The Boat Show

For our last day in Scotland, I’d booked us tickets to the Traditional Scottish Wooden Boat Show in Portsoy, Scotland; it seemed like the perfect event for my Dad. When we arrived it was cold and rainy, and since we were on the coast, there was a cold wind blowing in off the North Sea. The weather really diminished our enthusiasm, but the festival looked like it would have been a lot of fun if it wasn’t so cold and rainy. There was an outdoor stage were a group was singing sea shanties, but I couldn’t bring myself to sit in a wet chair in the rain to listen to them.

Yellow Pants doing most of the Work
Portsoy, Scotland

The weather was apparently part of a much larger storm and a lot of the boats were setting sail to try to avoid it. The show was supposed to last until 7pm that evening, but when we arrived at noon, only 2 large boats remained, and they shipped off within the hour. These departures were actually the most interesting part of the festival. The ships were traditional crafts, so the crew used traditional methods to exit the 300 year old harbor—no outboard motors.

Safely exiting the harbour
Portsoy, Scotland

To exit, two lines (nautical speak for rope) were connected to 2 “tie up thingies” (also a nautical term*). The whole crew would pull on the first line to pull the ship away from the harbor wall, and then they would start pulling on the second line to turn and exit out to sea.

The first boat was manned by an experienced crew and they managed a beautiful exit. Some of the men were old and just standing around though; one young guy in yellow pants appeared to be doing the brunt of the work, but he was clearly capable of working alone.

Notice the rope they're tugging on
Portsoy, Scotland

The second ship was crewed by a bunch of newbies, unused to working together as a team. It took them much longer to exit the harbor and their departure wasn’t nearly as smooth. With a few months at sea, they’ll be able to manage turns better in the future.

After the big ships left, there wasn’t too much else going on. There were smaller boats and even some dinghies, but their captains weren’t around for chatting. We also visited some of the shops, but my Dad is full up on lines and buoys, so we didn’t buy anything. My Mom and I did visit a bead shop where a woman was selling beads out of her motor home.  There is a bead store in Regensburg where I get my beads so I was all set. I also wasn’t thrilled that her crystals came from China and were priced higher than the genuine Swarovski crystals I’d been buying. But I guess that’s what happens when you aren’t next door to Austria.

*Thanks to Google, I’ve learned the proper term for the “tie up thingies”. It's bollard.

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Traditional Scottish Wooden Boat Show

Nessie!!!!

Just one of the many vistas through the Cairngorms.
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

Day 4 in the UK took us up to Inverness and Loch Ness. This was the farthest north we travelled, but I would have loved to go even farther to see some of the northern islands like Skye and Shetland. I think Scotland is the most beautiful country we have visited; our drive went through the Cairngorms National Park, and I made Joe stop the car several times so I could take pictures. It really is a wild landscape with few cities marring the view. The weather reminded me a little of Florida, in that it rained every day, but it was also sunny every day. It wasn’t hot and humid though.

A fresh water plesiosaur obviously lives here.
Loch Ness, Scotland

We arrived on the shores of Loch Ness around lunch time, so we popped into the Clansman Hotel for a quick lunch before our 1 o’clock boat tour with Jacobite Cruises. The food was excellent and we managed to order, to eat, to pay, and to make it down to the docks in under an hour—a rarity in Europe. While we ate though, a storm was gathering.

Our tour was to take us across the Loch to a spit of land where the remains of Urquhart Castle stand. Here we would disembark and explore the Castle and gift shop for an hour before the boat returned for us and sailed back down the Loch.

Top left: could that anomaly be Nessie? 

On our outward voyage, the clouds followed through on their threats and unleashed a storm; the weather was perfect. With rain and wind the surface of the Loch became choppy and shrouded in a thin layer of mist; the exact weather I imagined would plague the Loch on a regular basis. Under these conditions, I easily believed in the monster. Loch Ness is the 2nd deepest lake in Scotland at 755ft and is fed by the River Ness. The river and loch have been stained black by the peat they flow over. The black water limits visibility to about 12 inches, but our vessel came equipped with sonar for detecting any underwater anomalies (Nessie!). In fact, on the way back from Urquhart Castle we observed a curious shape in the sonar screen—perhaps the legends are true.

