Fürstenwalde 3.0

Yes, we are still in Fürstenwalde and time is passing. We had actually planned to continue our trip around Germany long ago. But as it goes: things often turn out differently than expected.
We've completed all our motorcycle driving lessons, but we had to wait a very long time for an exam date. At the same time, the repair and repainting of our “Pleasure-Van” took much longer than anticipated. But the result is definitely worth seeing.
So what did we do in the meantime?

Berlin Museums

Futurium

We had already visited a few museums in Berlin, but the sheer variety is overwhelming. Whether it's art, history, archaeology, or something completely quirky - there's a museum for just about everything. One place we had been meaning to visit for a while was the Futurium.
At the Futurium, everything revolves around the question: How do we want to live in the future? The exhibition presents many possible futures, and in the Futurium Lab you can even try out some of the ideas interactively. Even though the museum only spans two floors, we ended up spending more than six hours there. And the best part: admission is free.
Right at the entrance, you're greeted by Pepper, a humanoid robot. It encourages visitors to take an interactive wristband to use throughout the exhibition. With it, you can participate in surveys or trigger interactive elements. One of the first displays visualizes how rapidly knowledge and technology are accelerating - shown through increasingly dense clusters of notes, making the concept easy to grasp.
The exhibition then explores topics like computers and transportation in the future, as well as ways to make meat consumption more sustainable for example, through lab-grown meat cultivated from animal cells. It also addresses future living: how cities might be built more efficiently and what public transport could look like. Modern prosthetics and the role of robotics in healthcare and everyday work are also featured.
Another section focuses on nature and the impact of human activity on fragile ecosystems such as the risks posed by viruses, bacteria, and fungi. It raises questions about how we can better protect nature and integrate ecological thinking into daily life. New eco-friendly building materials and visionary construction projects are also presented.
A key theme throughout is how to ensure that future generations can continue to live on this planet. Environmental protection and waste reduction are central topics, but there are also ideas about making other planets habitable.
Politics isn't left out either. The exhibition highlights the importance of democracy and explores alternative voting systems, discussing their potential advantages and disadvantages.
On the lower level, there's an interactive area where you can design a city using building blocks, aiming to balance factors like biodiversity, food production, CO₂ footprint, industry (for economic growth), and overall quality of life. It turns out to be surprisingly difficult to get everything just right.
It's impossible for us to cover all the exhibits here, so we can only recommend visiting the Futurium yourself - and plan plenty of time to really take it all in.

After so much museum time, we were getting hungry. Thanks to excellent reviews, we found The Klub Kitchen. In this innovative restaurant, everything is ordered and paid for online, making it completely cashless and allowing the staff to focus on serving delicious modern Asian dishes.
For dessert, we headed to Round & Edgy for some warm, freshly baked cookies. The place proudly claims to serve the best New York-style cookies in Berlin.

The Upside Down

Another trip took us to the museum The Upside Down.
This place is perfect for Instagram enthusiasts looking for fun and eye-catching photos! Some elements are similar to the illusion - based exhibits we had seen in other museums, but the focus here is clearly on playful interaction.
We found it incredibly fun to let loose and be playful again - exactly our style: being silly, being ourselves (apparently we're still kids at heart), and just having fun. Whether it was stagediving into a foam pit, struggling through an adult ball pit (surprisingly exhausting!), kissing a colorful VW T1 van in a beach setting, hanging upside down on walls while trying to look good - or at least not too ridiculous while clinging on for dear life.
This museum truly lives up to its name: everything is upside down. It's great fun. Not just for kids and influencers, but also for anyone young at heart.

Fotografiska

We had seen pictures online of a staircase covered in old graffiti and assumed the museum would focus on graffiti art and its history. Turns out - we were wrong.
Instead, we found ourselves in Fotografiska, a museum with rotating photography exhibitions across three floors.
While the exhibitions weren't what we expected, they were - well - art. And art is subjective. Some pieces resonated with us, others didn't.
One exhibition stood out: a kind of photographic biography of an artist from the former GDR, showcasing portraits and scenes from everyday life back then. She even managed to travel to the USA through her work. The final autobiographical film about her life was both informative and entertaining.

