So what do you do in Dresden on a wet Wednesday afternoon?
Visit the Transparent Factory of course!
Volkswagen have a small assembly facility quite close to the city centre in Dresden where they produce the e-Golf. The building is predominately glass and therefore has the name of The Transparent Factory.
Within the building there is a visitor centre and for €7 you can go on a guided tour (in English) of the assembly line. The whole thing is a PR activity aimed at getting people to think more about electric vehicles and ask questions but I spent a very nice couple of hours there. You see the robots (and a surprising number of humans) putting the cars together. they tell you a bit about how they develop new models and also a bit about what they are developing currently - autonomous vehicles etc. And yes it is possible to buy and collect a new car direct from the factory.
Unfortunately but fairly obviously they do not allow photography of the assembly line.
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Now changing the subject completely
There is a thing here in the former East Germany called "Ostalgie" Basically it is a nostalgia for the old days of communism - look at the way the Ampelmann on the pedestrian crossings is now an icon (he's here in Dresden).
Well walking along the main street here, an Englishman could well get Shopalgie - a nostalgia for the days when our high streets were bustling and all the shops were occupied. I haven't seen many empty shops at all on this trip which reinforces my view that this is a mainly British problem and cannot be solely blamed on the internet.
Anyway remember these .........
And sit down for this one ..........
Yes Woolies lives on in Germany. It's the same as it used to be in the UK but without the Pick n Mix!
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