End of the Road

Sunday 12th May - Kiel Time

During the night the rain started up again, my head became thicker than it already is and my throat a tad more scratchy. The rain isn’t heavy so packing up isn’t too bad. Our destination today is the Baltic port of Kiel which is approximately 220km away. We got going around 10:30am and with a break for lunch we arrived at around 3:00pm.

The camping ground is a small 32 space stellplatz (Wohnmobil-Stellpltz Kiel) with basic camping facilities. The real bonus it is right on the water with views of the water and the lock. The rain has stopped momentarily which gave Alice, Jens and I the opportunity to enjoy our surroundings. There is a small kitchen cum restaurant that sells snacks and drinks. It was doing a brisk business and seemed popular with the locals who come down to watch the boats as they enter and leave the lock. We managed to get a seat with a good view and spent a couple of beers watching the water. Jens who is an old sailor was full of information on the boats and different nationalities sailing through these waters. Alice and I still had some energy so we took a long walk to where the lock is controlled. The lock is quite large and can accommodate large cruise ships, bulk containers as well as pleasure craft. The lock links the Baltic Sea with the North Sea via the Nord-Ostsee Kanal which saves about 450km of travel for ships accessing Baltic ports. It essentially cuts across the land mass and eliminates the need to sail around Denmark.

The restaurant closes early so Alice purchased a couple of meals that we could reheat. The food was good but my health was going down with the sun so it was off to bed.

Monday 13th May – Goodbye Jens

The rain came down all night and this morning we can barely discern the sea due to the cloud and mist. I’m feeling better but it will not be fun packing up and driving today. The reason we are in Kiel is that it is only 60km from Flensburg and Jens will head up there this morning. He is returning to Ordrup two weeks early to see if he can get on top of his health issues. Alice, myself and the GPS are going to head off into the great unknown and try to spend a few days in Berlin. 

We did manage to get Jens on the road to Flensburg by 10:30 and subsequent reports had him at home base in Ordrup by 5:00. Alice and I dropped into the local supermarket and replenished supplies as stocks were running low. Loaded up with essentials that included some beers for me we started on the road towards Berlin. The rain was a constant annoyance but the kilometres kept ticking over on the excellent German road network. The scenery was mostly rural but it was somewhat sanitized due to travelling on major roads. Not long after turning onto the A24 which would bring us close to Berlin we pulled over for a lunch break. On the highways it seems like every 35km there is a rest area with toilets (not always clean) and excellent parking areas.

As I was tired from the night before the last hundred kilometres were especially tough. I was yawning every few minutes so we pulled over for a five minute break. It ended up being a 30 minute break as we started up a conversation with a German couple in their early 70’s who were heading back to southern Berlin. They were a Christian couple who spoke English with an American accent. The wife liked Alice so much that she gave us her address and invited her for coffee. It would be nice if we can make it, time will tell.

Around 5:00pm we reached our destination the Reisemobilhafen Stellplatz (16euro) which is located in Spandau and about 15km from the centre. The camping area is a bit rough and ready but it will serve our needs for a couple of nights. After setting up camp Alice and I were ready for a good natter but we had to put it on hold. It seems we are on the flight path for the Berlin’s airport as there is an aircraft landing every five minutes. Luckily for us it did not continue into the night.

Tuesday 14th May – Spandau Ballet

Well here we are in Spandau and I can’t help thinking where are the Russians, the band and the lycra. Oops, that would mean we are staying in Spandex. Okay I am rambling here but have a listen to “True” by Spandau Ballet and google Spandau as it used to be a Russian prison. The manager of the camping ground has been quite helpful and given me the information I need for us to travel into Berlin on public transport, I love it. We ended up catching an articulated bus the M45 down to the Spandau Town Hall where we could catch an underground metro (U7) or the (S5) train. We had no idea on how to purchase a ticket and after a failed attempt with at customer service, “Ich spreche Deutsche” only we ended up at vending machine. With some help from a friendly German we were able to purchase an all day ticket for 7euro. Perfect, so we headed down the steps and jumped on the U7 for I don’t know where. We consulted the map which we picked up from the unhelpful customer service centre and realized that we should have caught the S5 wherever that was. We found a point on the map where both lines intersected and took a punt that we could manage a transfer. After we alighted the U7 it was Alice who potted the “S” symbol in the distance which turned out to be our deliverance. After all this trial and error we eventually arrived at Berlin’s main station at Hauptbahnhof. There is not much in the immediate vicinity but it is the major point for the Hop On, Hop Off buses, trams, trains and the metro. It is also only a couple of kilometres from some of the major tourist sites.

