German Born, American by Adoption

Apologies for the delay once again, but we have been unbelievably busy in the past couple of weeks. Let's start with a brief history lesson.

Contrary to popular belief, and unbeknown to our current jackass of a President, the automobile was not invented in America. The idea that Henry Ford invented the automobile is just introduced to us at a young age, so we, as Americans, know no differently. Henry Ford was an ingenius, motivated, and, at times, heartless man, that developed mass production methods for the world. He was thought as an idol to Adolf Hitler, and hated by all of his workers.

This past week we went on many day excursions. We first went to Stuttgart where we visited the Mercedes Benz museum. It was amazing to see all the historical cars, and how their models have developed throughout history. The first automobile is on display here and is an engineering marvel. You can see a picture on this in my facebook albums.

We headed out for a beer in downtown stuttgart where we found a bar called 'Classic Rock'. It was a very cool bar that played mostly American Rock, with delicious beer. We spent the night in a very nice hostel outside of town, where we met a few girls from Munich. We woke up very early to head to Munich for the Porsche and BMW museums. BMW was first on the agenda for the day. Munich is the world headquarter for BMW, and it is quite a visual marvel. They're neighbors with the 1972 olympic stadium, and they're headquarters' building is in the shape of four engine cylinders. Again, it was very interesting to see the evolution of the cars. It was also very interesting to see the significance that racing had on cars in the past. Most of the technological advances that were made on Automobiles were done by race teams, and later on were developed for consumer cars.

After a quick 3 hour tour of the BMW museum, it was time to go to Porsche. Dr. Heitmann had a contact at the Porsche Musuem, so we were lucky enough to have a guided tour of the entire facility by the director of the museum. This building is also an architectural marvel. The Germans seem to put the cost of the building on the back burner, and care more about the statement that the building makes. We were allowed into the museum's workshop to see many cars that were not allowed on display. We were also allowed into the archives, where Dr. Heitmann was given a copy of his Porsche's birth certificate. On our way out, we were given books by our guide. While walking out, Dr. Heitmann stopped to talk to a gentleman that was sitting in an office. Thinking nothing of it, we continued to walk. When he returned downstairs, i noticed that he had this man sign the inside of his book. Curiously, i asked him who the man was. He replied, "that was one of the lead engineers that designed the 911". For those of you that may not know, the Porsche 911 is the most prestigious models, and most definatly the only reason that Porsche continued to exist in post war Europe.

Thouroughly exhausted from over 9 hours in museums in the past two days, we headed back to our hostel for dinner. After dinner there was nothing on our minds but sleep; but that's not allowed. We call our professors, tell them to meet us at the Hofbrauhaus and we got on a tram into downtown. Professor Blust was leaving us the next day to head home for family events, so we needed to celebrate. PROST! After many liters of the most amazing beer i've ever tasted, we hear a ruckus coming from a few table down. Is that? Could it be? It is!! The American National Anthem was being sung, nay, screamed by at least 20 people down the balcony from us. We immediatly stand, remove our hats, and raise our glasses. Classic. We met a very weird man from Maryland, said good night to our professors, and headed home for the night. In Prague, our British friends taught us a new term. Tactical Chundar - Throwing up to make room, and thus drinking more. So after a tactical chundar from an unamed man, George, we were safe in bed.

The next morning we headed to the German Technology Museum, which can be compared to our Smithsonian. We all felt a little rough from the night before, including the professors. After seeing more historical vehicles and taking our tally up to 12 hours in museums, we were ready to head home.

The weekend in Leipzig was pretty mellow to say the least. We were all worn out.

Early the next week we drove to Dresden, Germany to see the "transparent" VW factory. It is called that because it has an unblievably large amount of glass. This can be seen by following link.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/vw_audi_central/vw_s_transparent_factory_feature/(page)/1

The VW Phaeton is produced here, almost entirely by hand. This is a very unusual way to produce cars, but with a sticker price of over 100,000 Euros, it's easy to see the luxurious side of a VW.

On Wednesday June 10th, we headed to Brandenburg, Germany. In this city holds the tool and die factory for BMW, as well as uncertain future of the Opel Company. Previously owned by the 'manufacturer formerly known as General Motors' (copyright T.S.O. 2009), Opel produces vauxals and opel in this plant. It was eerily similar to an American plant. Two motors screaming around beeping their horns, inventory sitting everywhere, and the same line setup. I felt like i was right at home.



After Opel we headed to Wartburg castle, where a semi-famous man by the name of Martin Luther translated bibles while being voluntarily imprisoned. It is a beautifully restored castle with violent stories and legends galore.








On Friday June 12 we were headed for Wartburg, Germany. Where the first Audi plant was, and now is a transportation museum. They had a large amount of Horch cars, as well as the communist produced Trabant; which sported an earth shattering 85 hp two cycle motor. They new German government lifted emission requirements on this vehicle to support its' past. They also had 4 of the most expensive cars in the world, my favorite being the Bugatti Veyron, which held the world record for the world's fastest car for quite sometime.

Friday night saw a night of Karaoke with two of our professors as well as our German student mentors. A great night to say the least.

Saturday was a night of teaching our German mentors and their friends great American drinking games. Followed by a night of dancing to German techno music on the stage at a club. Priceless to say the least.