03 – Autostadt
Day 3: From the Road
I am writing from a very fancy rest stop by the A7 in Germany on the way to Hamburg. This place is incredible! Showers, clean state of the art restrooms, full service cafeteria, Internet hot spot, etc…. There is .50 euro charge for the rest room but you get a voucher for .50 euro that you can redeem for food or products, as the idyllic-sounding voice in the restroom reminds visitors in both English and in German. The place is somewhat expensive but the facilities merit a stopover here. BTW: I have stopped attempting to put accent marks on the Spanish posts since, from now on, we will have to write the posts beforehand and port them as text into computers at the Internet cafes and the special characters don’t translate well into plain text.
Today has been a very eventful day. As you may be able to tell, we have hit the road a day early (and we are awake in the middle of the night). Our original plan was to stay at a campsite near Frankfurt to get use to the van before heading Northeast to Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen plant; however, a kindly couple at the camper rental place told us that we did not have to stay at a campsite in Germany but that we could pull into any rest stop and spend the night. Armed with this knowledge we set about to save time and drive as far as we could tonight before turning in for the night. With any luck we will be in Wolfsburg by the time we post this. We are about halfway between Frankfurt and Wolfsburg. We arrived here around 9:00 pm local time after stopping at a few other rest stops that looked run down and isolated. We went to bed but only managed a few hours of sleep before we were wide-awake. Perhaps we are still jet-lagged or may all the excitement just got to us. Let me back us a minute and tell you about it.
We woke up late, around 9:00 am, and we needed to pick up the van at 10:00. We hurried to pack our tons of stuff and went down for breakfast. We took a cab for Offenbach, where McRent is located, at around 11:00 am. We happened to catch the cab of a Venezuelan o French descent named Felipe and had a nice chat in Spanish during the ride. When we told him about our plan of traveling around Europe for a month in camper, Felipe exclaimed: “That’s why you have so much baggage!” We had our doubts at one point that Felipe knew where he was going but he found the address printed on the van rental receipt I gave him easily. Finding the rental depot, however, proved more challenging. The place was hidden behind other businesses and the McRent sign was only visible from the opposite direction we were traveling in. After a few seconds of confusion, Brenda spotted the sign and we arrived at our destination.
Checking out the van was complicated by the fact that Monday is reunification day here in Germany and many people are on Holiday for the long weekend including, of course, the secretary at McRent’s Offenbach depot. A pudgy young man named Leiman was practically the only one left. His English was very good and he made every effort to serve us to the best of his abilities; however, we was not at all familiar with the paperwork needed to check out a van. The first issue was that the secretary had left a credit card slip for me to sign for a 1,000 euro charge that was to be held a security deposit. I was not expecting them to actually charge my credit card but just to verify that I had the credit or something and necessarily charge the card and hold the funds. After interminable minutes of looking nervously at the paper and then at the computer, Leiman determined that the computer system was on holiday too and that there was nothing he could do. I asked if there was anyone else there that could help and he retrieved an older man, whom I assumed was his supervisor. (This was the same man that later with his wife would give us the tip about the rest stops.) The man said everything was okay and that we were paid in full and left, but later Leiman insisted that again that I sign the credit card slip. We brought the older man back into the office and he said that the credit card must be charged in order to release the vehicle. I yielded thinking that was probably the normal process even though I never heard about it before and nobody seemed really sure how everything worked.
Next Leiman gave me a very thorough demonstration of the van and showed me how everything worked. The van is in pretty decent shape even though it does have a few dents and scratches and the interior rattles quite a bit. I was very impressed with the design of the interior and how all the systems work. The interior layout is very well thought out and offers plenty of storage and everything seems very efficient. Since it was raining, we asked if we could stay in the garage for a while until we had a chance to unpack and store everything. Brenda set about to sanitize everything while I unpacked the gear and set it on the bed for her to organize and store. It took almost an hour for us to be ready to leave.
After trying unsuccessfully to find a place where Leiman said we could find a new shower curtain, we hit the grocery store. This was our first experience outside the tourist areas and, as is to be expected, most people did not speak English. The supermarket, which is called Hit, was huge and packed with people as most grocery stores back home on a Saturday. There was a deli near the entrance and we decided to have lunch before going shopping. The lady at the counter did not speak English but gladly gave us samples and explained through signs what everything was. There was another man behind the counter making what looked like gyros so we pointed to him and motioned that we wanted two of whatever they were. I still don’t know the name but, whatever it was, tasted absolutely delicious. The lamb (cooked just like gyro meat) was shaved paper-thin so that every piece was crunchy. The bread was some a round pocket bread toasted to perfection and it was stuffed with vegetables and a garlic sauce. We sat at a tall table nearby where a lady was eating the same thing. She scooted over to make space and when we thanked her, she replied in perfect English. We began chatting and she told use about her travels and how she loved Offenbach because it was so diverse and how she would come every Saturday from her job to that grocery store just for that sandwich. Despite the hassles that we would later experience, that lunch perfectly embodied the spirit of this trip, to go outside our comfort zone in order to experience serendipitous encounters with other cultures.
