• Roger van Kollenburg
  • Connie van Kollenburg
  • Roger van Kollenburg
  • Connie van Kollenburg

Convention 2024 Liepzig

Fire fighters, history, Brothers and sisters as one Read more
  • Trip start
    August 11, 2024

    Pre trip 2 days to go

    August 10, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Last minute effort to finish packing and get all our little jobs done before we leave early Monday morning. I’m pretty excited to see all our family again and to embark on another chapter in the CnR roadshow lol. Good times with good friendsRead more

  • Planes , Trains & soon to be automobiles

    August 12, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    It’s been a full day of travelling, no time to see the sights in Dubai it was off one plane and make our way to our connecting flight to Amsterdam. Dubai airport is mental, we caught a train between terminals 😳. Looked to be a sand/dust storm so you couldn’t see far at all. It was a blazing 42 degrees C & the air conditioning was waterfalls…. Roger still needed a coffee in that heat. Not such a good idea, I miss proper coffee 🥹
    Passport control at Amsterdam had a catastrophic failure so after landing at 19:37 we queued like mice in a maze. No air con and silly little fans - 32 degrees in Amsterdam supposedly cooler than Dubai, but I’m not convinced….. 🤣
    We’ve made it to our hotel room at the airport @ 21:27… time for a shower and sleep. After we put up our feet and down some more water 🥵 - and post on the blog of course.
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  • Windmills & Autobahns

    August 13, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    What a fabulous idea staying at the Sheraton at the airport, best nights sleep I’ve had in years. Apart from a couple of lost party goers there was complete silence. Didn’t hear a single plane nor road noise. Up this morning and had a beautiful breakfast then hit the road to find the old fashioned windmills. We’ve seen our fair share of new windmills since hitting Europe.
    Wandered through the museum & saw the windmills… along with the millions of other tourists.
    Lunch was a huge pancake with bacon, cheese & onion - I can feel my arteries hardening. It was getting really hot so time for this old duck to find some shade or at least a breeze.
    Time to hit the road and head to Oelde… via the Autobahn.
    Mental speeds but it was like watching a dance, people in and out of lanes barely indicating and other drivers just giving way. Trucks stayed to the right - yep still not used to that and the fact there’s no steering wheel on my side of the car.
    Road surface is amazing but the gardeners need to be sacked… weeds everywhere and growing over the sound walls.

    We stop in Beek to send cards to some special people 💙 then have some “ice” that’s the shortened name for ice cream & what we at home call soft serve.

    Back in the car & no sooner had we driven over the boarder to Germany the signage changed (expected), I did giggle when I saw the exit sign….
    Grey skies looked eerie and before we knew it were stuck in a hail storm. So bad the traffic came to a complete stop - mental.
    Temperature plummeted from 37 to 19 within 10 minutes….
    I was pretty happy that it cooled down - spoke too soon, back up to 29 within minutes..🥵
    Arrived at the hotel and guess what? Renovations are happening so the bar & restaurant is closed - NNNOOO.
    Time to put shoes back on and venture out for dinner. Have a look around at this charming town.
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  • Windmills and all things Dutch

    August 13, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Up for breakfast and an easy start for the day. Grab the car and drive to Zaans Museum for windmills and pancakes lol, then on the road to Oelde Germany with a quick ice cream stop and, well IYKYK 😂☺️🇳🇱Read more

  • Pretend you’re a local

    August 13, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Our accommodation was where Roger used to stay back in his GEA days… after a stinker of a day we find out the air conditioning is the old fashion type …. Open the window & switch on the desk fan 🤪
    Could be worse… wait what, two single beds 🤣

    We have to head out for dinner so where do you go in a quaint little town? The brewery of cause. Beer & local cuisine makes for a very chilled evening.
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  • What’s with this weather?

    August 14, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Can you believe it, another day of torrential rain. At least we didn’t have hail today. But no sooner did the rain stop the sun came out and the temperature took off.. a balmy 35 with a hint of humidity makes for a frizzy hair day 🤣🤣🤣.
    We stop for coffee which gets delivered in a cup the size of my head…. Love the mantra on the cup ❤️
    Was lovely enjoying a cuppa but before long we need to hit the road. But not before a loo stop, for those following along at home that plan to travel Europe it costs €1 to use the facilities. They even have turnstiles so you can’t sneak in…. Talk about making sure you really need to go. Plus it adds a whole new meaning to the words “poo ticket” 🤣🤣🤣
    Rogers getting the hang of driving on the Autobahns - the car cruises nicely @ 150km’s 😳.

    One thing I have noticed is the McDonalds sign is green, what’s with that? I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough…. It just looks weird.

