IAA Part 2!

So a little known fact about me: I like cars. A lot. In fact, one of my career goals is to work with BMW, Volkswagen, or Mercedes after school. My Google News feed is always full of corporate news from each of the above companies and anything generally related to the automotive industry. Currently the background of my computer is the BMW i8 electric sports car concept. So, knowing all this, you can maybe begin to imagine how exciting this fair was for me!

It all passed by in a blur. We spent 2 hours along in the Mercedes pavilion, looking at all of their vehicles and fancy, eye-catching displays. After that we wandered outside to the Volkswagen pavilion. Their display was much smaller than that of Mercedes, though it was equally intense. Lights flashed, music thumped and several attractive women danced on tables set around the new Beetles on display. Volkswagen also shared its pavilion with such companies as Seat, Porsche, Bently, and Lamborghini. Time flew as we looked at all of the different displays. The Porsches and Lamborghinis were particularly impressive. I had never been able to sit in such an expensive car. Until today! Most of them cost well over 300,000 euros with the Lamborghinis approaching 1 million. My eyes were being pulled in every direction by the sights and sounds of the pavilion. Somehow I managed to remain not only sane but professional.

We soon lost track of how long we had been in the pavilion. I'll let the pictures do some of the talking.

Lamborghini

Another Lamborghini

Me with Volkswagen's new up! electric car.

Volkswagen's electric car up!. 

After leaving the Volkswagen pavilion we bought lunch from a German grill. We both purchased Rostbrotwurst and started walking to find a place to sit. We were intercepted however by a salesman for the German equivalent of Triple A. He quickly engaged meine Parternin Julia about her driving preferences. He left me alone after I told him in German that I was from the United States. He continued talking to Julia in rapid German while I struggled to follow the conversation. From what I could tell used every trick in the book, giving examples of how expensive repairs on a damaged vehicle could be and how his company could save Julia that money. I could tell Julia was not interested though she continued to answer questions. Finally I decided she was just too polite and pointed out (in English) that we needed to get moving. This finally stopped the salesman and we hurried away, with Julia muttering in exasperation to me.

The rest of the day was spent wandering. We of course visited the BMW pavilion, which was located on the fair end of the fair. It was a long walk but worth it. BMW and its subsidiaries had a pavilion all to themselves. The two-floored room was covered in modern white and displayed a good portion of BMW's line up. What immediately caught my eye however was a pair of cars sitting on the second floor. These were the new electric car concepts I had read tons of information on. The one on the left was the i8 electric sports car. I had seen plenty of pictures of it but in person it was almost ridiculously sexy. I must have stood for a good 10 minutes. Unfortunately (as with all concept cars), no one was allowed to touch or sit in it so I contented myself with pictures. I also snapped some of the i3 electric city car which was on the right hand side of the second floor platform.

After that we spent the rest of the day looking at the Weltpremiere (World Premier) of the new Mini Coupe and all the other vehicles BMW offered.

BMW 1 Class

BMW i3 electric street car concept

BMW i8 electric sports car concept

Another view of the BMW i8 electric sports car concept. 

Me with the i8!

Around 4:30 we left the pavilion and made the long trek back to the front of the exhibition center. We were both tired and sore and more than ready to return to our hostel for some rest. We stopped first at the Mercedes Trucks exhibit. It turned out the Julia and done an internship with that department of the Daimler company and knew a co-worker who was stationed at the fair. He allowed us upstairs to Mercedes' private cafe for a cup of free coffee and cake! He also told us to return tomorrow around lunch time for a free meal! We thanked him and drank our coffee. It was the prefect way to end the day.

After that we walked back to our hostel and unwound the rest of the night. I sat in the common area (see previous entry) and typed, then played a German game which translates to "Don't get angry", which was exactly like the game Sorry. Around midnight all of the boys headed to bed, knowing full well that tomorrow would be just as crazy.

The next day we awoke and ate another amazing breakfast in the common area. This morning it was packed full of people. There was a lot of table space but chairs were soon in very short supply. Our group was unable to eat together for the most part and finished at separate times. I sat later and drank a coffee with Mael, Dominik and Philipp, three of the German students. We chatted in German while we watched the busy street below.

Soon after that we were once again on our way to the fair. Julia and I walked alone and planned our strategy. We still did have to write an article for the DAAD and wanted to get a little more info. We decided to write about the Volkswagen up! and the BMW Mini and compare the two vehicles. We stopped by each BMW's and Volkswagen's pavilions (with a quick stop by the Mercedes cafe for a free meal of lasagna). At Volkswagen's station we made an amazing discovery. You could test drive essentially an Volkswagen vehicle right there at the fair! We both excitedly signed up, Julia for a small Volkswagen Polo sports car, and me for a Golf Cabriolet convertible sports car.

Julia was called to her vehicle first and I sat and waited in a small lounge that had been set up for that purpose. Finally my name was called and I was taken to a beautiful black convertible. I stowed my bags in the back seat, was given a short intro by my co-pilot and we took off. We drove quickly through the converted streets of the IAA and then into the main Frankfurt city. My co-pilot (I think her name was Yvonne) asked if I wanted to go on the Autobahn for a short time. Who was I to say no to that! I was a little anxious however as I had never driven in a foreign country at all, let alone on the German Autobahn, which was notorious as one of the last few road ways with no posted speed limits. I didn't let my nervousness show however and acted just like I was merging onto the interstate in the US.

The little Volkswagen I was driving certainly had an engine. I accelerated it up to 130 km/h (a little over 80 miles) and drove around a lumbering truck. We drove for about 10 kilometers before exiting and returning to the fair. I was thrilled with the experience and went back inside very cheerfully to greet Julia. After that mind-numbing experience we walked around the pavilions yet again but soon decided to go back to our hostel. We were to meet our chaperons for dinner at 7 and thought a few hours to ourselves would be welcome.

At 7 we headed down the stairs of our hostel with the rest of the group and started walking to the restaurant. The chaperons assured us it was not far and we walked along happily behind them, chatting. It soon became apparent however that they had no idea where they were going. One of the German students, Philipp, pulled out his iPhone and quickly located the restaurant. Instead of directing the group however, he walked behind the chaperons with the phone, watching to see if they would find their way. We watched with amusement as they struggled. Finally we arrived at our destination.

The restaurant was a small, dimly lit place with a scattering of customers. We sat down and were greeted by a not-so-friendly waiter. I was pretty sure he was gay (a German later confirmed this suspicion) though I didn't voice it out loud since my gay-dar was absolutely useless in Europe. He took our orders without a hint of friendliness and we chatted and waited for our food. It was traditional German fare and it was pretty good. After dinner we headed back to the hostel and sat in the common area until well past midnight. I went to bed first out of the boys because I wasn't feeling well. My body had finally revolted against all the abuse I was putting it through.

The next morning I woke, said farewell to all the other Tandem Reporters and headed back to the IAA alone. I was supposed to meet a group of international students from Hungary who were driving up from Cologne for the day. I finally found them near the Skoda exhibit and we walked around the fair until it was time for me to catch my train home. I went to the station on foot and had McDonalds for the first time in Europe! It was essentially the same except for two differences, no free refills and absolutely no ketchup on anything unless you asked for it and agreed to pay a little extra.

I ate then boarded my train, sleeping through most of the ride. When I arrived at the Cologne Haupbahnhof I departed through the streets. I immediately became lost. I wandered for what must have been half an hour, stopping in a hotel once for a much needed bathroom break, before finally finding Neumarkt. From there I walked the half mile to the tram stop, lugging my heavy bag. It was a relief to finally throw the bag on the floor of the tram and sit in the chair until the train pulled into my station at the end of the line.