Germany > Walking through Potsdam

It’s Saturday morning. It’s raining lightly. We quickly check the oil level and the coolant. The car is ready for the trip to the North Cape. As we depart, our family waves us off.

Germany - Ready for the trip to the North Cape

It feels a little strange to set off again with Brutus. We pass Amsterdam and drive east on the A1. After about two hours, we approach the German border—the first border crossing of this trip. The border is closed. Every car is directed to a parking area for a police check. Random checks are carried out on drivers, but we are allowed to continue without inspection. We get onto the German autobahn. About halfway, it’s time to refuel. A man behind us stops. He’s originally English but now lives in Germany. His son wants to drive from Dresden to Dakar and is looking for a car. He wants all the details about our car and is impressed by our previous trip to Tokyo. He wishes us an enjoyable journey to the North Cape. As a tip, he mentions that if we have trouble finding diesel, a Land Rover can also run on cooking oil. Beyond Hanover, there is roadwork. The road narrows, and the speed limit is only 60 km/h. The navigation indicates that traffic is completely blocked further ahead. A faster route is via Hildesheim on the A39. Although this route is 37 kilometers longer, we choose it anyway. Around 5:30 p.m., we arrive in Potsdam. It’s still raining lightly. We park the car at the Pension an der Havelbucht. The door is closed. A sign instructs us to call a phone number. When we ask if anyone speaks English, the answer is no. Silence follows, and the call is ended. What now? We receive a text message with the door access code. Inside, there is no one. Several envelopes lie on the table.

Germany - The guesthouse in Potsdam

One envelope has our name on it—Room 3. It feels just like an escape-room game. When we open the door to the room, we’ve reached the goal of the game. We receive a phone call asking if we managed with the door and key. In the evening, we walk into Potsdam. We are actually heading toward Sanssouci Palace. The palace is already closed, but maybe we can catch a glimpse. When we come across a sign pointing the other way, it turns out we were walking in the wrong direction. We turn back. At the Brandenburg Gate of Potsdam, the rain begins to fall harder. We settle on a terrace for a beer and toast to the start of our journey. The rain continues. We abandon our plans to visit the palace and the Dutch Quarter. We ask for the menu and eat under a parasol. It’s still raining when we walk back to our guesthouse.