Date:         Wed, 8 May 1996 13:13:48 -0500 (CDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Sami Dakhlia <dakhlia@wuecona.wustl.edu>
Subject:      Hello, trip report, and bye

Hi there!

Just returned from a 2-week trip to Europe and thought I'd write a small
"VW" report. 

The trip included a visit to my grandparents in Germany, in a small
town (Dorf) halfway between Hannover and Goettingen. In the attic, I
found a few pictures of my grandfather's 1949 Type 2, a panel van he
had bought upon his return from a Ukrainian prison camp. He used it
for his new business as a middleman and distributor to grocery stores. 
Later, as business expanded, he switched over to larger trucks,
Hanomags in the late fifties, then Mercedes in the early seventies. My
Mom recalls the Sonntagsfahrten (Sunday road trips) in the VW
("Faw-Veh"), when they would just add folding chairs in the back for
additional passengers. 

Another find was an old "Blumenvase", which mein Opa probably first
used in his 60's Opel Rekord, then transfered to his '68 Mercedes. I,
too, remember Sunday road trips with him and the importance he gave to
having a few fresh flowers adorn the dash; he would pick some in the
morning while the Diesel was warming up, then replaced them in the
afternoon while others would take their post-picnic nap. Sunday road
trips usually took us to the nearby Harz Gebirge, a small range of
mountains split by the Iron Curtain, or to the Lueneburger Heide
(Blau, blau, blau blueht der Enzian...), a marshy region north of
Hannover. Both regions have pretty and uncommon flowers. 

I also spent a day in Goettingen, place of my old alma mater. Inevitably,
I had to stop at the VW dealer and saw a couple of new Westfalias, both
high-tops. It was after hours, so I could only see them from outside. Nice
and pricey, though: 60,000 DM, which is over $40,000.

Oh, and crewcabs, they got them out of the wazooh, and strangely
enough, they just didn't appeal to me: they are really "just" work
trucks, used by companies, usually construction companies. They just
don't have that pickup-truck culture in the Old World. (Wonder what
makes them so appealing in North America... perhaps a remnant of the
pioneer mentality, an evolution from the covered, horse-drawn, wagon?) 

Anyway, the trip was way too short. In terms of vanagon@lenti
withdrawal, it was really long, though, but I survived. :-) In fact,
since most withdrawal symptoms have been overcome, I'm reluctant to
resubscribe. It's been fun, but... :-( 

Don't forget Busses by the Arch at the end of this month. We'll be
there in our chartreuse '75 Westy.  If you plan on being there, have
questions or need a phone number in case you get lost or whatever,
just e-mail me at dakhlia@wuecona.wustl.edu. Hope to see you there.

Bye,

Sami