Tag Archives: Germany

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Day 63: Cologne, Germany to Chimay, Belgium

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Number of tie wraps: 50 (holding steady)

Countdown: 8419 miles down, 166 to go

It was too foggy for a river cruise in Cologne, but before we left we took a short walking tour of the city center that included the magnificent cathedral, which is on the list of “Top Ten Things to See in Germany.” We all agreed that if we had seen this cathedral first, the others we’ve visited would have disappointed. This one was worth the wait, although the photos below don’t really do it justice.

 

Interior of the Cologne Cathedral

Interior of the Cologne Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Example of stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral

Example of stained glass window at Cologne Cathedral (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

We hit the road about 11 a.m. after attaching our newly acquired Germany colors to the cars to show our football allegiances during Sunday’s World Cup final.

 

German flag on the Roadster

German flag on the Roadster (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

German colors on the Envoy

German colors on the Envoy (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

We didn’t have any major rain during the drive, but fog and mist limited our roadside sightseeing, and I didn’t even notice we had crossed into Belgium until my cell phone blipped a text message welcoming me to Bel Proximus. About 1 o’clock, we exited the highway and drove into the small town of Eupen. We weren’t sure why Eupen had been included on our itinerary, but we figured that once we arrived in town it would be obvious. Eupen was a pretty Belgian town, but not seeing any major tourist attractions, we stopped at a local eatery for some famous Belgian fries, which we kept warm by resting them on the Roadster hood. The people who sold us the fries couldn’t think of any reason why we might want to visit Eupen either!

 

Frites place in Eupen, Belgium

Frites place in Eupen, Belgium (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Savoring the frites

Savoring the frites (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Refreshed with fries, we drove on to Chimay via a winding and picturesque country road.

 

The road to Chimay

The road to Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Sample of the scenery on the way to Chimay

Sample of the scenery on the way to Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

With only about 3,000 people, Chimay is the smallest town we’ve visited during our trip. We’re staying at a beautiful bed and breakfast, Le Petit Chapitre, that dates to the 18th century, comes complete with two cats, and is located on the town square within walking distance of everything we might need — pubs, restaurants, post office, laundromat, store with batteries and potato chips, a nice church and even a castle, which we plan to visit during our day off.

 

La Petite Chapitre Bed and Breakfast in Chimay

La Petite Chapitre Bed and Breakfast in Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Calico cat at Le Petit Chapitre

Calico cat at Le Petit Chapitre (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

Best of all, we discovered Chimay beer! The beer is brewed by Trappist Monks, and there are four kinds: red, white, blue, and gold. The gold is a special beer that the monks originally kept for themselves, but they now allow a handful of people, including Le Petit Chapitre, to sell very small quantities. Click here for more information about Chimay beer.

We walked to a tavern across the street from our B&B to sample the red, white and blue beers and after dinner we raided our mini-bars to check out the gold. The beer was some of the best we have ever tasted in one of the best settings we can imagine, so our hats are off to Mir for setting us up here!

 

Red Chimay

Red Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

Gold Chimay

Gold Chimay (Eileen Bjorkman photo)

 

After a day of errands and relaxation in Chimay, we’ll head to Rheims on Saturday, a short drive of 124 km, and then it’s on to Paris!

 

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Days 61-62: Berlin to Hanover to Cologne

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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.

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Day 60: Berlin

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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.