The other exhibitions were harder for us to connect with. There wasn't always enough context about the artists or their work, making it difficult to fully engage.
The other exhibitions lacked enough explanation for us, making it difficult to connect with the works. One featured photographs of Japan and its eccentric people. Sometimes in manga style, sometimes more abstract and slightly unsettling.

The third exhibition was equally strange to us, and we struggled to interpret it. The works seemed reminiscent of famous artists, but we found ourselves preferring the originals.

Well, they say you should keep learning, don't they? In the end, we agreed that art is subjective and depends on the viewer. So our advice: go see it for yourself but keep in mind the exhibitions may have changed.

We did, however, really like the graffiti-filled staircase, so we decided to get creative ourselves, with Frank trying his hand at portrait photography - Andrea as his model 😉.

To wrap up the day, we took a walk through the Tiergarten park, passing the Goethe monument and heading toward the Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart memorial. Due to its size, we could only explore a small part of the park.
For dinner, we went to the food court at Potsdamer Platz Arcaden and discovered Afropot, a small stand serving African cuisine. It was absolutely delicious.

German Spy Museum

On another trip to Berlin, we visited the Spy Museum. We weren't quite sure what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised by how engaging this seemingly dry topic was presented. The museum covers everything from early espionage - like the biblical story of Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver - to more unusual examples, such as a potter encoding the recipe for his glaze so only he could reproduce it.
From there, it walks you through the history of intelligence agencies like MI6, the FBI, the Stasi, and the BND.
Of course, spy movies are also a major theme especially James Bond 007. The character was created by Ian Fleming, who had worked for MI6 himself, which explains the realistic gadgets featured in the stories like the famous explosive pen.
There are also classic spy tools like cigarette cases and camera glasses - interestingly, modern versions of such glasses exist today, even capable of translating languages in real time.
There were also exhibits on Cold War espionage, including the role of women who concealed cameras in handbags or hats.
A particularly interesting section deals with conspiracy theories, including a test to see whether you might fall for them. Apparently, we're not “tin foil hat” types.
There are also plenty of interactive exhibits: sending Morse code, dressing up as a spy, or taking a lie detector test. There's something for everyone.
Nowadays, with all this technology getting smaller and smaller, there are probably even more ways for people to be spied on. It's actually quite frightening. It just goes to show once again how important it is to have the right form of government and the right party - one that doesn't exploit or abuse such things. Because, as a right-thinking person here in Germany, you certainly don't want a surveillance state like the ones in Russia and China.

At the end, we browsed the museum shop, where Andrea got a James Bond song stuck in her head (“For Your Eyes Only”) and kept humming it for the rest of the evening. Annoying for Frank? Not at all though perhaps for others around us! But Frank knows then that Andrea is fine, that she's relaxed and feeling comfortable. That's just the way she is.

When we left, we were surprised it was already 5 p.m. We had spent four hours immersed in the world of spies.
This museum is definitely a must for fans of spy films.

We wanted to round off this wonderful day by treating ourselves to something sweet - in the truest sense of the word. Not far from the Spy Museum lies the Colourful World of Ritter Sport. It's really just a shop where you can buy all Ritter Sport products, and yet it's so much more.
If you book in advance, you can take part in workshops and make your own Ritter Sport chocolate. In the on-site café, you can enjoy Ritter Sport-style chocolate ice cream and even a sorbet made from the pulp of the cocoa pod. Mmm, delicious 😋! There's also an edible fork to go with the cake. And if it breaks too soon, there's bound to be a replacement 😉.
Even if you don't fancy taking part in a workshop, this is still the place for you, as you can create your own chocolate bar at a self-service machine. It's then freshly made and ready to collect a short while later. You can pass the time whilst waiting by trying to empty the chocolate fountain. It's hard work, mind you, but the warm chocolate is well worth it.
But be warned: you risk a sugar rush, weight gain and a burning credit card.

