Trabi meeting (source: Sme - Ján Krošlák)
AT THE end of July, more than 60 Trabants were gathered in Košice and nearby Čaňa at the 13th national reunion of enthusiasts of the legendary car. On July 26, the cars were presented to visitors of Košice Zoo at the so-called Trabi Safari, and in the afternoon they were paraded in front of Košice’s Aupark shopping centre.
The event, organised by Trabantklub Košice, involved participants not only from Slovakia, but also the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The ‘Trabi’ models included at least one rarity, the Trabant Tramp (a jeep-style model), as well as a variety of vehicles adapted in different ways.
Trabant cars were made in communist eastern Germany, mostly from plastic, and featured a two-cycle engine. Models that were among the most popular since the 1950s are now quite rare, and are owned today by collectors for whom the car has become a kind of lifestyle.
“This is a meeting of enthusiasts and fans of this car, but also a memory of times past,” one of the organisers, Marek Hanispal, told the TASR newswire. “There is a big element of nostalgia in that, but also of exceptionality. The eyes of nosey parkers find them just like they find a glossy Ferrari,” Haniska summed up. The weekend event ended on July 27.