Remains of Urquhart Castle
Loch Ness, Scotland

As I said before, Urquhart Castle stands in ruins, and in this case, a ruin means almost no roof. Since it was still pouring, we didn’t spend long wandering the castle’s grounds. My parents gave up and went inside, but Joe and I defiantly, albeit quickly, explored all the sections of the castle before joining them in the gift shop. We were soaked, but we got our money’s worth. In the gift shop we sipped hot beverages while waiting for the boat to return. I wish I could say we were warm and dry by the time the boat docked, but damp and chilled is a more accurate description.

A dog in the Loch Ness Brewery
Loch Ness, Scotland

During the ride back down the Loch, the storm cleared up, so by the time we reached our next destination, The Loch Ness Brewery, we were reasonably dry. Breweries are always fun places to visit, especially the smaller ones, as I think microbreweries have more flavor. The Loch Ness Brewery is on the shores of the Loch, and it incorporates this locale into the names of the beers. All the beers end in Ness; HoppyNess, WilderNess, RedNess. The brewpub was small and dog friendly; we met a small, friendly dog inside. The beer was tasty and we were able to mingle with locals—but we still felt like tourists.

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Cairngorms National Park
The Clansman Hotel on the Shores of Loch Ness
Jacobite Cruises Homepage
A History of Nessie from PBS - Back to Roman Times!
Urquhart Castle from Historic Scotland
Loch Ness Brewery

A Very Full Day in Scotland

The remains of Hadrian's Wall near Cawfield's Quarry
Haltwhistle, England

After breakfasting with some Polish athletes we left Newcastle. I think they were soccer players, but they were all so tall and skinny they could easily have been basketball playing gymnasts. We walked off our breakfast while visiting Hadrian’s Wall at Cawfield's Quarry; remnants from the Roman Empire. When new, the wall was 16-20 feet high, but now it’s only chest height. The stones were pilfered after the fall of Rome, but they were reused in the fencing and houses of the locals.

Milecastle 42 at Hadrian's Wall
Haltwhistle, England

The wall was very precise; every mile was a milecastle gate, and every seven miles was a fort, regardless of natural topography. The part we visited skirted the edge of steep incline, but Milecastle 42 was there. The wall functioned as the northern-most boundary of Rome, and there are conflicting accounts as to why the Romans didn’t press further into Scotland. One account claims the Scots were ferocious fighters who held the Romans off; the other maintains that the Romans looked at the sparse, rocky land and said “keep it”. It should be obvious which account the Scots prefer. We paced the wall for a bit, playing centurion, and then we pressed deeper into Scotland.

In April my sister and I rode the train from King’s Cross station in London to Edinburgh in Scotland, and it passed close to the Scottish coast line; we followed a similar route when we drove north.  I love the landscape of Scotland; it feels so open and grandiose. The drive was beautiful, but it was a bit time consuming, and we arrived late for our whisky tour in Edinburgh.

Part of the world's largest collection of Scotch Whisky
at the Scotch Whisky Experience, Edinburgh, Scotland

Luckily tours run all day and we were able to join a later tour. The only apparent downside: we had to share our tour with a stag party. However, it was still early in their night and they weren’t rowdy. The tour started out with a barrel ride where a ghost detailed the instructions for brewing decent whisky. Most interestingly, the size and shape of the still can change the taste of the whisky. There are a few tour options at the Scotch Whiskey Experience; my dad chose Gold but the rest of us selected Silver. Gold tours come with 4 bonus drams in addition to the 1 dram everyone in the Silver tour receives.

Wandering the Beautiful Royal Mile
Edinburgh, Scotland

There are 5 flavor profiles of whisky in Scotland, but Campbeltown Malt is rare and wasn’t really discussed during our tasting. Of the 100 or so brewers in Scotland, only 3 produce the Campbeltown Malt, and rarely is it exported. Since there were 4 remaining flavor profiles, and 4 of us on the tour, we each selected a different style. I do think my Dad and I ended up drinking most of all 4 though. After the guided tasting, we were led into a room with wonderful views of the Royal Mile and Holyrood Park, where my sister and I hiked last time. Here Dad received his additional 4 drams; one of each style. We asked for some dark chocolate, and he and I proceeded to share the drams; cheeks growing steadily redder. Mom and Joe ordered beers, but they didn’t like the one that tasted like caramel popcorn. I found that caramel popcorn beer was a great chaser for the smoky Speyside whisky. Then, in case we hadn’t consumed enough, we went to Whiski for dinner. As before, it was delicious.

