We decided to get a new car because Tobi's current (work) car would not make it through another TÜV-assessment. As always, we plan everything to the point that nothing can go wrong. Well prepared, Tobi picked up a rental car presumably a VW-Golf, as it was the cheapest option, compared to a plane or train trip. The rental option is also the most flexible and comfortable way of traveling from Belin to Gelsenkirchen.
As I was talking to a neighbour a big BMW-X4 stopped on the street, and someone open the window. It was Tobi. What the heck did you pick up? I said, a simple small car would have been enough, but he was laughing and telling me there was nothing else available. Wow what a fantastic upgrade. I can't say I was disappointed, more than happy and delighted that we would travel in style. We quickly grabbed our belongings and, on a Friday, around 4.00 pm in the afternoon we started our journey. I must admit it was a great feeling driving such a powerful car, we enjoyed it and made the most out of it.
Stopover roughly halfway there, we had dinner at a small village called "Hessisch Oldendorf - Rohden" at a restaurant. This trip is not about just getting a new car but also enjoying time away from home, so we had lots of plans for the weekend.
We finally arrived in Gelsenkirchen 6 hours later. Because of daylight saving in summer over here in Europe we arrived in daylight. To finish that Friday night off we checked into our hotel, went out for a couple of drinks nearby and went to bed around midnight.
Next morning, we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel and then we were on our way to pick up the car for Tobi. As mentioned before, everything was well organized and the deal was closed within half an hour. As you can see, Tobi is a very proud new car owner of his Toyota. Now that the new car is bought, we just had to return the rental and we were again on our way for some short adventures.
Have I mentioned I lived in this area before I moved to Australia. That why I returned to a couple of hot spots something like 20 years later and showed Tobi my old neighbourhood. Let's go to Oberhausen and then Wesel with the new Toyota.
First stop Oberhausen Centro, back then it was Germany's largest shopping center, not sure if it still is as time has passed and maybe somewhere else a bigger one exists these day. We went a bit shopping, browsing, strolling along at the promenade and of course had some lunch. When were done with Oberhausen we moved on to Wesel.
In Wesel I actually lived and worked there for a few years. The restaurant " Haus Blumenkamp" I was once working no longer exists but instead I found a new developed area with brand new houses built, not ready jet but almost. I guess it will look stunning once completed. We moved on to the city center to have some coffee and cake maybe an ice cream and after that we visited the river Rhein and went for a walk.
In the evening we returned to the hotel and searched for a restaurant in Gelsenkirchen, something exotic and found a turkish restaurant that actually cooked Turkish cusine except for "Döner". It was a great way to finish off the day before we were heading back to the hotel to get a good night sleep and to drive back home the next morning.
To sum up the weekend I can only say it was a fantastic one with things getting done, a bit of fun, shopping and delicious food and some relaxing moments.
