Dachau Concentration Camp.

A somber greeting to all,

This past weekend, I decided that I would travel to see the Dachau Concentration Camp. This was not a "fun" trip but one I felt compelled to make. Before I recount my personal experience, a little background is in order.

I will tell you up front that pics I took are posted on Flicker. Each pic has a title which describes what the picture is. If you don't see it, play around with the settings. I think it adds a lot to the photos.

The Dachau concentration camp, established in March 1933, was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government. The camp was officially described as "the first concentration camp for political prisoners." It was located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the northeastern part of the town of Dachau, about 10 miles northwest of Munich in southern Germany.

During the first year, the camp held about 4,800 prisoners. Initially the internees consisted primarily of German Communists, Social Democrats, trade unionists, and other political opponents of the Nazi regime. Over time, other groups were also interned at Dachau, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Gypsies, and homosexuals, as well as "asocials" and repeat criminal offenders.

The number of Jewish prisoners at Dachau rose with the increased persecution of Jews and on November 10-11, 1938, in the aftermath of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), more than 10,000 Jewish men were interned there. (Most of the men in this group were released after incarceration of a few weeks to a few months, many after proving they had made arrangements to emigrate from Germany.)

The Dachau camp was a training center for SS concentration camp guards, and the camps organization and routine became the model for all Nazi concentration camps. The camp was divided into two sections--the camp area and the crematoria area.

The camp area consisted of 32 barracks, including one for clergy imprisoned for opposing the Nazi regime and one reserved for medical experiments. The camp administration was located in the gatehouse at the main entrance. The camp area had a group of support buildings, containing the kitchen, laundry, showers, and workshops, as well as a prison block (Bunker). The courtyard between the prison and the central kitchen was used for the summary execution of prisoners. An electrified barbed-wire fence, a ditch, and a wall with seven guard towers surrounded the camp.

In 1942, the crematorium area was constructed next to the main camp. It included the old crematorium and the new crematorium (Barrack X) with a gas chamber. There is no credible evidence that the gas chamber in Barrack X was used to murder human beings. Instead, prisoners underwent "selection"; those who were judged too sick or weak to continue working were sent to the Hartheim "euthanasia" killing center near Linz, Austria. Further, the SS used the firing range and the gallows in the crematoria area as killing sites for prisoners.

Dachau was not an extermination camp like Auschwitz where upwards of 3 MILLION people died. Prisoners were used as forced laborers and an important part of the Nazi war effort. They built roads, worked in gravel pits, and drained marshes. During the war, forced labor utilizing concentration camp prisoners became increasingly important to German armaments production.

Towards the end of the war as Allied forces advanced toward Germany, the Germans began to move prisoners from concentration camps near the front to prevent the liberation of large numbers of prisoners. Transports from the evacuated camps arrived continuously at Dachau, resulting in a dramatic deterioration of conditions.

On April 26, 1945, as American forces approached, there were 67,665 registered prisoners in Dachau and its subcamps; more than half of this number were in the main camp.

On April 29, 1945, American forces liberated Dachau. As they neared the camp, they found more than 30 railroad cars filled with bodies brought to Dachau, all in an advanced state of decomposition.

The American troops were so horrified by conditions at the camp that a few killed some of the camp guards after they had surrendered in what is called the Dachau massacre. The number massacred is disputed as some Germans were killed in combat, some were shot while attempting to surrender, and others were killed after their surrender was accepted.

The mistreatment of combatants who surrender is strictly prohibited by the terms of the Geneva Convention (1949) which was signed after the war and also violates the terms of the US military's Law of Land Warfare. We will never know what really happened but I suspect that the US soldiers did kill some of the camp guards after they surrendered. Looking at the pictures of what they saw on the day of liberation, I can say that I understand what they must have been feeling.

Ok, enough with the history lesson, Professor. How did this all make me feel? I felt different things at different times. Walking through the front gate, I felt gloom. Standing next to the wall where prisoners were routinely executed by firing squad, I envisioned how that unfolded every day. The fear and terror those about to be shot must have felt penetrated me. I heard the shots ring out in my mind. I pictured the bodies falling to the ground.

In the interogation room of "The Bunker" (the on grounds prison), I felt anguish. I could hear the laughter of the guards as a prisoner endured another blow to the head, blood and teeth hitting the floor, probably praying for death.

What about those who endured (most often dying as a result of) cruel medical experiments. The torment of being kept alive but also hoping for death. Twisted.

