# Visiting Germany for 1st time in late April



## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hiya All

We have just decided that, after travelling down to Spain during our last 3 trips abroad in the motorhome, we will have a change this year.

We have never been to Germany so haven't got a clue of where to go. But we have heard that it is a fabulous country to visit in a motorhome. We have also met dozens of German motorhomers during our Spainish trips and find the Germans very friendly and helpful people.

What would we like to see? Well we have friends who live in Paderborn who have said we can visit. We like visiting old medieval towns and seeing quaint places. Not into walking really long distances as Mo' cannot walk for too long. We have been told that the Rhine valley is really, really beautiful.

Wouldn't mind visiting somewhere were we may see some euromobils and hobby's as we are thinking of changing our van later this year so would welcome the opportunity to see the layouts in a variety of these two vans.

Our trip will extend into the first week of June so will cover 6 weeks so we can travel around a fair bit. We will be using Stellplatz as, when in France we used aires a lot and haven't got a problem with doing this.

As this is our first trip we would really appreiate any help and advice anyone can give us. 

Thanks to this great forum and its members in advance. :lol:


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Hi Brimo

Germany is a greatly undervalued country for motorhoming, the facilities are the best, they're totally motorhome friendly and the country has the most wonderful scenery.
I think the best places to visit for first time visit are the Rhine Valley and the Moselle, loads to see and do with an absolute plethera of free or low cost stellplatz.

As for M/H dealers, we bought our current Hobby from <<Ernst>> who I can thoroughly recommend as a Hobby and Laika Main dealer. Situated near to the Rhine and Black Forest and well worth a visit.


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi Brimo,

yes, the Rhine valley is beautiful, but unfortunately also very overcrowded and busy trafficwise. One major railway line plus trunk road on each side take care for the latter...  

But if you are interested in looking at some Euramobils, why not going to Rhineland-Palatinate? Many nice little villages, either almost as touristic as the Rhine along the Mosel river, otherwise a bit off the beaten track and more quiet. Romantic castles (or what is left over from them) and large forests. And the Euramobil factory, which is located there in Sprendlingen, offers not only a nice and quiet "Stellplatz" (all free including hookup!), but also an information centre and every Monday to Friday at 09:00 a round tour through the factory! No booking needed and it is free!

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Thanks for that gaspode, looking on google now at Rhine Valley. Getting all excited now :lol:


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi Brimo;

We used to live a few Km's Northwest of Paderborn at a place called Harsewinkel during my RAF days (many moons ago) so are quite familiar with the area although i'm sure your friends will be able to give you plenty of up to date info on the local places to visit.
While you're around that region it might be worth going a bit further east and visiting Hameln (of pied piper fame) and also the Harz mountains (more like bigs hills really but a beautiful region) around Goslar.
There are loads of options for a good tour of Germany, the possibilties are endless. More info on which ferry route(s) you are taking, how big an area you want to cover etc would help.

If you intend to spend a lot of your time in Germany then it would be a good idea to purchase the Bordatlas, the 2007 edition is now available >here<
There is also an old online purchase guide for the 2006 edition >here< which should help you with the lingo for oredering if you're not sure.

I'd tend to agree with Gerhard, these areas around the Rhine and Mosel get very busy and the Mosel is positively wall to wall with motorhomes in the summer, your arms will ache with all the waving, but having said that, you will always be able to find places to stop, especially along the Mosel where there is a stellplatze in nearly every town or village along the way.

If you heed Gerhards advice and visit Sprendlingen then also consider visiting the Pfalzerwald to the south and west of the Rhine. There are many places to visit and stay around Neustadt a d Weinstrasse, a great region if you're partial to a drop of wine.

Pete.


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Thanks all, our friends are in the military and we'll be speaking next week when they get back to Germany after a UK visit. We'll be travelling by the tunnel and would like to cover a good area without going mad covering 100's of miles. Think we would probably visit several good areas and spend a fair bit of time at each. 

Thanks for all your inputs, its much appreciated. We're looking into every option given by you all.