We could not make up our mind what we wanted to do and as half the day was already over we decided to forego the bus option. We walked back into the train station area and took lunch at one of the many eateries. In the end we decided on a Discover Berlin Walking Tour www.berlinwalks.com  which departed near the “S” station named Hackescher Markt at 2:00pm. I couldn’t believe it as when we went in for lunch the sun was burning me and when we came out an hour later the rain was pelting down.

Nevertheless we had made up our minds and so we boarded yet another train for two stops. We were early and thought we may be lucky enough to end up with a personal tour. It wasn’t to be as the tour ended up being seven of us. The good news was that the rain decided to stop and we had clear skies for the start of the tour. Our guide Kevin was an Englishman who had a masters in history and has been living in Berlin for over four years. After a short walk we stopped in a park where he had a history lesson with themes of Prussian, Imperial, Nazi, Cold War and 21st Century Berlin. The narrative stretched from Berlin’s swampy origins in medieval times to recent controversies about the design to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Kevin was definitely passionate and gave us a good insight to all the sites we visited. Many of the historical buildings for instance are relatively new as 80% of Berlin was destroyed during World War 2. Some of the sites we visited were as follows:

Berlinwalks- The Original English Sightseeing & Walking Tours www.berlinwalks.com
Berlin Walks - the Original English language guided walking tours. Discover the many historic attractions of east and west with one of our experienced travel guides. Sightseeing tours are daily and tickets are available online. Many tours are available and include visits to the infamous Berlin wall, Berlin Dom, The TV tower, the Reichstag, Third Reich sites and many more!

§  Museum Island

§  Hohenzollern City Palace

§  War Memorial (Neue Wache)

§  Berlin Cathedral

§  Bebelplatz, site of Nazi book burning (another controversial modern sculpture)

§  Humboldt University

§  Brandenburg Gate – closed for a European Cup fan walk

§  Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial)

§  Berlin Wall

§  Site of SS and Gestapo Headquarters (Topography of Terror)

§  Hitler’s Bunker – Only the site as it is buried somewhere beneath a children playground

§  Checkpoint Charlie – The site is just a few sandbags with actors dressed as US military who pose for pictures and a few euro



We finished our tour around 6:00pm in a beautiful square called Gendarmenmarkt. It was good timing as the rain started to fall again. After thanking Kevin for a great tour which we would highly recommend we headed off to catch the S train. We must have it worked out by now as there were no hassles returning to the campground.

Wednesday 15th June – Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial

Today we are up early as we have booked another walking tour to visit Sachsenhausen where tens of thousands perished at the hands of the Nazis. The weather started off cloudy but by the time we reached the train the rain was tumbling down. We thought that this would be good as who wants to visit a concentration camp in the rain. The answer is plenty as we had about 30 people in our group with a good smattering of Aussies. We took the regional train RE 5 from Hauptbahnhof Station to Oranienburg (two stops) which took about 25 minutes (purchase an all day ticket for ABC zones for 7.60euro). From here there is an 804 bus to the camp but with so many large walking tours you need to take a twenty minute signposted walk to reach the destination. Our guide was able to give us good background information on many aspects of the camp including how the SS used the Station Z execution complex to perpetrate acts of mass murder, killing 10,000 Soviet POW’s in 1941. This camp was not like Auschwitz which was an extermination camp built during the war. It was built in 1936 and was used in the beginning to house political prisoners and undesirables such as homosexuals, Seventh Day Adventists, Gypsies and of course Jews. The complex is well laid out and you can visit the prison within the prison where Stalin’s son was detained. His father would not swap him for a German General as he was only a Lieutenant and eventually committed suicide.

At around 3:15pm we finished the tour (worth doing but with a smaller group) and headed back to the train station which for me is yet another story. I had been to the toilet and Alice started walking. I hadn’t really been specific about where we would meet and as I hadn’t seen her I thought she may have been waiting for me at another location near the camp. I sprinted back to the camp and saw no sign of my queen so with only 12 minutes before the train was due to depart I had to put on my running shoes. The rain had now stopped and the sun was shining. Half way down the street my calf muscle blew out and I was reduced to a crawl. I knew that I had to keep moving if I wanted to catch the train so I did my best Cliffy Young impersonation and shuffled down the street. With my jumper on I was sweating like a pig but there was no time to remove it. The station was in sight and with a last spurt I made it onto the platform with 90 seconds to spare. Alice was there waiting for me and was just about to mount her own search party. Once we were on the train I was able to cool down, relax and massage my calf muscle. I ended up purchasing some Voltaren gel to help ease the pain.

Back in Spandau there was a small market happening so we purchased some fresh white asparagus to have with a pork steak for dinner. A couple of beers and I was ready for bed.