In the crematorium, I felt horror and grief. I was standing in one of the rooms that bodies were temporarily kept awaiting the oven or a mass grave and looking at a picture taken the day the camp was liberated. In the very room that I was standing bodies were piled chest high. ON THE VERY SPOT I WAS NOW STANDING. Disgust was what I was feeling now.

How did the US soldiers feel when they saw 30! rail cars filled with dead bodies when they liberated the camp. Shock? And then rage? That is how I would have felt. Did they murder some of the camp guards who had surrendered. Yes, they were overwhelmed by their rage.

How did I feel knowing that the last camp commandant was hung on the very grounds he oversaw having been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity? It did not bring me joy in a high five sort of way. It was more of a feeling of satisfaction. It lifted my spirits. This was justice for all those who were ever imprisoned there. (It turns out that nothing in the above paragraph is true. I decided to leave in this little piece of non-factual content for impact. I just think it wraps up the piece nicely even though it is not even remotely true.)

At the memorial, I felt pain, grief, sorrow. I felt happy knowing that 32,000 people were freed from certain death. And that was it. Certainly lots to experience and feel in one day.

I was also pleased to find out that so much of the camp had been preserved. It is something that everyone NEEDS to see and experience. It is not until we are pushed out of our comfort zone that we really experience life.

I cannot understand how so many were systematically murdered. It is numbing.

In honor of the Holocaust victims which number between 11 and 17 million including 6,000,000 Jews, Do Not Forget.

Evil lurks around every corner. Evil overcomes good when good men do nothing.

That's it. Be good to each other.

Michael

Another week under my belt.

Hello all.

Well, I have another week under my belt and 7 days closer to getting back home. I haven't done anything interesting in a while so I need to get out of town next weekend.

I was working this entire weekend as the staff is conducting a staff exercise which is being evalutated by the Joint Forces Command. It is an artifical inject of events which the staff reacts to. The key is to do it according to well established doctrine taking all the proper steps. Interesting stuff, huh?

I will point out a couple of neat features the past two rental cars have had. My last rental, a Mercedes Benz C250 turbo diesel with 6 sp manual transmission, had a feature that, when stopped and going uphill, would keep the brakes engaged while you make the transition from brake pedal to gas pedal. If you have ever driven a manual transmission, you know what I am talking about. It prevents the car from rolling backwards while you work the clutch and gas. Nice feature.

As you may recall, in Germany, if you know you are going to be halted for more then 30 seconds, you are suppose to turn off the engine. On my current rental, a BMW 320i with gasoline engine and 6 speed transmission, when you have the transmission in neutral and the clutch is not engaged, the car shuts off after 30 seconds. As soon as the clutch pedal moves about a 1/4 inch, the engine starts automatically. It is really quite seamless, much to my surprise. I would imagine that if every car in the US had this feature (and Americans actually drove standard transmission cars), we would save millions of barrels of oil every year. Again, a really neat feature.

Well, Summer is in full swing here and I have discovered that Germans do wear shorts. I can tell you that Germans are reluctant to wear shorts for a reason. It is because they do it very poorly. Shorts are really pants that are not quite as long a regular trousers. Americans where shorts that are typically at or above the knee with some sort of sport shoe or sandal.

Germans, on the other hand, were "shorts" that are cut to around mid-calf. If you have ever seen the episodes of the longest running animated series in TV history, "The Simpsons", then picture the shorts the character "Milhouse" wears.

Additionally, if they are usually wearing some weird color socks with their tennis shoes or sandals, like gray. If they don't wear socks (recommended for all readers) they usual have really gross looking toe nails.

Honestly, they need to stick to traditional trousers and proper leather shoes. They do that very well. As I always say, figure out what you do well and do that all the time. At least the Summer season is realitively short here. I hear they do great Christmas festivals thougth as well as Octoberfest, which I will be in country for.

Hope all is well back in my "Motherland".

Until next time,
Michael

This, That and the Other.

Greetings All,

It was a typical week at work, which is not a bad thing. Little bit of news to pass. I thought I would be in Germany until the end of Nov but now looks like I will redeploy back to NC a little earlier. My new boss at Camp Lejeune has been shaking a few trees to find out when I was coming back and discovered that my replacement is scheduled to be here the last week of Oct and I will travel back to NC during the first week of Nov. A full 3 weeks earlier then I had originally thought.

That means home for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, my birthday, and Thanksgiving. It is a Christmans mircle a full 2 months in advance. He also said my orders were extended until Nov 2010 (another year). I doubt it is in the bag but at least I have the backing of the command which means a lot as opportunities for reservist look like they are drying up. They like me, they REALLY like me!