More please folks :lol:


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## Leapy (May 15, 2005)

We went to Germany for the first time last year and wish I had done it years ago-the place is so clean and there seemed to be no loutish behaviour . Every stellplatz we stayed was within easy walking distance of the the town/village centre. We went in August and did part of Rhine and Moselle and had no trouble finding good places to stop.
I would recommend it



Leapy


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

OK Folks, going to start planning the journey and itinerary. As we will be landing from the Chunnel at Calais, can I presume we'll be going through Belgium. Never been there either so is there anywhere we really must go to see as we travel towards Germany, after all we do have 5 or 6 weeks?

Thanks again in advance.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Just a suggestion... 

Maybe head straight for Paderborn first, its about 350mls from the tunnel. You're then firmly planted in Germany. You can visit your friends, then the world (OK Germany) is your lobster :roll: 
If your friends are in the military can I suggest you ask them to send you a BFG (British Forces Germany) route planning map, you can then plan the whole route from Calais, all around Northern/Central Germany and back again on one map. If they can't get you one PM me and i'll see what I can do.

A rough route from Calais to Paderborn;

Calais - Brugge (A16, changes to A18 in Belgium)
Brugge - Gent (A10)
Gent - Antwerp (A14)
Antwerp - Venlo (A13/A21 into Holland, changes to A67 to Venlo)
Into Germany (changes to A40)

Many good stellplatz to overnight around this location north of the A40 just into Germany if you need an overnight here.

Through the Ruhr Industial area on the A40 to Dortmund
A44/A34 to Paderborn

If that looks ok then you can plan the rest of the route around germany and back to Calais from there....

wish I was going with you  

pete


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## sheringham (Mar 24, 2006)

Hi Brimo

I endorse everything that has been said about Germany. 

Couple or three points;

On the route to Paderborn,dependent on the day and time, the motorway (40 then 44) through the Ruhr valley starting at Moers> Duisberg> Essen> Bochum through to Dortmund is one long conubation and traffic can be severe and liable to some minor delays. 

Hymer showroom at Palmowski in Bielefeld usually with considerable new and pre used units. 

In the forest laybys you may see numerous smallish MHs and HGVs. These are generally not Stellplatz and best left alone.....?.

We leave 17.4.07 bound for Wobbel which is about 30 Ks NE of Paderborn to do a bit of decorating!!! before heading South again to the Neckar valley and Bodensee.

Enjoy

Ron


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## musicbus (May 1, 2005)

Hi Brimo

Berlin - if you have not been its well worth it amazing city.
We stayed at a stelplatz just outside at Alt tegel

http://www.stellplatz-berlin.de/downloads/InfoFlyerEnglish.htm

We also parked up in town near check point charlie for three days. No probs!!

The Rhine, Black Forest, Garmisch-Partenkirchen at foot of the alps are just a few places I would recommend

cheers


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## Mollythedog (Aug 17, 2005)

Hi Brimo,

We spent two weeks last year in the Black Forest and around Lake Constance. Beautiful scenery. Where we went it's very German, English isn't spoken much, few non-German tourists but it's all the better for it. I know it may be difficult for you but the walking and cycling is better than I've ever seen outside the UK. But plenty of trains so getting around is pretty easy.

If you go there then visit the Alsace region in France as well. Ribeauville, Colmar and Riquewihr are lovely medieval towns.

And on the way back stop at Langres, one of the prettiest towns in France.

Have fun!

Kevin


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## Wanderwagon3 (May 27, 2005)

Good Evening Brimo

We enjoyed our various visits to (D)

My posting of 2005/07/24 in "Motorhome Trips" Forum will give some ideas of an excellent trip on the Deutch Alpen Strasse then (A) (I) and (F)

All our trips are good ! That one was better than some.

HTH

Ken....with Wanderwagon3


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hi Everyone

Thanks to everyone who posted above, we are now working out a full itinerary for the 6 week trip. 