Thursday 16th June – Da Plane Boss, Da Plane

This morning we have a bright sunny day which is perfect for us to do some exploring on our own. With so many planes passing overhead we can’t help thinking about the old sitcom “Fantasy Island” where the butler (can’t remember his name) turns to Ricardo Montablam and says “Plane Boss, Da Plane”. Anyhow we trundled off to the bus stop to catch the M45 which we will take all the way to the terminus. I’m glad that I validated our tickets as just before the metro station the bus was pulled over and about six inspectors checked everybody’s tickets. They were very efficient and managed to catch a couple of fare evaders including the young girl in front of us. They were taken off the bus and looked like they were given fines. They even had police backup. It was all very efficient and done at the maximum load point where it would be most effective. My old colleagues at TransLink could learn a few lessons here.

When we reached the terminus at the Zoological Gardens we transferred to the double-decker 100 bus to see some of Berlin’s most well known sites. Between the 100 and 200 you can visit just about everything in the city centre and with a 10 minute frequency you don’t have long to wait. It is a great substitute for the hop on, hop off bus. We ended up getting off at the Brandenburg Gate which is still closed as Germany is playing Poland tonight. From here it is only a short walk to the Reichstag which is one of Berlin’s most iconic buildings. Built in 1894 it has been burnt, bombed, rebuilt, buttressed by the Berlin Wall, wrapped in fabric and eventually turned into the home of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag. It’s most distinctive feature, the glittering glass dome, is accessible by lift (reservations necessary, www.bundestag.de) and gives you a great view of the city.

We took a break for lunch at a cheap place which is near the Holocaust Memorial and recommended by our guide from the walking tour. Our next stop was the free subterranean “Ort der Information” at the Holocaust Memorial. The exhibits which cover the Nazi regime period will not leave you untouched. There are reflections on audio and video from survivors which add to the realism of the atrocity. It would be easy to spend a few hours here. We took a short walk from here back to the Wall so we could have a more in depth look at the Topography of Terror. There is an excellent timeline of events from around 1932-1945 with photographs, newspaper cuttings and English text which highlights the activities of the SS. There is also a free museum on the site which provides even more information.

We have had enough of the Nazis and Alice wanted to look at a shoe shop so we wandered past Checkpoint Charlie and caught the Metro to the shoe store. Alice didn’t like the merchandise so we decided to try and get in a river cruise. The Spree River cuts through the heart of Berlin and there are quite a few companies operating one hour cruises. We found one which was leaving in the next few minutes but unfortunately we needed cash. An ATM was the answer and we managed to find one nearby that was able to dispense some much needed cash. It appears that in most establishments in Germany that cash is king. The cruise was cheap enough as I was able to pass Alice off as a senior which brought the price down to 12 euro. A young guy provided a highly entertaining commentary in German and English which was far better than a sterile commentary from inadequate headphones. The cruise itself travelled past many of the historic and modern sites and you do get a different perspective from the river. We really enjoyed the cruise and would recommend it. It was nearly 6:00pm so we headed back to the tracks and caught our “S” train back to Spandau. The journey back was quite entertaining as we had a drunken neo-nazi taking aim at the immigrants. The finger pointing, gesticulations and offensive guttural language endeared him to all of our fellow travelers. He didn’t stop for the entire journey and stayed on board until we reached the terminus.

There are a couple of restaurants near the campground so for a change we decided to eat out.  I chose an Italian restaurant that had the European Cup on the television. The waitress spoke a little English and we managed to place our order without too much difficulty. Our beer and wine was promptly delivered and the pasta we ordered was a huge serving and delicious. Neither of us was able to finish our meal. Oh and the football, Northern Ireland defeated Ukraine two nil.

Friday 17th June- Wet Day, No Play

Well it looks like our plans for today will not eventuate as during the night it started to rain again. It is heavy at times but mostly it is just a constant drumming on the camper roof. If we were keen, bright and enthusiastic then we could put on all our wet weather gear and brave the elements but it isn’t worth the effort. There is no point being miserable even to see the Pergamon Museum.

The rain finally eased up around 4:00pm and by then it was too late for any sightseeing. We did however decide to treat ourselves to dinner. There is a small restaurant 100 metres away at the crossroads which seems to do a roaring trade with takeaway German Sausage. Not being interested in takeaway we headed into the Beirgarten of the Rosen Garten restaurant. There was a blackboard menu written in German that we had no chance of deciphering. The waitress tried to help but she ended up getting the owner who introduced herself and explained the menu in detail. When we had made our selections she gave us a sample to ensure that it was to our liking. It was and a few minutes later we had a beer and a wine sitting on the table. The food when it arrived was plentiful and delicious. It was a good end to what was not a perfect day.