Ketschendorf Internment Camp

After the World War II, the Allied Control Council decided to intern all active members of the Nazi Party. In the areas occupied by the Soviet Union (formerly the GDR), however, alleged enemies of the Soviets and, later, opponents of the GDR regime were also imprisoned. One of the internment camps is located on the outskirts of Fürstenwalde. Probably no GDR citizen, and not even the people of Fürstenwalde, knew about it.
Special Camp No. 5 Ketschendorf was set up in a housing estate originally intended for 500 people, and up to 10,500 people were crammed in there without any trial or sentence. By the time the camp was closed in 1947, over 4,700 prisoners had died and were buried in mass graves. The remaining prisoners, however, were not released; they were transferred to other camps or even deported to Siberia.
It was not until construction work in the early 1950s that the mass grave was discovered. The remains were buried by the GDR government under strict secrecy in another cemetery under the designation “Unknown † April 1945”.
Today, an information board recounts the inhumane and cruel conditions in the camp and its history.

One can only hope that history does not repeat itself and that present-day Russia does not gain the upper hand and then do something similar to the whole of Germany.
In any case, we are glad that we live in a democracy that respects human rights and human dignity. And that, as the EU, we stand together and, through our membership of NATO, enjoy reliable protection, rather than being left to fend for ourselves, as is the case with Ukraine, for example.

The Drone Licence

You'd think that getting a motorbike licence wasn't already enough of an adventure in itself - one we'd taken on so that we could experience things on our trip that we'd love to do if the opportunity arose, but which wouldn't be possible otherwise.
But we wanted even more!
As Andrea still had a drone, which her husband Uwe used to fly back then, the drone was also to be put to use again later for photo and video footage. But for that, you need a drone licence. Depending on the model (and its weight), this is necessary just to be allowed to fly the drone at all. As the drone weighs over 250g, a licence is absolutely essential.
The requirements have since changed slightly from back then, as a few years ago it was still possible to obtain the licence free of charge simply by answering a few questions online. Now it costs a small fee and involves answering a few more questions.
So we spent half a day looking through the training materials online so that we could then answer the questions. Whilst searching for a suitable provider, we came across countless websites offering “training” for the drone licence. Some of these charge fees of €75 or more. Eventually, we ended up on the website from the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt. Here, we were able to read through the teaching materials at our leisure for free, watch a few videos and download the documents as PDFs. There was also a section where we could - again for free - first test our knowledge with 20 questions covering the course content. Once you've passed these practice tests, you can register for the actual exam.
The free registration then leads to the actual exam. Here, you have to struggle through a full 40 questions (for the theory part of the motorbike licence, we only had 30 questions 😉). We found it a bit of a shame that when practising the questions, you get different ones to those in the actual exam. Although they cover similar topics, the wording of the questions and the answer options are completely different. So simply going through the practice tests repeatedly is definitely not enough to pass the actual exam.
A fee of €25 (as of 2025) is only payable for the exam and the issue of the EU A1/A3 certificate of competence. So now we've got a drone licence too.
Who knows what else is coming? A diving licence, a sailing licence …

The Drone

Whilst studying for our drone pilot's licence, we wanted to get the drone ready for an initial test flight. Unfortunately, we discovered that the batteries were apparently no longer working. All attempts to charge them failed. We could have bought new batteries online, but it would have remained unclear whether the drone itself would even work anymore. We hadn't even tried to charge the controller. Who knows, perhaps that's faulty too?
So we started looking into buying a new drone.
As we learnt from our online driving licence course, new regulations have been in place since 2019 regarding what must be fitted in such a device. As we weren't sure whether our existing drone complied with these guidelines (remote identification and geosensing), we decided to buy a new drone and sell the old one on a classifieds site.

After some searching and comparing models, we eventually opted for a DJI Air3 with an RC2 controller. Although this model is significantly heavier than the Spark, it has a much longer flight time. We hope that this drone will allow us to capture additional footage from a bird's-eye view.
In the end, we actually managed to sell the Spark for €85.00 via “Kleinanzeigen”.

Practising with the Drone

It's not just about buying the drone; you also need to be able to operate it properly. So, whenever the weather permitted and we didn't have anything else to do, we would set off on a short bike ride with the drone in tow and head to an open field where we had enough space and opportunities to practise and fly the drone.
People who regularly use a games console probably find it much easier to operate, as the controls are similar to those on standard PlayStations and the like.
It was a bit tricky for Andrea, but Frank got the hang of it quicker, as he used to have a Wii and a PS1.