Grocery shopping proved more difficult than we thought. Deciphering the German labels of even household products was a daunting task, even after we consulted our handy “German for Travelers” phrasebook. Hit offered just too much variety and it was difficult to know what to choose. For example, the German word for salt is simply salz; however, there were ten different kinds of salts for different purposes. We managed to find all of what we needed but it took a lot longer and was far more tiring than we ever thought possible. Once we were done, I simply assumed that they would take credit cards as they do at home. Wrong! After the cashier had scanned all my stuff I had to run to the ATM to get cash while the long queue of Saturday shoppers waited for me. Brenda thought that the cashier and the lady behind me in line were upset that we couldn’t speak German and were holding up the line but when I came back to the line I excused myself to the lady in German (which was one of the expressions I had just learned prior) and she smiled and I heard her say “no problem”. Up to now we have found Germans to be very friendly and extremely patient with our ineptitude about how things work around here. I prefer to think that Brenda just misunderstood what they were talking about.
After grocery shopping, we visited a nearby Internet cafe to check email and let relatives know that we were okay and soon would be on the road. The place was very cheap (1 hour for 1 euro) compared to the 24 hrs of wireless service available at the hotel. The only downside was that the place reeked of cigarettes, a common problem over here. We were eager to get on the road; however, we encountered a problem. The fancy electronic equipment that we were counting on to guide us around wasn’t working. The data from the electronic maps had been loaded into the GPS unit; however, the routing capability did not work. The electronic voice, which we affectionately named Viki, was silent. No only that, but the routes were not being displayed on the GPS unit at all. This meant that Brenda would have to read off the directions to me from the computer. But first, we had to get onto the highway, which was harder that it sounds given that we were not at the place where the directions started. It took only a couple of U-turns to get us on our way but our confidence was shattered after realizing that the pride we took in being well prepared for the trip was just an illusion. I had relied too much on the fancy electronics and had not studied the routes well at all.
Once in the highway things started looking up. Driving here didn’t feel much different than back home. The highways are excellent and the signs are very informative. Rest stops abound, though we found that some seemed isolated and the facilities were run down and covered with graffiti. It is best to stop at the ones that have the food sign since these are manned 24 hours a day and have clean bathrooms with showers. Even though our rig has a bathroom, we have decided to try not to use it since dump stations for the waste are not as common as they are back home. The main difference driving over here is the speeds at which people drive. Back home on I-95, for example, people routinely drive 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit. In fact, if you drive right at 65, you are liable to get run over by a semi. Over here, on the other hand, you cannot even be on the middle lane if you drive below 120 kph (around 70 mph) or people will start honking their horns at you and flashing their lights. I normally tried to keep my speed between 110 and 120 kph. This is the speed I normally drive at home with my truck and camper to keep fuel consumption down. Also with this tall bus-like rig I thought it would be safer to keep it under 70 mph. Every few seconds an Audi, Mercedes, Volkswagen or BMW would blow by like I was standing still. They were going so fast that our van (which is twice the size of the cars) would shake from side to side in their wake. They must have been going over 100 mph! We’ve all heard the stories about how there is no speed limit on the Autobahn; however, there was a posted speed limit in most places and the speeds people were driving were still insane. We never saw a traffic cop in a full day of driving in the Autobahn.
Day 4: Autostadt
Going to Autostadt was a pilgrimage of sorts for me. I consider myself a Volkswagen enthusiasts having owned more than my share of both old and new cars made by them. When I heard that Volkswagen had built and “Auto City” or Autostadt near Wolfsburg, I told myself that I had to go if I was ever back in Germany. Finding the place was a challenge though. This place isn’t on most tourist guides and Wolfsburg is not a “required” stop on the best of Europe. I had found Autostadt on the Garmin MapSource database of Europe and had planned the route electronically. Even though Viki was still not talking to us, we were able to get the directions from the computer; however, as it turned out, they were totally wrong. First, they made no mention of the fact that the A5 turned into the A7 1/3 of the way between Frankfurt and Hanover. Second, they told us to get off the highway several exits before the Autostadt exit. The first problem was solved easily since I had looked at the map at one of the rest stops and determined that the A7 would take us where we needed to go after the A5 disappeared. The second problem, however, required us to stop and ask for directions two times. Again, the German people were extremely accommodating. Through a combination of sign language and my limited understanding of the German language, I managed to understand where they wanted me to go. The problem was that few people seemed to know about Autostadt and it wasn’t in the road map. The first guy sent me to the Volkswagen dealership. The second guy told me to talk to his friend who knew a little bit of English but she wanted to send me back towards Hanover; however, the non-English-speaker understood what I was looking for and pointed to where I needed to go on the map. (Looking at his fingernails I could tell he worked on cars so it was no surprise that he knew the place.)
