Other pictures of the meeting will be placed in different colums of my homepage soon. The other Pictures can be found here.

Worldmeeting from July the 28th to August the 2nd 2009 in Most / Czech Republic.

When I visited my first worldmeeting in Sweden, I realized the bridcall of the Czech delegation to visit the meeting in Most in two years. I enjoied the swedish meeting and so the trip tor the country of my forefathers was engraved in my timetable soon. The meeting started officially at tuesday but I could not start before thursday. After a good night's rest I loaded my car (not forgetting my blanket), put fuel in the tank and started the trip.

Weltententreffen Tschechien in Most 2009

The tank is filled and 15256km are shown at the speedometer.

The route I had planned to go leaded through the German area called Franconia with border crossing at Cheb (Eger) and I could drive speedy till this border. I just stopped to pick up hitchhikers. The first pair knew driving a 2CV and the rocking of the car evoke stories of the past. The two young guys I picked up as the second 'party' raised their thumb unassertive when they saw my car knew that it was a 'duck' but never had been in such a car before. Some kilometers ahead the border I stopped for the last time at German ground to fill the tank with the spare can. Fuel is cheaper at the other side of the - thanks to the EU and the 'agreement of Schengen' - almost not recognisable border. From Cheb I traveled to Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) and ahead the old bath town I turned to the direction Rybničná. The former called Teichhausen was the birthplace of my father in 1939 and I liked to take some pictures of those houses. The different kind of signposting caused a slight confusion and so I found myself at the middle of Karlovy Vary. At the second attempt I found the little road leading to my stoppover on labyrinthine alleys. I had imprinted the 'city map' of Rybničná to my brain - about 300 humans lived there at prospery times - with the help of sattelite photos (Google enabled it) and so I found my grandfather's house very soon. It is a bit away from downtown and I was welcomed by the barking of two German shepherd dogs. Around the property the botany was high and so it was impossible to get a picture of the building. I intended to continue my trip when another car came along the small channel. The today's owner of the house was sitting in the car. He was speaking some words of German language and let me in, when I had declaimed my concern. When recognising their lordling the quadrupeds fell silent and I could take the wanted pictures. The host is renovating the building for ten years now, which he is completing as his weekend home during his spare time. I thanked him and handed him a picture showing the building in the year 1943, which I carried with me and adjusted the radiator grill of my 2CV finally to the direction of the worldmeeting.


		1.) Alley to 'Teichhausen'. 2.) The main street of the village. 3.) General view of Rybničná. 4.) The house of my forefathers in 2009... 5.) ...and in 1943. 6.) Same point of view in 2009 - botany has grown.

Becoming familliar with the different road signs I found my way to Most without further loops. I realised the first sign to the meeting area (Citroën chevrons as usual) too late - I had passed the branching. As I could see this was already the entrance to the campinmg ground. I had taken the right direction to Most.
Checking in could not have been faster: I handed the reservation to one of the female assistants coming to my car and as soon as I went out of the car to unfold my body she came back with a smile on her face and the bag of all meeting utensils in her hand - that was all!
When getting back into my vehicle again, I had the first brakedown of my journey - I could not close the driver's door. The screwdriver for little repairings like this is always handy and after fixing the appropriate screw I drove through the entrance and the first meters uphill. The campground was splitted into small areas by bushes and earth walls and I started to watch out for a known face. The face I saw first wasn't a face but the tail of a car. I realized the red spoiler of Mannfred's 'Nothacker-2CV' between two tents. The remaining mates of my regular's table hat set up their camp at the top of the hill, but I thought that this was a fine place to settle down. I assemblet my tent-knop in the shadow of a big tent owned by an extended family. While chating with Manfred and Cornelia I first saw Jaunette, then the becking Mike and finally Anke besides him - I arrived at the center of the meeting.
Later I pointed out that the tent of the extended family besides my knob was owned by Bernd, who is like me a bachelor - 2CV drivers seem to have different requirements...



The campground besides the Hippodrome, the horse race track at Vlebudice with the claims of all the different nations, Clubs and groupes.

Under the light of the setting sun I took my first walkabout and again I could see the brilliant organisation of the meeting. High level sanitary equipment was established for the time of the meeting and even inbetween the campground beverage carts where placed. That many security forces and police officers could be seen is not the best thing, but it seems to be necessary. Some driving licences have been confiscated because of boozed driving (the organisators warned to consider the controls even at the meeting area), but the conditions of the cars were not complained and all kinds of passenger transport were admited (fenders, bonnet and so on).