Building the Website

Frank worked tirelessly on our website, experimenting, tinkering, planning and programming …
His idea: a new design for our website, featuring our The World Enjoyer logo and the logo with our Pleasure-Van Felía. The Pleasure-Van should also move from right to left, and of course a picture of us mustn't be missing - which should also be centred. To achieve this, he must have sat for hours in front of his laptop, pondering how he could make everything move exactly as he envisaged. The logo of the Pleasure-Van is to be enlarged later, once it reaches the point where he wants it to be, but not too quickly. In addition, a shadow frame is to be created around our photo, and the World Enjoyers logo is to be moved to the top right-hand corner.
He tried to bring all his ideas and visions to life somehow. And we now think the result is certainly impressive.
It's actually quite crazy how much time goes into it when you're working on designs like this. Especially when it's all “learning by doing” and there was no prior knowledge. To that end, Frank has really got to grips with website design (without a website builder) and has implemented our ideas for how the website should look, so that, above all, he's happy with it.
Well, it just needs to be implemented in such a way that it's compatible with mobile formats too. So, more trial and error, experimenting and checking that it actually looks good. But that worked out in the end too.
And Andrea is proud of her Frank, who taught himself all this without any help (after all, he could have asked people who earn a living from it).

Why Fürstenwalde, still?

It's just taking a bit longer here… But give up? No, not us!

Well, what can we say?!
That we're actually a bit embarrassed that we're still stuck in Fürstenwalde and that things aren't working out as we'd imagined? Or that all our plans were just a load of rubbish?
How many times have we heard the question of when we're finally going to set off? Or why we're still in Germany?
Well, first of all, we need to make it clear that it was our plan all along to travel around Germany too, and that we intended to see a few places - most of which we haven't actually seen yet, unfortunately, but that's not a bad thing at all! And that we wanted to end up back in Augsburg in November to visit friends again, but also to pop in to see our doctors for some check-ups. That was the plan!
So, it had actually gone quite well up to that point.
Unfortunately, a few things hadn't gone to plan: first of all, we couldn't really find a body shop willing to take on “our project” as such, as it felt like they were all fully booked. Then there was the motorbike licence, where Andrea injured herself during the course and had to take a six-week break to recover. On top of that, there were problems with the car, which we couldn't have foreseen either, as we would have gladly done without the clutch breaking. No garage wanted to take on the project with the old car either, apart from the classic car specialist who was willing to have a go at it. But he, too, was once again fully booked. So we were constantly waiting for the chance to take our car to the paint shop or for repairs. And then it always took longer than they'd said.
So we were effectively stuck for a while.
But we didn't let that dampen our optimism, as we were already on the road. So we just took a closer look at the area where we were stuck. When else would we have had the chance to do that?
Once Frank's and then Andrea's motorcycle licence courses were finally finished, the exam dates were set and the exams were passed, we were free to make further plans. In the meantime, the Pleasure-Van Felía had also been painted, with some touch-ups carried out afterwards. Further repairs and modifications, which unfortunately had to be done to the car as well (sometimes things just don't go as planned), were also completed, and so, after a long time, we were able to continue our journey.

In any case, it was clear in the end that we would no longer be driving to the Baltic and North Seas. Nor would we be heading towards Alsace. Instead, we had to make sure we got to the doctor's appointments in Augsburg on time.
But as the saying goes: this isn't a dead end or a detour, but simply a run-up to the further adventures that still lie ahead of us. After all, who knows what might lie in store? We're simply preparing ourselves to be ready for anything later on and to face it with composure - no matter what lies ahead. That's good, isn't it?
We don't want to let things like this get us down; we're just carrying on. It would be a shame if, now that we've only just started, we were to throw in the towel straight away. No. Not us 😉! And we keep our sense of humour and retort that we're already right in the thick of our journey. And that journey is full of adventures, the unexpected and bizarre things we hadn't anticipated. And that's exactly what makes it so special - that we might end up having more to tell than we would otherwise have thought.