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http://live.pirillo.com/ – While in Frankfurt recently, we had an amazing time. The food was great, the people were friendly, and the city was beautiful. However, Ponzi and I neither one speak a lick of German.

We managed to get around by using hand gestures, pointing, smiling a lot, and saying “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” often. I am a coffee fanatic, and there is ONE thing I must have in my coffee… real, heavy cream. When I would ask for it in Germany, they kept bringing me milk or half and half. So, off to Conrad’s we went. This store is kind of like a Best Buy meets Radio Shack. The prices weren’t bad, I suppose. I picked up a handy little Franklin Language Translator. I was able to type in a word or phrase, and instantly translate it into German. Of course, my pronunciation still left a lot to be desired. But overall, it helped Ponzi and I communicate a bit better during our stay.

Even though the word Internet is apparently pronounced the same in every single language I tried… for the most part, this little device works really well.

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Franklin Language Translator

We didn’t make it far beyond Frankfurt on this trip to Europe. To tell you the truth, I’m not all that disappointed (despite several people telling me that Bankfurt isn’t all that exciting). Then again, I’m really not much of a tourist – even when I do have the opportunity to see one place or another.

Saying “danke schoen” instead of “thank you” is still involuntary.

I’m in the process of uploading a few Frankfurt photos. I also took some of our more personal moments and spliced them together in a short video clip (though I don’t necessarily recommend that you watch the entire ten minutes):

While GM helped with travel and accomodations, most of these particular (personal) activities were our own.

Frankfurt Travel: Video and Photos

Informal though these may be, I thought it was important to share my thoughts not long after staying at two separate hotels in Frankfurt, Germany.

First, the Frankfurt Westin (formerly the Arabella Sheraton):

• Our Bathtub had mold spot in it (Ponzi says it was rather large, but she’s a total mold freak).
• The shower was inside the bathtub, but there wasn’t a full shower door or curtain – only a glass partition that covered half of the tub’s length (which caused water to spray onto the bathroom floor). It was poor engineering, further exacerbated with the shower being a handheld nozzle.
• The toilet was good, but its “button” wasn’t foolproof.
• The Internet connection was ample, but definitely dogged in the evening hours when more people were online. Moreover, we couldn’t switch to a second computer as we were not given some kind of username / password.
• The laundry service messed up and requested that Ponzi help go through a few packages in question to verify that we were not given someone else’s clothes. She was mortified, apparently.
• The thermostat had one temperature: cool.
• The breakfast bar was pretty extensive, although some of the hot plates needed to be refreshed more frequently.
• The bed was overly stiff, and the pillows were without substance.
• The television had few native English channels, but this is par for the course in a foreign country. Moreover, the television cabinet doors did not fully collapse so that BOTH sides of the bed could view the screen without occlusion.
• The view was of a back alleyway – nothing to write home about.
• We had to call room service one evening after being gone most of the afternoon (so that they could make up our room).
• The Location was quite convenient for shopping and walks to museums.
• It was a large-ish room with ample space.

Second, the Frankfurt Hilton:

• There’s a general snack bar open during common meal / after hours on the 11th floor, which proved to be quite convenient on our way in or out of the hotel.
• Internet access was phenomenal. Took me no time at all to upload videos to YouTube. It was also seamless to switch between my computer and Ponzi’s when necessary (as they give you access to WiFi so long as you pay for a wired connection).
• Toilet and shower controls were very well engineered – and I never thought I’d ever bother to point that out.
• The view was amazing from our room.
• Every day, the housekeeper seemed to give us something new – including a nice little tin with dark chocolate coins from around the world. Nice touch.
• Room service wasn’t bad, but we had to laugh when they brought us fried mozzarella sticks when we ordered dim sum from the menu.
• It’s close to shopping and food markets.
• The bed was overly firm, and the pillows were undersized.

I’d definitely choose the Hilton over the Westin in Frankfurt.

Frankfurt Hotel Reviews

http://live.pirillo.com – here’s a front row seat to GM’s product announcements at IAA 2007 in Frankfurt, Germany. If you look real close, you can see a few industry superstars sitting in the audience (when I turn the camera away from the stage to point it at Ponzi for a moment).

In essence, the environmental strategy of General Motors Europe is to reduce CO2 emissions in the short term and introduce new propulsion technologies in the long term. The goal is to offer customers vehicles that can operate on many different energy sources. “The multi-tiered approach includes accelerating the development of electrically powered vehicles, stepping up efforts to replace fossil fuels and increasing the efficiency of gasoline and diesel engines,” explains Carl-Peter Forster, GME President. GM Europe will invest 700 million euros in new engines and transmissions in the next five years alone, with the first models already at the IAA.