	1.) Empty at the early moorning - one of the beverage carts around the campground. 2.) The moost common 'third party vehicle'. In contrast to the 2CV's all Skodas had a standard painting and body design ;-) 3.) Cleaning up almost around the clock - many people were engaged during the meeting - Thanks a lot to all of you! 4.) Passenger transport. 5.) Not only beer but also non-alcoholic drinks were delivered to doors of the tents.

Organisation is just half of the fun. Here you can see an improoved shell game: Three cones were built out of mud and placed at the road. Now the audience waited until a car hit one of the cones. Killjoyers drove around them, how it had to be done can be seen at picture number 3. Brokedown cones where replaced immediately. I did not hear about bets...

At the top of the hill the party- and business zone was placed and I went there at my first evening to listen to the performances of the artists. At thursday evening bands consisting of 2CV drivers entered the stage and the best combo was honored with a cup made of 2CV spareparts. Because of my long travel to Most I was already sleeping in my tent while the award ceremony took place.
I noticed the presentation of the two candidating countrys Poland and Spain for the next but one meeting in the year 2013. The presentaion of Finland took place some minutes before I arrived there. I was amazed by the presentation of Poland. They had already competed for the meeting in 2011, but at Sweden they appeared only with two or three persons on stage and only spoke some words in English. This time the whole stage was crowded with colored dressed people and the whole presentation was done in English, French and German language.


	Live music performed by 2CV-driving bands and the presentations of the candidates for 2013. In between the fathers of the playschool-kids of Most presented a Cancan.

Sleeping in my tent-knob can only be done until the first sunbeam starts to heat it to a sauna. Because of Bernd's giant tent this point of time wasn't too early in the moorning. Well rested I started my next walkabout. The market places and the little museum should be visited. I didn't have a long list of parts to buy, just the little plastic attachment for the opened window at the front passengers door had to be replaced. The professionell as well as the private market where much bigger than those at Sweden or the German national meeting at Bremen. I found what I was looking for and did not buy any further parts. Maybe you could have built a complete 2CV with all the parts offered there and there were many drivers who hat to repair something at their car. From small parts to a complete chassis replacement - all kinds of repairs were done, not only at the official meeting garage but also at the campground.


		1. + 2.) The museum was dominated by Skodas and Tatras. 3. + 4.) Willful construction: The underbody of a 2CV, the actuation was done by the half of a motorbike (=3 read wheels) and the body was handmade. 5.) The 2CV-corner of the museum. 6.) You could sign the narrow 2CV - Bernd has done so.

			1. - 4.) Merchandising was done by adults and children, commercial an non commercial with spareparts and other accessories. 5.) The meeting garage. 6. + 7.) Repairings were done everywhere.

I avoided the midday sun by a trip to the near castle of Hněvín. Together with my tent neighbour Bernd I drove with his red racer as the co-driver reading the map of Most. After driving a small loop - so we also could have a look at the Motodrome - we found the steep and small road to the top of the mountain. The parking area and every little place around was filled with 2CVs and you could have a very good look around the whole area of Most. The original Town was destroyed because of coal mining and only this castle was spared. Some other buildings were disassembled and reconstructed at a different location.



			1.) Parking around Hněvín. 2.) Look at the Motodrome. 3.) Parkway in front of the castle. 4.) Walkable tower. 5.) Landscape created by coal mining. 6.) This church switched to a new place. 7. + 8.) Look at the meeting area.

When returning to the meeting area, the sun wasn't that high any longer and so I could start another walkabout. It was impossilble to explore the whole area with it's corners in one single walk and I it was easy to start a convertsation with one of the people arond there. Sometimes the guys of the cabaret, walking on stilts or driving curious vehicles while making some fun with the audience stopped my exploration.
At the evening a 'Brazilian night' was arranged and the first part of the tombola was announced. Playing brazilian rhythms all over the time was to booring for me as a pale skinned European and so I returned to my tent soon at the evening.



1. - 4.) The cabaret-group. 5.) Live music was presented every evening. 6.) First part of the tombola. 7. + 8.) A lot of work was spent even with the small prices, consisting of 2CV spareparts.

Saturday was the last day with entertainment. I used the day to search for the last square meters of campground still not explored by me. There should be some mates of me at the meeting which I still did not see until this day and I tried to find them - some without success. At high noon (the sun was shining all days long) I watched out for a shadowy place at the top of the hill and took pictures of the passing cars. To look on others and to be looked at is one of the reasons for arranging a worldmeeting and so I observed the 'Concours d'elegance'. Every nation and every driver had his own music playing at their radios. When I could hear the 'Boy from Westerwald' I wasn't surprised to see a black and yellow AK passing by - yes Erwin?