Back on the highway we soon saw a sign for Autostadt with the profile of a VW Beetle for a symbol. After that, we had no problem finding the place by following the signs. Soon we could make out the twin towers where every single model of VW currently being made in every imaginable color is housed, ready to be picked up robotically and brought down to the basement where it is transferred to a neighboring building with an indoor driving course where excited owners will test drive and take delivery of their new baby. We actually saw people in the lobby nervously clutching a set of brand new EU tags as they anxiously waited to be taken into the delivery pavilion. Wow! If VW ever establishes a European delivery program for Americans like Porsche, BMW and Volvo do, we’re definitely picking up our next car here. Right away we could tell that this visit was going to be something special and Autostadt did not disappoint. Even Brenda, who would probably rather visit “Fashion City” if there was such a place (although, I guess every city here so far has been a “fashion city”), got as excited as I was jumping into every new car in sight and wanting to visit every exhibit.
The walk from the parking to the park entrance seemed interminable. We were brimming with anticipation and could not wait to get in. The lobby of main building, where the main cafeteria, ticket office and several exhibits are housed, was an enormous hall with nothing inside of it but a circular counter where tickets were sold and a hollow globe. There were also globes representing planets inside the floor visible through Plexiglas. The entire complex was one giant modern art piece that epitomizes German design with its simplicity, sleekness and practicality. Even the bathrooms were unique, each one with it’s own particular décor according to the pavilion which housed it.
Upon entering the park we were enthralled by the exhibits on the main hallway. There were several floors of displays explaining the innovations in safety that Volkswagen has pioneered as well as the design process of the cars, including a chair where a test subject could be spun around in any direction like a fighter pilot as well as a new beetle cut in half. I know that VWs have gained a reputation for being somewhat unreliable in the US lately; however, the cars are incredibly advanced and well thought out and they are everywhere here, by far one of the most popular cars. That leads me to believe that VW of North America has dropped the ball somehow in training technicians and handling recalls. Also, the models being introduced into the North American market now are usually the expensive ones and not the reasonably priced practical cars that nonetheless feature advanced German engineering and for which they are known.
We had lunch at the wonderful cafeteria where one could select from an amazing variety of food and drink at reasonable prices. At every station the attendant would serve you and scan your personal food card (which you were handed upon entering). When you were ready to leave, you took the card to the cashier and she would scan it and give you your total. Even though we were practically the only foreigners there, the staff was very well trained and almost every single person we spoke to knew how to explain everything in several. It was also in the cafeteria were we witnessed a rather sad occurrence but one that hopefully ended well. We were standing in line to get a delicious roast when a man in a nearby table started having an epileptic seizure. A staff member who was in line before us to get his own food immediately sprang into action and took hold of the man wrapping his arms around him so he wouldn’t hurt himself and gently guided the man to floor. He laid the man down and made sure his airway was open. He clearly had some training in first aid. Within minutes the paramedics arrived and even before we got our food the man was being loaded into a stretcher as the heroic staff member comforted him and made sure he was calm. How is that for German efficiency! Brenda and I said a prayer for the man before enjoying our lunch and hope that, wherever he is, he is doing well.
The rest of the day at Autostadt was great. We walked the entire park and saw every single exhibit until we could not move. Some of the pavilions of the different brands owned by Volkswagen were nothing more than elaborate artsy commercials for the brand; however, the antique and exotic car collection more than made up for this. They even had a World Rally Championship (WRC) car. Rallying is a motorsport that is virtually unknown in US but famous almost everywhere else. As a fan of the WRC, seeing the car up close was the next best thing to attending a rally.
At the end of the day, we went back to our camper and took a short nap. We were worn out from all the walking and hadn’t slept well the night before but were eager to get back on the road towards Berlin. In the end Autostadt was totally worth the extra effort. We drove west toward Berlin and got to within 50 km of the city where we stopped at a rest that, even though it was nowhere near as nice as the one we had stayed in the previous night, had its own police station so we figured we would be safe even if the services and showers were not up to our standards. We managed to get a full night sleep despite the busload of rowdy teenagers that stopped by late that night.
Next Page: 04 – Berlin, Germany
