IAA Day 1!

This blogging business is hard work. I struggle each week just to keep up with what's been going on and this particular week I anticipate a lot to happen. I am typing this in a Youth Hostel in Frankfurt, Germany. The hostel is located in the middle of the Red Light district of the city (literally there is a sex/strip club next door). It is taking all of my concentration to construct each sentence because directly behind me in a corner of the hostel common area is a large group of South African men, all white, speaking loudly with British accents, and they are hilarious! Occasionally a particular comment will permeate the entire common area. Its usually something along the lines of "Can I fondle you?" or "I'm a sexual pedophile." But let's back up a little bit.

On Wednesday the 14th of September I got up early and arrived at the Cologne Messa/Deutz train station at 11:00 am. I was to board an ICE train (high speed rail) for Frankfurt at 11:44. During the summer I had applied and been accepted to a program put on by the DAAD (the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst) called Tandem Reporters. This program paired international students with a German student and sent them to report on various events occurring throughout the country. This particular event was the Internationale Auto Austellung (IAA) or the International Automotive Exhibition. A few days previously we had received an email from the program coordinator, informing us that we would get a personal tour of the Austellung facility that would be attended my none other than the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. I liked the chancellor and had in fact written an essay about her for a scholarship. Needless to say I was so excited my internal organs were in danger of rupturing.

Me on the empty train platform

My train finally arrived and I boarded it, stowed my luggage and took my seat next to a British fellow who, after a quick introduction, said nothing to me for the remainder of the journey. I was okay with this and occupied myself with looking out the window of the speeding train and watching the German countryside flash by. After about an hour the train pulled into the Frankfurt Haupbahnhof (main train station), and I walked to the back of my car and exited into the noisy, bustling, and crowded station. It was at this point that I realized that I had only the vaguest of ideas where my hostel was. I walked out of the main city entrance of the station and started down a street. I soon realized it was the wrong one and returned to the station.

I cursed myself for not bringing a map or any of the documents that had detailed where we would be staying. Admittedly we had been told very little about the details of the trip but we had been given a city map that showed the hostel. After talking to a customer service representative (in German), and being given the wrong directions I found two police officers. I asked them (again in German) where to find the hostel. They pointed out the main entrance and told me to walk 50 meters and turn right. I did this and immediately found the hostel. It was within sight of the central train station. A few years ago I would have kicked myself for being so clueless. But, as it was, I shrugged it off and went inside.

The Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof

My ICE train

The main lobby of the hostel was on the 3rd floor (weird) and when I walked inside there were a smattering of guests entertaining themselves in front of the bar/reception desk. I approached the girl behind the desk and she addressed me in English. In short order we found my group reservation and my room. I took a key (for a 5 euro deposit) and went to my room, which was just around the corner from the reception/common area. I placed my key in front of a blinking green scanner and stepped into a slim room with three pairs of bunk beds against the walls. There were no other people in the room but a set of bags were laid against one of the bunks.

I set my things against another wall just as two tall boys entered the room. One looked very German and the other looked as though he came from somewhere in Western Europe. They greeted me and I quickly learned they were both German, though one had a French parent. They introduced themselves as Dominic and Meil. After Meil stowed his things we went back to the common area and held a conversation in German. I was both surprised and delighted at my ability to understand most of what they were saying. Moments later an Asian boy approached us and asked if we were here with the DAAD. We said yes and he introduced himself as David from Indonesia.

After more chatting the rest of the reporters entered the room. We had the one boy from Indonesia, two girls from Russia, one boy from Israel, and me. It was quickly determined that David was the only one who didn't speak a word of German and I was the youngest. This was a fact I was getting used to as many German and other international students had taken years off of school or were pursuing a masters degree. 

There were also two women who represented the DAAD present. They gathered us around a table and began a presentation on who exactly to write an article. The presentation took FOREVER as the women would present first in German and then again in English. Before long I was wondering why they didn't just communicate everything in English. This would become a point of exasperation all week as they would later report vital information in German and then not bother to repeat it in English. I could usually get the meaning of what they were saying but was certain I had missed a few details and I would constantly think of how confused poor David was.

After what seemed like ages the women took us on a tour of the city. I had seen the massive skyscrapers from the train and would soon see them up close. Frankfurt was a huge banking town with basically every major bank in German headquartered there. I had also heard from several Germans that the city wasn't exactly exciting or pretty. I however, thoroughly disagreed. It reminded me a bit of Minneapolis. The downtown area was clean and many of the skyscrapers very modern with interesting and beautiful architecture and sculptures. Scattered in with the modern buildings were also older houses and government buildings.

