since we'd booked this part of the trip separately to the Danish part we had a disconnect. I had booked this apartment for the following night and we had no accommodation booked for tonight. The boy came back out and we apologized for the mix up. They had someone in the apartment tonight but we were free to check-in after lunch tomorrow.
Cue a panicked search for somewhere available and not stupidly expensive. We eventually found a place in Duisburg, 15min away that looked nice and was reasonably priced. It was new to the booking site so we booked it and then called the owner. Unfortunately she spoke very little English and we spoke less German, but between us we managed to agree to communicate over the booking app message system (which did translations of text).
It was very short notice to give someone of booking into their place (in hindsight maybe we should have just gone to a hotel), but she said she'd be ready in 45min. We drove to Duisburg and stopped at a supermarket to stock up on food and to burn some time. Just as we finished and were loading the car, we got the message that the apartment was ready. It also turned out that apartment was literally across the road from the shop we were at.
We met the host and she showed us around. The apartment was brand new and very spacious and we had a great night's rest.
Our first stop the next day was a strange art installation, Tiger and Turtle - Magic Mountain. Essentially it was a walking roller coaster. It is 21m high and built on top of a hill (making the highest point 45m) overlooking Duisburg. Tiger and Turtle has the honor of being considered the slowest rollercoaster in the world.
It seemed to be a strange placement as it was right in the middle of an industrial area, next to a shipping yard and power plant. Duisburg was originally a major player in the German coal and steel industries and the hill that Tiger and Turtle stands on was originally a mining slag heap.
The rollercoaster can be climbed (although the loop is fenced off) and consists of 200m worth of 249 steps.
It opened in 2011 and is constructed of zinc and steel - both of which were mining in the area. Its design was the winner of a design a landmark competition to make use of the former slag heap that had been returned to the people.
The main body of the construction is bent, pre-fabricated, galvanized steel pipes. It took only 8 weeks to assemble them once they were on site.
The name Tiger and Turtle is meant to contrast the fast paced lifestyle (tiger) with the need to slow down and enjoy life (turtle).
Despite its out-of-the-way, lack of easy parking and difficulty to access (at the top of a hill with a spiral path leading slowly upwards) as well as the rain that was fairly persistent, we found this an interesting way to start the day, and the views were awesome.
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| Turtle and Tiger paintings on the way |
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| Kraftwerk Huckingen - Gas Power Plant |
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| First view as we started up the hill |
When we finished our walk around Tiger and Turtle, we headed into Dortmund so Cameron could see Signal Iduna Stadium (Westphalia Stadium) - home of the Bundesliga team BVB Dortmund. The traffic was insane as there was a big pet show at the hall across the road, so Kristine dropped Cameron and I off while she and Tomas looped the block very slowly.
We then headed back into Oberhausen. Our aim was the Gasometer, a former gas storage building that has been converted into an exhibition hall.
On the way we also passed the oddly shaped Neue Mitte Station:
The Gasometer stands out from almost everywhere in Oberhausen. It was built in 1927 as a buffer to store blast furnace gas produced by the coal and steel industry. The building was fitted with a 1,207,000kg pressure disc that would float above the gas keeping it pressurized and capable of move up and down with the storage volume. It was hit by several bombs during the war and while the gas burnt the building did not explode, instead the pressure disc slowly descended. It was disassembled in 1946 with a failed repair attempt causing a fire, and rebuilt and operational again by 1950.
After the steel plants closed and natural gas prices dropped, the Gasometer was closed in 1988. In 1992 the city converted it into an exhibition space.
When we visited the Gasomter was showing a 'Fragile Paradise' exhibit of photos of the influence of humans on the environment. The upper floors housed a giant representation of Earth with satellite images superimposed on it, and the view from the roof is amazing. Or so we were told... The line to get in stretched the entire way down the road and as the rain continued to fall we decided we couldn't wait over an hour and a half or so to get in.
Instead we had a quick lunch (sausage rolls heated up on a Trangia stove) and then
checked into our apartment (on the correct day this time...) |
| The Gasometer |
The next day (Monday) we had a slow start before heading out to Kaiser Park. The park was home to a strange bridge - Slinky Springs to Fame. The bridge is made of 496 hoops and crossed the Rhine-Herne Canal. It was designed by Tobias Rehberger as part of an exhibition of Essen's Capital of Culture in 2010.
Because the canal often has containerships and transport, the bridge is 10m above the canal and due to the banks being fragile and eroded, the bridge stretches quite far on each side. The intent was to create the look of a rope thrown loosely over the water at a length of 406m. It is slightly springy in the middle due to the way it is installed and wrapped by the coils:
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| Playground with the bridge behind |
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| Slinky Springs to Fame |
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| TMS Max - a tanker ship |
On the other side of the bridge was a small playground, where the kids did some exercises and learned how to use an Archimedes Screw:
On our way back over the bridge we saw why the bridge height was so important:
Back on the Kaiser Park side of the bridge, we found a small zoo garden that was free entry. We had a quick walk around and got to see farm animals such as goats, sheep, horses, fowls, donkeys and cows but also a few more exotic ones like a Lynx and jackals:
After the park, we headed back into the center of Oberhausen and parked at the main shopping center. We had a walk around for a bit and checked the time of our concert - it was due to start at 8pm, but doors opened at 5:30. It was currently 4pm. Instead of heading back to the apartment we decided to have an early dinner and then walk down the side of the river to the concert hall.
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| Oberhausen Ferris Wheel |
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| Lego Discovery Center |
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| Setting up for Christmas Markets |
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| Looking down the river at Rudolf Weber Arena |
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| The crowds started off pretty low when we got there early. |
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| But picked up for the opening bands, Nothing.Nowhere and Pvris. |
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| The boys soaked up the atmosphere while they waited |
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| Fall Out Boy |
The concert was awesome, the set list played was:
We Didn't Start the Fire (Fall Out Boy Version) - over speakers before the band opened
The Pink Seashell (spoken as the concert started)
Love From the Other Side
The Phoenix
Sugar, We're Going Down
Uma Thurman
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"
Chicago is So Two Years Ago
Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy
Calm Before the Storm
This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race
Disloyal Order of the Water Buffaloes
Heaven, Iowa
Bang the Doldrums
Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On a Bad Bet
Fake Out
What a Catch, Donnie (Partial, piano acoustic)
Golden (Partial, piano acoustic)
So much (for) Stardust
Save Rock and Roll
Baby Annihilation (spoken)
Enter Sandman (partial cover)
Dance, Dance
Hold me Like a Grudge
Thriller (Magic 8 Ball selected random song)
My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)
Thnks fr th Mmrs
Centuries
Saturday
We got back to the apartment late and had an early start back to Malmö the next day. This time we went via the ferry and Border Shop and arrived home around 6pm.