We will travel to Paddborn via this route

Calais - Brugge (A16, changes to A18 in Belgium) 
Brugge - Gent (A10) 
Gent - Antwerp (A14) 
Antwerp - Venlo (A13/A21 into Holland, changes to A67 to Venlo) 
Into Germany (changes to A40) 

and wondered whther anywhere along that route was worth a visit i.e. Gent. It would be a shame to go flying to Padderborn and miss some cultural gem just off the motorway  

Any hints would be much appreciated. More on the rest of the itinerary when we get this first bit sorted. 

Thanks in advance


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi Brimo,

Brugge is under all circumstances a must-see, if you haven't been there before then plan at least one full day. But also Gent and Antwerp are well worth a visit.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## silverwing (Sep 5, 2006)

Try the Black Forest around Titisee & visit Friburge (not sure sbout the spelling)


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## 98810 (Apr 21, 2006)

I'm currently living just above Hannover and we've had some cracking trips to the north. 
If you like old towns and cities then Celle, Luneburg and Lubecke are a must. If you get to Lubecke then it's a short hop to the Baltic coast with some very nice beaches between Travemunde and Kiel.


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## 1946 (Jan 5, 2006)

Hi Brimo,

I lived in Southern Germany for a while and have travelled a lot in the motorhome through the country. As you have so much time to travel, I would suggest that you go South bit by bit via the Rhine and Koblenz - Ruedesheim ( great campsite along the Rhine and a 5 min. walk in to town) )http://www.campingplatz-ruedesheim.de/.
From there southwest towards Titisee and than towards Fuessen and Achensee and Tegernsee. Beautifull scenery, great food, terrific lager and I will be oh so yealous ( hubby wants to go to France this summer and I would like to do Germany and Austria again  )
Good luck with the route and have loads of fun.

Kind regards

Maddie


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

OK here we go, this is what we have for the moment...

28th April travel to Calais on Tunnel
29th and 30th travel and stay in Bruges - I think there is an Aires there?
1st and 2nd May - travel and stay in Gent - Aires?
3rd and 4th May travel and stay near Antwerp
5th May - Market in Eindhoven - Stay?
6thMay - Eindhoven
7th May - Arrive at Friends in Padderborn
7th-10th May, stay at Padderborn
11th May - Visit Hymer dealer in Bielefield

If you have suggestions of aires, stelplatz or campings in these areas it would be much appreciated.

From Padderborn we will probably travel to see Hameln

This is exciting isn't it? :lol:


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## 1946 (Jan 5, 2006)

Hi Brimo,

if you have a look in this link it will give you a couple of campsites near Eindhoven. http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/netherlands/noord-brabant/
Sorry, I forgot to change it to English.
The following near Paderborn http://www.google.de/maps?hl=de&q=campingplatz&near=Paderborn&sa=X&oi=local&ct=title

Hope this helps.

Kind regards

Maddie


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

brimo said:


> OK here we go, this is what we have for the moment...
> 
> 28th April travel to Calais on Tunnel
> 29th and 30th travel and stay in Bruges - I think there is an Aires there?
> ...


Hi Brimo,

some more remarks:

*Gent:*

Clearly a place worth seeing, but driving inside the town is not recommended. Many narrow roads and a complicated system of one-way-roads.

Aires in Gent: 
There is in fact an official aire on a Park&Ride car park at "Gentbrugge", with good tram connections (line 22) to the city centre. It can be found by following the signs to "P+R Gentbrugge" from the N9 or from exit 10 "Gentbrugge" of the A14/E17 motorway. A ground sink for grey and black water exists. Unfortunately located directly under the E17 flyover, so not too quiet. 
The Gent City Council however _officially allows_ motorhomes to stay for one night on all road sides and public car parks within the town.  A policy that should be taken as an example by some other local councils.

*Antwerpen:*

It was possible to spend the night on a public car park on the banks of the river Schelde, within walking distance of the city centre, but I have heard that this is now discouraged by the local council. There are however 3 "Camping Municipals" around Gent. Click here for more info.

