Ingolstadt

Coming up to the end of our tour of Europe, we are on our second part of a three part stay in Germany. Today we visit the Audi factory and museum. Having owned nothing but VWs and Audis and never been to Germany before, I always wanted to take a visit. Although I have been to Lypzig, now Ingolstadt and tomorrow Berlin, I need to come back. I have only scratched the surface of things to do.

Audi factory and museum tour.
Unfortunately but fully understandable, there is no photos in the factory. Strictly forbidden, but have photos of the classic cars and outside. Well I have to have something to prove what I did on my 50th Birthday. So here goes:

Audi Quattro - Audi introduced the 4 wheel drive system (Quattro) and put the car into rallying. 

The Audi Quattro was successful in Rally's around the world, but as a Brit, I remember it for winning the Lombard RAC Rally, year after year.

Audi stopped rallying, they said the safety standards weren't good enough and the authorities didn't do anything to improve it.

Audi decided to concentrate on the Le Mans 24hr endurance race and successfully and continuously 

won that including this year 2014 still using the Quattro, 4 wheel drive system (though much more advanced)

Some of the cars that from the 4 manufacturers that eventually come together to make the Auto Union

Horch 855, only 7 made and this is No 007. Insured for £14,000,000 and privately owned.

Wanderer

DKW motorbikes

Audi

Each manufacturer represents one of the 4 rings making the union.

Audi wanted to get back into racing and found under the Auto Union group one Mr Porsche worked for Wanderer and he designed this:

This was built with 16 cylinders to take on the likes of Mercedes and won (pre war)

Outside the Audi factory

Off to Berlin tomorrow.

Leipzig

Arrived from Salzburg on Saturday after a few hours on the train. People ask why do you want to go to Leipzig, that part of Germany is former Eastern Block. You can go to Leipzig for several reasons , for example, to go somewhere different, it was also the city that Johan Sebastian Bach played as the organist in St Thomas's Church. I came to Leipzig for a very different reason, it's where my Great Uncle would have come on his way to Colditz as a British POW during WW2, he was a Methodist Army Chaplin and I wanted to find out more. He never discussed it when he was alive and Colditz effected his health. When the Colditz series was on TV in the 1970's, so I understand, he decided to watch it, after 10 minutes he switched it off saying everyone looked well fed and looked fit and healthy, not what he experienced.

Colditz railway station from the back.

Colditz railway station from the platform side.

We hired a British historian, who lived in Berlin, through Military History Tours. He had passed photos, knew of my Uncle (Capt Rev Jock Platt) and it was good to meet someone who seriously knows their stuff.

On the Sunday we met at Leipzig Station at Terminal 20 for 9.30 am as planned. Colditz station had closed so we caught the train to a place called Grimma (and it did look grim) Small East German towns like Grimma are hardly, if not at all touched by West Germany and brought up to date. The modern train system and of course internet / mobile phone service installed but that's pretty well it. Probably the other West German touch is the graffiti. From Grimma we took the bus for Colditz.

First of all we looked at Colditz railway station, this is the way my Uncle would have arrived, having been captured in Dunkirk with other British soldiers, then marched up to the Castle.

I have old photos of his from his time in Colditz and I took photos of what it looks like today.

Why was Colditz painted white? Well, originally it was white but over the centuries it got dirty and shabby and looked like it did during the war. Repairs and maintenance had to take place to avoid the place becoming a ruin.

We looked at all the escape plans done by the French, Polish, British, Dutch and a couple of Indian POW's.

Colditz today 2014

Colditz in WW2 This photo has been used several times in books and magazines.

POWs Forecourt

Colditz entrance today (left) and during the war (right)

 

Entrance to Fourcourt today (left) and during the war (right)

POWs Forecourt today 2014

POWs Forecourt in the 1940's during WW2. My Uncle is the one in the deck chair.

Other photos of Colditz today.

Entrance to POWs forecourt.

Forecourt.

Colditz today POWs forecourt.

Mock up of POWs sick bay.

Mock up of German officers staff room.

Colditz today

Pub where German officers went for a drink.

French escape route.

Post Office where Red Cross parcels were delivered.

Looking at the Layout of Colditz and then my Uncles photos, it was intriguing to see places where he actually stood/sat 74 years ago. He came in 1940, when captured in Dunkirk and came out in 1945 when the US Army came and the war was ending.

Toured round Leipzig and went to the Stasi museum (everything in German but got Leaflets in English) this is how the old East German security / spying / Big Brother system worked under Eric Honnicker, the last E German leader before the Iron Curtain came down in 1989 and other Communist leaders before him.

Day 2 in Lypzig.

Next we went to St Thomas's Church and looked into what Johann Sebastian Bach got up to. After a great couple of days and thunder storms for good measure we caught the train for Ingolstadt.

One thing we experienced about Leipzig was the different sounds you get. When a train goes past, you're convinced it was thunder. Another sound which I would assume was one of these pneumatic diggers used for breaking up concrete / tarmac road surfaces sounded just like a machine gun. One very concerned wife asks what's that sound and my answer was "As Leipzig was in East Germany they still use the Firing Squad!"

Johann Sebastian Bach

 

Different entrance into St Thomas's Church

Pulpit in St Thomas's Church

Inside St Martins Church

Backs organ

St Thomas's Church

Salzburg

We catch the overnight train from Rome to Salzburg, changing at Kufstein at 5.30 am. Hardly anyone at the station and slightly on the cool side, which is a change from the heat in Italy.

Arriving a Salzburg at 7.00 am. The place was dead. We had time to kill as we had booked the Sound of Music tour at 2.00 pm. Found somewhere for coffee, then set about exploring the city. Salzburg is a city full of character, culture and old architecture. After having been in and out of various craft shops we decided to go up the cable car to the fortress at the top of what can be described as a massive rock. Now the temperature was getting seriously hot. The cable car had been there since 1898 (although has been replaced several time over the years) the first cable car was water driven, today its electric.

The gardens and mansion in the top 3 photos was, apparently, once owned by the local Catholic Archbishop who had 15 children with a mistress. :O

Fortress on the rock, you get to by cable car. Has a torture chamber.

View from the fortress

Sound of Music tour.

Left Salzburg early this morning for Leipzig, changing at Munich (today we see it in daylight it was at night when we went to Venice to Zurich) Colditz tomorrow with a WW2 historian.

Vatican City

Our Second day in Rome and we decide to take the Metro to St Peters Square in Vatican City. First of all a trip into the Church. Came across a que and an official moving people along. It was the statue of St Peters and his foot is wearing away from everyone touching it. Moving around the church we saw various statues and paintings. Came across an on going service so kept quiet, although already quiet, this was extra quiet. When walking out we decided to join the que to go to the top of the Vatican. The ques were long but the moved fairly quickly. Into the lift we go (or you can walk the first 300 odd stairs) then there is another 300 odd steps to the top. The nearest I can describe the last 300 steps is a cross between climbing the steps inside the Pyramids (Giza Eygpt) and Alice in Wonderland where everything is getting smaller and smaller and narrower and narrower. The floor stays flat but the walls are leaning to the right. Unlike the Pyramids there were stopping points and fresh air coming in through windows. Pleased I did it, even if it was to just get that photo from the top. I have decided there is no need to it again.

Tomorrow we're leaving Rome and the Italy Tripp is finished. Catching the night train from Rome to Salzburg.