Stayed close to home this weekend. Did laundry Friday night (really livin it up, huh?). Sat drove about an hour to a French PX which was kind of a bust. Just a small grocery store and small PX area. I had visions of Louis Vuitton at 90% of retail. I was going to buy one of those old time steamer trunks people used to travel with. They didn't have much but I did score a litter of Absolute vodka for around USD $10 and a $5 bottle of French wine. It's French so it must be good. Honestly, the wine prices did seem pretty good, although, I will admint I don't know much about French wine.

Sunday (today) I went to an art museum downtown as well as a limited time exhibition on Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

The art museum was great. Much better then the one I was at in Munich. On display were a several highly regarded Rembrandt paintings including "St Paul in prison", Claude Monet, Chagall, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollack, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhall (last 3 not my thing but worth noting), and my old favorite Pablo Picasso. Long time readers probably remember my last Picasso experience. I am happy to say that there were about 18 "real" painting on display. A much better effort then the penis and testicals (No 2 pencil on white 8.5x11 paper) displayed in Munich. I suspect that once he became well known and sought after, someone threw a lot of money at him to create something special. As a joke, we created those drawing and convinced that person it was an incredible, inspired creation. Probably laughed all the way to the bank.

The Rommel Exhibition, at the history musem next door, was also an unexpected treat. My Military Occupational Speciality (MOS) is Armor (tanks), so my interest was probably a little higher then most people could generate.

This is not a permanet display and is ending this month so I wanted to check it out before it closed. It would have been better if they had English translations next to the displayed items. Each piece at the art museum had and English discribtion which made such a big difference.

As some of you know, Erwin Rommel was considered an one of the greatest tacticians in WWII. It was his masterful leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign that established the legend of the Desert Fox. He is generally considered to have been the most skilled commander of desert warfare in the war. He later commanded the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion in Normandy.

Rommel is considered to have been a chivalrous and humane officer, in contrast with many other figures of Nazi Germany. His famous Afrikakorps was not accused of any war crimes. Soldiers captured during his Africa campaign were reported to have been largely treated humanely. Furthermore, he defiantly ignored orders to kill captured Jewish soldiers and civilians out of hand in all theaters of his command.

Between his brillant tactics and the vastly superior German tanks, the Allied forces struggled to contend with him in Africa.

Late in the war, Rommel joined the conspiracy against Adolf Hitler , but opposed the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to kill the dictator. Because of his great prestige, Hitler allowed him to commit suicide. He was buried with full military honors, but the real reason for his death didn't come to light until the Nuremberg Trails.

He was given two choices that day, commit suicide and save his family name, as well as his pension for his wife, or go to trial, be found guilty and hung. He called his wife a few minutes later to speak with her one last time and 15 minutes later, he was dead.

I can't help but wonder how the world would be different if that plot succeded. The war certainly would have ended earlier and fewer people would have lost their lives. At any rate, the war would rage on for another 10 months before the unconditional surrender of Germany on VE Day, 8 May 1945.

On display were numerous documents as well as many of his personal and uniform items. It is always eerie getting that close to real history. It was the same feeling I had when I rode the elevator up to the Eagle's Nest and stood on the deck of the Mighty Mo on the exact spot Japan surrendered WWII. The same feeling I had when Jodi and I visited Fort Sumter where the Civil War started.

Well, that is about it from here. Have some travel to plan since I am only going to be here for 3 more months. I suspect I will not see everything I hoped to.

Cheers,
Michael

A Little Slice of Heaven.

Hello All,

After 10 or so weeks of eating canned or frozen food, with an occasional restaurant meal, I am happy to have finally broken out of that with a little grilling.

Not BBQ mind you, but grilling. What's the difference? Grilling is throwing meat on a surface heated charcoal or propane. BBQ is an art of rubs and heat applied to meat over time. I've given BBQ a shot with mixed results. Anyone north of VA should ask a Southern friend about BBQ (Jodi has a great story about a "pig pickin" she attended a number of years ago.)

BBQ is one of the few things uniquely American and various regions have their own take on the process (dry or wet) and the type of meat used (beef or pork). Each region claims to have the "best" BBQ and, quite frankly, it is all good. If you get to Kansas City, St. Louis, Most of NC, and Most of TX, don't pass up a chance to have BBQ at the place the locals eat. If I didn't mention your favorite region/state/or local BBQ joint, insert it here _________, now.

