Days 61-62: Berlin to Hanover to Cologne

Number of tie wraps: 50 (one added since last post)

Countdown: 8251 miles down, 334 to go

Sorry to miss the post last night – I didn’t have an Internet connection and the World Cup took precedence anyway! Before I forget, I wanted to post a picture I missed from the other day that shows Leo with his friends Siegfried and Inge Niedek. Siegfried and Inge were the ones who alerted us to Heidi Hetzer’s circumnavigation of the globe, which I blogged about two days ago.

Leo with German friends Siegfried and Inge Niedek at our hotel in Berlin

Leo with German friends Siegfried and Inge Niedek at our hotel in Berlin (Leo Jannsens photo)

Today we had two bright spots in our rainy drive to Cologne — an auto museum and a castle. The Automobil-Museum is near the city of Dormund, and it displays a rotating set of cars from a collection owned by the von Graeve family, along with automobile-related items, such as those shown in the picture below. The sign for Veedol oil reminded me of the “Miss Veedol,” the first airplane to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean, a feat accomplished by Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon in 1931.

Display at the auto museum in Dortmund

Display at the auto museum in Dortmund (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

The museum also has a bar with an interesting beer tap made from an old Jaguar engine.

Jaguar engine beer tap

Jaguar engine beer tap (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

While we were having pizzas for lunch at the Pizzaria in the museum, Barbara van Graeve stopped by to say hello and to tell us about the Mille Miglia, an annual 1000-mile car rally that takes place in Italy. There is a restaurant at the museum named after the rally, and the restaurant interior is a replica of the square in the town of Brescia where the race begins.

Mille Mignia Restaurant with Barbara von Graeve and her Italian chef

Mille Mignia Restaurant with Barbara von Graeve and her Italian chef (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Luke had never seen a castle before, so after leaving the auto museum, we drove to the Schloss Burg for a quick tour and pictures from the top of the tower.

Schloss Burg, outside the town of Solingen

Schloss Burg, outside the town of Solingen (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

It's a long way down from the top of the tower!

It’s a long way down from the top of the tower! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

View of the valley from the top of the tower

View of the valley from the top of the tower (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

We arrived in Cologne about 5 p.m., in plenty of time for a nice Italian dinner. I have a beautiful view of the cathedral in the center of town from my hotel window.

View from my hotel room in Cologne

View from my hotel room in Cologne (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Tuesday (yesterday) we had an easy drive to Hanover, although John added another tie wrap to the Roadster after the door latch on the driver’s side broke. This brings the tie wrap total to 50, or one tie wrap for approximately every 160 miles driven.

Tie wrap #50!

Tie wrap #50! (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

A few hundred feet before our hotel in Hanover, Luke and John spotted a “Pit Stop” auto service chain right down the road, so they took the Roadster to get the tires balanced. Karen and I took the U-Bahn into the town center and began a walking tour, but we were soon distracted by a free jazz concert (small glass of white wine included) at the Market Church. The concert was scheduled to begin at 10 p.m., but the organizers had “pre-poned” it to 9 p.m. because they knew that at 10 everyone in Germany would be watching the World Cup. We listened to two very talented 23-year-old pianists play duets for a half-dozen songs, including “That Old Devil Moon” and several improvisations. One of the pianists was Toms Mikals, from Latvia, and the other was Lennart Smidt, a Hanover native.

 

Inside of Market Church where the jazz concert was held

Inside of Market Church where the jazz concert was held (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

After the concert, we found a nearby bar to watch the World Cup semi-final game between Germany and Brazil. Germany was ahead 1-0 when we arrived, but within a few minutes, Germany had scored three more goals and the atmosphere in the bar went from excitement to an almost disbelief that the game could be going so well.

 

One of many places for watching the World Cup semi-final game last night

One of many places for watching the World Cup semi-final game last night (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

At halftime, with the score 5-0, we walked back toward the U-Bahn, figuring we would finish watching the game at our hotel. As we passed a bar near the Market Church where the concert was held, we spotted the two young pianists and went over to tell them how much we enjoyed their playing. Lennart Smidt’s fatherwas also there, and it turns out that he plays the organ for the Market Church and has also played a concert in Seattle. Small world!

When we arrived at the train station, electronic signs indicated that trains were running, but the station was devoid of people, creating an eerie contrast to the supercharged crowds just a few feet above us. We had just missed a train on the line we needed, and the next one wouldn’t arrive for 30 minutes, so we decided that was a sign for us to stay in town, and we found a rocking Irish Pub and settled in to watch Germany finish trouncing Brazil with a final score of 7-0. We’re planning to pick up some German flags or t-shirts to watch the final game in Paris in Sunday. Go Germany!

Tomorrow we drive 271 km to Chimay, Belgium, where we’ll enjoy chocolates and beer until Saturday. From there, we push into France and arrive on Sunday in Paris — the World Auto Tour Leg 1 final destination.

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.