German Woman Reunites with Childhood Flaschenpost Mystery After 40 Years

A bottle tossed into the Baltic Sea in 1982 connects a woman in Australia with her past and uncovers a remarkable story of chance and connection.

In 1982, 10-year-old Tanja Kretzschmar threw a message in a bottle into the Baltic Sea during a boat trip with her grandfather.
A year and a half later, she received a reply from a family in Melbourne, Australia, sparking curiosity about how the bottle traveled so far.
Decades later, Kretzschmar, now living in Sydney, used social media and a radio interview to track down the family who replied to her letter.
It was revealed that German friends of the Australian family found the bottle and sent it to them, debunking theories of ocean currents carrying it across the globe.
Kretzschmar and Peter Mitchelson, the son of the letter’s writer, have reconnected and plan to meet in person to reflect on their shared history.