I’d taken the precaution of booking us in at the Alt Bahnhof for dinner again so after a brief stop at our digs Den ferried everyone the short distance to eat. After a day exploring tonight’s meal was more lively as between eating the various stops were discussed, photographs compared that’s besides the large volume of beer consumed.

“We need to make an early start in the morning people.” Jonathon started to address his charges before they left Tiddler for their beds.

There were a few lighthearted groans.

“We’re not tomb storming again?” Stevie enquired.

“Nothing so exciting,” Jonathon grinned, “what time Nena?”

“If you can be at the bus for nine o’clock please we have about one hour to our first stop.” I supplied.

“You are early this morning.” Sadie observed as I poured myself a coffee.

“A lot to get in today.” I allowed.

“Ah here is the Fahrer, Morgen chief.” Sadie grinned.

“I um morgen.” Den’s German is better than he’ll admit.

“Coffee Denis?” I offered.

“Please Nena, they all about?”

“Ja, I have seen everyone.”

“Good, the roads aren’t the best so if we can make a few minutes it’d be good.”

With only Jonathon being privy to the itinery there was a buzz of expectation as Den nosed Tiddler out onto the road. Maps and speculation started to fly about the bus; Jonathon however kept Mum despite several attempts to wring some info out.

“Coffee?”

“It’d best be tea please.” Den replied.

“’Kay.”

I headed back along the bus to get the boiler going.

“Nena, you know where we are going right?” Stevie probed.

“Of course but I am sworn not to tell, coffee?”

“I told you.” Her hubby stated.

“Well you have to try don’t you Nena?”

“And you’re very trying.” Rob mumbled.

“I heard that Rob Jones.”

I made good my escape before I got caught in a domestic.

The roads were better than the map indicated, we made good time turning off into Fallingbostel a good ten minutes before I had expected.

“Not far now.” I observed.

Den nodded, “Ging in the garage was stationed here for a couple of years.”

“Fallingbostel?”

“Yeah, used to be a big British Army base here.”

“Bet they loved being out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Its not that far from Hannover or even Hamburg and Bremen.” Den noted.

“Still.”

“We doing the short stop first? We’ve time.” He enquired changing the subject

“Yeah why not, I’ll give them some spiel.”

The PA let out a bit of a squeal as I turned it on which got my charges attention before I started.

“I know some of you have been following our progress on your maps so you have some idea where we are,” I paused waiting for the expected reply.

“A bit south of Fallingbostel.” Someone, I think Peter volunteered.

“Ja for sure. I’m sure you didn’t travel so far to sit on a bus all day so Chris thought you’d like a short leg stretch before we go on to our main stop this morning. Shortly we arrive in Krelingen, a typical Heide village with a small bonus of a Hunenbett a short way outside. We can’t take the bus through so we’ll park by the main road, it is a ten minute walk to the site, nothing too strenuous.”

I turned off the microphone and sat myself down again.

“Psst, Nena!” Jonathon hissed down to me.

“Jonathon.”

“I don’t remember this being included.”

“We have some time to kill, Chris put it down as a time filler.”

“Er okay, I don’t know this site though.”

“Don’t worry, Chris has done some notes for you.”

I already had the couple of sheets of info to hand so passed them back, “here you go.”

Any further questions were put off by Den pulling Tiddler to a halt outside Krelingen’s general store.

As Heide villages go Krelingen is unremarkable, a collection of farms interspersed with a few more modern homes but not much else. As everyone dismounted the sound of horses and kids playing only served to cement the image of rural bliss even if the morning mist has left a certain dampness behind. Leaving Den to turn Tiddler around, I acted as guide leading the way through the village on what I hoped was the right road.

My research was good and a few metres beyond the last farm a fairly new way marker directed us off of the road and into the scrubby woodland.

“All yours Jonathon.”

“Er thanks.”

“Nice.” Graham allowed stopping just beyond us to use his camera.

“Excellent.” Stevie concurred. I’m sorry but as Nena I can’t quite warm to her for some reason.

I’m certainly no expert but the semi manicured stone setting sat in the glade was certainly quite pleasing to the eye, maybe a little too nice. I think I read that it had been renovated just a couple of years ago, I guess that could account for the tidy appearance. The visitors did what I now recognised as their usual exploration of the stones before gathering to discuss what they were looking at.

“… So that’s all I can tell you.” Jonathon concluded having read through my notes.

I’d been keeping an eye on the time as we had a time slot at our next stop.

“I’m sorry to have to rush you a bit but we need to get back to the bus, we have a busy day ahead.”

“If everything is as good as this, I’ll run out of film.” Graham offered.

“I thought you were using digital.” Peter mentioned.

“I am, but you know what I mean.”

“Come on then folks, you heard Nena, we have some interesting stuff to see today.” Jonathon advised as he started herding the archeotourists away from the site.

It was literally a ten minute drive to Ostenholz once we had everyone back on Tiddler, delayed slightly by a visit by a couple of errant travelers to the shop.

“You sure this is right?” Den queried as he eased our transport onto the potholed lane, “It looks like it goes to some military site of some sort.”

“I did tell you, that’s why we had to do it today, there’s only public access on weekends.”

