Day 60: Berlin

Number of tie wraps: 49 (holding steady)

Countdown: 7888 miles down, 697 to go

Quote of the day: “I have to leave now to teach a friend how to drive my 1911 Opel racing car.”

At breakfast today, Leo’s two German friends mentioned that a 77 year old Berlin woman, Heidi Hetzer, is preparing to drive around the world in an old car, so Karen and I decided to find her while Luke and John changed the oil in the Roadster and Leo toured Berlin with his friends. Karen checked out Heidi’s website and found an address, so we jumped on the U-bahn (the metro/subway) and soon found ourselves at an Opel service center. Heidi wasn’t around, but we left a message and then headed to an Internet café, where we sent her an email asking if we could possibly meet with her while we were in town today.

Opel Service Center formerly owned by Heidi Hetzer

Opel Service Center formerly owned by Heidi Hetzer (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

About 2:30, while Karen and I were shopping at KaDeWe, the largest department store in Europe, Heidi phoned and said she could meet us at our hotel at about 4 p.m. Heidi arrived in Hudo, the 1930 restored Hudson she will use for circumnavigating the globe. The women reading this need to check out Heidi’s purse!

Heidi and Hudo Hetzer

Heidi and Hudo Hetzer (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Her journey begins on July 27 and she expects the trip to take about two years. As you can see from the photos below, her ambitious route makes ours look like a Sunday afternoon drive.

Part I of Heidi's route

Part I of Heidi’s route (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Part II of Heidi's route

Part II of Heidi’s route (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After Luke provided some advice about a loose wheel, Heidi paid a visit to the Roadster. About 5:30, she said, “I have to leave now to teach a friend how to drive my 1911 Opel racing car!”

Luke providing advice on a slightly loose wheel

Luke providing advice on a slightly loose wheel (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Heidi checking out John's car

Heidi checking out John’s car (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

This evening Karen and I did some sightseeing around Berlin. Our first stop was the Bundestag, the German equivalent of the U.S. Congress. We were much too late to enter the building, but we got some nice views of the outside. I’ll just have to put the inside tour on my list of things to do when I come back!

The Bundestag, Germany's version of Congress

The Bundestag, Germany’s version of Congress (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Next we walked to one of the remnants of the Berlin Wall, passing many Berlin bears on our way. These bears are everywhere in Berlin, and people paint them to match their business or some other theme. The one in this picture was right across from Starbucks but, alas, the Starbucks was closed.

One of many Berlin bears

One of many Berlin bears (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We spent quite a bit of time at the Berlin Wall fragment shown below. I’ve always been struck by pictures of the graffiti that was on the wall when it came down in 1989, and these pieces were no exception.

Berlin Wall remnant

Berlin Wall remnant (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Berlin Wall graffiti

Berlin Wall graffiti (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The line on the sidewalk below denotes the location of the old wall. The white van is straddling line, so the front is in the old East Berlin and the rear is in the old West Berlin.

Location of the former Berlin Wall

Location of the former Berlin Wall (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After walking around for a bit, we found another remnant of the wall below, at the “Topography of Terror.”

Berlin Wall remnant at the Topography of Terror

Berlin Wall remnant at the Topography of Terror (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After leaving the former wall area, we took another U-bahn train to the west side of the city, where we stumbled over a circle of “mini-bears” painted to represent each country in the World Cup.

Some mini-bears for the World Cup -- U.S. is on the right

Some mini-bears for the World Cup — U.S. is on the right (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Some mini-bears for the World Cup -- Germany is on the right

Some mini-bears for the World Cup — Germany is on the right (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We’re still trying to figure out exactly which sights to see tomorrow before or during our trip to Hanover, a distance of 293 km.

Day 59: Poznan, Poland to Berlin, Germany

Number of tie wraps: 49 (holding steady)

Countdown: 7888 miles down, 697 to go

We are in the home stretch now! We left Poznan this morning about 9:15, and soon began seeing signs to Berlin. The roads today in both Poland and Germany were fantastic, the same experience as the original 1908 racers. Although Berlin gave the German Protos team quite a party when they arrived in first place on July 24, 1908, our reception was a bit more subdued. Click here to read the original New York Times article about the Protos reception.