Anyways, I grabbed a bag of charcoal, brats (local vendor) and a couple of NY Strip steaks and headed for the grill.

I also took with me a great cigar, Arturo Fuente Opus X Super Belicoso, as well as a couple of bottles of my favorite German beer, produced by Augustiner Braeu (that really old brewery in Munich, founded in 1310).

Now granted, the cigar would have been better accompanied by a glass of scotch or bourbon, but a great German beer was found to be an acceptable substitute.

Back to grilling. Well, I had no equipment/utensils and the grill left a lot to be desired. The manner in which I grilled my steaks was less then ideal with no seasoning on the steak and the meat was too far away from the charcoal. I used a plastic fork to flip them. When I took them off the grill, one side was done to much and the other not enough. But, when the two met in the middle, it was perfect.

It is amazing what you miss when you don't have it. Conversly, we probably don't appreciate what we have. I appreciate what I have and miss what I don't. It is a lot easier to do in a foreign country with different food, language, and customs.

There are some things I would like to change in the US, but, I can think of a lot more things I would keep just the way they are.

Anyways, it was great to smoke a cigar and eat a steak; a little slice of heaven American style, you might say.

God bless America. It is a great nation and a great place to live!

Until Next Time,

Michael

Driving, a new perspective.

Hello All,

Now that I've been at my new place for over 2 weeks which requires a 35-45 minute commute each way, I have a new perspective on driving in Germany.

It's not that I mind driving but it is not something I look forward to either. Seems like there is moderate to heavy traffic everywhere I go and every time I am commuting. I am happy to say though, it is surprisingly orderly. Yellow light means the car ahead of you will try and stop and a blinker means someone will let you in (or you will let them in).

You see, there are lots of laws that govern driving, but, more importantly, people see them as rules. Laws are something the government comes up with and then enforces. Rules are commonly accepted way of doing something that (most) everyone abides by. In fact, as a pedestrian, I have seen people cross at a cross walk with out a "green walking guy" and get scolded or get dirty looks. No traffic was coming but it is customary to wait for the green, remember to be patient.

I have not seen an incident of road rage and the number of times someone did something really stupid or aggressive could be counted on one had. Quite the contrary in the US where people don't seem to be so friendly or accomodating.

I don't think the US could handle parts of the highway that had no speed limit. The Germans follow the rules and make things predictable on the streets. When traveling at 120+ mph, the last thing you want is someone doing something unpredictable. Too few American drivers follow the rules to make this a safe undertaking and lots of people would end up killed. Maybe when we master the concept of stay to the right unless overtaking, then we can turn it up a notch.

Found out some other interesting things about cars and driving in Germany. Turns out that Germans pay a lot of taxes (20% is added to the price of almost everything you buy. It is built into the price that is displayed and the displayed price is what you pay. Not like in the US where you see a price and then sales tax is added at the registar. Think about that, 20%!)

One of the taxes they pay is personal property tax like the good readers in VA pay on their cars every year. The tax in VA is based on the cars value so it goes down every year. The Germans found a way around this and their tax is based on engine displacement, which never changes. This explains why I have seen a lot of cars with engine sizes of 1.5L to 2.2L. That is the most common engine size range and I suspect that moving beyond that results in a much bigger tax burden.

Turbo charging and super charging is also more much more common out here and the engines come that way from the factory. Turbo/supercharging increases power with out increasing displacement and lower displacement keeps taxes down. By the way, the car insurance companies also base premiums on engine displacement so your insurance is also more expensive.

The diesel engines are also very common out here. One of the most popular combos is the turbo-diesel engine. Turbo charging keeps taxes down and diesel fuel is cheaper then gasoline. A gallon of unleaded gasoline is around USD $6.75 a gallon based on current exchange rates and a gallon of diesel cost USD $5.40. So, at $1.30 per gallon difference in price, sign me up for diesel. Diesel also gets better gas mileage so the gap is even bigger in favor of diesel.

Of course this in not the case in the US where many stations don't offer diesel unless you want to get in line with the 18 wheelers. Not many cars have a diesel engine option and diesel is more expensive than unleaded. It is hard to make a case for diesel in the US taking those things into consideration. Diesel is clearly the future (vs gasoline or electric hybrid) and you will see the trend towards diesel continue in the US.

Taking all these things into consideration, you can see that owning a car and driving it in Europe is a very expensive proposition. Therefore, many people, especially in the cities, don't own cars. This is an easy decision to make because of the well thought out and very efficient public transportation system. Train and bus networks are far reaching and never late.

