If there is something I really need these days, it is the prospect of a cold generous drafted beer, served somewhere without face masks and spray dispensers. And then a summer trip somewhere in Europe in my old car. That is my highest wish in this spring season.
With a winter that has just released its grip, my hot dreams of a long trip may look like it could have long prospects, but I saw a series of photos yesterday that whetted my appetite for a long trip.
The aforementioned photo series was published by a photographer who had scanned his magnificent slide photos taken on Kodakchrome film. Apparently in the late 1950s. Although the images look almost too new, as they have been thoroughly finished digitally, there is no doubt that they still possess the unmistakable color glow of the time – and not least Kodakchrome.
The story of the photos tells that the photographer bought a new VW as a replacement for his Ford from 1953. He was not the only one when VW sales suddenly sold explosively in 1955 and was the new craze in the United States. And for those who loved to explore nature and drive gentle off-road driving, the car’s reasonable traction, high ground clearance and robust air-cooled engine were tempting to take a ride in. You could take it almost anywhere and often surprised people in real jeeps on many old gravel roads and in lighter terrain.
What tempts me is that the lightness and the slightly adventurous that lies in taking an “unsuitable” car on a trip to a place where you would otherwise let reason rule and do something else and maybe a little more boring. I know from my own Renault 4 in Spain that it is far more capable in the terrain than you first assume and I have also met many surprised 4 × 4 owners in the mountains down there.
I dream of taking my Citroën DS for a trip to Scotland. A thought that has come from the simple explanation that my Land Rover project takes (much) longer than first expected. Quite predictably, one could scornfully say, but that’s the way it is now, and then one has to resort to other possibilities. For example, taking the “unsuitable” car on an adventure.
My Scotland thoughts are alive and well, but maybe there are some among you with suggestions that are a little different, adventurous and challenging? Have you taken your old car to places you should not? How did it go? And what did you make of special preparations?