Saturday 18th June – Sunshine

We decided yesterday that we would stay in Berlin for an extra day if the weather was fine. The sun is definitely out and we headed off into the city around 10:30. I had spent a bit of time on the internet this morning and managed to secure tickets for a 1:30pm to visit the Dome at the Reichstag. Our first stop however was in the city west area, the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche. This bombed out tower of this church, consecrated in 1895, serves as an antiwar memorial. It stands quiet and dignified amid the roaring traffic. The adjacent octagonal hall of worship, added in 1961, has amazing midnight-blue walls and a giant “floating” Jesus. Our visit was heightened by the beautiful sound of the church choir who happened to be practicing.

After our visit we jumped onto the 100 bus for a short trip to the Victory Monument (Siegessaule). This huge monument used to be in front of the Reichstag but was moved to this location in 1938. It is now at the centre of a huge roundabout and is Berlin’s answer to the Arch di Triomphe. Alice and I are always up for a climb so another 250 plus steps to reach the viewing platform was no problem. The monument was started in 1860 something after the Prussian victory over Denmark. It is adorned with a gilded statue of The Goddess of Victory. The view looking down the avenues was fantastic and well worth the climb.

Back on the 100 again and we alighted at the stop for the Reichstag. We were a little early which gave us time for some lunch and a very ordinary cup of coffee. Just before our appointed time we headed over to the Reichstag for our entry into the Dome. I was glad that we had booked as there was a long queue of people trying to get in for a visit for slots that were available after 6:00pm. It is now the home of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag and was designed by Lord Norman Foster a British architect. Its most distinctive feature, the glittering glass dome, is accessible by lift and affords fabulous 360 degree views. To reach the platform at the top of the cupola you take a slow walk on the 200 metre spiral ramp. The walk is enhanced with the free audio guide that is provided. The views were great and it is definitely worth the effort to reserve your tickets.

Guess what, we jumped on the 100 bus again and headed off towards Museum Island. Our destination is the Pergamon Museum which is undergoing renovation and hopefully will open a fascinating window to the ancient world. We purchased our 12euro tickets and headed upstairs and were immediately stunned by the grandeur of radiant-blue Ishtar Gate from Babylon.  The animal motifs looked like they had only been recently created and not something from 3000 years ago. Other highlights were the Roman Market Gate of Miletus and the wall from the Caliph’s Palace of Mshatta. Unfortunately, the Pergamon Altar is off limits until the renovations are completed in 2019. On the upper floor there is also a very good Islamic collection.

After an hour and a half we called it quits and headed across the river for a quiet drink before heading back to Spandau. Our journey was interrupted when we came across the original Webber barbeque store. We could not resist and went inside to admire all of the Webber equipment and accessories. Alice was particularly taken with one of the units that sported a sky blue lid. In the end we just drooled and did not purchase anything. The beer did not eventuate either as there were no spare tables at the establishment that we wanted to visit. And so it goes!

Sunday 19th June - Towards Flensburg

Alice and I really enjoyed our visit to Berlin. The public transport is easy to use which is great if you want to visit the many historical monuments and sites. Food is reasonably priced and there are a number of free attractions to offset the cost of museum entry fees.

Today we are heading back towards Flensburg where we will try and find a camping spot near the water. The drive today is about 420km and as it is Sunday there will be hardly any big trucks on the road. We were able to get going at 9:00am and apart from the first 13km when leaving Spandau the trip has been on highway. A little boring perhaps but the kilometres sped quickly by. Over lunch we chose a camping park, Schlei-Karschau which is in the Schleswig region. The rest of the drive was fairly relaxed except for one incident on the outskirts of Kiel where I missed the turn off for Flensburg. Fortunately we did not have to travel too far up the highway before we could turn around and get back on course.

We arrived around 3:00pm and Alice soon had us on a nice grassy site. The only issue that we have is the wind which is howling at around 30 knots. Fortunately, there is some protection but the wind chill means that my cheap $10 jacket from Aalborg is getting another wear. Later in the afternoon the wind dropped enough for us to take a walk and admire our surroundings. The camp ground is adjacent to the only fjord on the Baltic Sea and if you are into fishing it would be an ideal place for a visit. There is a boat ramp next to a very small beach and a well grassed area with a couple of seats to enjoy the view. If it wasn’t so windy I would be cracking the top off a bottle of bubbly.

After a late dinner we sat around talking and enjoying the remaining daylight hours. Around 10:00pm we rang Brisbane to wish Jemma a happy 25th birthday. We didn’t talk for long as she was getting ready for work.