*Eindhoven:*

For business reasons I am quite frequently travelling to Eindhoven. However I have always failed to see more in this city than the residential compound of the Philips factory. If you want to see a really spectacular, traditional Belgian market, then you should rather go to *Liège* on a Sunday Morning. And the 6th of May is a Sunday!

Unfortunately I cannot point out an aire or camp site near Liège, as so far I have only visited this city by train.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hey.... You guys are brillaint - don't you just love this forum :lover: 

Boff, that info on Eindhoven and the market at Liege is great. We will alter our plans to ensure we take the Liege Sunday market in. 

Will work on the itinerary some more this evening and post up our progress.

Thanks for all your help


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hiya Boff

Is the Liege you are talking about a full 70 miles from Eindhoven?

Thanks


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

brimo said:


> Is the Liege you are talking about a full 70 miles from Eindhoven?


Hi Brimo,

yes, it is about 70 miles south of Eindhoven, already past the border to Belgium.

BTW, just be aware that this part of Belgium is not only bi- but trilingual! French, Flemish (which is almost Dutch), and German. Liège is the French name, if you travel through Flemish areas of Belgium it is called Luik and in German speaking areas you might also find "Lüttich" on the signposts. :wink:

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Its OK my Sat Nav is multi-Lingual :lol:


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Ok after some research and after above posts we have now changed the intinerary to read..

28th April travel to Calais on Tunnel 
29th and 30th travel and stay in Bruges - I think there is an Aires there? 
1st and 2nd May - travel and stay in Gent - maybe at P & R
3rd May travel and stay at Municipal in Antwerp 
4th May - travel to and visit Leuven
5th May - Travel to Liege - stay overnight
6thMay - Sunday market at Liege. Late afternoon make some headway towards Palmowski in Bielefield 
7th May - Arrive at Bielefield and probably stay over that night
8th-10th May, stay at friends in Padderborn 

From here we will travel towards Hameln, then Hildesheim then Gottingen then through Marburg to Koblenz and then Weisbaden where we have a freind to visit. We will also visit the Euromobil factory which is near here. From there we will probably travel a little way through the Mosul Valley towards Luxemburg.

We have never visited Luxembourg so would like to just to say we've been.

Any comments on this itinerary folks?


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi again,

with the exception of Marburg and Koblenz (maybe, status currently unknown) all these places have good "Stellplatz" sites. Try to get a copy of the "Bordatlas" and you should have no probs finding them.

Best Regards and "Herzlich Willkommen in Deutschland" :wink: ,
Gerhard


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

HI again

Have ordered the Stelplatz book through the German web site. It should be here in a week or two we hope.


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hi again, not long to go now...... can we ask again, whilst we will not be far from Luxembourg is it worth visiting and if so, any places that are a MUST SEE ?

Thanks


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## blackbirdbiker (Mar 12, 2007)

Make sure you call into a very nice town called Badmunsterifel, the stellplatz there is just outside the center next to a sports center.
No facillities there but plenty of free space.
Easy to find using satnav.

Keith.


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Stelplatz book has just arrived. Wow !! Didn't expect it to be so BIG !!!

Is Badmunsterifel in Lux?


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

HI Brimo,

maybe you should check your max. payload before buying the Stellplatz book? :wink: :lol:

Bad Münstereifel, as it is correctly spelled, is not in Luxembourg but in Germany, in the Eifel region. The town itself is indeed very pretty, the Stellplatz is not one of my favourites but acceptable for one or two nights.

In the country of Luxembourg there are quite some sights despite the small size. Most important is the City of Luxembourg itself. And they have the lowest Diesel prices of Europe, similar goes for booze and I think also tobacco. Wild camping is however strictly prohibited, so either take camp sites or use one of their (few) aires, e.g. the one in Dudelange from where you can go to Luxembourg City by train within about 25 minutes.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## kazzzy (Apr 9, 2006)