    We arrive at the hotel and say hi to the crew that are here. Sign in and get our goodie bag & wrist band… can’t believe we’ve made it. The next 4 days will be awesome catching up with RED KNIGHTS from all over the globe.
    Let’s get this party started 🥳🇳🇱
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  • Doing the touristy thing

    August 15, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    So what would a trip to a new city be without a visit to the local Harley dealer… so many road closures we almost gave up on finding the driveway then ‘bam’ we found the tiny street to get in 🥳
    T-shirts & poker chips purchased and a look over the new release bikes before back into the car & negotiate the crazy streets to find the town square.
    Enjoyed a coffee and some local cuisine, very pleased to find the menu comes in both languages. The steward could see we were struggling and was very accommodating. Afterwards a stroll along the cobble streets. Beautiful old buildings and the statue of Bach.
    Still cannot get over the weeds and undergrowth… Is it a form of air conditioning or pure laziness? Jury is still out.
    We head back towards the hotel but first we duck into the local shop “Kaufland” to buy some Jack Daniels and to our surprise they sell Bundaberg Ginger beer … by the crate. It feels like home.
    Back to the hotel and fill the fridge with drinks we know.
    It’s warming up again so this little black duck needs to find some water & shade….. maybe a cold beer or two 🍻
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  • Observations!!!

    August 15, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    So, as we walk around Leipzig I get to keep track of the car, take the Selfies and catch Connie being the best tourist out there 😂😂😂 but seriously, what would the blog be without all her pictures 😉🇦🇺🚒🏍️🍺🎉🇩🇪Read more

  • Chores

    August 16, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Doesn’t matter where you are in the world the washing still needs to be done… hotels in Europe don’t have these sorts of facilities so a road trip for Roger & I this morning.
    I did giggle to myself when looking at the instructions, I didn’t need to understand German, machine instructions are universal….. 🤣

    Back to the hotel & put everything away, then spend the afternoon in the lobby catching up with everyone plus greeting the latest arrivals. Took this opportunity to sell the regalia items we bought over from Australia including raffle tickets for the signed Jack Daniels bottle.
    All while consuming beer - it’s an Olympic sport here 🍻🍻🍻🍻

    What a busy day. Soon it’ll be time to head out for dinner… at an appropriately named venue “Hellraisers”. This will make for an interesting evening.
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  • HELLRAISER!!!!!

    August 16, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    WOW 🥳🍻

    What a sensational location and event. Food was awesome - lots of meat, potato & Sauerkraut.

    Live music and just the most amazing atmosphere… the brothers & sisters of the Red Knights are AWESOME.

    Global Firefighters supporting each other - Brothers & Sisters with the common goal. We love this club ❤️
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  • Shenanigans

    August 16, 2024 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    The party went well into the night but not before the Australian (me) showed them how the Nut Bush is done… I’m getting to old for this 🥂🍻🥃

    Region 8 director Ken Mahon was chatting with his doppelgänger from Ireland. Both were having way too much fun.🍻

    Roger and I called it at 10, time to go back to the hotel and get our hearing back 🥳
    Have a few quiet ones before retiring for the night. Roger’s up early for meetings - me? I’ll take full opportunity for a sleep in. 😴
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  • Annual business meeting

    August 17, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    An early start for me with breakfast before the Annual Business Meeting! How long can this drag out?? I think with 20 bylaw proposals we will run over…yep - over by an hour and the hotel wants to chase us out so the room can be squared away for the dinner lmao! There is a lesson here for 2026.Read more

  • Convention Dinner

    August 17, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Formal Dinner - I had the honour of carrying the Australian flag as part of the opening ceremony. Followed by presentations to some amazing people that are doing extraordinary things for their communities. Humbled ❤️

    Pipes and drum band was included throughout the evening.
    Roger presented the 2026 convention information to the room. This went down extremely well.

    Germany 18 then did a knighthood ceremony to the board. Our Region 8 director Ken Mohan was blown away, as was everyone in the room.
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  • Hell of a drive

    August 18, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Well we’ve made it to Bastogne in Belgium 🇧🇪
    8 hours in the road but more roadworks than Melbourne. At least Europeans know how to merge.

  • Bastogne

    August 18, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    So we are settled in to our room for the night. I have a meeting at 2am (Euro time) but we had a lovely dinner in a local cafe before a quick walk around the square! I want to play on the tank! lol

  • Bastogne

    August 18, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We’re staying in the Melba Hotel which is a short stroll to the local square - aptly named Mac Square.
    Dinner in Mac Square Pizzeria on Mac Place… (General McAuliffe - 101st Airborne)

    Absolutely delicious Penne Carbonara served inside a thin Calzone. “Ardinesse” pizza, salami, chicken, onion & mozzarella on a thin base. 🤤
    Accompanied with local beer & wine. Topped off with a coffee.

    A quick squizz around to find our bearings and we came across the info centre and did some light reading…

    Looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures.

    FYI - Roger and I should really discuss the names of footprints 🤣
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  • Bastonge - Day 2

    August 19, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Back to the information centre to pick up our fridge magnet. We then drive down the main road which is filled with flags.
    The celebration still continues 80 years on. ❤️