Discoveries on the Way to Meck-Pomm: Bremen

A little over a week after returning from Switzerland, we took a second trip during Magda's school summer break. Friends of ours have a vacation apartment in a "castle" in Meck-Pomm. Meck-Pomm is short for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, one of the former East German Bundeslands (sort of the German equivalent to a State in the USA) that were incorporated into German Republic after the collapse of East Germany.

It was about an 8 or 9 hour drive to the castle. For a couple of reasons, I have grown to prefer making such longer drives on a Sunday. The biggest reason is that there are very few trucks on the autobahn on Sunday. On the other days of the week, there are so many trucks on the autobahn that the right lane is often unusable by regular autos. As Sunday is a national day of rest in Germany, most workers (including truck drivers) are not allowed to work. The second and related reason is that because the businesses in a city are also closed, it becomes easy to slip into a city to walk around for a few hours and see the sights (restaurants, museums, and other tourist related businesses are allowed to remain open).

So looking for a way to break up our drive, we noticed that Breman and Lübeck, two cities that I had never visited  were on our route. Lübeck is one of the 3 star cities according to Michelin Green Guide (Michelin's highest rating for a town or attraction). It and Bremen (two stars) are two of German's Hanseatic League cities. The Hanseatic League was a alliance of cities along the North Sea and Baltic Sea that controlled north-south trade routes from the 13th to 17th centuries. The drive to Bremen would take about 5 hours and Lúbeck would take an additional hour, a pretty good chunk of the anticipated 8-9 hour drive to the castle. The idea was to visit Breman on the way to Lübeck, staying two nights in Lübeck before heading on to Meck-Promm.

After a pleasant 5 hour drive one Sunday morning in late July, we arrived in the Bremen Markplatz. Bremen is a relatively large city, the 10th largest city in German with approximately 550,000 inhabitants, on the banks of the Weser river. It is Germany's oldest maritime city with market rights from 965. Trade with the USA started in 1783. If you have German ancestors that immigrated to the USA in the 18th or early 19th century, they most likely came on a boat from Bremen.  In 1358 it joined the Hanseatic League. You can see the early importance of the city in the large Markplatz surrounded by historical buildings. The Rathaus (i.e. City Hall, "Rat" is the German word for "advice", not a reference to the animal), that was originally a Gothic brick building built between 1405 and 1410, dominates the north side of the square. However,the facade with many decorative gables in the Weser Renaissance style was added in the 17th century.  In front of the Rathaus is the 10 meter high statue of Roland holding the sword of justice. On the west side of the Rathaus is statue of the Bremen Town Musicians made famous in Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Next to the City Hall in one corner of the square is the Cathedral St. Petri. Construction on the Cathedral started in the 11th century in the Romanesque style. In the 13th century, additions to the Cathedral in early and late Gothic were built.

On the south side of the Markplatz is the Schütting, an elegant 16 century building with a Flemish inspired facade that use to house Bremen's Guild of Merchants. East and west are pubs (serving Becks beer, of course), cafes and restaurants.

Off the south side of the Markplatz is the Böttcherstraße was transformed in 1923–1931 by the coffee magnate Ludwig Roselius. He commissioned local artists form the near by artist community of Worpswede  to convert the narrow street into a mixture of Gothic and Jungendstil (i.e. the German equivalent to the French Art Nouveau). It was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. Today, the street is one of Bremen's most popular attractions.

Not far from the Marktplatz is the the Schnoor. This is a small, well-preserved area of crooked lanes that in the 17th and 18th centuries was occupied by fishermen and shippers. It is now occupied by cafés, artisan shops and art galleries. Reminded a lot of German Village in my hometown of Columbus.

After spending a couple of hours in Bremen, we headed to the village of Worpswede, 20 km north. In the late 18th century, this village began attracting artists, many of which made important contributions to the Jungendstil movement in the early 19th century. Still a center for artists, we happened to arrive on the week-end of the annual open house where artists open there workshops to visitors. The most interesting artist for me was an man in his 70s who worked in wood inlay in the way that "his father and grandfather taught him". Using different types of woods and stains, this gentleman recreated photos and drawings in unbelievable detail. One that I could not take my eyes off of was the recreation of black and white photo of a tree. My eyes kept moving back and forth between the photo of the tree and the wood inlay next to it. It was hard to believe the detail of the photo that he was able to capture  in the inlay.

We would have liked to stay longer among the thatch-roofed houses of Worpswede, but we needed to get to Lübeck, the subject of the next blog.

Autoahn Impressions - Skoda, Scirocco, Mercedes Drivers

I've formed a few new impressions about German Autos and their drivers.

• A few months ago, I started to notice Skoda autos more and more. They are so conservatively styled that I they are actually pretty cool. The Octavia reminds me of BMWs from 10 years ago (without the kidney-shaped front grills). The Fabia is a practical looking hatchback, without resorting to the cube-on-wheels-look that has become so omnipresent.
  
  Later, I learned that Skoda was owned by VW and make in the Czech Republic. I also found there are a lot of Germans that swear by them. In fact, the magazine for the German version of AAA recently rated the automakers selling cars in Germany and Skoda came in forth, just ahead of the parent company VW. BMW was first, narrowly beating out Audi. Mercedes was third.
  
  
• VW reintroduced the Scirocco in 2008. The original was produced between 1974-1981. The second edition between 1982 and 1992 is what I remember. It was a low-profile, sleek, athletic version of the Rabbit. People that had one loved it.
  
  For me, the new Scirocco looks more like a muscle car. It retains the low-profile, but it bulges out at on the sides. It just doesn't have the appeal that the previous version had.
  
  
  
• There are a couple of unwritten rules about driving in Germany. One of these is
  
  
  
  

  "Mercedes drivers have different rules than the rest of us."

