For this Tour (rally) we chose to go in the black 1968 Quattroporte Series one.

This trip (rally) was organised by Jan & Leny Velthuizen who are members of the CAAR GB Club of which Pam & I are members, it is purely a touring club with no competitions, with a different member organizing a tour (rally) each year, similar to this one.

The reason we chose this trip was to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary, as we would be in Berlin on the actual day 7th September.

Wed. 3rd Sept. This was the day that the trip started for us as we left our home in the Isle of Man in the 1968 black Quattroporte series one, in good weather to catch the ferry to Heysham, on arrival it was raining heavy, it then rained for two hours (like a monsoon) on our way to Hull to catch the evening ferry to Europoort near Rotterdam. After meeting up with a few other members on the trip we had dinner and then retired to bed, at 3.00 am we were woken up by gales and I was nearly rolled out of the bunk bed, not much sleep after that.
Thurs. 4th Sept. We arrived at 08.00 hours local time in Europoort, Netherlands, to fine weather and very busy traffic for the first hour and a half, after that is was OK and we crossed the border into Germany and arrived for our overnight stop in Celle, having covered 300 miles, mostly on motorways.
Fri. 5th Sept. In the morning we had a walk around Celle before travelling to Berlin using mainly ‘B’ roads, we went through some lovely villages, stopping for coffee at 11.00 am at an Otter park, which looked interesting, but, we could not stop long, so, we carried on to Berlin, on arrival we met up with all the other entrants as this is where the Dubrovnik Rally started. After our welcome dinner and final instructions we retired to bed.
Sat.6th Sept. We did not use the car today, but, instead we got on an open top bus to see the sites of Berlin with English commentary, this took all morning, so, after a snack lunch we had a walk in the Tiergarten Park, which is the size of Hyde Park. In the evening six of us had dinner in a Spanish Restaurant and then to bed.
Sun.7th Sept. We had a lie in as it was 40 years to the day that we were married, after breakfast we drove 10 miles across Berlin to the Meilenwerk Car Museum which is most unusual in that it doubles as a classic car storage unit and there are classic car specialists workshops all in the unit, I would say that it the size of two aircraft hangers with a mezzanine flour, all the cars are on display with the storage cars behind glass, (like glass garages), plus there are some dealers with cars for sale, worth a visit and it is free. We had lunch at the museum before driving to the Brandenburg Gate to have a photograph of the Quattroporte parked in front where the famous wall once stood dividing East and West Berlin, we did not stay long as we were parked illegally, it is a pedestrian area and I did not want a fine, only three cars took the risk. We then drove back to the Hotel and parked the car and joined up with some other members and went to the zoo for a couple of hours, then it was dinner and to bed.
It was unexpected to us to find Berlin so interesting and enjoyable; we could have spent more time there.
Mon.8th Sept. We drove 427 miles from Berlin to Krakow in Poland on mainly motorways, after crossing the border the first 60 miles of the Polish motorway is in a terrible condition with large holes and very uneven, the maximum speed I could safely do was 45 mph. It was hot today 24 deg. We were all exhausted from the journey so it was a drink and then a shower before going out for dinner which we had at a great restaurant on the Rynek Glowny main square (this is the largest square in Europe) in the centre of Krakow.
Tue.9th Sept. We spent the whole morning exploring the old town of Krakow with its narrow streets and the large square, in the middle of which is a large covered market, which Pam insisted on going in, but, I managed to come out the other end with some Polish Zloty still in my pocket. We had lunch in the square before getting on a coach to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau Memorial Museum, the Nazi death camps, it is estimated that 1,500,000 people were put to death here. This was very moving, words cannot describe this, and we all had lumps in our throats and tears in our eyes.
Krakow was an unexpected surprise; most enjoyable.
Wed.10th Sept. We left Krakow at 07.15 hours as we were told that it would take a minimum of 8 hours to get to our Hotel in Balatonfured in Hungary which is on the shore of the largest lake (55 miles long) in Europe. On our route we went on a diversion off the main roads as they were busy and found some wonderful small roads and hills in a Polish forest also zigzagging over unmanned railway lines which I had to drove over very slowly as each one was like going over a hump back bridge and each scraped the exhaust of the Quattroporte, there was a total of seven crossings. After this we went through the Slovakian Rep. parts of this country had pretty and unusual villages, old houses made of wood and end ways facing the road, parts of scenery were wooded and hilly, but, the rest was quite flat, we stopped for our packed lunch with a nice view, in an area called Mala Fatra.
