60 km of Germany's busiest autobahn closed = longest banqueting table in the world

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Still-life A40/B1 - a 60 kilometre festival of cultures

On July 18th 2010 the inhabitants of the Ruhr Metropolis will be throwing a unique party to celebrate our everyday cultural habits and traditions. The party will be held in a very unusual location: in the middle of the main motorway running through the region, the A40/B1. As part of the programme for the European capital of culture RUHR.2010 a 60 km stretch of road will be lined with 20,000 tables to create a meeting place for different cultures, generations and nations. It will be the longest banqueting table in the world. / MORE

The festival of everyday cultures
The participants themselves will be creating the programme of events and activities along the A40/B1 motorway. Each of the 20,000 tables will therefore be a small stage in itself. Participants are free to decide what they want to present. The banqueting table of cultures will be set up along the "programme" side of the motorway from Dortmund to Duisburg. The programme will be enriched by contributions from the seven towns and cities along the motorway, Duisburg, Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum and Dortmund, each of which will have its own particular stage.
Urban sports clubs will be joining forces with the State Sports Federation to construct "islands of sport" all the way from Dortmund to Duisburg. In the opposite direction - on the so-called mobility side from Duisburg to Dortmund - visitors will be able to travel on any wheeled vehicle they please, providing it has no motor. The festival of everyday cultures
The participants themselves will be creating the programme of events and activities along the A40/B1 motorway. Each of the 20,000 tables will therefore be a small stage in itself. Participants are free to decide what they want to present. The banqueting table of cultures will be set up along the "programme" side of the motorway from Dortmund to Duisburg. The programme will be enriched by contributions from the seven towns and cities along the motorway, Duisburg, Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum and Dortmund, each of which will have its own particular stage.
Urban sports clubs will be joining forces with the State Sports Federation to construct "islands of sport" all the way from Dortmund to Duisburg. In the opposite direction - on the so-called mobility side from Duisburg to Dortmund - visitors will be able to travel on any wheeled vehicle they please, providing it has no motor. MORE

You'll find me tomorrow here ...

.. at table 9 in Block 115

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Does this possibly reflect the government trying to tell the citizens that there are too many overweight citizens, and people should indulge in sports and other calorie burning activities?

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@Foofie,

Foofie wrote:

Does this possibly reflect the government trying to tell the citizens that there are too many overweight citizens, and people should indulge in sports and other calorie burning activities?

Well, we Germans aren't as good in English as you are foofie. But I'd thought that it was clear from the sources that this event is part of some (thousands) of others related to the European Capital of Culture 2010.

Sorry that I (or more those sources) didn't make it easy enough for you to get that.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Great concept, Walter. I am looking forward to a report.

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@realjohnboy,

What I've heard (and seen since we drove yesterday on that autobahn) a lot of local, even "micro" fests are going - some old German ladies are celebrating, for instance that they finished a 15 metres long table cloth ... crocheted.

We are sitting at the table of a youth centre, a friend is deputy head of that institution. What they do is just showing parts of their institutions motto: Tolerance, Integration and Cultural Diversity (and that's why they easily got a really good table, good to be reached, I mean ... 1,5 million people are expected ... plus 500,000 cyclists ...)

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

Just a thought... who built that bit of autobahn originally ?

1 Reply

@fresco,

Actually, it's the B1 (Federal road number 1), before the Reichs Road No, 1 (leading from Aix-la-Chapelle to Königsberg.

It has been a Napoleonic road, the busiest Medieval road, an old King's and Emperor road (with palatines any 8 kilometres) ...

It's a road, about 5,000 years old.

Hellweg

B 1

Autobahn A 40

It only became an autobahn quite recently, well, in the 1970's. As a dual carriage way, the works started in 1952 and were finished in the early 60's, with a speed limit of 80 km/h (today between 100 and 120, partly three lanes). In Dortmund, it's 50 km/h all the dozens of kilometres through the city.

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@Walter Hinteler,

Good !

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@fresco,

I've lived all my live (well, with some exemptions) close to the B1, was born there, studied there ... Wink

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@Walter Hinteler,

Walter Hinteler wrote:

Foofie wrote:

Does this possibly reflect the government trying to tell the citizens that there are too many overweight citizens, and people should indulge in sports and other calorie burning activities?

Well, we Germans aren't as good in English as you are foofie. But I'd thought that it was clear from the sources that this event is part of some (thousands) of others related to the European Capital of Culture 2010.

Sorry that I (or more those sources) didn't make it easy enough for you to get that.

I would prefer they increase the European birthrate, and not worry about culture. Culture will take care of itself if the birthrate increases; otherwise, there might not be a European culture to show. Just my opinion.

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@Foofie,

Thank you.

We here have a different opinion and idea of culture, it seems.

I do like the variations of it, as it will be presented today.

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That must be the nicest way of getting stuck "in a Stau" on the Autobahn I ever heard about. Hope it will be a great succes.

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@saab,

It certainly will be a 'stau' to get there .... when I looked it up just online, even car parks in a rather distance away are full already. (Will park somewhere and than use the tram.)

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slowfood will be a reality at least for a short time.
http://www.slowfood.de/

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@dadpad,

Just returned from there.

Food wasn't sold there, besides that on the 20,000 tables. Any 500 meters was a "service station", run by the sponsoring largest German supermarket corporation, prices were really low e.g. half a litre mineral water for 50 cents.

We got some coffee and cake from various tables - the motto on my hairs was done by our friend.

(More photos later.)

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Ha, Walter. Nice picture. The BBC reports that 1M people showed up and that, in places, the "mobility" lanes (bicycles etc) had to be closed due to congestion.
I hope it wasn't too hot. I am looking forward to more photos.

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@realjohnboy,

More than 2 million actually were there. And 'yes', the bicycle lanes had to be closed several times: a lot of people thought: "let's cycle to ..." And since people from the other end thought so, too ... traffic jams as usual. Very Happy

The weather was quite pleasant: though we had had two weeks with 32°C and more and will have those days the coming week again - today, it were pleasant 25°C.

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@realjohnboy,

Those photos are from about noon (all done in Dortmund, between blocks 135 and 130 = about 5km) - the event started oficially at 11am, ending at 5pm (the road was/is closed from Saturday, 10pm till Monday, 5am).

I didn't take my photo equipment with, just a small pocket camera ...

The "table side"

One of those tables

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The "mobility side"

Some hundred of those two millions

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@Walter Hinteler,

great stuff

reminds me of the long car show in Michigan and that yard sale that goes through the centre of the south in the U. S.

a good idea is a good idea

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60 km of Germany's busiest autobahn closed = longest banqueting table in the world

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