Aussichtspunkt - Terra Nova 1 — Attraction in Elsdorf

WOW! If you like exploring regional places, this is definitely one to come see in person. The sheer scale size of the lignite mine is staggering. The city of Köln could easily fit inside the perimeter! Watching the enormous bucket wheel excavators scrape and redistribute earthen materials is fascinating even from a distance! Bring binoculars. There are informational signs that describe what is happening, number of employees, and the amount of earth that is moved (in German). At this location (Terra Nova Aussichtspunkt) there is a fantastic playground too. During non-Covid times, the Terra Nova cafe and gift shop is open. I think they even offer tours. No bathrooms available during Covid times. You can drive around the perimeter in about 45 mins. Look for other lookout points along the way. Add a quick drive-by at one of the local power plants. If my info is accurate, a lot of the lignite is burned at the local power facilities. This would make a great field trip for primary and secondary students. There were lots of cyclists too. There was even an E-bike charging station! Just a short drive...

We pulled up to look at this giant coal mine, thinking it would be a stop. Look and go.

We were surprised to discover this site had been turned into a full-on tourist stop.

Equipped with a free large parking area, a cafe, and an area with mini golf, crazy pool, and golf football. And what was reminiscent of beach deck chair to marvel at the view.

Had we more time, we would have ventured on to the other stops, particularly the one where the old motorway disappeared into the abyess of the mined land.

The coal mining operation itself is vast, and I was left wondering where ilon earth had all the earth gone. We could see a seam of coal and the gaint machines that claw at the ground.

An unusual stop brings out various emotions but also now turns into a place that has fun for...

My son elected to study geography for one of his GCSEs so I thought, since this was on our travels we would take a detour. We arrived at around 2:30 in the morning and it was eerily quiet. The site is heavily screened either artificially or by trees. We climbed the concrete stairs of the observation deck, next to the road, and looked out on to an alien landscape. The ancient Hambach Forest has been completely cleared and in its place is a hole 48km in size and half a kilometre deep. Furthermore, it has approval to be over twice as big! There has been a suggestion that after excavations are complete the area could be flooded and covered with up to fifty million floating solar modules that would generate as much power as all of Germany's coal-fired...