  
  I cannot tell you the number of times that we have been behind a Mercedes driver that was doing something stupid. Last Monday while riding the bus, the bus suddenly came to a stop. Fortunately no one was hurt, but people did have trouble keeping their feet. The reason for the abrupt stop, a Mercedes driver had backed out from a side street onto one of Koblenz's major streets without looking. Not only that, this same driver did exactly the same thing on the other side of the street less than 5 minutes later.
  
  Another time, we were following an A-Klasse at 130 km/hour when the driver suddenly put on the brakes and slowed to 70. This was .5 km before the beginning of her and out exit. Once she reached the exit, 70 was too fast for her, so she slowed down to 30. Speed limit was 60, it was still daylight and there was no rain or snow.
  
  I have wondered why this is. One possibility I came up with is the the current Mercedes are mostly about the safety of their cars. Malcolm Gladwell wrote in one of his essays, “Human beings have a seemingly fundamental tendency to compensate for lower risks in one area by taking greater risks in another.” We have certainly seen this in a number of recent events.
  
  
• The corollary to the above, now-written rule is another previously unwritten rule
  
  
  
  

  People driving a Mercedes cannot be passed by people driving cars from other makers.

  It doesn't matter what class of Mercedes we pass in our 2002 Mazda 323, within 5 minutes, that Mercedes will pass us again. To be honest, Mercedes drivers are not the only ones that this corollary applies to. BMW and big Audi (A6 and above) also do not like the idea of a Mazda passing them.

Autobahn Impressions - German Autos

Here are some somewhat random impressions about the auto that Germans drive. Some are not too surprising, others might be.

• There is a much higher percentage of German made autos on the road than from any other country. These would include Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Opel. I don't include Ford here, but I think a number of them are made Germany
• Japan is probably second.
  
• I think Porches might be more popular in the US than in Germany. I seem more likely to see them in the US that here.
  
• Every manufacturer that sells in both the US and Germany, has smaller car models for the German market that are not sold in the US. For example, Ford has the Fiesta and the KA. Audi sells and A3. Mercedes markets an A and B class. Toyota sells a car small than its Yaris, the Aygo.
• The Honda Fit is called the Honda Jazz in Germany
  
• To maximize space, a high percentage of small and mid-size cars are hatchbacks or station wagons. Leading body styles that I don't think are available in the US. Examples would include station wagon versions of the Ford Fusion, BMW 3, Audi A4, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Also, hatchback version of Honda Civic and Toyots Corolla.
• The GM mark in Germany is Opel. I have seen an occasional Chevy. But the typical brands that we in the US associate with GM are not here.
  
• Volvo and Saab seem more popular in the US than in Germany
• The French makers. Renault, Citröen, and Peugeot, have quite a reputation for their small cars
• I cannot get excited about the Fiats that I see. Rather plain simple body styles. So simple that it looks like minimizing the manufacturing cost of the bodywas the primary driving force in their design.
  
• A lot more Alpha Romeros on the road here that in the US. I'm talking hatch backs or family cars, not the sport cars. They do have a sense of style to them.
  
• Seat is the Spanish wing of VW. Their cars have sleeker bodies that their German counterparts while appearing to be built on the same frames.
• Skoda has a following in Germany. They remind me of BMWs, but I suspect there are a bit cheaper.
• Some Prius can be seen, and I would say that the number is growing.
• Diesel versions of most cars. Diesel is cheaper here than gas, and just as available.
  
• Some SUVs can be found. But certainly they are in no way the same percentage as in the US.
  
• Mercedes E class looks great on the autobahn. If I went into a Mercedes dealer, my mind would say A class, but my heart would want an E class.
  

Autobahn Impressions - Stau

Magda shares a small apartment in Badenweiler, a spa town south of Freiburg situated in the the southern part of the Black Forest. It is a wonderful place for hiking either through the vineyards and fields of Markgräflerland or in the mountains of the Black Forest to the east. Belchen, the thrid highest mountain in Germany, is a short but winding drive away.

Not surprisingly, Magda and I decided to spend a few days of her fall vacation in Badenweiler. The trip is typically a 3.5 hour drive. Being late on a Saturday, the drive was progressing nicely. The number of LKW (large trucks) on the road was reduced. There are times that there are so many LKWs on the road that you think the Autobahn is one lane in each direction. But on Saturday and Sunday, the numbers are much smaller.

However, this was offset by the number of construction projects along the way. Fortunately, they did not require reducing the number of lanes. The Autobahn seems designed to use the side lane as an extra lane when construction is needed. Plus construction projects do not seem to require the heavy concrete protection that is used in the US. Some pylons to route the traffic to one of the lanes and the side lane, narrowing the lanes, requiring all LKWs in one of the lanes and slowing the traffic down through the project seems to be enough.

Then 35 km before our exit, we came to a complete stop. We have come upon the scourge of Autobahn, traffic jam. Or as the Germans call it a Stau. The fact that this is a four letter word will have more meaning to an English speaker than a German one. But in either case, it is not something you want to experience.

We inched forward as the traffic allowed, then waited for our next opportunity. Reaction of some other drivers we interesting as we watched people go into one of the two rest stops that we passed and out again without stopping, just to merge back into the traffic 4 or 5 spots ahead of where they were. Others started to drive the side lane, only to be blocked by an LKW that purposely straddled the right and side lane to stop such activity.

10 km and over an hour later, we discovered that the reason for the Stau was not an accident, but rather another construction project. This one, however, did require a reduction of lanes and the resulting merge had caused the back-up. If you figure that each car had used a gallon of gas for those 10 km at about $8 per gallon (yep that's what it costs here), you certainly hope that was an important project.