Imanuel and Brenda's Travel Blog

Going to Autostadt was a pilgrimage of sorts for me. I consider myself a Volkswagen enthusiasts having owned more than my share of both old and new cars made by them. When I heard that Volkswagen had built and “Auto City” or Autostadt near Wolfsburg, I told myself that I had to go if I was ever back in Germany. Finding the place was a challenge though. This place isn’t on most tourist guides and Wolfsburg is not a “required” stop on the best of Europe. I had found Autostadt on the Garmin MapSource database of Europe and had planned the route electronically. Even though Viki was still not talking to us, we were able to get the directions from the computer; however, as it turned out, they were totally wrong. First, they made no mention of the fact that the A5 turned into the A7 1/3 of the way between Frankfurt and Hanover. Second, they told us to get off the highway several exits before the Autostadt exit. The first problem was solved easily since I had looked at the map at one of the rest stops and determined that the A7 would take us where we needed to go after the A5 disappeared. The second problem, however, required us to stop and ask for directions two times. Again, the German people were extremely accommodating. Through a combination of sign language and my limited understanding of the German language, I managed to understand where they wanted me to go. The problem was that few people seemed to know about Autostadt and it wasn’t in the road map. The first guy sent me to the Volkswagen dealership. The second guy told me to talk to his friend who knew a little bit of English but she wanted to send me back towards Hanover; however, the non-English-speaker understood what I was looking for and pointed to where I needed to go on the map. (Looking at his fingernails I could tell he worked on cars so it was no surprise that he knew the place.)

Back on the highway we soon saw a sign for Autostadt with the profile of a VW Beetle for a symbol. After that, we had no problem finding the place by following the signs. Soon we could make out the twin towers where every single model of VW currently being made in every imaginable color is housed, ready to be picked up robotically and brought down to the basement where it is transferred to a neighboring building with an indoor driving course where excited owners will test drive and take delivery of their new baby. We actually saw people in the lobby nervously clutching a set of brand new EU tags as they anxiously waited to be taken into the delivery pavilion. Wow! If VW ever establishes a European delivery program for Americans like Porsche, BMW and Volvo do, we’re definitely picking up our next car here. Right away we could tell that this visit was going to be something special and Autostadt did not disappoint. Even Brenda, who would probably rather visit “Fashion City” if there was such a place (although, I guess every city here so far has been a “fashion city”), got as excited as I was jumping into every new car in sight and wanting to visit every exhibit.

The walk from the parking to the park entrance seemed interminable. We were brimming with anticipation and could not wait to get in. The lobby of main building, where the main cafeteria, ticket office and several exhibits are housed, was an enormous hall with nothing inside of it but a circular counter where tickets were sold and a hollow globe. There were also globes representing planets inside the floor visible through Plexiglas. The entire complex was one giant modern art piece that epitomizes German design with its simplicity, sleekness and practicality. Even the bathrooms were unique, each one with it’s own particular décor according to the pavilion which housed it.



Upon entering the park we were enthralled by the exhibits on the main hallway. There were several floors of displays explaining the innovations in safety that Volkswagen has pioneered as well as the design process of the cars, including a chair where a test subject could be spun around in any direction like a fighter pilot as well as a new beetle cut in half. I know that VWs have gained a reputation for being somewhat unreliable in the US lately; however, the cars are incredibly advanced and well thought out and they are everywhere here, by far one of the most popular cars. That leads me to believe that VW of North America has dropped the ball somehow in training technicians and handling recalls. Also, the models being introduced into the North American market now are usually the expensive ones and not the reasonably priced practical cars that nonetheless feature advanced German engineering and for which they are known.



We had lunch at the wonderful cafeteria where one could select from an amazing variety of food and drink at reasonable prices. At every station the attendant would serve you and scan your personal food card (which you were handed upon entering). When you were ready to leave, you took the card to the cashier and she would scan it and give you your total. Even though we were practically the only foreigners there, the staff was very well trained and almost every single person we spoke to knew how to explain everything in several. It was also in the cafeteria were we witnessed a rather sad occurrence but one that hopefully ended well. We were standing in line to get a delicious roast when a man in a nearby table started having an epileptic seizure. A staff member who was in line before us to get his own food immediately sprang into action and took hold of the man wrapping his arms around him so he wouldn’t hurt himself and gently guided the man to floor. He laid the man down and made sure his airway was open. He clearly had some training in first aid. Within minutes the paramedics arrived and even before we got our food the man was being loaded into a stretcher as the heroic staff member comforted him and made sure he was calm. How is that for German efficiency! Brenda and I said a prayer for the man before enjoying our lunch and hope that, wherever he is, he is doing well.

The rest of the day at Autostadt was great. We walked the entire park and saw every single exhibit until we could not move. Some of the pavilions of the different brands owned by Volkswagen were nothing more than elaborate artsy commercials for the brand; however, the antique and exotic car collection more than made up for this. They even had a World Rally Championship (WRC) car. Rallying is a motorsport that is virtually unknown in US but famous almost everywhere else. As a fan of the WRC, seeing the car up close was the next best thing to attending a rally.







At the end of the day, we went back to our camper and took a short nap. We were worn out from all the walking and hadn’t slept well the night before but were eager to get back on the road towards Berlin. In the end Autostadt was totally worth the extra effort. We drove west toward Berlin and got to within 50 km of the city where we stopped at a rest that, even though it was nowhere near as nice as the one we had stayed in the previous night, had its own police station so we figured we would be safe even if the services and showers were not up to our standards. We managed to get a full night sleep despite the busload of rowdy teenagers that stopped by late that night.