For the 22nd time, Alexander Wohlfahrth has invited people to the Buschtaxi meeting, Europe’s largest off-road vehicle meeting. And many came. Increasingly, fans of other brands too find their way to Ohrdruf to meet like-minded people and celebrate the scene.
The no-longer-quite-so-new home of the Toyota Buschtaxi meeting, Ohrdruf Castle in Thuringia, again welcomed Alexander Wohlfahrth and his forum community in September. On the extensive grounds around the estate pond, over 1,000 vehicles gathered to spend a cosy weekend there. The well-rehearsed team around the “Netzmeister”, as Alexander is known in the forum, stood ready to look after the numerous visitors and day guests.
No more worries about new blood
What especially pleased Alexander Wohlfahrth is that his worry about a lack of young blood was apparently unfounded. For a few years now he’s been noticing quite a few young people at the Buschtaxi meeting who obviously have a real appetite for the vehicles, the wrenching and the travel. That’s a positive development for the whole scene, that these vehicles and this way of life aren’t rejected by younger people but actively embraced.
Alexander Wohlfahrth was also especially pleased by the contentment and the happy faces he could see among the people. When the departure wave got going on Sunday, we could experience it ourselves, as Alexander said goodbye to the participants at the gate and was sent off by them. Handshakes, praise and thanks showed that the 22nd Buschtaxi meeting too was a success.
A meeting from the community for the community
The participants themselves help shape the meeting too. Anyone who knows or can do something gladly showed it in workshops and talks, so that everyone can benefit from it. This year there was again a large and broad offering. Here just a small excerpt: workshop “H registration” (historic-vehicle plates), travel and long-distance travel reports from various continents, solar and onboard electrics, LED lighting, first aid, engine maintenance and care, and more.
If you’d like to become part of the Buschtaxi family too, take a look in Europe’s largest Toyota forum and register there: The Buschtaxi forum.
Suppliers and manufacturers are there too
As one of the few brand meetings, the Buschtaxi meeting has also managed to successfully combine a meeting with a, albeit modest, fair. That doesn’t always work. It shows how closely connected this scene around the Toyota off-road vehicles is, how family-like the relationships are.
It’s not only Toyotas that come
The lovely thing about the Buschtaxi meeting is that it’s not only the legendary Land Cruiser that’s celebrated here, but that increasingly other makes from other brands are to be found too. The scene also celebrates itself there to a degree, and people simply feel at ease among like-minded folk.
© Photos: Alexander Wohlfahrth, Michael Fritzen