I should also point out that if you can find a parking spot, it is fairly expensive to park your car. A lot of the cars you and I drive would not even fit into most parking spots or have the tight turning radius to maneuver in a parking garage.

So, for many Germans, they learn the train schedule/train network, keep their bike tires properly inflated, or buy a motorcycle or scooter. I think I would own a motorcycle as my daily driver here if I lived here long term. Motorcycles can also split lanes (go between cars which is great when traffic is down to a crawl, get great mileage, and I would probably look pretty good in my leather riding gear. I can see Jodi riding a bike or Vespa for sure.

Hope everyone has a great week. In another week or two, I will be at the halfway mark. Check back during the week, I am going to try to get something out about a castle I visited last week and one I went to today.

Cheers,
Michael

Germans and Fitness.

Hello All,

You know, before I came here, I only saw Germans in films and maybe on TV. I always picture fat, sausage eating folks who drink a lot of beer. The sausage and beer part is true but Germans are very health conscious.

In fact, the national obesity rate in German is 14% according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Overall rate in US is 34%.

Would you believe that no state in the US has a rate this low as Germany. I was floored. Colorado checkes in at 19% and every other state is 20% or above. UK is 24%, France is 11%, Italy is 10%, and Japan checks in at 4% (but rising).

If you live in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, your states obesity rate (sorry) is over 30%.

This is an alarming trend in developed societies. I suspect that, based on established guidelines, I am close to being obese.

But, in Germany, a lot of people walk, jog, run, cycle. It is not uncommon to see older folks/couples taking an walk in the evening or on a weekend morning. Many take bike to run errands around town. Lots of people take the train/walk to work or bike. It is not uncommon for people riding bikes to get to destinations before someone driving....traffic is that bad in the cities.

Don't have any answers. Eat more veggies and take a walk, I guess.

Cheers,
Michael

Formula 1 weekend at the Nurburgring

Greetings all,

Sorry for the lack of activity on the blog. Seems like the trend is for me to go somewhere on a weekend trip and then write about it the following weekend. I suppose I could do it after work during the week but often after finishing up the daily routine when I return from work, I'm just not up for it.

Nothing really of interest takes place during the week so I am afraid there would not be much to write about. I get up, dress, go to work, come back to my room, have dinner, surf the internet, watch a bit of TV and then hit the rack. Do that 5 days in a row and that sums up the week.

The week of 5-11 Jul was pretty busy. Was off on the 6th because of the July 4 holiday (was in France as you probably recall) so it was a 4 day work week. On the 7th, I spent a fair part of the day moving out of the hotel where I have lived for the last 2 months and into a hotel like room on a US Army barracks about 35 minutes away.

It was a hassle repacking everything I brought here for a move cross town but all and all, it has proved worth while. I was getting a little tired of living at the hotel so the move was welcomed in the end. The only drawback is that I am 35 minutes away from where I work vs 5 minutes and the fastest way to get there is straight through downtown Stuttgart. Sometimes traffic can be a little heavy so that can be a pain in the butt. I usually don't mind the drive though.

My new room is not quite as modern as the other place and a little "Motel 6" like. It has everything I need though including internet and a little more space to store things. It also has washers and dryers downstairs so I can do laundry during the week without having to go to a laundromat. It also has a little kitchenette on every floor so I will be able to prepare a meal every now and again instead of eating frozen and canned stuff.

It is also a much cheaper option then the other hotel which saves the government a lot of money. /

Well, enough about the mundane. I am happy to report that I checked another box on the "Things to do during a lifetime". I am sure this is not on your list but it was on mine, "attend a Formula 1 Gran Prix race".

Now, while Formula 1 racing is seen as the very top tier and pinnacle of motorsports, it does not have much of a following in the US. However, it does average about 600 MILLION viewers internationally for every race. That is twice the population of the US. So, it is a big deal everywhere except the US.

Many races are sponsored by a countries central government, who spend (and lose) millions of dollars each race. Why you ask? Hosting a Formula 1 race is seen as a national prize much like hosting the Olympics. It bolsters a countries presense on the world stage with China and the Middle East having recently been granted a place on the calendar.

The cars themselves are marvels of engineering and aerodynamics. They are like fighter jets that stick to the ground instead of flying. The cars are all handbuilt with many teams operating windtunnels 24/7 in hopes of improving performance and testing modified designs in hopes of gaining a few thousandths of a second on the next race.

