1951.4 km later (1,212.5 Miles) - Roadtrip through Neuss, lapped Nürburgring, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Black Forest, Freiburg, Bodensee/Friedrichshafen, and back to München

This German Road trip was definitely amazing. I took a rental car up to Neuss to stay at another IEP students place. I left, but because of traffic and a MAJOR accident, I didn't get to his house until 2am Saturday morning. On a two lane freeway/highway, there was a semi-truck/LKV that caught fire; there was no part of the truck that was not in flames, or on fire itself. The terrifying thing was, because it shut down both lanes, the Emergency response was gridlocked at a stand still 2 km from the event. There was absolutely no place for traffic to pull over.

I get to Neuss and quickly fall asleep. My phone had died and due to poor planning on my part, I was unable to organize the Ring Taxi. John and I left Neuss at 10am and ended up at the Nürburgring around 11:30am. We checked into Rent4Ring and took care of the paperwork for a half-day rental. I opted for the 130 hp Suzuki Swift Stage 2 rental which was included race oriented tires, brakes and suspension, bucket seats and rollcage. It was perfectly underpowered for a Nürburgring beginner.6 Laps, and gas were included in the cost.

Nürburgring
Frist Lap:
It was a good warm up lap, testing the tires and warming the brakes through cautious entry in corners and then more aggressive inputs when there was a clear line of sight for the track ahead. This was a learning process to try to remember corners for the following laps. I don't need to say it, but this track was amazing.

Second/Third Lap:
I remembered key corners of concern, but it is still impossible to know the proper driving lines. That comes with hundreds of hours and laps on the Nürburgring, I wasn't going to accomplish this in that time. But I remembered many of the right and lefts after each corner. The switching camber/banking in turns was the most difficult to tackle. It started to drizzle, but the Toyo R888 still felt fine and held good traction when pushing it hard. I was following a Porsche that finally signalled me to pass. John and I both joked around about being faster than a Porsche, but I totally understand the mindset of trying not to damage something so expensive, and enjoying the track for what it was. The Suzuki was underpowered which made it much easier to drive flatout and fast with headroom to safely manage emergency situations... I would be extra cautious in larger, heavier, more powerful vehicles. ....I was then passed by an Opel Corsa.

We took a break and another friend had met up with us at the Nürburgring after tending to some business in Köln. We sat and talked for a while, then headed into a Diner to eat and chat some more. It started to downpour, I was going to do my last 3 laps in the worst conditions outside snow on one of the worlds most famous racetracks.

Fourth Lap:
The ground was wet, but the R888 held up quite well! Some off camber corners I could feel the grip starting to surrender. There were a couple of accidents, one at Wehrseifen which is a hard right followed by a banked left before the second blind track entrance (there are posted speedlimits for public days for a reason). Then also another at Brünnchen which is a downhill right sweeper followed by an uphill right. There were a couple cautions this lap, so it was relatively nerveracking because the accident would be behind a blind corner.

Fifth Lap:
It is absolute DOWN-POUR. It is raining hard, the windows are fogging up, the deforst and wiper blades are on full blast. The tires were not happy at all. Squeeling tires are happy tires, these went silent. I attacked the course with caution. It was interesting seeing what driving lines other cars took, but i kept it wide and slow, trying to keep the shift and steering inputs smooth to avoid sudden under/oversteer. Right at the start, I was following a 7 series. It was accelerating very fast in the straights but I caught up in corners. Right hand curve into Hatzenbach and the 7er loses control. He is rotating toward the barrier and I follow the tail, passing on the left. With luck he managed not to hit the barrier. There were 4 moments during this lap where I thought I was going to snuff it. Aremberg was tretcherous, I entered too hot and got good amount of wheel lockup and understeer before the right hander. This was one of the panic moments where left foot braking really saved the situation. It was just enough to get the car to rotate pointing into the corner meanwhile shedding some speed keeping me out of the sandtrap. Nerves shaken, I turn back the dial a bit. The rest of the track surely will not be this forgiving. I enter Adenauer Forst, my favorite corner as it was the toughest for me to negotiate every single lap. Uphill and sharp left followed by a sharp right downhill. The camber changes in this transition was enough to make it a handful at the steering wheel. I would understeer in and oversteer out, even when taking it relatively easy with the rainfall. This lap was definitely riding on nerves and fear. It was exillerating and humbling to imagine professional drivers negotiate this track under these conditions for so long during the 24hour Rennen just a month ago. I have developed even MORE respect for these drivers, my boss, and this race track.

Sixth Lap:
The last lap was just a nice easy cool down lap. The rain subsided, it was actually clearing up, but the track was still very wet. I took it easy, savoring the last drive at the "Green Hell". It is quite a great experience, and I wish I had more time, or my own car to thrash on The Ring. I had my fair share of scary moments, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The track commands respect, but if you go into it with the intention of experiencing the track with any shred of common sense, you will be fine. Knowing your boundries, and trying not to do more than you are capable of handling is important; again, I'm glad I chose an underpowered (but well set up) car.