Poor guy. He did not see this coming!
South Bridge Vaults, Edinburgh, Scotland

When we finished dinner we wandered the Royal Mile a bit before meeting the Mercat Cross for our Ghostly Underground Tour; the same tour my sister and I were on in April. This time though, our tour was in the final time slot for the evening; no one would be entering the vaults after us. It was still damp, dark, and eerie, but we didn’t feel anything supernatural. We did take some pictures this time, and Joe managed to accidentally blind a guy with the flash; it was so dark we couldn’t see him until it was too late.

That night we stayed in the Edinburgh Hilton which was a labyrinth of passages and stairways. It felt a little like Hogwarts; I kept waiting for the staircases to move. The bed was giant and old, and it’s creaking was a little scary after the ghost tour, but we managed to sleep well. The weird thing is, the rooms on their website look nothing like the historic room in which we stayed.

Useful Links!
Pictures from our Trip!
Hadrian’s Wall an English Heritage Site
Hadrian's Wall near Cawfield's Quarry
The Scotch Whiskey Experience in Edinburgh, Scotland
Learn more about Whisky from the Scotch Whisky Association
Edinburgh Tourist Information Site
Holyrood Park from Historic Scotland
Whiski Bar and Restaurant: Whisky on the Menu and in the Fare
Ghostly Underground Tour from Mercat Tours
Book a Room at the Edinburgh Hilton

Read about my previous Adventures in Holyrood Park with my Sister
Read about my first encounter with Whisky

Read about our first ghost tour!

Magical Mysteries

The Albert Docks
Liverpool, England

We left Birmingham early and drove to Liverpool to kick off our second day of travel. There were many things to do in this city but we were there to take The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour and to see the docks where my grandfather landed during WWII. The docks have changed a lot in 70 years, but it was still fun knowing we were walking in his footsteps.

I want it.
Penny Lane, Liverpool, England

The Magical Mystery Tour was crazy but it was a lot of fun. We boarded a very loud colored bus and drove around the city checking out sites that were tied to the Beatles; we couldn’t look more like tourists, not even if we wore visors and fanny packs. We saw their childhood homes, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and the Cavern Club; our tour guide was even in one of the documentary films about them. When we visited Penny Lane Neil told us the sign was stolen so much when the song was new, the city decided to paint the street name on the wall instead; then people stole chunks of the bricks. Recently, the city decided enough time had passed, and they could put a sign back up; the signs now last an average of 3 days. I definitely wanted to return after dark with a wrench.

The Cavern Club is an underground music club that opened in the 1950s and the Beatles began frequenting in the 1960s. Over the years the club hosted many famous bands, and these are commemorated outside on the wall of fame; it truly is a piece of music history. Across the street is the Cavern Pub, a similarly decorated, underground pub serving normal bar food. When our tour ended we walked to the Cavern Pub for some lunch. The walls were covered with memorabilia from and photographs of dozens of artists. After lunch we briefly returned to street level before descending again into the Cavern Club.

The Cavern Club
Liverpool, England

Interior of the Cavern Club, with a Beatles Cover Band Playing
Liverpool, England

Other artists play at the club, but more often than not, there is a Beatles cover band playing, even at 3pm on a Thursday. My Dad was super excited to be there and was singing along with the band, oblivious to everything else. The group was two guys with guitars, and we kept trying to convince my Dad to drum for them. He refused, even after we bought him official Cavern Club commemorative drumsticks. We stayed down there, taking it all in, until they finished their set.

Approaching Malham Cove on the Pennine Trail
Malham Village, England

Emerging from the club we were greeted with sunshine. The storm from earlier had cleared and the weather was perfect for our next adventure: hiking to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Malham Cove is about 2 hours northeast of Liverpool and was the site of Harry Potter filming. The cover is a portion of land where a small creek has, over time, created a sheer cliff face; it’s like approaching a natural rock climbing wall. Peregrine falcons use the cliff face for their nests, and the whole cove is a haven for the birds.  The footpath through the area is called the Pennine Way; it’s part of a 267 miles trail through northern England. The trail ran through pasture land and was dotted with cattle and sheep; several times we changed fields and made sure to close the fence behind us lest the animals escape.