“If you say so.” I can tell that he wasn’t convinced, I don’t suppose the forest of warning signs were doing anything to allay those doubts.

“Straight over at the crossroads then we stop at the guard house.”

By now there were murmurs coming from along the bus, our arrival on the Osterheide panzer training area causing more than a little interest. Beyond the guard hut and road barrier the tarmac stretched off into the distance, arrow straight if undulating. Den eased Tiddler to a halt at the bar and I opened the door.

“Okay we just have to talk to the guards, Jonathon?”

“Er right, just a moment.”

To be honest I wasn’t quite sure how this worked, according to the Internet, whilst restricted access is apparently free but it didn’t mention if you needed a pass or anything.

“Güten Morgen, kommen sie hier vor die Steinhauser?” the duty officer enquired when we arrived at the window.

“Ja bitte, von England kommt.”

“You should have said straight away, we don’t get many foreign visitors.” He stated in perfect English – I thought I just did. “So you are in the bus? How many persons please?”

“Er twelve plus our driver and Nena here, we’re an archaeological group.” Jonathon supplied.

“One vehicle, fourteen persons.” The grinning guard entered onto his access sheet. “Okay, a couple of safety rules, no stopping on the access road except in emergency, you must only use this road, no deviations there is plenty of parking at the site.”

“Is there some sort of time limit?” Jonathon asked, something else not mentioned on the net.

“Not specifically, you must exit the area by five pm which should give you plenty of time. I’m afraid I’ve only got six sets of English notes, I’m sure you can share them out eh Nena?”

Is he trying to flirt with me? I took the offered sheets before replying, “yes of course, danke.”

“Lets get you folks on your way then.” He finished with a wink.

I followed Jonathon back onto the bus by which time the young guard was at the barrier, a manually operated boom that he deftly lifted.

“First time for everything.” Den stated with a shake of his head.

I waved as we eased through, receiving another wink with the replying wave.

Jonathon borrowed the mic before addressing the bus, “I’m sure you are all wondering what we are doing on a military training ground, well its not to play Tank Commander but to look at some special archaeology, the Siebensteinhauser which I’m advised translates to several stone houses. This is a live ammunition training area, which is why access is limited to weekends when the military don’t use the area.

I won’t say anymore just now, its about four miles to the site and you’ll see why I’ve brought you here then.”

This is the Heide in the raw, sandy heathland, a few scattered scrubby trees and here and there the skeletal remains of retired military vehicles clearly used as targets. At regular intervals signs warned of the dangers of straying from the tarmac – unexploded ordnance and imminent death are great persuaders! There wasn’t any other traffic as we bumbled across the semi preserved heath towards our destination. A dip in the road, a change of surface and we had arrived.

Even Den was intrigued enough by the inward journey to venture off of Tiddler to see what was hidden amongst the trees. The site is a bit strange, the military in their helpfulness after restoration in the late 1920’s early 30’s have built bunker like banks around each of the five ‘Hauser’ to protect them from stray munitions. The result is that where originally they would have been in sight of each other now they appear remote and as individual monuments.

Jonathon had done his research well, he covered everything mentioned on the German only information boards and used the nice plan to explain what we would shortly see. We trotted along behind our ‘leader’ to tomb ‘A’, a partly tumbled burial chamber constructed from huge slabs of granite. Compared to yesterdays little piles of stone and long thin mounds, this was clearly something quite different.

Visits to ‘B’ and ‘C’ revealed similar constructions that our group crawled over, into, around happily for a good few minutes. Jonathon had mentioned that ‘D’ was a bit different and even Den was surprised when the mound surrounded by granite slabs over 1.5 metres high was revealed. I guess the protective banks do add an element of surprise to each component. ‘E’ was a fourth stone chamber, seemingly less visited if the flora was anything to go by.

“Come on everyone, group photo.” Graham suggested.

The now very happy wannabee Indy Jones’ assembled by ‘D’.

“You two as well Nena.” Jonathon insisted.

After the David Bailey stuff we started drifting back to towards Tiddler.

“What’s the plan for lunch?” Den asked, “I’ll need to put some diesel in’t bus before we go too much further.”

“Bit of free time in Celle, it should only be about forty five minutes from here. I’m gonna have to take these tights off, its getting a bit warm.”

Jonathon once again acted as shepherd pushing the more errant towards the bus.

“Brenda, you can ring your mother on the bus, places to see?” Jonathon suggested.

“”Sorry, Jon.”

Brenda climbed aboard and after a quick head count Den pointed our steed back towards Osterholz and our lunch date in Celle.

It was a bit after one by the time we found the coach drop off point opposite the schloss in Celle

“Welcome to Celle (pronounced seller), there is plenty to see and there are many chances for food also. Can you please return here for two thirty?” I announced before anyone had a chance to get off.

“We’ll be here, you two not joining us?” Jonathon enquired as he stepped down.

“I need to get some diesel, we might see you in town later.” Den replied.

“Sure, okay everyone, lets let the workers work.”

Did I detect a hint of disappointment there?

“So,” Stevie started as she waited for her hubby to get off, “do you shave or wax?”

Maddy Bell © 01.02.13