Stuttgart
We returned the rental track-car and we were off on our small German roadtrip. We set in a course for Stuttgart and encountered extreme rainfall. In some areas we were only going 60km/h in unrestricted zones because of the level of water on the ground and low visability. We ended up in Stuttgart an hour and half behind schedule so we stopped in and took a walk downtown. There was a Sommerfest going on, a lot of live music, food, wine, and other treats. We went to a restaurant called Ochs'n Willi and had some of the Schwäbisch Fare. I had Maultasche Suppe (think of a ravioli, but meat stuffed, almost like a sausage, but not super slaty) and Gaisburger Marsch (another soup with beef, potatoes, onion and noodles). It was delicious. Got some Ice Cream, enjoyed the live music and headed out to Karlsruhe just north of the Black Forest. I pulled into a rest stop and slept for the night.

Black Forest
From Karlsruhe we headed toward Freiburg. We avoided highways and primarily took rural roads 462 to 294 cutting straight through the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). There passed through so many quaint picture-esque villiages and valleys. Because it had rained, there were great mists rising out of the forest creating a more mystical atmosphere. It was a very special type of nature, with the towns dotting the path through the hillsides and woods. Small houses built in scattered formation, no fast food places, barely any gas stations, a small Rathaus and a central church...simple living that gave the whole area a timeless feel. I wasn't able to take many pictures as there were very few places to pull off for a view. We had a lot of ground to cover and it was just one amazing sight after another. It made me wish that I had a motorcycle on a sunny day to just get lost and rediscover the Black Forest. After two hours we arrived in Freiburg and took a quick stop. We then headed out of the Black Forest and toward the Bodensee.

Bodensee/Friedrichshafen
The Bodensee (aka Lake Copnstance), is the third largest fresh water lake in Europe. It is bordered by Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We took route 31 all the way from Freiburg toward Friedrichshafen. At the lake's edge we stopped and took in the view. It was beautiful although the weather has been cloudy the entire day. The countryside has been absolutely LUSH green with orchards and vineyards appearing throughout the trip. The south of Germany is absolutely beautiful. There are only so many things to see when on a train, but being able to freely take roads, get lost in a countryside and view a multitude of magnificent views at different vantage points/elevations was well worth the rental cost.

Lindau/München
We follow route 31 all the way down to Lindau from Friedrichshafen and took the A96 straight back to Munich. The south has a large sky, you could see great distances in all directions; off in the distance, areas rainfall, others sun shine. There were wind turbine topped hills that had forming clouds, shrowding the silent blades in a partial fog. There were many large bridges traversing valleys and many more farms and villiages in the countryside. I had been driving for 9 hours, so I decided to pull off and take a nap. Then another hour into Munich. Finally arrived, another epic adventure to add toward the end of this chapter.

The weeks are flying by. This past weekend, two other IEP students visited Munich and wanted to see a couple things before wrapping up their year abroad. We did all the inner city stuff like normal, then also went to the Deutsches Museum. I could easily get lost in there and I'd be ok with that. It showcased all different levels of technology and science. It also had an assortment of antique musical instruments and a planetarium. Total (for student) it was only 3€, additional 2€ for the 25 minute planitarium show. Worth it in every sense.

There was a Sommerfest im Olympiapark which was neat. It was like a small carnival with booths to buy stuff from, some rides here and there. Overall great atmosphere for the warm weather. There was a ferris wheel and other cool games for prizes.

Sunday I went once more to the Zugspitze as it was their first times. It was a bit cloudy but the view was still fantastic. Overall decent weather this whole weekend.

I look forward to this coming weekend. There is a chance I'll be doing the RingTaxi, but also I have booked a prepped Suzuki Swift with Rollcage, race tires, race brakes, and bucket seats. I'll be doing 6 laps of my own at the worlds most famous race track.

so excited!

Today I was reminded about the times i'd do my own alignments. Systematically making small changes, and watching how it affects all other components. Today, I took my time corner balancing a car after coilover install. It was therapeutic 
and made me wish I had scales back home to do it to my own car.




shameless plug for my car waiting for me stateside; if anyone is interested in what I did to it: Flickr of my e30 BMW

Narrowing down choices, searching for a third university

This past weekend was a lot of fun. I went to Stuttgart and explored the city and watched the Solitude Revival - Old Timer Rallye and Bosch Boxburg Classic. I got to see many awesome places in Stuttgart and best of all, many awesome BMW's and other vintage/classic cars.

I've been doing more research on universities. I want to apply to at least three in Germany. I cannot assume that TU-Munich is a gauranteed opportunity. However based on the email response I got from the Office of Mechanical Engineering, the application process is fairly straight forward. I just have to do my best this year and bring up my GPA.