The sheer cliff face of Malham Cove; the colored spots are climbers
Malham Village, England

The real draw was at the top of the cove; water and wind have uniquely shaped the rocks into an eerie landscape. During The Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, Harry and Hermione camp on these rocks. It was a lonely spot in the movie, a perfect place to hide from Voldemort, but in real life there were lots of people climbing the face of the cove. Maybe the climbers come because of the movie and it was more desolate before, or maybe it’s always been popular.

I did not expect either of my parents to climb to the top; it’s a steep climb and it goes pretty high (260 feet), but they both did it. They didn’t stay up top very long, leaving us to explore a little more while they hiked back down. The entire hike we were serenaded by myriad wildlife including cows, sheep, and pheasant; Joe and I even found a flock of sheep on top of the cove. It was very pastoral and relaxing—I was reluctant to leave.

We regrouped at the bottom of the cove and decided to eat dinner in Malham Village; the Buck Inn was an easy decision as it was the only place open. The proprietors were very friendly and the food was delicious. While we were discussing the virtues of the onion rings the owner joked he could live on the onion rings, and I had to agree, though it would shorten both our life expectancies a bit. Before we came to Europe, everyone told us “Oh in [x] country they serve room temperature beer”. When in [x] country we would ask the locals and they would say, “oh no, not here, they serve it that way over in [y]”. We heard this about every beer drinking country, but until that night at the Buck Inn, all the beer was cold. At the Buck Inn we were drinking “Real Ale” or cask conditioned ale, which is unpasteurized, hand pumped beer served slightly below room temperature. So this would be considered warm compared to a cold, pasteurized, keg conditioned beer. The beer was more flavorful and less fizzy than keg beer, and I can appreciate the call for more “real” ales and ciders across Britain.

The steep Pennine Trail; perfect for sheep.
Malham Village, England

In addition to being a delicious pub, the Buck Inn is also an inn. My mom wanted to spend the night, but as tempting as it was, we’d already paid for accommodations in Newcastle, so we got back in the car after dinner. My dad was driving this leg, and to be honest, it was a little nerve-wracking—sorry Dad! We were following our Garmin, not the car’s built in GPS, and it was programmed to route us the fastest way. To calculate the route it uses posted speed limits, however if there is no posted speed limit it uses a default speed based on the road type. In the UK, the national speed limit on a single carriageway for cars in 60pmh unless otherwise posted. Using these default speeds the Garmin calculated that the quickest route to Newcastle was through the Yorkshire Dales Park. Unfortunately, we were not driving the default speed. The road was barely wider than our car and as it was through the national park, there were no street lights. To make our drive even more harrowing, there were also steep grade changes, 90⁰ hairpin turns, and no almost towns. Oh, also, we were running low on gas and the few tiny towns we drove through were all closed up for the night; yes the entire town was shuttered and dark. I could see the speedometer, so I know my Dad was only driving about 25 mph, but it felt like 70 in the dark and I spent most of the ride with every muscle in my body clenched in terror; I was very sore the next day.

Harry Potter fans will recognize this vista
Malham Village, England

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Take the Magical Mystery Tour
Liverpool Tourism Website
More about the Pennine Trail
About the Peregrine Falcons at Malham Cove
Images from HP7 (in case you forget where they camped)
Malham Cove at the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Malham Village Visitors Website
Learn more about what "Real Ale" is
The Buck Inn
Helpful information about driving in the UK

In the Footsteps of Legends

The Cutty Sark Museum
London, England

When my parents came to visit we planned a week long excursion to the UK. After we landed in London we proceeded to pick up our rental car, but Sixt wasn’t located at Heathrow; we had to take a shuttle out to the lot. Our car was a black Citroen something or other; the standard European hatchback. Whenever we get a new rental car (at least every 3 months), it’s my job to fiddle with the dials and to figure out how the navigation system works. The nav system wasn’t very intuitive or user friendly so I switched to our handheld Garmin—a decision I would later regret. Perhaps to make up for its navigational deficiencies the car came with a bonus; there was a CD already in the player! It wasn’t just any CD either; it was The Beatles #1 hits CD. Naturally we put it on and drove through London feeling very authentic.

