Shep's Old Wurst!

[Shep Shepherd]

Just returned from a five day trip to Berlin, which was great fun. Here's a selection of the old cars I saw and was able to photograph. I saw many more, but they were either on the move or occupied.

 

More Trabants than I have ever seen at once. I liked the blue Universal the most, as it had escaped being U2'd:

 

 

Trabants on the move at the Brandenburg Gate:

 

 

 

A pair of Limousines. Having had a good look at them, I'm not surprised that so many East Germans dumped their Trabis in 1989-1990 and replaced them with ten year old Western cars. I still like them, though:

 

 

 

A Barkas B1000 advertising the motorcycle museum at Alexanderplatz. A marvellous old thing, even though it had been vandalised in the past:

 

 

A Universal parked near the Brandenburg Gate. Probably the sort of thing I would have driven in the late 1980s if I was an East German of driving age, before I got the chance to buy a 15 year old Volvo estate:

 

 

No idea what this is, but it was advertising the Currywurst Museum (which is worth a visit):

 

 

Seriously faded Corolla near my hotel. Not sure what year it was, but it may pre-date die Wende:

 

 

One for the 309 fanciers:

 

 

I really, really like these. I wanted to buy an Avant in 2003, but then The Volvo came along:

 

 

Polish-registered XM in Rudi Dutschke Strasse:

 

 

Flippy headlight 323:

 

 

Awful Golf cabriolet with equally awful Zender or Kamei bodykit:

 

 

Austrian registered Panda trying to mate with a 500:

 

 

Twingo!

 

 

Well-used E30:

 

Everyone's favourite Saab:

 

 

190E mit Rost:

 

 

Nice late W124:

 

 

Lovely Leipzig-registered W116 280SE. Totally out of reach of the residents of that city when it was new:

 

 

Two lovely W123s. Make mine the burgundy 200T:

 

 

 

One of only two RWD Volvos I saw on the road. The other one was a white 240GL estate:

 

 

An ex-SED Volvo 264 Top Executive, photographed at the DDR Museum. It had only done 77,000 kilometres and was virtually pristine. An automotive symbol of oppression perhaps, but what an automotive symbol of oppression:

 

 

Cars which I didn't photograph were the numerous Golf 3s and Passat 3s still in regular use, most of which were in really good condition (in the case of the Golfs, were German market cars better painted and rustproofed than UK market ones, I wonder?), and a curious cluster of mark 3 Fiestas on a street in the Charlottenburg area. I also missed photographing a pristine Fiat Croma at Alexanderplatz; it drove by so quickly, I couldn't get my camera ready in time.

 

The lack of Wartburgs was lamented; I was expecting to see at least one

[Skizzer]

Looks great.  I like Berlin a lot, but have only ever been for very brief visits.  The Wall Museum is excellent and very thought-provoking.  Kirsten (Mrs S) went on a school trip (from W Germany) in the Communist era, and found it very strange and disturbing, as you would.  

 

Is it wrong to like the idea of the Trabi-world safari?

[Shep Shepherd]

Although I stayed in the western suburb of Charlottenburg, I spent most of my time in the former East Berlin, as it was the location all the things I wanted to see and do. Next time I visit, I'm going to mainly visit places in the western part of the city.

 

I would have loved to have seen East Berlin before 1989, but I was of primary school age at the time and therefore school trips consisted of going to Dover Castle or Gillingham Ice Bowl.

 

I have no problems with the Trabi Safari, but I'd rather hire a Trab on a self-drive basis and explore the city on my own

[Skizzer]

I have no problems with the Trabi Safari, but I'd rather hire a Trab on a self-drive basis and explore the city on my own

 

Agreed - 300% better idea.

 

The missus was at school in Germany, so Dover Castle would have been more exotic than Berlin!

[Shep Shepherd]

I rather like the idea of self-drive hiring a Wartburg, preferably one with a floor-mounted gearchange

 

I didn't even get the chance to visit France until the summer of 1990 when I was at secondary school, even though it was just 26 miles across the Channel from me

[vulgalour]

Das ist gut.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

Danke.

[RedSparrow]

Ah I chickened out of doing that Trabi Safari last time I was there. Mainly because my friends didn't want to and there were a load of loud annoying Americans there. I remember thinking put the bloody wall back up.

 

Love Berlin, been there loads.

I recommend the Stasi museum in the old HQ building (Mariannen Strasse) and the Stasi prison Hoenshonhausen.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

I completely forgot about the Stasi museum! There's meant to be another DDR life museum somewhere, too.

[RedSparrow]

If you do one do the prison. Ex inmates show you around, check when theres a tour in english.

The DDR museum is by the river at Marx-Engels Platz. It's been critisised for making the DDR look nice!

BTW, did thy ever put the Marx-Engels statue back? they said it was removed temporarily to build a new u-bahn line, but I bet they never put it back!

[Jim Bell]

Holy moley, a BG 323. Well spotted. I think that's the third one spotted in the wild.

 

Hat trick hero.

[Shep Shepherd]

If you do one do the prison. Ex inmates show you around, check when theres a tour in english.

The DDR museum is by the river at Marx-Engels Platz. It's been critisised for making the DDR look nice!

BTW, did thy ever put the Marx-Engels statue back? they said it was removed temporarily to build a new u-bahn line, but I bet they never put it back!

 

As far as I could tell, the Marx-Engels statue was absent. They may put it back when they finish the U-bahn work, which looks pretty advanced.