It took us 10 hours and 420 miles to reach the Hotel, where we freshen up before drinks and dinner.
Thurs.11thSept. In the morning we walked along the promenade in Balatonfured overlooking the lake of Balaton, it was hot so we spent the whole afternoon around the swimming pool which was outside by the side of Lake Balaton, a lazy afternoon
re-charging our body batteries. Drinks and dinner in the Hotel.
Fri.12th Sept. We left the Hotel at Balatonfured at 07.45 to catch the ferry across to the other side of the lake, then on to the new motorway with very little traffic and crossing the border into Croatia this took about 45 minutes showing our passports to 5 different authorities, after a short while we started to see the damage to houses from the war, some with bullet holes others completely burnt out, this was a little eerie. The last 60 miles of the 260 miles was good scenery. We arrived at our Hotel in The Plitvicka-Jezera National Park at 2.30 pm, so, after we had checked in, we went for a walk along the shore of one of the many lakes for 2 hours, this is a wonderful place where we watched a Black Squirrel, yes black, apparently there are quite a few in this area, then we watch a Green Woodpecker, so, a super end to our afternoon. It was back to freshen up before drinks and dinner in the hotel.
Sat.13th Sept. At 10.00 am the local guide met us at the hotel and took us on a 4 ½ hour walk around some of the Plitvicka- Jezera National Park which is the largest National Park in Croatia (295 sq.kms) and is a World Natural Heritage site, there are many lakes of different sizes, with waterfalls and fantastic cascades all this is surrounded by a beautiful forest. It was truly wonderful and one of the unexpected highlights of the rally. All the time it was raining quite heavy, so it was a case of making good use of the Maserati umbrella, Pam and I were very wet and cold, so, on return to the hotel we had a bath and then went down to the bar for Whiskeys and Brandy’s with fellow members of the rally, then an afternoon nap before dinner.
Plitvicka- Jezera National Park was wonderful; and was unexpected.
Sun.14th Sept. We left Plitvicka-Jezera at 07.45 am in mist and rain to drive 300 miles to Dubrovnik, the mist and rain cleared after 45 minutes and we had a real good drive on mainly ‘B’ roads which were very quiet with spectacular scenery with lovely Autumn colours. Just as we arrived (5.00 pm) at Hotel Villa Argentina, Dubrovnik, it started to rain and we were lucky enough to put the Quattroporte in the hotel garage in the dry. After checking in to our room we then stayed in the hotel for the rest of the evening.
Mon.15th Sept. In the morning Pam and I walked into the old town of Dubrovnik and explored the narrow lanes where the locals live as the main roads and paths in the old town were very busy with people from the cruise ships on their organised tours. At 11.30 am we had a thunder storm so we sheltered under one of the cafés large umbrellas, but that leaked so we got wet again, at 12.30 pm it stopped so we returned to our hotel to change and dry off, by this time the sun had come out and it was hot so we walked back to the old town and bought a ticket to walk around the old town wall which was very busy with people although enjoyable, we then sat at a pavement café having a cup of tea and watching all the people. It is now a very, very busy place.
Tue.16th Sept. We went early to the old town so that we could see the rest of the sites before the crowds arrived, and arrived they did at 10.00 am it was like an invasion, but, we had seen as much as we had wanted too, so, we returned to the hotel and its private beach and terrace where we spent the rest of the day, sunbathing and swimming in the salt pool and in the Adriatic sea which had a six foot swell, it was great. In the evening we walked to old town and had a romantic dinner for two at a wonderful restaurant in the narrow streets, which we found out afterwards was the place that everyone wants to eat, including Sir Roger Moore. In fact Sir Roger Moore was staying in the same hotel as us, although we did not get to meet him.
Wed.17th Sept. We left Dubrovnik at 07.30 am and drove north through Bosnia-Herzegovina, and then along the spectacular Croatian coast road to Zadar, Via Split, and overlooking some of the Croatian Islands; really beautiful. We arrived at our next hotel in Zadar mid afternoon and as it was very hot we decided to have a swim in the out door pool before drinks and dinner.
Thurs.18th Sept. We left the hotel at 7.30 am for our usual early start. We thought that we had the best drive yesterday, but, today’s was even better, this is the best drive I have ever, had anywhere, from Zadar to Rijeka on the coast road if ever you are that way you must do it, but don’t tell Clarkson. We left Zadar on a minor road and then took a ‘B’ road along a spit of land, called Pag, for 70 miles to a ferry which crossed from Zigljen to Prizna (ferry crossing time 12 minutes), and then on to the coast road with very little traffic. Again the coast road overlooks the most beautiful Croatian islands, one of the largest being Krk, which we had previously visited when on a cruise. We arrived at the next hotel which is in Portoroz, Slovenija. Once we had checked in we decided to go for a walk along the promenade as this town is a seaside resort with a beach and lots of sun beds and umbrellas, thankfully it was at the end of the holiday season so the walk was most enjoyable and gave us time to reflect on the days great journey.
