I am now in Poppenhausen after having navigated the German Train and Bus system to get to the small town west of Frankfurt to pick up the car. I had a bit of help from people I asked at the train station and on the train, but for the last leg the bus driver did not speak english, but we managed to sort it out. In part thanks to the directions I received while in Canada and by my TomTom GPS.
The car pick went smoothly, except the car was sitting for about the last 5 months so the battery was flat and we had to push the car out of the garage and then boost it to get it going. The car is being borrowed from a German glider pilot who has relocated to Canada. His mother looked after all the car arrangements and this was made a little more challenging by my limited German and her limited English, fortunately, her nephew was able to come over and help out as an interpreter! It has also helped catapult me back into remembering my German from when I lived here in 1970!
After the drive to Poppenshuasen the battery is fully charged and everything is running smoothly.
When I first arrived at the factory (it is closed for summer shutdown) I met Martin Heide (the H of ASH) who was working on his ASH-26. He showed me the glider I am renting and we talked about German weather and the best routes to drive to get to Poland from here.
I also met Gerhard Weibel (the W of ASW) who is lending his glider to Karl Striedek for the contest. Gerhard told me the hotel to stay in, so I had a great dinner with Gerhard, his wife, Karl and his brother Walter.
Next its off to Jelenia Gora, Poland to meet Jerzy and fly a couple of days in the south end of the contest area.
Dave