Another university (a Technische Hochschule) I have been looking into deeply is RWTH Aachen which is also VERY well known in research/development. I was looking on topuniversities.com for engineering schools which has a list of the top ~300 schools worldwide.

Technische Universität München is ranked 36th (and is the first entry for German universities)

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen comes in at 47th  (second in Germany)

Technische Universität Braunschweig, ranked 190th. (hmm....)

I'm truly excited to get this application process under way. I have to start concentrating on the Stipendium/scholarship/financial aid opportunities, due in the Fall, and slowly collect all I need for these University applications due next Spring. While wrapping the last year of my curriculum up in the States, I want to prepare for the Fundamantals of Engineering exam which would be beneficial if I have to take any entrance exams in Germany strengthen my chances. I have an appointment tomorrow with our department head at BMW to ask his opinion on Grad Schools, and possible future praktikum/Master thesis opportunities with the company, should I find myself back in Germany. I hope it goes well.

The real countdown begins...

Monday I was able to single handedly track and obtain the part held at a DHL warehouse not far from München; we've been waiting for this part since early last week. I delivered it as needed and helped out (hands on) with the removal of some parts, and helped with the preperation of the car till late Tuesday. Monday I also had coffee with an important contact and friend of the IEP. He gave me excellent advice regarding application for Masters studies and some people to talk to to gain some insight into their experience. We also talked a lot about travels and how fascinating it is to see actual tangible history; something a lot of the U.S. lacks. He made a couple great recommendations of places to see in Italy. I probably won't have very much Gleitzeit to use for small excursions to other countries, before my time is up. But I will definitely make good on those recommendations when I return to Europe.

Yesterday I discovered something new. Based on personal experience, and having come from the United States, I have to say, it is IMPOSSIBLE to drive a right hand drive vehicle without a big smile on your face. I learned how to drive on a standard over 11 years ago (yup, i'm that old) and while I didn't stall, I got the same sensation of having to concentrate on everything I was doing with regards to shifting. The first time I wanted to shift, my right hand went straight into the door...and immediately remembered the shifter is on the left now. I knew the shift pattern was identical, because the transmission configuration is not dependant on which side the steering wheel is on. But in such a short time, I was not able to break the instinct of wanting to mirror the motion of normal shifting, since using left hand. Either way, I took it easy, and while I had to concentrate on what I was doing, the ear to ear smile on my face made it appear as though I just won the lottery.

Another student collegue and I had an appointement at TU Munich. We asked general questions about the masters program and what would be required for enrollment. We were advised to take it up with the Faculty for Mechanical Engineering to see if our Bachelors is adiquate as prerequisite to Masters Studies. I am also looking at other schools, particularly in Aachen because they have excellent research programs. While it is difficult to say which type of university would be better, I feel based on my past experience I fall more into a practical application of study than a lot of theory. I always worked with my hands, and liked to figure things out on something tangable. It's a lot to take into consideration, and I have been asking anyone and everyone, their opinions on the matter. This is also only possible if I qualify for some financial aid. But it's better to plan 6 months ahead, than to be lost at the starting line.

Everyone is posting about how little time they have left. Because I started my internship a month later, I'm here till September 2. Just DAYS before the new semester starts back at URI. I have mixed emotions about this deadline. It would be nice to go back and see my girlfriend and friends, work on my car, visit family...but I can't even begin to fathom the reverse culture shock. I am so comfortable here in Germany, everything falls into order, everything works that needs to. I am entering one of the hardest semesters in my academic career, taking on more course-credits than I have ever had in one semester. Normally I take summer classes to ease the workload during semesters since I had a daily commute to and from University which takes 3 hours. It's going to be very challenging.

DTM München 2011

DTM was a lot of fun, they had several one-on-one races with various types of cars, a historic race car demo, stunt motorcycling, drift event, and an F1 demonstration.

e46 BMW with a Toyota Supra motor (Drift Car)

Stressig

This week has been unbelievably hectic. It also passed by almost too quickly. There is a lot going on to prepare one of the cars and we have been waiting on a part from England. We were all wondering what happened, and I asked a colleague in England if he had any info. Come to find out, DHL refused delivery because of some complication with the address used. They needed a Lieferschein/new delivery note but we were never made aware. So the part just sits in their warehouse. The complication was that the address listed for FIZ cannot be used for delivery, and the central warehouse ON the FIZ campus......has a different address but is not actually located at said address. Oh dear...

Anyhow at least we know where the part is, and it might be easier to just pick it up as opposed to jumping through hoops to get this delivery note changed.

This weekend is DTM München! I missed out on the discounted tickets for BMW but might go anyway depending. Definitely going to be at the Paddocks. BMW just revealed their new 2012 M3 DTM. It's beautiful.

I just realized that I missed out on one of the IEP Essays. I have to write that quick and see if there's a chance it will still be accepted. The week with Amanda visiting and this busy week, I totally lost track of time. I can't believe I only have 7 weeks left.