Best. Picture. Ever.

Cutty Sark, London, England

Our first stop was the Cutty Sark, a ship that dates from the height of the British Imperialist era, though it was in use until 1954. This ship has been in dry dock since 1957 and acts as a museum of English maritime history. It was a very hands-on museum and there were many exhibits for children and Joe. A lot of the ship is original; they’ve delineated restoration work with gray paint; original ironwork is white. Most of the boat was dedicated cargo space and the living quarters were cramped; the vessel was designed for making money. Throughout its eight seafaring decades, the Cutty Sark carried a variety of cargo, but I think the best time would have been when it was ferrying tea from China; this cargo would have smelled much better than wool from Australia.

Crossing Abbey Road
London, England

We then drove all the way across London to Abbey Road. We parked in an underground lot and witnessed a large queue of cars at the exit. A man was struggling with the automatic pay system and the mechanical arm wouldn’t let him out. Among those behind the man were an irate delivery truck driver and an anxious mother late to pick up her kids. Later, when we returned, the arm was bent at a funny angle; perhaps forced just high enough to let a car through. Abbey Road was once again packed with people, and since I’d already been there, I volunteered to stand on the island of safety and take pictures. 

My mom asked me to take this picture.
She said she hadn't seen clothes like this in awhile.
Oxford, England

Despite not sounding like much, due to the size of London and the abundance of traffic, these two visits took us past 3pm. We were spending the night in Birmingham, so after visiting Abbey Road we headed north. We stopped briefly in Oxford for dinner. Originally we were going to try to take a tour of the Bodleian library, a Harry Potter set, but we arrived too late to join a tour. Even if we had arrived on time, I don’t think we would have made the tour; Oxford University was having its graduation that day and there were gowned students and their families everywhere; surely the tour would have been full.

Instead, we delighted ourselves with looking at the old buildings and eating dinner in the Kings Arms Tavern. Almost every year my parents spend a week in Colonial Williamsburg, and one of their favorite places to eat is the Kings Arms Tavern where the food is prepared using colonial methods, and the staff wear traditional garb. Since Colonial Williamsburg is set before the American Revolution, technically both taverns are British. In the modern Kings Arms we learned British pub protocol; place your order at the bar, receive a number, and wait for your food to be brought to your table. I ordered a rabbit pie with cider. Mmmmmm. Meat pies in the UK tend to refer to a stew baked in a puff pastry pie shell; very hearty and delicious. It was an excellent conclusion to our first day in England.

My parents outside the Kings Arms Tavern
Oxford, England

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Visiting the Cutty Sark
Abbey Road Live Feed Camera - Watch the Madness
My Sister and I Visit Abbey Road
Oxfordshire (region Oxford is in) Tourism Homepage
Oxford City Guide
Bodleian Library Tours
Kings Arms - The Oldest Pub in Oxford
Kings Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg

LEGOLAND!!!!!

Entrance to Legoland Germany
Gunzburg, Germany

Lego Lunch!
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

GAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! LEGOS! Everywhere! That’s pretty much how my brain was during our whole visit. I was geeking out like crazy and it was so much fun! They made some truly amazing things out of Legos and the rides were fun too! We even got to watch them making Legos, albeit souvenir Legos and not actual bricks for sale.

Flying Ninjago Ride
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

Joe and Jason riding Hero Factory
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

The coolest ride was a flying ride. Your seat came with wings you could control, Icarus style, and the 9 seats flew together in a large ellipse. If you flapped your wings in the right way you could spin upside down. The guy in front of me was spinning around like crazy, but I opted to remain level-headed.

Look! It's Venice!
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

Karl Benz seems to have crashed his 1886 Benz Patent Motor Car
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

The worst ride was this this called Hero Factory and you sit in these giant robot arms that twist you around like they do to component parts in a factory. Jason and Joe loved it and rode it 3 times. Once was enough to completely throw off my equilibrium and make me wobbly-stomached the rest of the day. It was at this point that I became official ride photographer; I stood to the side with all the other moms, waving and snapping pictures as the boys went by.

