Remember how I said that Wikipedia said: Wolfsburg has been considered by many to be one of the least remarkable towns in Germany ?
Well, I hate to say they got it a little bit right. Wolfsburg reminded us of your average, unremarkable American suburb. There was definitely a German spirit fighting to get through (every second store LITERALLY was a bakery) overall the town was filled with post 1950's architecture and was built for the automobile.
Still we enjoyed ourselves.
Here's the main pedestrian drag:
Onkel Hans' chicken stand. I have an Onkel Hans. Spooky.
The market square.
One beer to go please.
The science centre and Volkswagon factory (in the background, four tall stacks)
On our way to visit the factory. They had a people mover. AWESOME!
Inside the atrium of the HUMONGOUS factory/museum.
Lots of "hands on" stuff. Here I got to see what it would feel like to be in a rollover crash!!
We got addicted to the car factory simulation game and maybe played a little too long. We both got high score though! Sweet!
Lots of cool old VWs
This one is gold. With glitter!
Luckiest kids in the universe!! They get to drive their own convertable VW bugs. Wherever they want! Watching them was like watching a micro-version of adult drivers. The impatience! The road rage! Hilarious.
I'm enthralled.
Another cool car.
More games.
No joke, every car in town had one of these on it.
Hi!
Toby's favorite part. The TOWER. Check out the video.
Bye factory!
We jumped in a cab to head out to Fallersleben, which is a more historic part of town that was incorporated into Wolfsburg. Also, IT'S WHERE MY MOM WAS BORN! YAH!
Here's the "Schloss." It doesn't look like a typical "castle" to me, but if that's where the rich guy lived... I guess that's what they call it.
Wild life photos
It was at this portion of the trip that I decided to phone my Mom to tell her that I was in the town of her birth. Perhaps a bit late in the process, no? Luckily she was home and she told me what she knew and said she would phone some relatives to get more into.
My mom phoned back with some info from my aforementioned Onkel Hans (Sr.) with a street name, Kampsraße, and the phone number of a relative named Inge who lived in Fallersleben that could help us out.
We phoned her up. I sat there for a while trying to figure out how to introduce myself over the phone in German. Luckily when she picked up she shouted: "Bridget! I just heard from your Uncle Hans!" So no introduction was required. She met up with us and showed us the house my mom was born in. It's the one with the red roof, second floor!
After a quick tour of Fallersleben and a cup of tea at her house and then Inge dropped us off at our hotel. Thanks for everything Inge!
Get it? There is only one life (leben): FallersLEBEN. Love it. And it is fitting since it is a pun and my mother also loves a good pun. This one's for you mom!
Speaking of puns, if someone recommended you eat at a restaurant called "Barcelona", is this what you would picture?
On Sunday we started our journey back to Karlsruhe but made a stop in Kassel to have an overdue visit with my host family Ulla and Harald. I stayed with these amazing, generous and kind people for six weeks when I was learning German in 2002 and have stayed in touch over the years.
It was one of the first warm sunny days in Kassel so we enjoyed sitting out in the sun. Toby got a bit of a sunburn!
We enjoyed a tremendous amount of Ulla's fantastic cooking and baking. Here we are having Kaffee und Kuchen.
Frau Lipien lives next door. Ulla has dedicated much of her time to help Frau Lipien including bringing her three meals a day, everyday! Ulla's dedication to helping her neighbor goes even further. She often sneaks into Frau Lipien's house on Sundays and cleans it for her while she's at church. These are some examples of how big this woman's heart is!
Ahhh... the good life.
Saying goodbye so soon. Thanks for a wonderful visit Reimanns! Looking forward to our next visit.
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