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3 July - continued Onwards we went, across a path and into a more densely overgrown area. Here Milloup found a tree where even I, who don't know the first thing about wild boar, could see that some of them had probably been in action there. An area of about 1 meter diameter was entirely dug up, and Milloup was unable to tear himself away from this interesting spot. The head judge decided that we had better stop the test, so the other competitors would also get their chances before it grew too hot. We had by then been on the trail for 1 hour 20 minutes. |
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 | My by now lukewarm coke was handed to me. It had conscientiously been carried along all the way without spilling a drop. On the way back the head judge showed me on a drawing, how Milloup had been going in relation to the trail itself. Furthermore, he told me that at some stages Milloup had diligently followed in the footsteps of some wild boar, clearly marking each footprint along the way. So now I know that he's capable of tracking wild boar, but that was not exactly what we set out to prove that day.. |
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At the other side of the road the next team was waiting, and Milloup and I trundled along the road towards "2 parking lot on the left". Here Mr Schwartz had already for a while been scouting eagerly along the road. From afar I gave him the thump down sign, so he would immediately know there was no cause for celebration. He had been taking it as a good sign that we were gone for so long. But now it was over and done with, anyway. Milloup was given the contents of his goodies bag which had been intended for handing out at the end of the trail, he had a good drink of water and was put into his box to relax a while. Then I climbed into Mr Ruttkowski's car and lit a cigarette. In the woods smoking was totally prohibited in order to avoid the danger of forest fire. Afterwards I let Milloup out of his box and we took a good stroll down the woodland lane. After a while we diverted from the track and went into the forest proper, and here we even managed to catch a glimpse of the wild boar that Milloup found so enticing. They didn't stop to greet us, though, but hurriedly disappeared in the other direction. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera on the ready.. |
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When we got back to the meeting place, the entire group of judges were assembled around the food stall for a coffee and lunch break. I wondered a little, because 25 minutes at the most had passed since we finished our test. I couldn't understand that. But it was so. Start number 2 had the same opinion about the wild boar - and certainly a more direct way of expressing it. So she had taken a quick 14 minutes' stroll in the forest with her nose high in the air, and that was that tracking test. |  |
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Next dog on the trail was Mr Ruttkowski's Unkas. Unkas also thought the wild boar were enchanting. He was back in base camp after 20 minutes. My appetite had come back, so I set out for the food stall. I had long since set my heart on a deliciously looking piece of chocolate cake, but first for something more substantial. Certainly, Milloup would also appreciate a bite of food, so for starters I bought a sausage and potato salad, which Milloup and I shared between us. When later I went back for my piece of chocolate cake I discovered that others had been there before me, so I didn't get a taste of the chocolate cake after all. Last hope for a prize was a small longhaired mini bitch, and when she had been gone for more than half an hour, hopes soared that there would be one prize awarded after all. But she didn't succeed either. After 40 minutes on the trail the team had to abandon hope of getting through the trail. It was not yet midday, when all teams had finished, and for the judges there was not very much to debate - 4 round zeroes were awarded, and where Milloup was concerned this was the first time in his career that he didn't get any kind of prize at all. Then the hornblowers blew a piece, and the tracking test was over. |
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 | Sometime during the morning Mrs Ruttkowski had arrived at the scene of the tracking test, but I didn't realize this until it was time to go home. Before we left, Mr Schwartz promised to pick us up the next morning at 9 and take us on a sightseeing tour of Berlin City before we left on the train at half past one in the afternoon. We waved goodbye to everybody and set our course for the Tegelsee, which we crossed in a tiny ferry, a trip that took about 3 minutes. |
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That way the return journey went a lot faster than the outward bound, and we were back in Schönwalde already around 2 o'clock. Here we said goodbye to Mr and Mrs Ruttkowski and hurried into the garden where Milloup inhaled half a liter of water and panting threw himself full length in the shade. I fetched something to read and drink and followed his example. A little later Mrs Wenzel came into the back garden to ask if I would come and have tea and cake with her in the front garden. That I would with pleasure. Milloup woke up from his slumber and energetically set out to investigate this new part of the garden, while Mrs Wenzel and I chatted companionably. However, Milloup soon discovered that it was too hot for much activity, so he withdrew into the shade underneath the table and soon slumbered peacefully again. |
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After an hour of having a feast of the gab Milloup and I went back to our own part of the garden and did nothing at all. Milloup didn't even want to come for a walk, it was simply too hot. I tried around 6, but we only got past two houses then his high-and-mightyness demanded to be taken back to the shade once more. It wasn't until around 10 o'clock that I managed to lure him out again, but still we only got halfway down the gravel road, then Milloup had seen and done what he wanted and once again demanded to go home. It was simply too hot for any kind of activity. |  |
