Things are beginning to come to an end.
Day 20...our last tourist day...
Tomorrow we pack,
clean the apartment,
wash laundry,
get Liam rested up for Friday,
and Friday, we venture our little bodies across the Atlantic!
We had a little downtime this morning so we had some magnet fun!
Liam loves to play with magnets!
ABCs especially...
because that's all he has!
haha!
Then, we headed to the VW factory...
...the factory made of glass...
When I told Clint about our impromptu tour, he was a little jealous.
He somehow finagled a way to come with!
WAHOO!
We learned TONS of cool things that I want to remember for the scrapbook, so I'm just going to rattle off a few random facts...
- The inside of the factory is simply stunning...
...with beauty and "factory-ness-like-wonder!"
I don't know how else to describe it.
I REALLY wish we could have taken pictures of the inside.
- VW would be and AWESOME company to work for!
- They give ALL employees 4 weeks PAID summer vacation
- They are not open on weekends...everyone gets weekends off.
- They let everybody off early during the world cup just so they don't have to miss a game!
- They observe all Federal Holidays and close shop...no one has to work.
- THE FACTORY
- Slogan of the "Factory Made of Glass:"...It all started with an idea...
- EVERY VW Phaeton is produced in this factory.
- Many Parts come from Germany, but some are also shipped worldwide.
- Each car is 97% assembled by hand--WOAH!
- That doesn't mean the workers are doing ANY heavy lifting...
- you should see how everything is lifted and moved...WITH MAGNETS!
- There are only 4 robotic machines in the entire factory.
- The floor is made with canadian maple. It was chosen for two reasons:
- It is beautiful.
- But more importantly, it is easier on the laborer's joints.
- There is No florescent lighting on the workfloor(s) (5 floors all together).
- The lighting is actually pointed at the ceiling and is then reflected with mirrors to simulate daylight--easier on the laborer's eyes.
- It takes 3 days to produce a car start to finish.
- There is only one exposed chord at each work station (connect directly to the car)
- Every car has a barcode and check list. When a worker completes an item, they scan it, and sign their name...for two reasons:
- It makes trouble shooting easier.
- It gives people incentive to do their job well :)
- Birds were flying into the CLEAN factory and falling to their death...they fixed the problem by playing bird calls 24/7. This lets the birds know the space is occupied so they don't come near it.
- Bugs were attracted to the light at night and were leaving a HUGE mess. They fixed that problem by fading the light (somehow) at the edges of the glass. Bugs don't even notice it anymore...weird.
- THE CAR
- Nothing comes standard on the Phaeton.
- Everything is custom to the owners choice...therefore every car is "made to order."
- Each front seat has 50 motors in it! Therefore, it can be adjusted 18 different ways.
- One option that is NOT available... Manual transmission...
- Each car has 2 batteries.
- SPECIAL FEATURES
- Back Massagers (available for front and back seats)...YES PLEASE!
- Trunk refrigerator accessible from the back seat. YES!
- Microchip that will "Auto-Read" all road signs (only in Germany) and talk to you if you miss something important...like speed changes...You don't have to listen to it...haha!
- Blind-spot recognition chip...will talk to you if you are changing lanes at a "scary" time.
- Pretty much any bell and whistle you could EVER imagine.
- COST: *cough* 80,000-130 Euros before taxes *cough* depends what features you choose...
- Phaeton...Experience true luxury."
- WHEN YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE A PHAETON
- You custom order it.
- You can come to the factory and follow your car being made start to finish should you choose to.
- It is presented to you in a "special room" with lights, music, a movie and champaign.... LITERALLY!!
- It is the ONLY car in the world that is given to you with a full tank of gas.
- You drive the car right out of the room onto a ramp which takes you to a main Dresden street.
This was truly one of the most amazing things I've ever seen!!
Oh, AND you can choose ANY COLOR...
Example: Bring in your favorite scarf and they will match it EXACTLY!
I have two "Dream Cars."
Ironically, they are both made by Volkswagen ...
VW Bug and
VW Bus!
We're talking vintage here!
Complete cuteness :)
Random Fact:
I was at a garage sale in college where they were trying to sell a non-working, 1960 -something, blue/rusted-ish VW Bug for $150 smackaroos!
If I would have had a way to move it,
Someone to fix it,
a place to park it,
and I wasn't saving every penny for rent and Ramen Noodles,
I TOTALLY would have bought it!
I guess I'll just have to keep dreaming.
Maybe I'll just have to save up for a Phaeton instead...
Too bad they are no longer available to US customers.
*Wink*
AFTER the tour,
Liam and I went on a train ride through Grosser Garden.
G.G. is kind of like the "Central Park" of Dresden...
HUGE!
(But not as huge as CP)
Oh, but first we had a picnic in the park...
L: "What the...
...What in the world did you put on my sandwich, Mom?"
M: Applesauce...we are out of jelly so I had to get creative.
L: MMMM...I like it!
(Actually I did too...PB and AS...you should try it.)
Hello Camera.
"If I finish my grapes, can I have the chocolate the nice lady at the car place gave me?"
"Maybe."
"mmmmmm...chocolate"
THEN, we went on the train ride.
Liam was mesmerized...
...and didn't know what to think at times :)
All the workers (other than the driver) were kids.
Truly...
"Well that was fun! See Ya Mama!"
"Okay, I guess I'll wait for you."
On our walk home, Liam fell asleep, so I stopped for Lemon Gelato
...and ate it in silence...
...a rare occurrence...
MMMMM....
