4^th European Gathering — 2011

Thursday Sept 15^th — Sunday Sept 18^th 2011

Our fourth European Gathering was held at Camp Alpin in Seefeld-in-Tyrol. Yet again, we enjoyed glorious sunshine and really warm temperatures (as you can see in the photos below).

Thirty seven members enjoyed a wonderful few days exploring the region and being treated to the hospitality of the staff at Camp Alpin.  We were able to use the excellent restaurant and bar to get together in the evenings and everyone agreed that Camp Alpin was an ideal location.

A popular day out was to take the train into Innsbruck whilst others took the opportunity to go up to the summit of the Zugspitze, in Germany. There were many hiking paths and cycle routes for the more energetic! Or, you could just sit in the sun and admire the views and breathe the fresh air!

 

It was lovely to meet up with old friends and to meet up with members who were joining a Gathering for the first time.

 

 

Sunday morning the weather broke into a grey, rainy day. Several members were travelling on to Carthago, in Schmalegg, to tour the factory and/or to take advantage of the Carthago workshop facilities.  Consequently, most of us departed on the Sunday. The few that remained on site were treated to fresh snow when they woke on Monday.

A temperature change of nearly 30°C in a couple of days!

 

We stopped over at Camping Am Bauernhof, in Oberteuringen to be close to the Carthago factory.  Carthago Owners UK had their September 2008 Gathering at this site and it was a pleasure to meet up again with Rudi, Margrit and Johann Kramer who are the perfect campsite hosts.  They made us feel very welcome and their campsite is delightful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Gathering of Carthagos at

Camp Alpin, Seefeld

The views from the top were pretty good as well.

 

Campsite circled in yellow (above)

On the Saturday evening we sampled the speciality of Camp Alpin, grilled trout from their own lake, with potatoes and salad, followed by homemade apfelstrűdel.  It was all very tasty and the trout was wonderful!

 

 

Elvis Johnson…..

….. and a few snaps of his audience, including the Invisible Man..

 

... and the Dancing Girls and Brian accompanied by Val on tambourine

On Monday evening Carthago hosted a splendid barbeque and we were joined by Stephan Budde from Carthago sales and Jenni from Carthago marketing.  Stephan was in considerable pain from an injured knee but he had made a special trip to meet up with us.  Carthago also kindly supplied free beer which guaranteed the evening went well.

On Tuesday morning a coach collected us from the campsite and transported us to Schmalegg for the factory tour. We were welcomed by biscuits and coffee and introduced to the new Carthago products for 2012.  The new Liner de Luxe is truly amazing and huge!  At the other end of the range, the new Carthago Tourer promises to be a big success.  We were also told about Carthago’s plans to build a new ‘Carthago City’ in Aulendorf, which will replace both the current factories and facilities at Schmalegg and Ravensburg. We look forward to seeing this in 2013.

As usual, the Ravensburg Chic factory tour was very interesting and it is good to see the quality that goes into every new Carthago.

At the end of the tour we returned to Schmalegg for yet more food. Carthago provided an excellent buffet lunch and we all received ‘booty bags’ of biscuits and Carthago mugs to take away with us.  A big ‘Thank you’ to Stephan Budde, Jenni and Carthago for a great day!

On the way back to the campsite the coach took us out to Steffelin Fruit Farm, near Markdorf, where they have many farm products and brew their own liqueurs and schnapps.  Here we were treated to their home made bread and paté and ample samples of their produce. The real problem was deciding which to buy!

 

All in all, September 2011 has been a great Gathering that was enjoyed by all.  Many tales were swapped, modifications and added extras on Carthagos were inspected, information exchanged and new friendships created.  Everyone had something to contribute and something new to take away with them.

 

Several members were planning to join the German group meeting near Fulda at the end of September and were continuing their travels in Germany.  Some were heading off south and for some of us, it was time to head home and look forward to the next Gathering in May 2012.

 

For George and Desnée it was time to get back to the UK for the twins first birthday. 

 

Many of you asked us to see another photo of the twins, so here they are, Eleanor and Fearne, in their Austrian dresses, to put a smile on your face!

Carthago kindly donated the first prize for our Friday night Prize Draw. This prize was a voucher for a week for two at Camping Sexten (in the Dolomites). There were several other prizes including; camping equipment, games, wine, liqueurs, schnapps and Mozart chocolates. It was an enjoyable evening and we all sampled the comprehensive a la carte menu in the campsite restaurant.  The Camp Alpin staff worked very hard to keep us all supplied with food and drink.

After the meal and the Prize Draw we were kindly entertained by Bob Johnson who did a wonderful Elvis impression and a great rendition of Buddy Holly’s ‘Oh Boy’ in a Brummy accent—brilliant!  Bob was accompanied by his wife Val with tambourine.  Thanks Bob and Val for some great entertainment.

Johann, Rudi and Margrit,  Camping Am Bauernhof

< right: After the meal we were entertained by a trio of local musicians playing traditional Austrian music. One of the group was a young boy, of 12, who was a very talented accordion player.

 

 

> left:  Desnée models the Austrian apron which was one of the Raffle prizes

Photo by:  Val Johnson