Travelling across the USA in a Trabant

An adventure in travel.

The communication designer Jan-Erik Nord drove along Route 66 in 2024 in a Trabant – as a charity project for a seriously ill child. For years, he had dreamed of a road trip across the United States. This dream finally became reality with an East German classic car. At the beginning, however, there was plenty of mechanical work to be done on the Trabant 601, which had been left in a barn for 25 years: the engine block was cracked, the gearbox had no oil, and the brakes were corroded. After being shipped to the USA, the journey continued across more than 9,000 kilometres criss-crossing the United States of America, and the travel adventure began to unfold.

Illustrated talk: Jan-Erik Nord, author and photographer, Berlin

Chair: Sören Marotz, Head of Exhibitions, DDR Museum

Admission is free.

Yellow Trabant driving along a road in a modern city under an elevated railway line. It is surrounded by tall buildings and other vehicles.

9 December 2026, 6 pm

Conference Room DDR Museum
Sankt Wolfgang-Str. 2
10178 Berlin

Here you can see the location.

The event will take place in German.