Road sign to Berlin

Road sign to Berlin (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

This morning, after being on the road for about an hour, we stopped at a gas station and stocked up on flavored potato chips for a picnic lunch, including Mexican Cheese Fiesta, Chakalaka Taste of Africa, Kielbasa Onion, and Hot Chili. We also found some refrigerator magnets, bumper stickers, and a CD with a collection of Polish rock music. There were three CDs available, and since we couldn’t read the titles, Karen and I selected the one in the sage green case, bypassing the CDs in the white and bright green cases. Although the bands were Polish, the music sounded similar to early-1980s music in the U.S., such as Journey, the Cars, and Billy Idol. If anyone out there is an avid collector of early-1980s rock music, please let us know and we’ll be happy to pass the CD along after we’ve listened to it for the rest of the trip.

A sample of our chips for lunch

A sample of our chips for lunch (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Before leaving Poland, we took a brief side trip to the town of Swiebodzin, whose residents raised money for the construction of the world’s largest statue of Christ, which was consecrated on November 21, 2010. In addition to the statue, the monument includes many other Catholic traditions, such as the Stations of the Cross and a garden containing the Mysteries of the Rosary.

Statue of Christ in Swiebodzin, Poland

Statue of Christ in Swiebodzin, Poland (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After leaving Swiebodzin, we gobbled down the Mexican- and African-flavored chips (the African ones tasted a bit like curry, in case you were wondering) and decided to keep the other two bags for our next picnic lunch. We traveled a back road for about 30 miles before we reached the main highway again and we saw hundreds of trucks lined up at truck stops and gas stations along the way. Karen told us that trucks aren’t allowed to travel on the autobahn on Sundays during the day, so the truckers just pull over wherever they are and take the day off.

We crossed the Oder River into Germany a little after 12:30.

Crossing the Oder River into Germany

Crossing the Oder River into Germany (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We arrived at our very nice hotel in Berlin a little after 2 and then wandered to the Beer Garden at the Zoo for a beer. Tonight we’ll be eating at a traditional German restaurant, and tomorrow we’ll spend the morning running errands and the afternoon seeing the sights of Berlin.

Beer Garden near our hotel in Berlin

Beer Garden near our hotel in Berlin (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tuesday we head to Hanover, a drive of 293 km.

Day 58: Gdansk to Poznan

Number of tie wraps: 49 (holding steady)

Countdown: 7713 miles down, 872 to go

Yesterday afternoon and evening, we walked around the waterfront and the town center in Gdansk to view the architecture and check out the cuisine. About 90 percent of the buildings in Gdansk were destroyed during World War II, but most of them have been restored to their original condition.

 

Typical street scene in Gdansk

Typical street scene in Gdansk (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Before dinner, we took a whirlwind golf cart tour of the city and then tried some Goldwasser, a vodka liqueur which is made in Gdansk and contains flakes of 23 karat gold. Everyone agreed it was thicker than normal vodka and it went down much smoother. I thought swallowing gold flakes sounded a little weird, but we were all still alive this morning.

 

Goldwasser vodka liqueur

Goldwasser vodka liqueur (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After the Goldwasser, we went to the Velevetka restaurant, where we had a tasty traditional Polish dinner, including Leo’s pig’s knuckle.

 

Pig's knuckle, traditional Polish dish

Pig’s knuckle, traditional Polish dish (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Today we had a nice drive to Poznan on a combination of four-lane highways and back country roads, although even the back roads were in excellent shape. We were at our hotel in Poznan by 3 p.m., early enough to do some exploring. Poznan isn’t nearly as big a tourist attraction as Gdansk, but it still has beautiful architecture, tasty sidewalk cafes, and even surprises on the menu.

 

Street in the old town portion of Poznan

Street in the old town portion of Poznan (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

One of the many sidewalk cafes we saw in Poznan

One of the many sidewalk cafes we saw in Poznan (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Café window in Poznan

Café window in Poznan (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Bar food menu in Poznan

Bar food menu in Poznan — I think gzik and awanturka would be surprises, too! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tomorrow we drive to Berlin, Germany, a distance of 281 km. We’ll be in Berlin on Monday for some exploration and then on to Hanover on Tuesday.