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All right, of course, now I remember! These are the factories of Volkswagen at Wolfsburg.
In 2004 we had a fly-in of Ruschmeyer aircraft in Switzerland. This year a
similar event was organised on Sonneninsel Usedom, a small island near
the German - Polish border. Jeroen, his spouse Hannah, and I participated in the
event from September 30 to October 2, 2005.
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| Simply a nice cloud, one that is nevertheless to be avoided. Beautiful weather. |
The name Wolfsburg slowly makes its way across the screen of our GPS.
Wolfsburg? It reminds me of the emblem on the steering wheel of my dads
Volkswagen Beetle, decades ago... All right, of course, now I remember! These are the factories of Volkswagen at Wolfsburg. |
We land at the airfield Ruppinerland (EDBF) and meet with the crew of the
other aircraft. There are not that many as last year.
During lunch it is suggested that we can make a detour around Berlin. No one
responds, except Jeroen who is always ready to confront difficulties. Why make a
detour around Berlin if you can fly over it? So, we aim for the Tempelhof
airfield, famous for the air-lift
to counter the 1948 Russian blockade of Berlin.
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| Our route across Berlin. Tempelhof is the blue/purple speck on our track below the letters Berlin. The complete transit from left to right takes less than 5 minutes. Something to remember when you are stuck in the rush-hour traffic down there. |
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| Still west of Tempelhof. Notice the aircraft high up in the air; it just took off from Tempelhof runway 27R. | The two parallel runways of Tempelhof. |
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| Notice the houses right up to the airfield. In the background the famous circular terminal building. | While Jeroen performs a low pass at 340 km/hour, I manage to take a picture showing the name of the airfield. |
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| Climbing out of Tempelhof. | Sonnenallee |
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| The river Spree, An den Treptowers, near the Rummelsburger See. | To the right the Frankfurter Allee, leading into the city. |
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| Near Biesdorf. Nice houses, apparently life was not all bad in the former Deutsche Demokratische Republik, at least for some. | Just before landing at Herringsdorf (EDAH). |
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| We are obviously very welcome here, but are we at the right airfield? Lions? | It turns out that the fly-in is organised by
the Lions, an organisation dedicated to...well, find out by following this
link. Damn my ignorance! |
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| Typical building in the beach resort Ahlbeck At the time of the DDR this place was a Kurort, and now all buildings have been renovated beautifully. | A study in the colour Blue |
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| Ducks in salt water? | Swans |
The next day a flight to Gdansk in Poland is scheduled. However, Gdansk is in fog and we decide to make a short tour to the island Rugen instead. At the dinner last night we met Christine and her husband, and she is our passenger on this flight.
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| One good reason to visit the Baltic Sea: the coastline at Ahlbeck | Another good reasnon: the Rügen coastline at the Nationalpark Jasmund |
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| Back at Herringsdorf we visit this experimental Alekto TT62, powered by two 4.0 liter TAE 310 hp diesel engines mounted within the fuselage. The power is transferred to the propellers through cardan axles. | I stand in awe of 1000 hp of the world's largest single engined bi-plane, the Antonov. This airplane is a passenger shuttle between the island and Berlin. |
Christine kindly drives us around the island, where she lived all her life. She tells us about the old days of the DDR and how things have changed for her and her family. We could not have wished for a better guide.
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| We visit a small church at Bansin. | Detail of the ceiling. |
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| At night we are invited to a concert. It is difficult to convey the feeling, but for me this is very special. To fly to a corner of Europe, preoccupied with crosswind and engine oil, and then to sit, to relax and to feel at home. |
Jeroen, Leon, and Hannah mingling with the beau monde of Usedom. |
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| On the day of our return we make a brief tour to the town of Świnoujście in Poland. From the border to the town stretches a two kilometer bazaar, selling cigarettes, amber jewelry, shoes and brassieres. | The houses are obviously not as well polished as those on the German side of the border. This home owner is one the right track, but for the choice of his colours. |
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| Flying back to Eindhoven. | Home coming. |