Carl-Peter Forster continues: “Opel’s surprise for this year’s IAA also symbolizes the versatility of our extensive environmental initiative. A concept car which combines electric propulsion and a turbo diesel engine in a way that is fundamentally different to previous hybrid propulsion designs.”

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

GM IAA Announcements

http://live.pirillo.com – We live-streamed the unveiling of GM’s newest electric car concept fully at a substantially lower bitrate, but here’s the Segway segment from Ponzi’s perspective. Again, our position was not fully ideal – but at least we were able to capture the energy.

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

How to Fit a Segway into a Car

http://live.pirillo.com – Ponzi and I had a rare opportunity to learn more about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with one of the automobile industry’s leading minds, Dr. Lars Peter Thiesen.

The GM HydroGen4 is the European version of the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell. In fall 2007, the first of these fuel cell cars — a global fleet of more than 100 vehicles is planned — will be on the roads in the USA.

The HydroGen4′s fuel cell stack consists of 440 series-connected cells. The entire system produces an electrical output of up to 93 kW. With help from a 73 kW/100 hp synchronous electric motor, acceleration from zero to 100 km/h takes around 12 seconds. The front-wheel drive vehicle’s top speed is around 160 km/h.

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Hydrogen Car Information Interview

http://live.pirillo.com – You’ve likely already watched my live interview with Bob at http://youtube.com/watch?v=-ysnr-V2dRg (in which I was quite tongue-tied). This new recording was from an exclusive roundtable Q&A session with a few fellow bloggers.

Bob begins with his reasons for starting a blog…

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Bob Lutz, GM Blogger Roundtable

http://live.pirillo.com – Ponzi and I are still in Frankfurt, and we’d love to meet our virtual friends in real life!

I may need help with translating this all-call to German, BTW. :)

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Germany Blogger/Youtube Meetup

http://live.pirillo.com – Bob Lutz is an industry legend, and I was more than a little tongue-tied when given the opportunity to sit down with him for a few minutes at the unveiling of GM’s new electric concept car in Frankfurt, Germany.

Can you believe he’s a blogger, too!?

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Bob Lutz Interview

http://live.pirillo.com – The audio / video quality is questionable, but we were doing something that nobody else has done before: streaming live from GM’s super private test track in Dudenhofen, Germany.

My wife and I were invited to take a Saturn Astra out for a test drive. This car is not yet available in the United States – or, at least, not at the time of this live recording. The car handles very nicely, according to Ponzi.

40,000 kilometers are clocked every day on this track – and now the Pirillos have left their tire marks on there as well. Ponzi completes the perfect circle every couple of minutes, as the road is 5km around and she’s traveling at a speed of 200kmph (~128mph). She did take the higher lane at one point, which is steeped at 37 degrees – but you can only get in that lane if you’re traveling over 200kmph.

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Saturn Astra Test Drive

http://live.pirillo.com – My wife and I were invited to take a Saturn Astra out for a test drive. This car is not yet available in the United States – or, at least, not at the time of this live recording. The car handles very nicely, according to Ponzi. We took it around GM’s super private test track in Dudenhofen, Germany.

40,000 kilometers are clocked every day on this track – and now the Pirillos have left their tire marks on there as well. Ponzi completes the perfect circle every couple of minutes, as the road is 5km around and she’s traveling at a speed of 200kmph (~128mph). She did take the higher lane at one point, which is steeped at 37 degrees – but you can only get in that lane if you’re traveling over 200kmph.

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Hot Women Drive Fast Cars

http://live.pirillo.com – Ponzi and I were en route to Dudenhofen, Germany – where we test drove a TBR Saturn Astra on GM’s private test track.

This is the German Autobahn – and we’re using a Vodafone 3G connection to connect with our audience live from it! I had issues with the chat app at first, but everything eventually worked seamlessly. Sadly, we didn’t get to drive at ludicrous speed.

NOTE: General Motors helped cover travel expenses for our trip to Germany. Without their direct support, this remote coverage would not have been possible. They allowed us to explore and cover as much as we possibly could, not just GM’s product line.

Infobahn on the Autobahn

We arrived at the Frankfurt Hilton around noon, feeling somewhat lost and more than a little tired. I puttered around the room for a little while before deciding to crash. Well, my body decided that for me.

I’ve never been to Europe before – I’ve never been pushed nine hours into the future, either. It’s about 4AM in Frankfurt at the present moment, which is roughly 7PM in Seattle. That’s quite a difference. If this isn’t jet lag, I don’t know what is.

I wish we could have explored the general area this afternoon. It’s going to be pretty busy over the next couple of days. There are so many sights and sounds to experience; I’m truly happy to be here.

Ponzi and I may have to float to another city when the IAA officially begins, by the way – and your suggestions are welcome.

JetLagged!

