Heartland journeys

[krigl]

This third episode from the Benelux region takes us from Calais back into the area of interest and finishing up in Rotterdam.



Early morning and somewhere outside Calais.



In a French traffic confiture on the way to Lille.



Passing through Lille.



Into Belgium again.



I just love the spring.



Brussels.





A crazy skyline.



There it is! The Atomium.



Starting out for Rotterdam.









Rotterdam reached.





Woke up to a thunderstorm and torrential rain. Unusual for April, perhaps.





Do I have to work in this weather?



Take a trailer to the port, right. Europoort, here we come.





Turns out is was a different port just up the road. Turned around and
began making our way to Amsterdam.



That will have to wait till next time... thanks for taking a look!

Krigl

[krigl]

Heading for Amsterdam today in part four of six in the Benelux area...


Farewell Rotterdam.


This tulip plantation is vaguely redolent of the occult.


Schipol.




Strike a pose, there's nothing to it.


On the way to drop off our trailer at Amsterdam's port.


Free as the wind. The rain was gratis and plentiful too.




Preparations for constructing the world's largest ziggurat from refined sugar hit a snag when it started raining.


Putting Amsterdam behind us, we started a longer trip to Koln in Germany.


The outskirts of Arnhem, I think. Arnhem is great...will revisit properly next post.


Finally the bloody rain stopped.


Eating up the kilometers.


Spectacular bridge.


The landscape is ablaze with colour.


But the sun is going down.




Arriving in Koln as the last light fades.


Next day - new paint job and a nice yacht to carry to Bremen.


Just out of Koln we met this vigorously breakdancing lorry.


Everyone was queuing up to have a look.


Bremen looking a lot nicer than the last time we were there.




Bauhaus ran out of yachts on day one of their sale. Just glad we could help out. I know it's only one, but it's better than a kick in the eye.


Couldn't resist taking this mini-combine harvester in radioactive lime green to Groningen.


Well... intriguing!




Groningen. Hope we're not here on a fool's errand.


Today we're going to splash out on a waterside lunch at the SCS Hotel.

That's all for now...

Krigl

[Noah_Lukas]

SCS hotel - 5 stars hotel

[krigl]

SCS hotel - 5 stars hotel

Absolutely They just radiate class!!
They remind me of some of the less glamorous worker's hostels I've had to stay in occasionally. Clean but spartan. And sometimes not so clean.

[Noah_Lukas]

Indeed
I want some more of those extra-class hotels like Marina Bay in Singapore

[krigl]

Part five... Groningen to Groningen... via Arnhem and Zwolle through glowing flower-strewn countryside.



Leaving Groningen and heading south.









Outside, looking in.



Down Arnhem way. Arnhem is a great ProMods city...



Custom trains!



Checking out the centre.



Down at the station, not so early in the morning.





Another sign we're in the Netherlands.



Still in Arnhem... lots to see.



Prowling the mean streets.... looking for Itchycoo Park.



Sundown.



Next day we're pulling a trailer crammed with toiletries.



Off to Zwolle and back up to Groningen.



Tremble at the unrestrained savagery of a loo-roll trailer pulled by slavering velociraptors.



Grimes' spring mod certainly brings the colour.



A landmark in Zwolle.



Quite a unique landscape around Zwolle - polder and cows.



Putting Zwolle behind us.



Loo rolls delivered in Groningen, time to find yet another cargo.



And off we set on our last Benelux journey, the short but unique Groningen - Amsterdam route.



To be continued in the final set...

Krigl

[krigl]

A sixth and last set from the spectacular Netherlands region. I have to say I had high hopes and wasn't disappointed. It really is very nice. I really appreciate the efforts ProMods developers have put into this area - well, and all areas, of course.

Well, off we go on the last, very short but very attractive leg of this part of the tour - Groningen to Amsterdam via tulip fields, windmills and what I suppose must be the E22 road on the Breezanddijk, a dyke that holds in the IJsselmeer.



Seeing this nice bridge gives me a twinge of deja vu. Where have I seen it before, I cry, tearing at my eyelids in frustration.



There are times when ETS2 looks almost photoreal, especially with the right mods and judicious composition and use of lighting, weather and other elements... but this isn't one of them. But who cares, it's just a sim and it's an awesome area to pass through.









Moving on towards the IJsselmeer via one of those cool aqueduct-bridges.







No shortage of windmills in this part of the world, both traditional and modern. And I love windmills. When I lived in a village in England I could see a converted windmill on a hill from my bedroom window. It was quite far away but I always thought how wonderful it must be to live there.





Onto the Breezanddijk















Reached the other side at last. And now for Amsterdam once again.





Looking back.









Arrived at sundown.



And that's the Benelux region done!

Part 10 up in a couple of days.

Krigl

[krigl]

After the fantastic Benelux region we are heading back to the UK for a penultimate short 3-set mini-tour of the small part of south Scotland that falls within the borders of the original ETS2 base map. It's really tempting to go beyond and see all the new land ProMods have made, but then I might as well do all of France, Poland and Italy and then where would we be??

Noticing that I seem to have inadvertently portrayed the north of England as an industrial hellhole earlier in this thread, I thought it would be nice to show it has a nicer side, so also taking in a couple of places in the far north of England. The imagined time is mid-May, and we're using Grimes' lush green New Summer mod.



We start at the Scottish port of Cairnryan, courtesy of ProMods...







Starting our trip through a fine new Promods mini-region in southern Scotland, on the way to Dumfries.





Stranraer, a seaside town.



Stranraer Is So Bracing.







Lovely colours.



Passing through tiny but delightful Creetown.





Dumfries is a small suburban place, not too much there. Still a welcome addition!



Moving to join the base map road network past this curious suspension bridge.



Yep. Driving in the UK.



We're heading for Glasgow.



And here we are.



Glasgow is not a bad place, though a default city, I think.



Soo tempting...



Edinburgh is next.







Sunset in Edinburgh.



That's it for today.

Cheers!

Krigl

[Noah_Lukas]

Nice pictures

[krigl]

Nice pictures

Thanks a lot!! I appreciate your unique and continuing support as this epic journey slowly and gradually draws to a close!