Darth Maul attacks with the force
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

Making Legos in the factory
Legoland, Gunzburg, Germany

My favorite part of the day was the Lego Factory shop. All around the store were bins of Legos sorted by shape and color; they were sold by the kilogram. I went a little crazy with the scooping, but it was great! And now, I can build a ridiculous house boat for my mini-figures.

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Visiting Legoland Germany
Check out the REAL Venice
Check out the REAL Benz Motor Car

Yes that is a clown riding a house boat. 

It's All About the Cars

Outside the BMW Museum
Munich, Germany

Hey everyone, it’s Joe here with another guest post. My brother Jason recently came out for a couple weeks and we did some tours of the BMW and Mercedes museums. Needless to say, Kelly wasn’t super excited about these events so I’m going to fill you in. We started off by visiting the BMW headquarters and museum in Munich. It was full of tons of gorgeous BMWs and Rolls-Royces (they are owned by the same company).

Airplane Engine
BMW Museum
Munich, Germany

They also have some awesome exhibits that display how their various models changed throughout the years and showed off their fancy new i8 prototype. Some have changed significantly since they originally built airplane engines… My favorite was definitely the 1956 BMW 507 but I will gladly take any car in the place and since BMW knows this they have a dealership with a test track right next door. We wandered over there and sat in some very expensive cars which was awesome. Jason even found 20 Euros but unfortunately that wasn’t enough to drive home in anything. :(

BMW 1956 507
BMW Museum
Munich, Germany

The Only Picture from the BMW Factory
Regensburg, Germany

A few days later we went on a tour of the BMW factory just outside of Regensburg and Jason got to see where his car was born. It was like being in an episode of How It’s Made! It was so cool to go behind the scenes and watch these giant machines toss around cars like they were nothing. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed so you will just have to visualize it in your head. We walked through the entire process of building a car from stamping out pieces from aluminum sheets to painting and installing the entire custom interior. Their factory produces about a car a minute and because of the cornucopia of configurations they typically only create 2 identical cars per year. That’s a lot of customization! Also while we were there our tour guide decided to fill us all in on what BMW stands for (apparently it’s not common knowledge). For those of you who don’t know it stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke in German but for some reason our guide translated it to Bavarian Engine Plant in English explaining that it was actually BEP in English. For the life of me I can’t figure out why she didn’t just translate it to Bavarian Motor Works which would keep the BMW acronym intact. It makes no sense!! Anyway, after our tour they gave us a bunch of brochures for building our very own BMW and even let us take some pictures with a few of the finished products.

1886 Benz Patent Motor Car
Mercedes Museum
Stuttgart, Germany

Our last stop on the cars of Germany tour was the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart. This museum had a very different focus than the BMW museum. The BMW museum focused on showcasing their cars and filled the rooms with as many as possible. Mercedes was more centered on providing a timeline of the development of the automobile and displayed cars that represented certain parts of their history. They also provided you with information about the world during various periods so you understood what was happening as Mercedes was producing cars. BMW also had a room with that went into their detailed history but it really wasn’t their main focus. The Mercedes museum started in the obvious spot with the invention of the automobile “by” Karl Benz. The reason for the quotes is that Karl Benz is remembered as the creator of the automobile based on a technicality in my mind. Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach actually created the first internal combustion engine small enough to power a car and they retrofitted it into a carriage. Benz is more remembered because he built a vehicle around the engine (rather than adding one to an existing carriage design) and filed a patent for his creation.

1935 Mercedes Benz 500K Special Roadster
Mercedes Benz Museum
Stuttgart, Germany

It’s always amazing to find out some common knowledge isn’t so common. Throughout the rest of the museum Mercedes showed off all of the types of vehicles that they make from luxury cars to buses to the popemobile and even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. All in all, we enjoyed exploring both museums but I would still pick a BMW over a Mercedes.

1980 Mercedes Benz 230G Popemobile for Pope John Paul II
Mercedes Muesum
Stuttgart, Germany

Useful Links!
Pictures from BMW in Munich
Pictures from Mercedes in Stuttgart
Mercedes Museum Visitor Information
BMW Welt (World) in Munich Visitor Information
BMW Plant in Regensburg Visitor Information