Classic Car Road Trip

Lithuania 2015: A Mini Authi, a Mini MPI and a Mini SPI, three classic Minis on a road trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania. On our road trip, we visited several historic places and UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. We travelled through Germany and Poland to Zarasai in Lithuania were we visited the IMM, the International Mini Meeting. On the road to Berlin, we visited Hildesheim, famous for its cathedral and St. Michael's Church. Our first stop was Berlin, renowned for its attractions. We visited Berlin before, but this was the first time in classic Mini. We drove to the Brandenburg Gate, we visited the Holocaust Memorial and several other monuments, such as the Museumsinsel. We also paid a visit to several palaces and parks in Potsdam. From Berlin, we continued our road trip to the Wolfsschanze, the Wolf's Lair, the former bunker complex of Adolf Hitler near the village of Gierłoż in Poland. Our next stop on our road trip was Trakai in Lithuania. Trakai Castle is an important symbol of Lithuania. On the road to Zarasai, we visited the Geographical Centre of Europe and parked our classic mini next to one of the station points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, situated at Meskonys in Lithuania. From Zarasai, we went on a road trip to Daugavpils, a city in southeastern Latvia and we drove along the banks of the River Daugava, also known as the Western Dvina, and returned to Zarasai. In one day, we drove from Zarasai in Lithuania to Warsaw in Poland. We stayed near Warsaw for a few days to pay a visit to the historic centre of Warsaw. The last stop on this classic car road trip was Quedlinburg, a medieval town in Germany, situated north of the Harz Mountains. From Quedlinburg, we drove back to the Netherlands. After two weeks and almost 5000 km on the road we completed our road trip and arrived home safely.

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1. 

   Classic Car Road Trip: Three classic Minis on a road trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania. On our way to Berlin, we visited the former border crossing Helmstedt-Marienborn, also known as Checkpoint Alpha, the largest and most important border crossing between West and East Germany. After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the border crossing became a museum.

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   A Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania. Our own Mini Authi in front of the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany. The Brandenburg Gate is the only surviving city gate of Berlin. After WWII, the gate was situated in the Soviet occupied zone. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of the reunification of East and West Germany.

3. 

   Classic Car Road Trip: Three classic Minis on a road trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania. The first stop was Berlin City Camp 2 at Kleinmachnow near Berlin, in the background a former watch tower of the Berlin Wall. The campsite at Kleinmachnow is situated in the former death zone between East and West Berlin and close to the former checkpoint Bravo at Kleinmachnow.

4. 

   Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania: The Holocaust Monument in Berlin is a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. The monument was opened in 2005. The site covers an area of 19,000 m² and consists of 2711 concrete slabs of different heights. There is also an underground information centre. The monument is situated near the Brandenburg Gate.

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   Classic Car Road Trip: In our own Mini Authi, we drove to the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church in the Russian Colony Alexandrowka in Potsdam, situated 25 km south-west of Berlin. The church was built for the Russian inhabitants of Alexandrowka. The Alexander Nevsky Church is a monument of the UNESCO World Heritage Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin.

6. 

   Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania: Three classic Minis at the Wolfsschanze camping area at the Masurian village of Gierłoż nearby Kętrzyn. The camping is situated on the grounds of the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair), a former bunker complex used by Adolf Hitler during World War II, the bunker complex lies hidden in the remote forests of northeastern Poland.

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   Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania: Three classic Minis in front of one of the bunkers of the Wolfsschanze, the Wolf's Lair, in Poland. The Wolfsschanze was one of the military headquarters of Adolf Hitler during World War II. At the Wolfsschanze, all the important leaders of the Third Reich had their own bunker.

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   A Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Zarasai in Lithuania with three classic Minis, a Mini Authi, a Mini MPI and a Mini SPI. In the north-eastern part of Poland, for hours we drove along small country roads, surrounded by vibrant yellow rapeseed fields. The north-eastern part of Poland is a sparsely populated area.

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   Classic Car Road Trip: The classic Mini in front of Trakai Castle. The castle is located in the Town of Trakai, 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. Trakai was once the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the castle was the residence of the dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Trakai lost its power when the capital city of the Grand Duchy was moved to Vilnius.

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    Classic Car Road Trip: Trakai Castle is an important symbol of Lithuania. Trakai Castle is situated on an island in Lake Galvė. Trakai Castle was built in the 14th century. The castle was damaged in the 17th century and slowly fell into disrepair. The restoration started in 1946. Today, Trakai Castle is a museum. The castle is reachable by a 300 metres long wooden bridge.

