Schiffshebewerk and "The other Germany"

[ScottColumbus]

Hi folks,

today my wife and I took a ride to the former German Democratic Republic.  But on the way to the former inner-german border we crossed the Elbe-Seiten-Kanal, which connects the town "Wolfsburg", where the Volkwagen are produced, an the Northern sea.  In Scharnebek there is a famous building. It is a huge elevator, called Schiffshebewerk. It lifts ships up to 38 meter.




Here you can see a ship, which is lifted right now.





This is the lower harbour, where the ship comes out of the Schiffshebewerk.





Two hours and lots of miles later we reached the River Elbe. At this area the Elbe was the inner-german border till 1990.





There are no bridges there. The Soviets destroyed alles bridges at the end of the war. On the other side of the Elbe you can see a little East-German village. You see the grey building at the right side of the pic. It´s a watch tower of the former Grenztruppen der DDR (border patrol of the GDR). They prevented (with success) for more than forty years that people would flee to the free part of the world.




A small side arm of the Elbe.





Lunch break in Hitzacker, a small town.





Some of the houses are more than 300 years old.

In former times this building was a water mill. Today it´s a café.





We tried to

[Joan]

(swoon and lots of long low moans)

OMG! A beautiful sunny ride along the Elbe!

(more moaning)

Where is my passport?? That looks like at least as much fun as a Scottish whisky tour, and I bet there are more airheads to buy/sell for a short week in the countryside there... oh man.

Damn you Dirk and the airhead you rode in on! (very big evil grins) Thank you so much for sharing the pics!

[NC Steve]

More fantastic photos, as always: I think you just made my day.

Thanks, Dirk, and welcome back!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[msbuck]

Wow, great, interesting, informative pictures.    Really gives a feel for your trip.  The Elbe is a beautiful river and the sights are incredible.  So different from anything you could see over here in the States.  You picture of your lunch spot reminds me of some of the days my hubby and I spent on a tour in Europe back in 1994... makes me want to return.  That's something that is so fascinating to me, all the history left there.  Not much history over here...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures.  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Thank you, Dirk!

About the Mercedes - you say it is from West Germany.  Is there still a distinction between East and West?  Or are you referring to a state, or region?

Beautiful model auto, BTW.


If I won the lottery, I would come over and restore one of those old farms!
And hire a language tutor...

[Justin B.]

Dirk, are the "elevators" water locks where a dor is closed and water pumped in to get you to the level you want or actual lifting mechanisms?  If the latter, the engineering involved is mind-boggling!

[ScottColumbus]

I´m glad that you like my pics.  

Aïda, thanks for your compliments. I like to read your words, especially that the old Europe fascinates you. Where have you been in Europe in 1994?

Rob, you ask me, if there is still a distinction line between both parts of Germany. Not physically, but in the minds of the people the land is still separated.   It will last another generation until we will overcome the separation).

About the Mercedes-Benz.



On the number plate you can recognize in which region the vehicle is registrated. Citys have one letter:
B- for Berlin
M- for Munich
K- für Köln (Cologne)
F- for Frankfurt

My number plate WL means Winsen/Luhe. Winsen is a town and Luhe is the name of the river where we live.

Then comes DA on my number plate. These are my initials - Dirk Assmann

For my R75/6 I´ve got 75, but I didn´t manage to get 65 for the small cow.  

The Mercedes has got the letter H next to the number. This means that it´s a historical vehicle. You can get the H, if your car is older than 30 years. It must be in original condition. Than you have to pay less taxes for the vehicle.
I could get that H for my 75/6, too, but I like to pay taxes.

@Justin: The Schiffshebewerk is not a water lock. It has got a real lifting mechanism.





regards

Dirk

[SCJJR65]

Hervorragender Report und Fotos, Dirk!  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Someday (maybe soon) my wife Pattimarie and I intend to travel to Germany to see some of these wonderful sights for ourselves.  When we do, I hope to be able to contact you to provide a "guided tour" of northern Germany!  

Tschüß!!  

[msbuck]

Dirk,

We went on an 'Edleweiss' tour called The Best of Europe and was sponsored by the BMWMOA club.  It was supposed to be all Beemers, but there is not a Beemer I can ride stock, so they let me ride a Suzuki GS500e.  We began in Munich and our first night out was in Rothenburg where the hotel was over 600 years old.  It was raining when we arrived and riding on the wet cobblestones was a bit tricky!  We made a loop through France, down through Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Austria and back to Germany.  It was really a fantastic trip, but I hate that we didn't see any of Italy.  I guess that's a reason for returning!

[ScottColumbus]

Aïda,

you travelled by bike through Europe. That must have been great. Especially the trip accross the alps. I wish I would have been there. I´ve never got so far from home by motorcycle.   You lucky, you.

Moin, moin John!  

Pattimarie and you are always welcome. So we are four persons and we have two beemers. And we have enough place in our house. That´s perfect for a ride.  8-)  And you could get to the place where your Beatles have started their career.  

Dirk

[SCJJR65]

Hamburg will definitely be one of the stops along the way, along with Berlin (to see the BMW motorcycle assembly plant), and (if we can find it) the town of Oldenburg, where my grandparents lived!   I would also love to see the cathedrals of Cologne as well

(Oh, who am I kidding.... I want to see it all!)  

[Melena]

Wonderful pictures Dirk!  Thank you so much for letting us see your part of the world.   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]  

I do like the artistic quality of your "mistake" too.  Sometimes mistakes can turn into gems.