Ponzi and I are heading to Frankfurt, Germany in another week or so – from September 8th through the 17th, for a reason I can’t yet disclose. We have a few items on our itinerary, although I don’t have times in hand right now.

Neither of us have been to Europe before, so I sent a personal note to Nicole Simon (one of the only bloggers I know in Germany). She sent a few helpful tips in response, and I have gained permission to repost them here – including the possibility of doing some kind of impromptu German / European blogger meetup thing:

I have put together below some information if you like them. They are FYI as suggestions, nothing more. If you need any kind of information found out, just ping me so I can get you the English link for that.

And yes, I am a Flyertalk nuts and spend way to much time there to not even have to think about this to type this down … This is assuming as if you would know nothing, but in fact I do believe that many of this might be already know to you, this is a just in case.

If you have not yet booked flights, do NOT go through London. Fly directly into Fra, there are several options for that. Airport to town is a breeze. Both of you are smaller in size than I am but still, if you are not flying biz class, check first which airline you want to have and then check the flights with seatguru.com to allow for the biggest / widest / best seats possible. It will make an easier trip. I personally prefer this to be a very long flight when I fly west coast because it does not give me the hassle of changing and deal with immigration.

Hint: Seatguru does have a section called compare international economy where you can see the width and pitch. If you have any kind of status, try to build around that. If somebody else is paying, get them to book on your favorite alliance to you can collect nice miles from this. Hint: Some airlines allow for premier economy, a bit more costly, usually full miles, but nicer flying. It really makes a difference.

Decide first on the flights, check them through matrix.itasoftware.com for best option and plane and then call ASAP the call center to make sure of your seats, take a couple seat at the side, not the long row.

I hope someone is paying for your hotel, otherwise that could be a bitch. Prepare for the fact that most Americans complain about the so called tiny rooms in Europe. I always feel in the cheapest room in the US to be so much room. ;) If you do not have a hotel use http://hrs.de – has the biggest database. If you got hotel points, this might be a good time to use them.

Germany has perfect public transportation by train and also usually to get around town if you stay strategically intelligent. You will not have an easy time driving around if you are on your own or in town. Then: Bahn.de is German rail and while it may not be the übercheapest version to travel, it is one of the most comfortable ones. Most big towns have the main central station exactly there: absolute center, walking distance and everything.

This is their English site: http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml

Entering information allows you also to get an idea about distances as you are usually NOT faster by car, even worse through traffic and everything. Frankfurt especially during fair etc is like deepest nightmare. Take the train.

Then, if you have nothing planned and after all it is your first trip to Europe, you could go back through Paris. Fra Paris is only a 5 horu train drive from Frankfurt and a 4 hour one from cologne. Cologne to Fra I think is 1.5 hours and I would say that would be one of the nicest areas to go to as a tourist and get the “oh my god this is old!” feeling (and you get of directly in town) as cologne has the Kölner Dom: http://flickr.com/search/?q=k%C3%B6lner%20dom&w=all – http://www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=3179&L=1

It will make a beautiful day trip, you can stroll around cologne a bit and then for example take the train from here to Paris, have a short stop there and then go back to the states. (You will be able to leave your luggage at the station, they have lockers for this.) You could fly, but you will need more time getting from and to the airport! And the direct train to Paris goes from Cologne.

Quite helpful, although neither Ponzi nor I speak a word of German. Not sure we’re going to be all that comfortable on a public transportation system without a translator nearby. Nicole also suggested something that we’re totally into:

If you LIKE it should be no problem at all to have a “Chris and Ponzi are in town” meeting, That should also be possible on a kind of shorter announcement level.

A meetup would be absolutely great! Just make sure to announce that early enough for others to be able to fly in from other countries. While Frankfurt is ugly for visiting, it would make sense to have the meetup somewhere there because it is easiest to get into town for that; by flight as well as by train. It should be easier on you as well, because if you do not know yet where you are going to be, at least you know when you are in Frankfurt.

You should decide on a tool for getting information back on how many plan to attend (upcoming would make sense) and ask for help of a local place, I can spin that too as well to get them to help. I would include somehow, just in case, that this is not hosted by you but attended by you in the sense of everybody pays for themselves.

You could go for the name of a geek dinner if you feel like it and if Ponzi would like to see more females we could go for a Girl Geek Dinner meaning males are only allowed to attend when they are accompanied by a women. ;o))

I am starting the GGD in Germany officially at the Expo, but yours would also make a great opportunity to start even in Frankfurt – if Ponzi feels up for this kind of spotlight. :) Anything is fine, and I assume as soon as you post about your trip they will run you down anyhow with suggestions ;)))

How can we go about finding a spot to meet at that is flexible enough to let quite a few invade and split bills? Does it make sense to take some suggestions and then start an Upcoming.org page for it?

Frankfurt, Germany – European Blogger Meetup?