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4 July At 9 sharp Mr Schwartz was outside the garden gate as promised. Our belongings had already been crammed into the backpack and we were ready to take leave of Mrs Wenzel. Then we drove towards the centre of Berlin. We drove mainly east and south and entered the city through the old East Berlin. We crossed Alexanderplatz and drove down Unter den Linden. Then we drove through Brandenburger Tor and parked on the north side of Tiergarten. |
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 | From there we walked back to Brandenburger Tor and through it. On the former East Side we saw the Adlon Hotel. After the Wall came down this hotel has been redecorated and now again is the most expensive hotel in Berlin. On our way back through Brandenburger Tor Milloup stopped to take a leak, he just had to make his mark on the place.. Back on the West Side we walked up to the by now almost finished Parliament building and had a look at it from the outside. It was possible to go into the building and ascend to the glass dome spanning it, but not with a dog in tow, so that was out of the question. Instead we cut a corner across the park, entered Ebert Straße where once the Wall was, and walked towards Potsdamer Platz with Tiergarten to our right. |
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As there was hardly any shade on this leg of our walk, Milloup's tongue grew longer and longer, and he walked slower and slower. As the morning progressed it was getting very hot, and all signs were that Sunday would be just as hot as Saturday had been. Atd Potsdamer Platz Mr Schwartz pointed out the various new buildings in the area that used to be part of no man's land. He showed me how two big companies had competed about the honour of having the tallest skyscraper - they had simply each slapped a few additional storeys on top, once they discovered the building of the opponent was the taller. On the opposite street corner there was a huge, red building with a display showing the development of the area. We climbed the stairs to building, but it was a brief visit because Milloup was not allowed inside the building, and the balcony in front of the entrance had a lattice floor, something Milloup hates like the plague. So I soon finished looking at the exhibits and went back out to join Mr Schwartz and Milloup again. When we crossed the street afterwards we came to a place where they are working underground to complete the new Potsdamer Platz tube station. There we had to cross a wooden bridge, and this didn't suit Milloup either - he demanded that I carry him. We crisscrossed the area south-west of Potsdamer Platz and finally came to a big shopping centre. Of course, most of the shops were closed, but on the first floor there was an open coffe and ice bar, so we sat down to rest our feet and have something to drink. I asked the waiter for a little water for Milloup, and he promptly brought us a brimming cup of cool water which Milloup all but emptied in no time. There weren't many droplets left once he had finished. |
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By and by it was getting extremely hot, so we went back to the car. On the way back we went through shady Tiergarten, something Milloup appreciated immensely.. On the way to the station Mr Schwartz drove this way and that in order to show me more of Berlin and its sights. Thus we passed both Siegessäule, Schloß Bellevue, where the German President lives, Kongreßhalle, Carillon, Gedächtniskirche, and the Zoo. |  |
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Our excursion ended at Berlin Bahnhof Zoo, and we said goodbye to Mr Schwartz. He went home to enjoy the remains of his weekend, and we set out for the station entrance. First, however, we found a little shop where they had sodas at slightly more reasonable prices than in the train. At half past one the train left the station, and we easily found our seat. Luckily, there was ample room for Milloup's travelling box, too, but it soon turned out that the disadvantages were outnumbering the advantages nonetheless. It was blisteringly hot in the carriage, and the windows could not be opened. Signs proclaimed that the air-condition didn't work if the windows were open. Sadly, it didn't work with the windows closed, either, and the result was that we were just about cooking in 35 degrees humid heat. Milloup soon lay flat on his side on the floor gasping, and his chest was heaving at an alarming speed. He didn't want any water at all. I got the train attendant to open the tiny window in the toilet so that I could at least lift him up and allow him a tiny bit of fresh air. After a while I realized that the problem was only really bad in our carriage. reconnaissance expedition revealed an empty seat in the next carriage where the temperature was "only" some 25-27 degrees centigrade. We immediately removed ourselves to that spot and managed the rest of the trip to Hamburg in relatively good shape. Hamburg around 4 was also burning hot, so we limited our walk to a minimum and withdrew to the shade of the station there to await the arrival of the train bound for Denmark. Compared to the IC train from Berlin stepping into this train was sheer bliss. Here the windows could indeed be opened - and they were! The heat wave was still there in full force, but now at least we had air circulating around us and preventing us from sticking to the seats. By and by Milloup even rediscovered his appetite, especially when our neighbours, two couples from Fyn, took out their provisions and started having dinner. A quarter to seven the train rolled into the Padborg station. The 14 minutes' stop was spent on a walk along the platform and a noisy exchange of "pleasantries" with a fellow dachshund that shown the affrontery of accompanying his master to the station. Having thus informed Padborg and environs of our presense, we withdrew in good order to the train and rolled on northwards through Jutland. When we reached Fredericia around 9 the temperature was just about bearable - also without the circulating air, but even when we reached Århus shortly before 10 it was still possible to wear short sleeves outside without getting cold. What a hot trip! |
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Updated on 12-8-03 |