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    Classic Car Road Trip: Two classic Minis in front of one of the wooden houses in the historic Town of Trakai in Lithuania. The small Town of Trakai consists of numerous wooden houses. The classic Minis and their Dutch owners were on their way to the International Mini Meeting (IMM) 2015 at Zarasai, a town in northeast Lithuania.

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    Classic Car Road Trip Lithuania: Our own Mini Authi at the Geographical Centre of Europe near the village of Purnuškės, some 26 km north of Vilnius. Since 1805, geographers have designated several places to be the Geographical Centre of Europe. In 1989, a team of French geographers designated this place near Purnuškės in Lithuania as the Geographical Centre of Europe.

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    Classic Car Road Trip Lithuania: The Geographical Centre of Europe near the small village of Purnuškės in Lithuania. A granite column topped by a crown of golden stars was erected at the Geographical Centre of Europe in 2004. About 17 km from the Geographical Centre of Europe lies Europos Parkas, the Open Air Museum of the Centre of Europe.

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    Classic Car Road Trip Lithuania: The Mini Authi next to one of the station points of the Struve Geodetic Arc in Lithuania. This station point is located near Meskonys, a village near Vilnius and also close to the Geographical Centre of Europe. The Struve Geodetic Arc was established and used by the scientist Friedrich von Struve to determine the exact shape and size of the earth.

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    Classic Car Road Trip: Three classic Minis in front of the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre in Latvia. The famous painter Mark Rothko was born in Daugavpils. He is regarded as one of the great painters of the 20th century. Mark Rothko is best known for its colour field paintings. The Mark Rothko Art Centre is housed in the Arsenal building of Daugavpils Fortress.

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    A Classic Car Road Trip in an original 1974 Mini Authi: The Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church at Krāslava in Latvia. Krāslava is a small town, situated on the banks of the Daugava River, also known as the Western Dvina. Krāslava is situated in the southeastern part of Latvia, near the border of Belarus. Krāslava is surrounded by a beautiful landscape of lakes and wooded hills.

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    Classic Car Road Trip: Our own Mini Authi at the entrance of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant was built near Visaginas, this town was specially built to accommodate the workers of the power plant. The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is situated in the northeast of Lithuania, about 4 km from the border with Belarus and 7 km from the border with Latvia.

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    A Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania. The Mini Authi, the Mini MPI and the Mini SPI in front of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant near Visaginas. The nuclear power plant was shut down on 31 December 2009 and the decommissioning of the two nuclear reactors started. Nowadays, it is possible to visit the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.

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    Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania: Lake Zarasas near Zarasai in Lithuania. In 2015, the International Mini Meeting (IMM) was held on the Great Island in Lake Zarasas. The IMM 2015 was organised by the Mini People Club Lithuania. From all over Europe, Mini owners drove in their iconic car to Zarasai.

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    Classic Car Road Trip Lithuania: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Mini, several celebrities were asked to design their own Mini. One of the celebrities was the British fashion model Kate Moss. Kate Moss designed her own Spider Web Classic Mini in 1998, this Mini is shown here at the IMM 2015 in Lithuania.

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    Classic Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania: In one day, we drove from Zarasai in Lithuania to Warsaw in Poland. It was a long drive, mostly on secondary roads. We stayed at a campsite near Warsaw for a few nights. The campsite was very crowded, there was just room enough to park the three classic Minis and to pitch our own tents next to a camper.

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    Classic Car Road Trip with three classic Minis: The Warsaw Barbican was built in the middle of the 16th century. The impressive Barbican was part of the defensive walls that once defended Warsaw, it was manned by fusiliers. Durring World War II, the Barbican was almost completely destroyed, after the war it was restored with the preservation of the original fragments.

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    Classic Car Road Trip with three classic Minis: The Presidential Palace and the statue of the Polish General Prince Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw. During World War II, the Presidential Palace survived the Siege of Warsaw in 1939 and also the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Before World War II, Warsaw was considered the Paris of the East.

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    Car Road Trip from the Netherlands to Lithuania: On our way home from Lithuania to the Netherlands, we spent a few days in Poland and Germany. In Germany, we visited the Old Town of Quedlinburg. Quedlinburg has the most half-timbered houses in Germany. Most of the half-timbered houses are dating from the 17th century and most of them are authentic.

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    Classic Car Road Trip with three classic Minis: Somewhere in Germany on our way back to the Netherlands. On this road trip, we drove through Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. We visited these countries several times before, but this was the first time in a classic Mini. After two weeks and almost 5000 km on the road we completed the journey and arrived home safely.