Looking back at the 1st Saab exit Rhön 2019

After the decision was made to organize an exit yourself, it was time to organize everything: choose the route, create a roadmap, find a location for the destination and, above all, a suitable starting point that provides a certain basic service for which should make it possible for Saab drivers to travel far.

Inquire at Orio if there is a little support (at least key rings came, thanks for that, I would have wished, for example, a discount voucher for spare parts that could have been given as a price). It was quite a bit of work. The date should not be too late in autumn, so that the weather is as good as possible for the exit. October 3 was chosen, knowing that maybe many would use the long weekend to travel, but the destination restaurant was only available on that day.

Originally 15 vehicles were registered; Unfortunately, three drivers canceled at short notice, so that finally 12 vehicles with 22 men / women / children came to the starting point in Bischofsheim / Rhön. There my wife and I had coffee and sandwiches ready, the Saab friends from Katzwinkel / Sieg who had arrived early helped with the preparation, thanks for that! After the first refreshment we started quite punctually at 11 a.m., the trip would go directly over the mountain to Hessen, Gersfeld, Wasserkuppe, Ulstertal, back to Bavaria to the Black Moor, over the Hochrhönstraße to Bischofsheim and over the so-called Katzenbuckel and through the salt forest to Querbachshof, a small nest with a wonderful restaurant.

The first Saab exit in the Rhön

The first rain-free day in a long time!

The participants of the premiere exit

We drove a total of around 85 km with three stops, which, however, were rather short due to the weather: at the parking lot Fulda spring on the Wasserkuppe we were just below the cloud cover and the temperature was +5 ° C, which did not invite us to linger outside the warm car. Yes, the weather was not particularly friendly during the exit, and the sun did not show up until the afternoon. But it was the only rain-free day in the entire week.

In the Gasthof zur Sonne a great warm buffet with soup in front and dessert was waiting for us. During the meal there were good “gasoline talks”, afterwards a small present was given to the Saab friend with the longest journey (Moritz with 320 km) and the Saab friend with the oldest vehicle (Andreas with 900 I built in 1990) : a bottle of Pax brew from a local craft brewery together with a DVD of the film "A man named Ole". Finally, a few photos were taken in the village square, where we were allowed to park our vehicles. The advised “trunk market” has failed - due to a lack of parts that could have been sold.

There weren't that many vehicles, but the ones who were there were all very special: two Turbo-X (1x estate, 1x sedan), two 9-3X (Marco's, already in the Article about the kilometer kings in the blog, and my own), the 9-5 station wagon by Christina in black with dark brown leather interior - classy! - a Holland import, three convertibles etc., see photos and video. Thank you for coming and your passion for Saab!

What particularly pleased me was the instant sympathy and harmony among all participants. For me, this was the most beautiful confirmation of the success of this trip and also the incentive to organize another trip next year.

Text and images: Thomas Zecher