Leg 1 of the World Auto Tour 2014 - Yokohama, Japan to Paris, France
Leg 1 Days 1-3 Yokohama, Japan
Leg 1 Day 6 Lake Biwa, Otsu, Japan
Leg 1 Days 25-27 Ulan Ude, Russia
Photo Credit: Vladimir Kvashnin
Leg 1 Day 28 Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Russia
Photo Credit: Vladimir Kvashnin
Leg 1 Days 47-49 Moscow, Russia
Leg 1 Days 49-51 St. Petersburg, Russia
Photo Credit: Lindsay Fincher
Leg 1 Days 54-55 Vilnius, Lithuania
Photo Credit: Lithuanian State
Leg 2 Partial Route Paris, France to Hirtshals, Denmark
Leg 3 Retracing the Yellowstone Trail, the 1st Transcontinental Automobile Highway

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Tonder to Aalborg, Denmark

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We decided to take back roads over to the Danish coast and take the coastal route along the North Sea. That turned out to be a great decision as the weather was perfect with an off shore wind keeping the temperature warm, but not as hot as Germany. The back roads were spectacular with lush farmland and most importantly no traffic….great to get off the autobahn!!

Large sand dunes were all along the coastal route meaning you only got a view of the North Sea from time to time, however, it was still very scenic. Somewhere along the drive, Leo decided one of his bucket list items was a swim in the North Sea….Leo not only needs a new bucket list, but a new bucket to put it in!!! Anyway, somehow he talked Karen into it as well ( must be his military training). I wasn’t quite as brave, and have a better bucket list, so only did a little sub zero water temp wading…..Luke wouldn’t even do that.

 

Leo and Karen in the North Sea

Leo and Karen in the North Sea

Yours truly in the North Sea

Yours truly in the North Sea

 

With the bucket list completed, we packed up (minus the carrying bag for Leo’s sleeping bag which blew out to sea when he was trying to put it on the sand to lay on) we headed for our hotel in Aalborg. Just before our destination, we stopped for gas and a guy came driving up in a 1957 Chevy. He had just come from a car show in a nearby Danish coastal town that was holding a week long car show featuring only American cars from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and they were expecting over 600 cars. Since it was only a 30 minute drive we agreed to show up the next morning.

The next morning we drove down to the show and as we entered the small town, American and Danish flags were lining the streets….not something you see everyday in Denmark!! The show turned out to be great made up from cars coming from Norway, Sweden and of course Denmark….one thing about this trip, you never know whats going to happen from day to day

 

American flags in place for the all American car show

American flags in place for the all American car show

Tomorrow we head for Hirtshals, DK to catch the ferry for Iceland….it is 823 nautical miles and takes 2 1/2 days via the Faroe Islands. We’re excited about seeing Iceland, but sad that our guide Karen has left the group and is returning to her home in Germany….we are now on our own. We really miss her as she was a great lady and thought what we were doing was perfectly normal, meaning that she is as crazy as we are!!

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After our visit with Klaus and Mia we headed we made a stop in Hamburg on the way to our overnight at a small B&B in Tonder, Denmark. Hamburg is a great port city that for whatever reason is often overlook by tourists. One of the must see’s is Miniature World, especially if you are into model railroads. It occupies two complete floors in an old brick warehouse right on the main canal running through the city and features miniature displays of major cities throughout the world, complete with trains (of course), airports (planes actually take off), container ships that move, etc and all done to exact scale….I’m nor really into that kind of thing, but even I was impressed. A couple examples are shown below….this place is huge and you could easily spend the day.

The other cool thing is the display lighting changes from day to night and back to day as well….I’m sure this was way better than the French Fry Museum we bypassed!

 

Las Vegas in Minature

Las Vegas in Minature

Mountain Scene

Mountain Scene

Night Time Airport Scene

Night Time Airport Scene

After a few hours here, and a short walk in the city center we headed for Denmark, stopping at the Germany/Denmark border to pick up some liquid refreshment. It seems that beer in Denmark is very expensive compared to Germany, so half of Denmark drives to Germany to by beer…..I’m not talking a case or two, I’m talking pallets! Ground zero for all of this is called Scandia…it makes a Super Walmart look like a rest room. Anyway, after a quick stop there for milk and cookies we headed for our B&B in Tonder, DK.