Our first stop was the top of the Main Tower, the only skyscraper in the city that offered guests a stunning view from 200 meters. The view was indeed beautiful! From this vantage point I could more clearly see the mix of modern and old-fashioned buildings. I could also see that the western part of the city dead-ended suddenly with a row of trees, and that unlike Minneapolis the skyscrapers were far more spread out. After lingering at the top of Main Tower for a time we saw the little church were the first German Parliament had convened and the Rhine. Our tour guides left us on the river and we ate Döner in the grass there before walking to a Supermarkt, purchasing some beers and then returning the river to casually drink them and watch the sun set over the eastern bank.

After a time we returned to the hostel and fell asleep.

Frankfurt skyline

Me with the Commerzbank tower in the background

The next morning I awoke first and remained in my bed, staring at the stark white sheets of the bunk above me. After a few minutes the alarm of one of the German students (Philip) went off and he struggled out of his perch on the top bunk and went into the room that contained the small shower that was shared between the six male Tandem Reporters. I remained where I was for a few more minutes before rising as well and beginning to dress. I put on my black dress pants and a somewhat wrinkled white shirt. By the time I was done maneuvering around in the crowded room, everyone else had awoken and begun their daily routine.

I left the room before everyone and headed into the common area for the promised free breakfast. The little room was packed with people, either sitting at tables or shuffling around a large buffet lined with food. I slipped through the line and sat with one of the Russian girls named Maria. We ate in relative silence. I enjoyed the meal. The spread included bread, rolls, tomatoes, salami, ham, three different kinds of cheeses, cereal, milk, apple and orange juice, tea, and coffee. I ate my fill before heading back to the room and tying a tie around my neck and hiding my wrinkled white shirt beneath a suit coat.

The boys all left together and met the girls and our chaperons outside the hostel, where we walked about 5 blocks to the exhibition grounds, located dead in the middle of the city. We entered the front doors and we told to wait for our chaperons while they secured our press badges. We stood at the base of a double set of escalators and watched throngs of people hustle through the security gates into the fair. The main entrance hall of the facility was huge and white and modern. I amused myself with looking around the room and watching the people walking through it.

We waited for what seemed like forever before the two women returned. They didn't bring good news. Apparently we were denied our press badges, which meant the DAAD had to buy our tickets and that we would be unable to gain access to the press room and its resources. But the real blow was that we couldn't join Angela Merkel's tour. Disappointment fell heavily on our little group. This disappointment turned to frustration as the chaperons had us wait some more while they searched (largely in vain) for the "cloakroom". I was beginning to think that instead of just choosing not to share details with us the DAAD representatives actually didn't know them themselves. Finally the pair returned and we entered the fair.

We were immediately split up from each other in a massive throng of people. I managed to stick with my Tandem Partnerin, Julia, as we made our way down a long hallway to where the exhibits were located. Julia was a 4th year bachelor student studying business. She had a very strong interest in cars and had interned for Daimler (the company most noted for producing Mercedes-Benz). She was quite at first and clearly self-conscious about her English skills. I just continued talking however and perhaps it was my rather clumsy attempts at conversation in German that convinced her to become more vocal over the course of the day.

Our first stop was the exhibit room for Mercedes-Benz. The room was massive and it damned near caused me to faint with excitement as we caught our first full glimpse of it. It was huge first of all, two floors packed full of some of the most expensive cars in Europe. A bright blue glow covered the whole room and epic music blasted from speakers set into the ceiling 20 meters above us added to the overwhelming excitement of the room. Hundreds of people milled about and, taking a deep breath, my Partnerin and I started through the exhibit.

The new addition to the Mercedes C Class. I may have been drooling
while taking this photo.

Yep. There was definitely some drool on this car.

We spent almost two hours in the giant room, walking around, looking at the classy new additions to the C class, the family-oriented B Class and the brand new concepts for the A Class. I was particularly interested in the new electric and hybrid motors Mercedes had on display. Their latest 6 cylinder model used powerful pumps to push air into the combustion chamber. The more oxygen in the chamber, the more the fuel could burn and thus produce more energy to propel the car. I was impressed with the level of commitment the company seemed to have for producing environmentally friendly cars. More than once I lost Julia in the crowd because I was busy listening to a presenter or staring at an engine or graphic.

Well this blog post is getting really long and I am a bit tired from the day's excitement. Its about midnight here and tomorrow promises to come much too soon. Hopefully I'll find time to document the rest of my first day at the IAA as well as my second. So . . . 

To be continued . . .