Stuttgart to Nurnberg

The Schlossgarten Hotel provides a lovely breakfast in a lovely, modern setting. Lots of glass and shine. My teapot comes with a timer. The tea is predestined to steep appropriately. This lovely breakfast will be repeated in lovely settings in a variety of hotels as we traverse Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

We are right on time in the lobby for the 7am call to the Condor Air baggage department. The woman who answers is wonderfully upbeat and helpful. “Yes, she says after listening to my debrief, I have the two bags right here, one blue and one gray”. She promises to put them on the next Lufthansa flight to Stuttgart, which will arrive around 2pm. We can pick them up at baggage claim. Perfect! Thank you.

We are now relieved and reassured and ready to embark on our Mercedes Benz adventure. The ever-helpful hotel staff calls us a cab. The cabbie is Pakistani and one of the first things he asks is “What do you think of Donald Trump?” We tell him.  He believes Trump is stupid, but he also has strong feelings about the US and our involvement in Afghanistan. (We need to leave). He makes an excellent point about Pakistan. Many Americans believe Pakistanis are untrustworthy, but he points out that Pakistan will still border Afghanistan after the US involvement ends. They need to have some kind of relationship.

The Mercedes facility is huge. We have an appointment at the customer care center. We’ve arrived a tad early, (like 5 minutes after it opens…who’s excited?), so there’s time to browse the gift shop. We find a Mercedes hat and there’s a pop-up that will do embroidery on any purchased item. We have “Brez” stitched on both the hat and a complimentary bag. Nice. It’s an interesting note that the gifts are wide-ranging and eclectic, as in a Mercedes branding iron and a baby pacifier.

We’re called to sign papers and make sure all is in order for the transfer of the car to its new owner. Once done we are introduced to our escort who takes us to “the car”.

There are three cars on display, each one covered with what looks like a black silky “tarp”. The room is high ceilinged with walls of windows overlooking a koi pond. The decorative vases lining the walls are filled with orchids, (real). The tarp is slowly pulled back to reveal a magnificent, shiny deep gray beauty. Just what was ordered, the stuff of many daydreams now a reality in steel and rubber and leather. The fobs are presented on a velvety pillow. JMB is painstakingly, systematically, introduced to its many features. It seems to meet all expectations, perhaps more.

We leave the car behind for now to load onto a bus to take the factory tour.  Anyone can take this tour, not just new car buyers so we are with the masses in an “air conditioned" vehicle during a European heat wave. Our guide spews factoids:

·      Three shifts work 6-2, 2-10 and a night shift where those who chose it get a tax benefit.

·      A 17 truck fire station is on site

·      6 subsidized restaurants serve 15,000 meals a day. The motto is good food= good work.

·      They deliver 300 cars per day (Germans get a small discount if they come to the factory to pick up their car rather than having it shipped to a dealer)

·      There are no two alike in the S class because there are so many combinations available.

·      Each car gets 5 coats of paint:

o   The entire car including the gas cap is painted at the same time

o   The doors are removed so workers can easily access the interior

·      The steel used in one week is enough to build another Eiffel Tower

·      The Mercedes star symbolizes land, sky and water

·      German law states that 5% of employees have to be disabled

·      Daimler was the engine guy. Benz developed the 4-wheel base. They never met.

The robotics in the plant are otherworldly. Huge arms move in synch. They are programmed into a continuous dance, gliding and spinning with precision; one swoops in as another retracts. The area where they work is fenced and the entry gates are padlocked. The guide refers to the padlocks as life insurance. If a human is inside the enclosure the padlock is open. Only when the human exits is the padlock refastened.

We conclude the tour and adjourn to a private lunch featuring:

• ·      Handmaid Tagliolini with black truffle, sage and parmesan
• ·      Iberico Saddle of Pork with Port wine Jus
• ·      Broccoli, cauliflower cream, warm cabbage salad and lemon foam
• ·      Crunchy crema catalana, marinated strawberries, yoghurt, coconut ice cream with the Mercedes emblem dusted onto the plate in chocolate
• ·      Wine to complement   each course

All delivered by our own personal waitress as we sit on a platform overlooking Brez’s new car.

And now….the car is driven through a narrow hallway to the great outdoors where we pose for pictures (in the clothes we’ve been wearing since we left Spokane) and Brez gets behind the wheel for real.

We plan to spend the night in Nuremberg but first our luggage awaits (we hope) at the Stuttgart airport.

Brez stays with his new baby while I navigate myself to baggage claim. It’s easy enough to find but unfortunately I cannot enter from the concourse. I try various portals but none allow entry. Finally, I go upstairs to the Condor Air counter. The agent tells me the secret to getting inside. So, downstairs again I look for the Lost and Found office. Once inside I circumvent the counter and take a small passageway that leads to a larger hallway that leads to the baggage carousel I need. And there are our suitcases.  What a relief. I wheel them out the way I came. We load them into the pristine trunk and we are on our way to Nurnberg.

The Autobahn awaits and Brez is in his element. The car performs to expectations and beyond. We speed along, one of us in ecstasy the other with her eyes closed.

Tonight we stay at the Hotel Victoria. We drive (with permission) into a small pedestrian plaza and park near the front door. We have a room with a view of the Frauentor gate; the car has a spot in a password-protected garage. Sweet dreams.