Tonder dates back to around 1200 and was best known for it’s lace work and farming….interesting combination, anyway a very picturesque small town. We ended up staying in a 2 BR home owned by the B&B that our guide Karen stayed in nearby. Being it was Leo’s B’Day, Karen cooked a great pasta dinner in his honor….perfect end to a long day.

The Roadster and I in front of the B&B with the owner...she and her husband have a great MGA

The Roadster and I in front of the B&B with the owner…she and her husband have a great MGA

The roadster is still running great and the weather has been super…sunny and warm. In fact, Germany has said it’s one of the warmest on record. Needless to say it’s great to have A/C in the car…..NOT!! I only wish it was so…it just adds to the driving experience of having a sauna on wheels. It’s like living in an Indian Sweat Lodge in Death Valley!!!

All for now

 

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Visit With Friends

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After leaving Amsterdam, we headed for Visselhovede, Germany to see our friends Klaus and Mia Von Deylen. We met them in 2008 when we drove the American leg of the 1908 NY to Paris Great Race, traveling from NYC to San Francisco. Though no one knew each other prior to the tour, it turned out to be a great mix of participants and  one of the best and most fun car tours I have done.

 

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R to L ….Klaus, Mia, Christopher (Son), Cora (Christopher’s Girlfriend)

Christopher is a well known musician in Europe and currently moving into the US music scene as well…..Check him out on Google, YouTube and his website:  musik.schillerserver.de

Both Klaus and Mia have toured the world extensively, participating in various rally’s and car events…..in fact, Klaus had just returned from the Himalayas a few days before after participating in a drive to the highest village in the world at an elevation of over 18,380 ft. Because of the lack of oxygen, the only vehicles that will operate at that height are turbo diesels….and the road is pretty much single lane with sheer cliffs dropping thousands of feet with no guard rails. The other issue is rocks dropping off the cliffs  from above….all this combined make it one of the most dangerous roads to drive in the world. This is not the road for the meek and timid….

 

Japan wat #2 074

Klaus at the top!!!

 

We arrived mid afternoon and spent the time catching up on things since we last met…..while that was going on Klaus offered his shop and car lift to check over the roadster for any potential problems. Believe it or not everything checked out fine until we were lowering the car on the lift. As it was going down, we noticed the right front tire looked really low and when checked had only about 15 lbs of air! We checked for any punctures and could find none so inflated it to correct pressure and left it to check in the morning.

Well, morning came and I checked the tire pressure and of course it was low once again. Fortunately, we met Klaus and family for breakfast and I mentioned the problem and the next thing I knew Klaus was on the phone calling a nearby garage. We finished eating and Klaus and I headed for the garage to get it checked out. They pulled the tire and found no nail or puncture in the tire, and also could find no leak in the inner tube using soapy water. They finally put the tube in a water tank and sure enough, a tiny leak showed up. Now that the leak was found it was a quick job to patch and re-balance the tire. It’s now been several days and the tire is fine….no air leak !!! Thanks Klaus !!!!!!

 

 

Klaus shop

Luke and I checking over the roadster

 

Klaus also has a great car collection as well ….my personal favorite is “Bertha” his 1928 Daimler with a sleeve valve engine. The sleeve valve was a different technology that didn’t use a standard valve configuration but rather 2 sleeves that moved up and down surrounding the piston cylinder wall. This setup provided a very quite running engine, however, its main drawback was because of the oiling requirements they produced a lot of exhaust smoke. When Klaus started the car it ran like a watch….you could hardly hear it run!! Klaus then got out of the drivers seat and walked to the rear of the car, threw up his hands and exclaimed….”where’s the smoke”!!! Klaus explained the way he solved the smoke problem …..it’s his secret so you’ll have to ask him.

 

Klaus's Daimler

Klaus’s Daimler

 

Daimler Sleeve Valve Engine

Daimler Sleeve Valve Engine

 

Thanks again Klaus, Mia, Christopher and Cora for all your hospitality in providing us with a relaxing day and our first home cooked meal with friends in over 2 1/2 months on the road….it was really a great

 

the tour group relaxing

the tour group relaxing

 

 

I’m a little behind on our travels, but plan to catch up when we board the ferry tomorrow AM bound for Iceland…..also, we bid our last guide/translator goodbye this afternoon and are now on our own. Karen, we’ll really miss you!!!!!!!