Day 6 22/09/22
So the Audi made it back to its birthplace today! We had a nice day looking around the museum and the dealership. The exhibits were great and on the whole staff were friendly. We were met with hostility by one staff member which was a shame. We didn't let this deter our day however.
After going to the Audi museum we visited family living near Kronach which was great.
Day 7 23/09/22
Today we went to visit Colditz castle which is steeped in history and was well worth a visit. We went on a guided tour and learnt a lot about the castle history and its use as a prisoner of war camp during the second world war as well as the various escape attempts. After this we drove onto our hotel and went to explore the city and had a lovely meal.
Tomorrow we'll visit our last car museum on this trip - Volkswagen at Wolfsburg.
Day 8 24/09/22
So today we visited Volkswagen at Wolfsburg and visited both museums. The site is the biggest by far and we got to see all the new and classic vehicles from all brands that Volkswagen owns including Audi, Skoda, Seat and Bugatti. There was also a car show that was on in the grounds which had various movie car replicas such as Kitt and the Back to the future Delorean. The site is incredible and we got to see the glass towers used for storing new cars.
Tomorrow we're going to pay our respects at Mohne and Arnhem.
Day 9 25/09/22
Today we had a lot of driving to do. 7 hours to be exact (not that we knew that at the time!). Our first stop was the Mohne Dam where in 1943 the RAF dropped the bouncing bomb that destroyed the Dam and killing 1300 people. Also known as the Dam Busters. After we had paid our respects there we went on to Arnhem in the Netherlands to visit the bridge that crosses the Rhine River, visit the museum and the war cemetery. The mission to take Arnhem bridge led to a massacre of British and Polish forces.
After we paid our respects he headed on to our over night stop and best hotel of the trip. The famous SS Rotterdam, a former ocean liner/cruise ship converted into a Floatel. It was late when we arrived so we will explore the ship properly tomorrow.
Day 10 26/09/22
So here it is, the final day of the trip abroad!
As such it was more of a lazy day, where we went on the tour of the SS Rotterdam and saw the Bridge, engine room and other spaces which have been lovingly preserved or refurbished. The ship was stunning and has kept her 1950s charm. After the tours we had coffee and cake in the lido restaurant then headed for the hook of Holland where we were getting the ferry at 10pm.
As we had time to kill we went to the beach and walked along the beach front before heading to the ferry early. Once on the ferry we got dinner onboard and then went to bed as we knew we had an early start in the morning.
Day 11 27/09/22
So we disembarked from.the ship at 6:40am and drove the 3 hours home stopping along the way at Cambridge services for breakfast.
Conclusion
All in all we had a fantastic trip and made memories which will last a life time. I feel fortunate I've been able to tick this trip off my bucket list and take the Audi back to Germany for its 20th year.