The Bug Show

---

On Saturday evening, April 29, my friend Jim and I departed LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) to begin our "European Vacation." Almost 24 hours later we would reach our initial destination of Hannover, Germany. Our actual travel time, however, was only 15 hours (including a layover in London). The remaining 9 hours resulted from the jump from Los Angeles' time zone to Germany's time zone.

The journey itself was fairly comfortable - the longest leg of the trip was a 10 hour flight on American Airlines from Los Angeles to London. The second leg (London to Hannover) was a really quck one. After arriving at the Hannover airport around 8:00 p.m., Jim and I picked up our rental car, checked into our hotel room, and proceeded to head over to the bug show. No time for sleep...there were bugs to see! What am I talking about? Good question.

The bug show is an annual Volkswagen show in Hannover that specializes in the VW "Bug". The next question...why were we going to this show? Well, you see, my friend Jim restores old VW vehicles (apparently there are 3 types: Type 1, 2 & 3) and travels to Germany for business several times a year. The bug show is on May 1 and in addition to 100s (maybe 1,000s) of VW bugs on display, there is an auto parts swap meet of sorts. This is the main draw for Jim. As for me, I'm just tagging along.

The game plan over these next 10 days is to attend two VW shows and explore Germany and Italy with the remaining free time. These updates will likely be sporadic since I don't anticipate having much internet time. However, I do want to give you at least a couple of updates...

At the moment, it is Monday afternoon. Jim and I met a couple of his auto part dealer friends last night while they were setting up. Today, May 1, is the actual show (takes place in the parking lot of the huge Expo in Hannover). Jim and I got up around 5:00 a.m. (sleep doesn't really seem to be part of the plan apparently) to get a jump on the show. I hung out at the show for about 3 hours, and then began the adventure of getting to Hannover city proper. That is currently where I am.

Hannover itself seems to be fairly modern although I can't claim to have seen much. I took a train from the Expo center to get to the Promenade in Hauptbahnhof (center of the city?). I paid $2.50 for the train, although nobody ever collected the ticket I purchased at the automated ticket center. I couldn't tell you why. These German signs aren't the easiest to decipher. I'm winging it. I have to find my way back to the Expo center by 5:30 to meet up with Jim again. There's a pretty good chance I'll be able to do it. 😊

It's a holiday today so most of the shops are closed. The restaurants are open though (and that's a good thing!). There are the usual McDonalds, Burger Kings and Pizza Huts from America. But I'm looking for those restaurants whose names I can't pronounce in order to eat things I don't recognize. 😊 Actually, the fast food stuff is fairly easy to figure out. Most of the dishes appear to be variations of sandwiches and hot dogs. Lots of breads and meats. Some of the meats look scary but the bread is good, really good. Germany uses the Euro (exhange rate isn't favorable for Americans). Still, a sandwich or hot dog can be purchased for $2 generally.

Thanks for reading...

Look! There goes Dave!

---

Photos

Bugs
at the "Bug Show" in Hannover, Germany

First night in Hannover
Jim eating some bratwurst and bread with Lars and his son at the Expo the night before the "Bug Show"

VW buses
big and little...

Comments

[Eric]

So thats where you've been
I was wondering where you were. I look forward to your updates. Call me when you get back in town. Any hints as to the new job?

[Mathias from germany]

Well the public transport ticket thing works like that in germany: you buy (a ticket) (the best way for you would be to buy a day ticket, should be far less than 10 euro per day in hannover), then you just enter the strassenbahn or bus. ther usually is noone who countrolls you. at least not in the strassenbahn. the bus triver might be if you enter the front door of the bus. But there are controllers, who irregularly countrol the tickets of each passanger. But here in the city of kassel where i live i havent seen a controller who controlled me for the last year. and i nearly use public transport every day. That means i could have saved the money for the ticket. But if you are getting catched without having a ticket you have to pay around 40 euro. but what what is worse: you are getting charged with a case of fraud. hope you understood what i tried to tell you.

[J.]

German public transportation
They don't take your ticket in most European countries. It's sort of an 'honor system'. However, if you get caught without a ticket, the fine is very steep. So, having your ticket with you if vital if you don't want to pay a lot more.

[Fight On -]

Are you really???
Are you really near Ulm? George and I lived in Goppingen - 1967-68. Goppingen is just north of Ulm - about 30 minutes south of Stuttgart. Home sweet home during those Army days. Can't wait to hear more.