before i get this roadtrip going, let me take you back to the beginning of july - the day i had my horrible car accident!
it took me quite a while to find a new arcade-suitable replacement car, but as luck would have it, a school colleague of mine just got himself a brandnew car (a mercedes) and we came to an agreement. my new "elektro vehicle" is basically the successor to the car i had before, an opel vectra station wagon with automatic gear shifting (yeah baby
) and enough loading space for a cab!
with me and my new car being roadtrip-ready and the school holidays being "at death's door", i was prepared to set out for this
waking up to a wonderful late summer day
no need to start too early, i have all the time in the world
besides, i've been on much longer roadtrip already!
this time, i need a "tiny extra" to avoid being fined
how about a small breakfast in the morning sun?
yummy!!!
old castles ...
... vs new "castles"
only one way to go - STRAIGHT ON
i must be getting close: swiss cheese truck on the road!
the closer i get to the swiss border, the worse the weather gets - must be because of that stupid toll you have to pay for using their autobahns
switzerland - here i am!!!
different road signs ...
... and different speed limits!
the landscape is also different: mountainous ...
... and therefore lots of tunnels
slowly but surely, the weather clears up and after a few hours of driving i've reached my destination town: avenches ...
... a small agricultural town beautifully nestled on a hillside
a nice roundabout - in the background you can already see the blue and yellow warehouse where i have to go
approaching the building from the other side
judging from the side of that truck, i must be in the right spot!
a quick telephone call, the seller opens the door, we take an elevator upstairs and step into his gameroom / storage
he has an impressive collection of pinballs, video games (classic and modern) and demopods (ENVY
) - here's just a couple of photos for you guys to enjoy
but what i came for ...
IS THIS so into the elevator it goes ...
... and out of the building it comes!
unfortunately, the sideart is far from perfect, but
fortunately reproductions are available
first cab-fitting test for my new car - passed successfully!
a shame that the backdoor is missing, but i'm hoping to get correct measures when i visit thorsten and dirk the next time
with the UDOT loaded in the back of my car, i can head home and leave switzerland "undetected" ...
... only to be stuck for 2 1/2 hours in a german road construction traffic jam - f***
big brother is watching you (and please don't overtake him
)
as the sun is setting, ...
... some warm evening colors come out!
the "new castle" i already photographed in the morning
one last change of the autobahn - i'm almost home!
new car - old statistics stuff
one continent, two countries, 979 kilometers, exactly 12 hours on the road - this roadtrip is OFFICIALLY OVER!but before i wave you good-bye, i have to check out the game
nothing beats a discs of tron in the dark - except for the environmental version!
you
have to see that special lenticular marquee in person: the way the disc moves when you move from left to right is simply amazing
i had bought the game as fully working, but when i arrived at the seller's location, he told me that the pcb had developed an error, so we started negotiations and i was able to knock off a large portion of the original price! believe me, the price i paid eventually is too good to be true!!!
this is what i saw when i turned on the game at home
a close-up of the garbage on screen
while i was taking pictures, i suddenly heard a clicking sound, the screen went dark for a few seconds only to spring back to life with the following screen
hehe, do we have a working UDOT here?
i added some credits and pushed the start button and judging from a quick first game i played, everything worked perfectly!!!
user superully - signing off