Oh, my! In Hamburg, Germany, the Reeperbahn lined with restaurants, nightclubs, discotheques, and bars. It may have more notoriety for some of its more unsavory offerings, but the Caravan parked closely enough to explore die sündigste Meile (the most sinful mile), without getting too close.
The city is full of history. The Luftwaffe built huge towers to repel Allied bombing missions. These amazing structures were fortified to resist bombing and to protect thousands of people within an impregnable bomb shelter. Caravanners craned their necks in awe at these monstrous structures.
It had been eleven years since the war ended, with refugees still huddled, looking for permanent peace. We spent an evening with the Baltic YMCA/YWCA group, raising a financial gift for these refugees from the Soviet-annexed states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithauania.
We moved on to Denmark. Airstreamers Della and Andy Anderson, Airstream #00 and namesake of Hans Christian Andersen, became our tour guides in their magical native land.
In Copenhagen, it is commonplace to go to a massage spa to relax tired muscles and experience the work of a professional Danish masseuse. As you enter, they give you a terry cloth bathrobe and assign you to a small room with a bed.
Begin in the "sweat chamber," and enjoy a temperature-controlled steam bath. Then, shock treatment: enter the polar tub and shriek when you feel the frigid water (I didn't stay in long). Finally, the massage, which completely relaxes you enough for you to return to your cubicle for a long nap. I did this twice upon arrival.
Newspapers declared our Caravan an "invasion" as we migrated, loading onto a ferry from Frederikshavn, Denmark to Gothenburg, Sweden. The logistics were similar to troop and equipment movement by the military.
We had a Smörgåsbord - not unusual, as it is a typical Scandinavian meal. Two special items that I enjoyed were raw reindeer meat sliced paper thin, and my downfall while traveling through Norway and Sweden: fruit compote with heavy, heavy cream. In a short period of time before we went back to Denmark, I gained fifteen pounds. Oh so very good, fruit compote with that cream.
I will pass on talking about concrete, timber, mountains, cities, highways and byways. Every nook and cranny has a church, a city hall, shops, and on and on. Accept it to say that Norway and Sweden are beyond what I expected with cleanliness, friendliness and extreme beauty.
As always, Wally Byam used the Caravan to improve the product, and Airstream moved forward by leaps and bounds with our stop in Stockholm. Wally set up a meeting with Electrolux, manufacturer of the Dometic refrigerators. Wally’s agreement to import the Dometic product would change the entire recreational industry, with Airstream leading the way. Dometic began with Airstream and rapidly became the standard product used in the industry. They are still used today, six decades later.
At our campsite, a manufacturer came out and gave a demonstration for their water purifying system. They filtered bodily waste fluid into drinkable water and drank their final product. Wally Byam was always looking for those products that would elevate the Airstream Trailer to new heights.
Next, we leave Sweden on the Varberg ferry to Grenna, Denmark.
Airstream #2 had a schedule to make to sail back to the United States, so we high-tailed it to Rotterdam, Holland, where my mother introduced me to several of her favorite places.
First, we went to The Hague for an Indonesian meal at the Garoeda; their rijsttafel is a variety of Indonesian dishes. The last step after the ingredients were cooked was the drizzling with vodka, then lighting that wonderful flame to highlight serving our meal. The wonderful dish was served on egg noodles.
Now, it is time to sail. The Isetta, the Chevrolet, and Airstream #2 had been delivered to the Holland-American dock several days before.
On the sail home we sat at the Captain’s Table, a courtesy given to my mother for her arrangements for the Caravanners coming to Europe earlier in the year.
My mother had been away from the United States and home for six months, and I for four months. Upon the unloading of the vehicles and release by customs, we were on our way to Bakersfield, California and home.
Our trip home is not traveling, it is a quest. There is no doubt that my mother had great patience in navigating protection for the tiny Isetta. At times, the snail’s pace is difficult for a rig to gear down to 25 mph. We made it to Los Angeles, and then to the Palm Springs rally.
The 1956 Airstream Wally Byam European Caravan is history.
Part Three: From New York to Zurich
Part Four: An Instant Connection
Part Five: Brimming With Enthusiasm
Part Six: An Early Morning Excursion
Part Seven: One, Two, Down the Hatch
Part Eight: All The Way Through Europe