Top speeds are around 220 mph. Lots of race cars go that fast, you say. What's the big deal? It is not so much how fast they go, it is how fast they stop and how fast they go through the turns. The rate at which these cars slow is staggering thanks to their carbon fiber brake rotors and carbon fiber brake pads. Going through a turn can generate as much as 5 times the force of gravity (5g). The same force can be generated while decelerating.

/

Brake rotors can get as hot as 1800 degree Fahrenheit (twice that of the cars we drive) and stop an F1 car traveling 190 mph in 4 seconds. At a mere 100 kph (62 mph), the car will come to a stop in 1.4 seconds and cover 55 feet. Most cars take around 120 ft to stop from a speed of 60 mph. A "high performance" car will take around 90 feet or almost twice the distance of a F1 car.

Engine speeds are limited (!) to 18,000 rpms. Most road cars redline (max safe engine speed) at 6500 rpms. The engines used to be 3.0l, V-10 but regulations changed and they are now 2.4l, V-8s. Building an engine within regulations will generate around 720 hp and the old V-10s were close to 1000 hp. This in a car that weighs 600kg (1322 lbs). Many cars on the streets today weigh between 3300 lbs and 4000 lbs.

Doing the math, a F1 car has a power to weight ratio of 1 to 1.82. A Corvette (3200 lbs and 430 hp) with it base engine has a power to weight ratio of 1 to 7.5.

Team budgets go as high as $450,000,000 per year (yes, that is almost 1/2 a billion dollars per year). A "low budget" team may only have $50 million in their coffers for the year. Some drivers are paid a salary of $40 million per year. it is not unusual for the highest paid (including endorsements) sports figure in the world to be a F1 driver.

/

Ave budget for a NASCAR team is $15 million and an Indy team budget is around $8 million.

/

Well, back to the race weekend...in a nutshell, everything besides the actual race sucked.

I left on Friday later then I hoped and was in traffic the whole way up to the inn I was staying at which was about 2.5 hours away. The hotel was nice enough. Clean and everything worked. I figured it was about 45 minutes from the race track.

Saturday was qualifing. I didn't know my way around the track nor did I have my tickets in my possession as they were at will call. I had lots to do and was unfamiliar with the area. I thought I had best give myself plenty of time.

I made it to the track in 1.5 hours in heavy traffic. After a bit of wandering around, I found where my tickets were being held for me, picked them up, and went off to the grandstands. I also spent Sat shopping for souveniers and the like. Past experience tells me that you do not want to be messing with that on race day when it would be a packed house.

It was really something to see the cars on the track (F1 is held on dedicated race tracks called "road courses" which feature a series of turns and straight aways, this particular track is 3.5 miles in length and has 16 left and right turns of various radii). The cars are sleek, low, and fast. The sound they make at speed is incredible. It is a shriek that penetrates you skull and resonates through your body. I listened for a couple of minutes without hearing protection just to take it in. Some people sat through the whole race on race day (1.5 hours) without hearing protection which really surprised me.

Sunday was race day and I knew traffic and crowds would be worse then Sat. I thought I better give myself even more time to get to the track for the race which was scheduled to start at 2:00 pm. I left at 8:30 am thinking it would take me 2 hours to get to the track. I would get there in time to see the Porsche Cup race at 10:45 am. Much to my surprise, a drive that would have taken with 45 minutes with no traffic, took 4.5 HOURS. I probably could have walked in that time. I was shocked at the traffic situation. At one point, I honestly thought I would miss the start of the race. Thankfully, I got to my seat 30 minutes before the race started.

After the race started, it seemed like it was all worth it. I was sitting at a F1 race in Europe.

All and all, I was happy I went but would NEVER do it again. There must have been 90,000 poeple who descended on this little remote town and I parked in a field with 18" high grass (there were Ferraris in that farmers field, too). Like any sporting event, there is no way to watch instant replays or hear the commentary that you would hear on a TV broadcast. I had to ask who won the race and I was at the damn thing. Lastly, ticket prices that rival the prices of a Superbowl ticket. You can go general admission which is the cheapest route but you would stand at some far reaching corner of the track, in the dirt or mud if it rains.

Don't really have any pictures to share. My camera is great for taking still shots but not so much at higher speed action shots or things that are far away. The race had both those things.

Jodi would have gladly went with me if she was here and not complained about a thing even though she would have hated every minute of it. I am a lucky guy to have a woman like that.

Cheers,
Michael