		1. + 2.) Siesta at high nooni. 3. - 10.) 'Concours d'elegance'.

'All peoples to their horns' was the command 'heralding' the last evening of the meeting. The seventies was the slogan of the evening and so you could wear everything being not unichrome. The Beatles, Elvis and Janis Joplin rised from the dead and that was the right music for me (and most other people).
The big prices of the tombola were spread over the winers and with a very special firework, done by the guys of the cabaret, the end of the exciting meeting came near.
Looking at the budget, there seemed to be a miscalculation by the organisators and so the appealed for a special fund. If every participiant of the meeting would keep one of the socklocks (the valuta used at the area) as a souvenir, there should no minus left over. I found two more of those plasitc chips inside my trouser pockets and hope that some more 'Dollars' disappeared at that way so that no one of the organisators lost money. Maybe the 2CV-community should keep a distance from those 'all entertainment inclusive'-mentality, to make the financial risk of such events more manageable. A good example was the event taking place at the tent of the cabaret. There at the stage was free for everyone who wanted to play an instrument of his choice or sing a song. The quality of the executions was very different, but the fun was always great! I hope that children don't need necessarily a big screen with films even during their holidays - look at the mudgame above. You can create entertainment by yourself - to my mind that should not be the part of the organisators.
The voting for the host of the meeting in 2013 announced next and Spain was the winner! Just like Poland the spanish delegation was candidating more than once and so these two countrys got most of the votings. Finland was the host of the first and the 10th meeting and they wanted to continue the progression with the 20th meeting. Most ot the meeting participants aggreed to give the new candidates a chance and so we will have a trip to Spain in 2013.
With handing the official Citroën-Banner to the french delegation of Salbris this very very great meeting came to an official end! Thanks to the whole staff!
The last evening was my longest. Around three o clock in the moorning I went back to my little tent.



1. + 2.) Chorus of horns. 3.) Beatles. 4.) Elvis lives! 5.) Fire-work. 6.) Even Janis Joplin was permanentely observed by two movie cameras and the image was projected on two big screens. In addition many loud speakers spread the music all over the area. Maybe less technical stuff would have brought more audience close to the stage - that is always more fun for the bands. 7. + 8.) Colored dressings of the audience.

Sunday was the day of boxing and leaving. Everywhere at the meeting area the tents and sales booths where disassembled and the meeting came to his end. The final round across the area lasted (as usual) longer than expected and I bought some provisions for the trip back home at the top of the hill. At the exit gate I was asked to turn on my headlights by the police (you have to do so in the Czech republik) and together with Erwin in his AK I started my trip home again. We took the trip along small alleys across the hills of the 'Erzgebirge'. Being in Germany again, Erwin saw a steam powered locomotive waiting for the signal to go. We stoped to shoot some pictures an decided to have a longer break and to visit the according museum.
We continued our trip through the hills and decided to use the highway when it started raining. Some minutes after midnight I arrived at home and I was very pleased to be able to sleep im my comfortable bed again!




1. + 2.) Visitors ant organizers boxed their stuff. 3.) Traffic at the exit of the campground. 4. - 12.) Trip back home with stop at the museum at Rittersgrün.

...I'd like to mention those guys replacing their rotten chassis by a new galvanised one during the days of the meeting. It took me 2 1/2 years and not 2 1/2 days doing the same thing. The internationally construction work took place near my tent and so I could observe the whole precedure. It was great to look at the show and to give funny comments and to talk with all the other viewers. Here at I was advised of the Harley-Davidson coil under the bonnet of a 2CV. It is more heat resistant, because it is mounted near the cylinders and the manifold of the moped...





First row: Axles mounted and engine + gearbox fastened. I was asked to help lifting engine and Gearbox and dit so (maybe I gave too many comments while watching). At the right picture you can see the Harley-coil. Second row: Mounting the body. Third row: There was a big international audience during lifting the body and so I was able to make my pictures without being asked to help once more. Fourth row: Have a break - Fenders + Bonnet mounted - Rear cabeling - ready to go!

...worldmeeting means there were also some drivers from outside of Europe...


Three cars from Israel. They drove to Haifa, took the ferry to Greece, crossed this country to take the second ferry to Italy and than came to the Czech republic using their wheels. The longest trip I've heard about.

...and finally the result of the jury - absolutely great!!!

Other pictures of the meeting will be placed in different colums of my homepage soon. The other Pictures can be found here.