Vorsprung Durch Technik

A few weeks ago we went to the city of Dresden in Germany, it's really close from Prague and only takes an hour and a half by car.

This seemingly innocuous 100km stretch of land has actually seen a tremendous amount of drama, originally it was a part of Czechoslovakia but was inhabited by German speakers and part of the Sudetenland.  It was this piece of land that the British prime minster Neville Chamberlain agreed to give to Hitler to pacify him...and when the Czech's eventually got it back after WWII they unceremoniously killed or kicked out the Germans.

Nowadays you can see the evidence that it once belonged to Germans (lots of textile factories etc) but left to the Czechs it's become a bit run down.  At first I didn't actually realise when we'd crossed the officially crossed the border and arrived in Germany as there was no 'Willkommen' sign.  But we soon started to notice that the roads were smoother, there was no rubbish strewn across the motorway, even the plants and forests seemed somehow neater.

After zooming along efficiently on the autobahn we stopped off at 'The Transparent Factory' before visiting friends.  Essentially this is a Volkswagen car plant in the centre of Dresden, what is really is though is a great bit of PR and showcase of the finest German technology.

So called transparency because its designer  walls are all made completely from glass, and transparency because the company wants to be appear to be open. Bespoke vehicles are handcrafted in a pristine environment, there ain't a single drop of engine oil, a spare tyre, or a screw out of place.  500 visitors glide through daily to gape in awe at the futuristic production line.

It was all very vorspring durch technik which I found out means advancement in technology  (although I know I've borrowed this catchphrase from another well known car company).

I wasn't allowed to take photos on the car plant 'floor' which to be honest didn't look very different from the trendy cafe where we sipped lattes waiting for our tour.  Instead of cool people hanging out canadian maple tables, there were brand spanking shiny cars stationed at uber perfect workstations on a beautiful canadian maple wooden floor.

We were however, of course, allowed to get hands dirty in the car showroom where the kids went crazy...

     

Ich möchte ein Auto......I want one of these mum....