Return Bad Bentheim. Alfa Romeo and emotion in plural

This is another trip that you look forward to for a long time. Anke, Maarten and Durk are putting together a great route in the run-up to the weekend of May 18 and 19, 2024. The main destination is Bad Bentheim, where we will eat and spend the night. The routes to and from the German town are great, we travel for two days along beautiful places via ditto roads. The arsenal? Four Alfa Romeo youngtimers, which are manned and manned by a total of eight enthusiasts. Life is Beautiful.

The time has come during the fairly early morning of Saturday, May 18. Durk picks me up. He does this with the flawlessly beautiful and fantastically made up Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 from 2004 op. The little diva has 80.000 kilometers on the clock and is equipped with almost all the delicacies you could order on a 147 at the time. A wonderful car, which you can drive wonderful kilometers, as it turns out. It turns out again, because from previous experience you already know what she can do. The admiration is no less. We set course for the Drents-Friese Wold.

We gather in Appelscha. After this we set course for Diever. The Landhotel is the first stop. And there, in the adjacent parking lot overlooking the woods, four beams Alfa Romeo copies. The GT 3.2 Busso (Anke and Maarten), the recently acquired 166 3.2 (fantastic, with Grietje and Frans on board, the distinguished 166 itself is a contradiction in terms when you combine the beautiful lines with the bassy Busso sound), the GTV 2.0 (Tipo 916) by Maria and Harry, and the aforementioned 147 leave their Italian mark. They devalue everything around it to rudimentary transportation.

After the first stop we drive via a beautiful route through Drenthe to Ter Apel, where we have lunch in a very beautiful setting. Sometimes it is too early to judge. Where we are now is simply a pearl, the place is appealing. And that also applies to the next destination. That is near the Spaarbekken, not far from the German Geeste. This nice place will later form the starting point for the final stage of day one. We'll take a bit of an inside route. And move the AlfaAlso towards A31. All the horses are woken up there. Come on. The 147 also shows its best side. One point six. One hundred and five DIN horsepower. In a Alfa these values ​​are different, the smallest Alfa within the group they are fighting bravely. And when we drive inland again later, we also feel how far the limit range is for a 147. Very far, she challenges and continues to do so. The grin cannot be wiped off the faces of Tinga and the undersigned. Impossible. Impossible.

We are in Bad Bentheim, a friendly place with a number of sights. Main goal one has been achieved. We move into an old station building that now serves as a hotel. That is the base for a trip to the large castle, where we will enjoy delicious food and drinks under a nice evening sun. And have great conversations. And where we occasionally retreat for a moment, to sort out a few things for ourselves. But the evening is beautiful, Bad Bentheim exudes a nice atmosphere, which takes possession of all of us in a pleasant way.

The next morning I witness a beautiful scene. Early in the morning, two pure Alfisti are standing near their property. Frans and Durk gesture, looking at the Italian thoroughbred horses that form the beautiful backdrop. The gentlemen admire their property. Those are the beautiful 166 and the 147 respectively. And then it happens. Just wipe it with a cloth, remove the flies with glass spray, carefully load the items into the luggage compartment and organize them. The Alfa's are ready for day two, and the way they are prepared shows so much car and brand love. Really, you have to see it to feel it. Only then will you understand it. And do you appreciate it?

We will definitely do the latter after we dive into Bad Bentheim on Sunday morning. And after this we return to the asphalt. The hallway is back on track. Via the German Twist (where we refuel cheaply and buy smoking products, long live the Dutch excise policy} we eventually arrive in Weiteveen. And after a nice stop in a beautiful area we drive on to Schoonebeek. After this we have ice cream at the large ice cream farm nearby. Gees. Meanwhile, Drenthe passes us by in an unparalleled beautiful way. Even the dark clouds and the short-lived thunderstorm give cachet to one of the most beautiful provinces (perhaps the most beautiful) in the Netherlands and hassle .Yes, we enjoy what the Alfa's, the company and the environment. This is worth gold, these days are another blessing.

In the meantime, the final destination comes into view, but not before a few impressive tracks set the tone in a different way on board the 147. I will talk and Hollywood will listen by Robbie Williams and especially Divenire by Ludovico Einaudi (a gem, so beautiful) reach deep, very deep. They provide a mixture of pleasure, goosebumps and pure emotion. Music can be stunningly beautiful and accurately convey the atmosphere.

Then we are in Drachten, the sounds from the 147 speakers still resonate nicely and get under the skin. Finally we end at Sondrio in Drachten, where Italian dishes are served at their best. We know this place, but again it is literally and figuratively delicious. A fantastic place, with pizza, pasta, wine and coffee with grappa in abundance. Naturally, this fine setting corresponds with the Alfa's, who played the leading role for a weekend. Am I saying that right? No, not completely. All eight participants also played leading roles. Beautiful people and enchanting cars add color to life. The weekend of May 18 and 19, 2024 is remembered in golden capital letters.

Written with love and gratitude by my friends Maria, Gretel, Anke, Maarten, Frans, Harry and Durk