Monday 29th June – Happy Birthday Jemma

At the moment the sun is out and the promised rain may not arrive until later in the day. The wind however is very strong and would have no problem in blowing out the candles on a centurion’s birthday cake. Small things do amuse small minds and this morning I was amused by the toilet. It seems that in this neck of the woods that they have reverse toilet pans. That is the “S” bend is at the front of the toilet which means that your business sits on a little ledge. This is probably a good thing for us oldies as you can inspect your business prior to flushing it away. You definitely need a toilet brush for this system! 

Just after 9:00am we gave Jemma another call and managed to catch her on the way home from work. Alice and I both miss our girls and it is especially more poignant on occasion such as this. It seems that whenever we travel in Europe I miss celebrating Jem’s birthday with her. That is one of the downsides in travelling to far off places for an extended period.

Just before lunch we decided to brave the elements and explore the region. This area is a bicycle rider’s paradise as there is a huge network of bikeways throughout the region. Everywhere we drove there were septuagenarians astride their two wheeled conveyances exploring the countryside and keeping the blood flowing to their hearts. Our drive took us along the shore of the fjord an eventually we had to cross over via a draw-bridge. We had to wait a few minutes as the bridge was up to allow a few sailing boats to pass through. The bridge itself is one-way only traffic with the rail line taking precedence. After crossing the bridge we were tempted to stop at the pick your own strawberries farm but there were already too many pensioners stooped over the rows. We continued our drive through the countryside and passed through a number of small hamlets which contained neat little German summer houses.

We took a late lunch overlooking the fjord on one side and a farm growing corn on the other. Just below the parking bay which was in the middle of nowhere there was a bicycle path which was doing a brisk business. Walkers and riders were on the move in the deepest part of Schleswig. Alice was keen to have a stroll around the harbor town of Kappelin. Unfortunately that did not eventuate as it appeared all the locals were in town and parking spaces were at a premium. We ended up arriving back at the campground at 2:30pm but when we tried to enter the boom gate would not engage. Eventually, we discovered that you cannot enter the campground between 1:00 and 3:00 which I am sure you can imagine is a bit strange. We found a place to park outside and waited patiently for the requisite time to elapse. Just after 3:00pm we were granted entry back into the park.

Not long after we had set up the predicted rain started to fall. This in turn meant that I had to pack everything away including the annex. Alice and I shared a special bottle of champagne that we had purchased from Georges Baradon in Epernay. It was a great champers, when you held the glass to your ear you could hear the bubbles bursting as they reached the zenith of their ascent. When you sipped the champagne it felt like it was melting inside your mouth. Ooh! With happy hour over Alice then whipped up a hodge podge of our remaining food which needless to say was delicious. It is now 9:00pm and the rain is tumbling down so it is time for bed.

Tuesday 21st June – Flensburg, the End of the Road

The rain tumbled down for most of the night but fortunately it had stopped by the time we got out of bed. This respite which I think is only temporary will give us enough time to tidy up the camper before we return it to IMC. The Camper has been our little sanctuary for the last 9.5 weeks and has been excellent to drive and camp in. We never did use the shower as it was a little cramped and shared the same place as the toilet. Ours was the basic model with no frills but it served us well.

Jens sent us a text that he was departing Ordrup at 9:17am which means he will be in Flensburg a little after midday. We will leave the campsite around 11:00am and with about 50km to travel our road trip through Western Europe will be over. Lots of history, museums, cathedrals and breathtaking scenery have been our bedfellows on this 7,791km road trip.

We headed off to Flensburg just after 11:00am and had a pleasant drive through the countryside. It was just after midday when we arrived at IMC headquarters which meant that Tina was on lunch and the camper could not be returned until she had taken her mandatory respite from the rigors of the workplace. Jens arrived about 10 minutes later so we spent Tina’s lunchtime unloading the camper and moving our goods and chattels to his BMW. The good news was that we had not damaged the camper and our 1000euro deposit was refunded in full. We finally got on our way a little after 2:00pm but we had a planned stop just before the Danish border. Jens is entitled to bring back duty free alcohol from Germany and yes there is a huge store to meet the needs of the thirsty Danes.

Jens loves driving and it is around 300km back to Ordrup so he put the BMW into cruise control and sped back into Denmark. Just before 6:00pm we passed the golf course on the outskirts of Ordrup. We could see some of the hardy gofers teeing up to start a round of 18 holes. The irony is that they will have no problem completing their rounds in broad daylight. Jytte was at home to greet us and she has some cold beers in the refrigerator for us. She has also prepared a delicious spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. Now that is what I call welcome back