Saarlouis – Kempten | Peaks, Valleys, Water and Weather

We left Saarlouis early on Friday morning topped up with reasonably priced UL91. Reinhard’s parting shot in the morning, having printed out two copies of the weather and NOTAMs for us, was to tell us we were cleared to the Karlsruhe VOR but “. . . please, no bombs”. Lack of a sense of humour? Nonsense.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/okt3xhumxs3a12n/PVWW%20Saarlouis%20Departure.mp4?dl=0

Approaching Karlsruhe

Crossing the Rhine

We spotted the Alps for the first time from at least 50 miles. As we got closer to Kempten the ground became higher and much greener. We followed the correct noise abatement approach, called the tower and turned downwind for R17. We made sure we missed the houses as we turned final. We even spotted the NOTAM’d crane at the threshold. We then landed on the parallel taxiway instead of the runway – much to the amusement of the Flugleiter and probably the two following us in the CTSW . . . .

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fguc6mo1kn7qdws/PVWW%20Kempten%20Arrival.mp4?dl=0

The airfield was even more scenic than the website suggested and, after shutting down the Rotax in the Tecnam, there was a magical moment as we gazed at the mountains in the silence and thought about our first beer of the day.

Restaurant with a view: Kempten-Durach airfield . . .

The restaurant on the airfield was just perfect and we ordered various versions of German sausage.

The walk to the hotel in the village took all of five minutes. Remember the name . . . Kempten-Durach. What a place to return to. Vague plans for next year were already wafting about.