Where the forests still rustle... - Two SpaceCampers in the Bergisches Land Nature Park

…die Berge hoch ragen, der Amboss erklingt…“

Why wander far away. Look, the good is so close. We all know these lines. But Corona puts these words into a completely different context. - If, like most people in the past, we couldn't get enough of flying, today we'd rather do without. 

Even though we made this decision before Corona, we seem to be in good company. Camping vacations are more popular than ever before. The number of new caravan registrations rose by no less than 29 % compared to the same month last year. - Campsites are considered overcrowded and wild camping is polarizing. 

But where to go when it's 35° in summer? - We decided to take a trip to the Bergisches Land, my old home and a shady forest. With an area of 2,027 km², the Bergisches Land Nature Park is one of the largest nature parks in North Rhine-Westphalia.

„..Wo im Schatten der Eiche die Wiege mir stand,

da ist meine Heimat, mein Bergisches Land…“

It stretches from the Bergisch city triangle of Wuppertal, Solingen and Remscheid in the north to the River Sieg in the south. In an easterly direction, it borders the Sauerland, in a westerly direction it ends just before the gates of Cologne. But we were particularly interested in the Heckberg Forest, on the border between the Rhine-Sieg district and the Oberberg district. Even if everything seems a little hilly, the route climbs almost 350 meters from Kölle. 

On site, we met up with Kai and his nameless SpaceCamper. That's why I call him Nobody. As described in one of the previous posts, we came across Nobody during our vehicle research. You could say Nobody is the big brother. Because he was the inspiration for the exterior design. 

In the shady forests of the Bergisches Land Nature Park, the outside temperatures were much more pleasant. We were able to get a bit of an outdoor feeling on the gravel roads. - On the way, we came across a brand new Land Rover Defender from Matzker. - What's special about it? - Matzker is not just any Land Rover dealer, but an institution in the Land Rover and off-road scene. In particular, the company founder Amadeus Matzker, who has since passed away, was a minor celebrity. As the pilot of his own rally team, he not only competed in various rallies, thus proving the performance of his vehicles, but also developed the products for his customers on this basis and with his experience. I myself had my Defender modified by Matzker. - Amadeus Matzker died in a tragic car accident in the Mauritanian desert in 2016.

Tragic or simply living to the last what you loved? - Certainly one way of looking at it.

Wenn ich mir nun den neuen Defender ansehe, kann ich nachvollziehen, dass die klassischen Stammkunden ein Gewöhnungsphase benötigen. Galt der Alte doch als zeitlose, unverwüstliche Offroad Ikone. – War er doch „fast“ unverändert 68 Jahre im Amt und Würden. Ebenso ein Kultobjekt, wie ein Relikt aus vergangenen Zeiten.  Doch eines ist der Neue auf jeden Fall, chic, sehr sehr chic. Oder heiß das edel? So oder so real british. Und wie ist es mit den Fahreigenschaften? Auf der Straße dürfte er dem Alten definitiv überlegen sein. Und 500 Millimeter maximale Verschränkung, Böschungswinkel 38 und 40 Grad, 900 Millimeter Wattiefe, dass hört sich auch nicht nach einem Stadt SUV an. Doch wie gesagt Geschmäcker sind verschieden. Mir gefällt der moderne und dennoch quadratische Style mit Retro Anleihen sehr gut.

Doch es wäre kein Defender von Matzker, wenn alles Serie wäre. Das heute gesichtete Fahrzeug hatte u.a. einen Unterfahrschutz, Seilwinde & Co. Über das ‚& Co‘ hielt man sich noch bedeckt. Ebenso zum Preis der Extras. Denn dieses Sondermodell wird nächste Woche, erstmals auf einer Messe, der Matzker Kundschaft vorgestellt. Sozusagen ein Matzker Erlkönig. 

There were a few more impressions on this tour. But we'll tell you about them tomorrow.

PS: The somewhat quirky-sounding tune is an excerpt from the Bergisches Heimatlied. Always popular. Whereby some things are still valid locally that seem to have been forgotten elsewhere. I can still identify well with such words:

„wo der Handschlag noch gilt als das heiligste Pfand, da ist meine Heimat, mein Bergisches Land.“