Sabra Sabre Meeting 2022

After an enforced break of three years, we were at last able to enjoy our Sabra/ Sabre weekend in Luxembourg/ Germany. Chris Gallacher’s account of the meeting follows.

"After a gap of two years the Sabre/Sabra weekend was held in Luxembourg/ Germany in early September. It was great to be able to meet up with old friends again.

"The venue was the Burg Bollendorf hotel, a lovely old castle on the banks of the River Sauer which forms the border between Luxemborg and Germany. Bollendorf itself is a small, picturesque German town about 170km west of Frankfurt and 35km north-east of Luxembourg City. Many thanks are due to Peter and Mariette Hoffmann for all their hard work in arranging the weekend, which was great fun. The hotel itself was steeped in history with great food and drink, the sun shone most of the time, and the empty rural roads on either side of the border offered a fantastic drive through wonderful, rolling, wooded countryside. Everything ran smoothly and it was great to be able to socialise properly again, after far too long away.

"I headed to Germany unaccompanied, so decided to make the most of the drive. I live in mid Hampshire, so rather than fight my way to Dover I booked a Thursday Newhaven-toDieppe crossing, followed by an overnight in the lovely walled medieval city of Laon. The Sabre felt right at home in the old city which was just as I remembered it, perfect for a leisurely dinner and a couple of beers.

"The following day I selected a picturesque route on minor, rural roads for the 300km drive from Laon in northern France, via Belgium and Luxembourg, to Bollendorf in Germany. This year the UK contingent comprised two Sabre Sixes, (mine, and Tony & Jaki's) and Malcolm & Val's Sabre Four convertible, plus Geoff in his yellow V6 Coupe. We were joined by three Belgian Sabras (André and Carine, Jeff & Els and Jacques & Magda) plus Peter & Mariette from Luxembourg in their Jaguar XJS, and Luc & Monique in the absolutely fantastic Al-Capone-style 1940s Chevrolet. That's a car with some street presence!

"On Saturday we headed out in convoy over the bridge into Luxembourg for a drive south through small villages nestled high amongst the hills of the Sauer valley. It was then into Germany for a visit to the amazing Roman mosaic at Nennig, and the nearby larger Roman settlement at Borg for a cuppa and a look around. From there it was a short hop to lunch on the terraces of the winery at Weingut Carlsfelden, overlooking the Moselle about 25km east of Luxembourg City, before winding our way back to the hotel in Bollendorf. We were pleased to be joined at dinner on the Saturday evening by Jean in his ex-UK Sabre Six (Mays Head, triple Webers and sounding fantastic!), now residing on Luxembourg plates.

"Sunday saw us all heading north, roughly following the Sauer and Our rivers and the Parc Nature! de I'Our with its spectac scenery, towards Vianden and medievel town of Clervaux. There was time to visit Clervaux castle with its museum and photographic gallery, and to relax in the old town square with a coffee, before heading 10km south to lunch at Munshausen, and then back to Bollendorf.

"All in all, it was a great weekend and lovely to catch up with old friends after too long apart."

For our part, we made a whole week of the trip leaving home on Wednesday and returning home seven days later, taking two days to get to and return from our final destination. André and Carine kindly put us up (or should that be put up with us!) on the first night. On the second night we stayed at Lustin, Belgium. Our hotel was on high ground with spectacular views of the Meuse River. Here we met up with Geoff Richards, this time with his Coupé. Geoff had hoped to bring the Sabra Prototype but his rebuild of the car’s steering system was not quite finished. The return journey from Luxembourg was broken with a stay at Auberge Le Freyr near Dinant.

Our Sabre Six covered just under 1000 miles over the week and averaged about 26mpg. Thankfully nothing went wrong. Driving in Luxembourg is a pleasure. The roads that we used were all excellent with little traffic and we didn’t encounter a single sleeping policeman. So a very successful meeting. Thank you Mariette and Peter for organising the event. 

Enjoying Dinner

Parked up at the hotel

Aren't They Pretty?

Another Carpark View