Fri.19th Sept. This is the real “Tale of the Unexpected” I woke up normal and went for my shower when I dropped the soap, I bent down to pick it up and I thought my head was going to explode, I went to have breakfast, but, then it got a lot worse and I collapsed, an Ambulance was called and off I went to the local hospital, after x-rays the doctors found nothing and said they thought it must be a migraine, and told me to take pain killers every four hours and discharged me, so, by 11.15 am we finally got underway to our next stop which was Salzburg in Austria, via the Julijske Alps in Slovenija, along ‘B’ roads, then going through the north east of Italy. The first part of this journey was lovely and the Alps were spectacular, which help me to forget the pain as the pain killers were not much help, the final part of the journey to Salzburg was by motorway as we had to make up time and we sat at 95/100 mph most of the way, finally arriving at the hotel at 7.15 pm with dinner at 8.00 pm, I did not eat much and I retired to bed early.
Sat.20th Sept. My head was still very painful, so, I thought we would walk down into the centre of Salzburg, via a lift as our hotel was up on a different level to the centre of Salzburg; this lift is public transport, just like buses etc. so you have to pay. It was festival time in Salzburg, so, we had several free music and dance shows. The streets are narrow and have many shops; we both had a coffee in Mozart’s birth place, 4.50 Euros per cup. We spent the whole day listening to all kinds of music and exploring Salzburg, before returning to our lovely hotel for drinks and dinner, not that I had much as I was still feeling rough with this so called migraine.
Sun.21st Sept. Today we left Salzburg for Baden-Baden in the Black Forest of Germany and on the way we called into the Mercedes Museum which is in Bad Cannstatt, near Stuttgart, we spent a good two hours in the museum, but, could have spent at least 4 hours as it was far better than I thought it was going to be, it being a one make only museum. I recommend that you go if you are passing, an unexpected pleasure. All the time I was feeling rough, but, making the most of it. After the photo shoot of the Quattroporte in front of the museum we drove on to our Hotel for the official finish of the rally.
Mon.22nd Sept. After saying our goodbyes we headed for the Rhine stopping at Bingen for petrol, but, as there was not much there we motored along the edge of the Rhine to Bacharach where we stopped and had a walk around and had our packed lunch, this is a very pretty and interesting place, after that we drove on to St.Goar and Oberwesel and then Boppard where we had booked a hotel for one night. There were four cars from the rally that had booked into the same hotel as a stepping stone for the final journey to Europoort for the ferry back to Hull. We found a local restaurant for our evening meal which was most enjoyable.
Tue.23rd Sept. I cannot remember much about this day as I was feeling really ill, but, knew I had to get to Europoort to catch the ferry, Pam said that I stopped at every services and at one I feel asleep for over an hour. On the ferry all I wanted to do was lay on the bed and sleep. Apparently at one time the medics on board thought of having a helicopter to take me off, but, I do not remember any of it.
Wed.24th Sept. I was taken from my cabin to my car by wheelchair and put in the passenger seat and a friend John drove me to the Hull Royal Infirmary where I spent eight days (3 in ITU) having treatment for a Brain Haemorrhage, this was unexpected, this is what had happened in Slovenija, but, they fail to diagnose it. I was discharged on the 1st October which is my birthday, so, I couldn’t have wished for a better present, than to go home. Another friend Norman came to Hull earlier and after seeing me took the Quattroporte back to the Isle of Man and put it in my Garage, What a friend. The Travel Insurance arranged for a limousine to take Pam and me from Hull to Heysham to catch the ferry home to the Isle of Man.

Apart from the last few days this was an excellent trip (rally), the Quattroporte covered 3850 trouble free miles, and it averaged 16 MPG and used 6 pints of oil. The Quattroporte 1 is an excellent touring car and very comfortable.

The Quattroporte was the only Maserati on the trip out of a total of 18 classic cars, including XK & E type Jags, MG, Bentley, Morgan, Buick, Rover, Alvis, Triumph Stag, Riley and Rolls Royce, ranging from 1937 to 1973.

We went through eleven countries, some more interesting than others, but, all in all a great event and what a way to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary.

An Unexpected Tale