Just to add some coments I am currently living in southern Germany and there is some great places to visit around here it may be a bit of a distance from where you are curenty planing but well worth it if you have the time, south of Munich there is lake Constance (Bordsee), Lindau a visit to the castle at Neuschwanstein and the alpine region is a must.
Also the Black forest around Baden Baden is great.
Also Munich itself is a beutiful city with lots of motorhome friendly parking on the outskirts and of course what can you say about German public transport !
The trains / UBahn (Underground) is spotlessly clean and always punctual. there are many camping sites and the whole country is motorhome friendly. Of course coming in the summer months as you plan it will be busy especially as already said in the Black Forest and the southern Bavarian regions.
I love Germany the country is great and language is not a problem, i have been living here fsince beginning of Janaury and I am going back to the UK at Easter I have to say I will miss it. Language is not a problem either I speak very little German but have got by for 3 Months the people are great and English is very widely spoken even in some places where you would not expect it to be.
Have a great trip i am sure you will Love the place its very under rated.


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hi All

Boff said


> the one in Dudelange from where you can go to Luxembourg City by train within about 25 minutes.


It always makes me nervous leaving the van and travelling half an hour away by train. My van has a tracker but if I got a phone call to say the alarm had gone off it is going to take me at least half an hour to get back.

Would leaving the van in Dudelang be a safe thing to do or am I just paranoid living in England :lol:


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## ralph-dot (May 10, 2005)

Hi brimo, you are just paranoid, stop worrying and live life.

NOW

Ralph


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi Brimo,

even if you have only 5 minutes to reach your van once the alarm goes off, it is very likely that when you arrive the buggers are already gone for good, and with them your valuables. Provided that it was not a false alarm. Just keep in mind that there is no 100% security, not even on an official camp site. 

Besides that, the Dudelange aire is out of sight of all major roads, and it is rather small and usually well-frequented. So you could ask some fellow MHers to keep an eye on your pride. In addition, Luxembourg has rather low crime rates, at least if you don't look at white-collar crimes...

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

At Paderborn you are not to far from these:

Bodenwerder (home of the Baron Munchenhausen)
>Bodenwerder<
Hermans Denkmal (as far north as the Romans got) and 
Externsteine >This one in German but easy to follow<
Mohne See (Dambusters - just don't mention the war)
http://www.moehnesee.de/touristi2.htm
Harz mountains.

Regards Frank

(having spent 2 years in Paderborn and 4 in Detmold) I'll be giving them a wide berth when I visit Germany this year)


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Only 6 days to go, all ready... just waiting. 8) 

Will anyone else be there when we are?


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## 92180 (May 1, 2005)

If you want to visit Luxembourg why not stay at Echternach it has a nice site, walk to the town and hop on the bus. In Germany I would recommend the site in Neckargemund, on the banks of the river, use the one in the town not the ones off either roads along the river.

Bus into Heidelberg or cycle very nice ride along the river with barges sailing bye. lots to see for the technically minded at Sinsheim - big Technical museum also another at Speyr.

Watch out for the German Grand Prix weekend it gets busy.

I wish I was there now.


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Well folks, just to update you all, we have been away for five days now and are at lier in Belgium. We have done Brugges, which was brilliant, and tomorrow move on to Mechelen.

By the way, we parked in Brugges opposite the Central Station and stayed there for 2 nights. There's a thread going about parking in Brugges so I'll go and update it now with my info.

Weather has been fabulous. More later 8)


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Have you got your metal detector with you Brian?


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Hi Chigman

Yes, we have, haven't used them yet though


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Hi again mate.I should say at this stage that I`m pinpoint off UKDN :lol: aint done much myself just lately due mainly to this motorhome malarki :roll: Wanted one badly for a couple of years now and it`s only just now being more realistic.  

Have a great holiday and i`ll see you on the forums soon.


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

We are currently at Wiesbaden vsiting a friend (Folkert off UKDN), having travelled down the Rhine Valley from Koblenz. On Monday we will travel back up the other side of the Rhine Valley to Koblenz then turn left and go down the Mosel Valley to Trier then into Luxemburg.

The weather has been rubbish in Germany with rain very day. Today has been much nicer and very pleasant. On Monday morning we will visit the Euro Mobil factory and take a tour of the factory.

Enjoying it??? YOU BET !!! 8)


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