Trabi Car in Berlin

When we visited Berlin in 2017, one of our fun adventures was driving a Trabant, known as a Trabi. I have to admit, I had never heard of these cars before. And when Marty suggested the tour, I was curious and so glad we did it.

Marty took the wheel as we followed our guide through the streets of Berlin, listening to directions over the radio. The route carried up past Berlin’s wall, and it was quite symbolic to be driving a car that once represented life behind the Iron Curtain.

The car itself was the major part of the experience. The Trabant was the most common automobile in East Germany, produced from the late 1950’s until the fall of the Berlin Wall. They were built out of Duroplast, a plastic composite made from recycled materials. The car was simple, noisy and underpowered. Waiting lists for these cars could stretch 10 years.

Today, these little cars are rolling pieces of history. As we drove around Berlin, people stopped to take photos as we passed. Driving one felt like we had stepped back into another era.