Eurovelo 6: Ingolstadt

I must admit that I just stayed in Ingolstadt because the lady in the tourist information office was so nice. She found me cheap accomodation, showed me the laundromats and told me about internet cafes. So I stayed - I didn't regret it! After washing all my clothes for the first time in 3,5 weeks (biker clothes don't stink as much as hiker clothes) I started an extensive sightseeing tour.

Penny farthing at Audi

First stop was the AUDI factory and museum. I showed up at exactly 9 am when they open and was the first visitor of the day. Therefore I even got a private tour - there was just no other visitor around. My tour guide was a student in Ingolstadt and I asked him a hundred questions - me, who doesn't like cars at all. And I really impressed him by knowing Michelle Mouton (she is one of the few female rally drivers and me as feminist knew her of course). They even exhibit old bicycles as Audi started off as a bike manufacturer and I could show off with me knowledge about bike history (thank you Leo, that's just because of you!). After the tour I ran constantly into my tour guide again and got another private tour, just because he seemed to like me and now I know everything about AUDI marketing strategy. Did you know that an AUDI TT sports car is considered a "girlie car" in the US, while here it is something for managers in midlife crisis? Well, I spent 4 hours in the car museum having a fantastic time but I still can't believe that cars are so interesting!

Schloss Neuburg

And then I discovered that Ingolstadt has the biggest World War I museum in Germany, so I had to see that, too - and that was the next 3 hours. The exhibition was huge - and very interesting, but also rather depressing. I had to leave at some point because Ingolstadt staged a marathon race at that day and I had to get out before they closed off all the streets. So big surprise: Ingolstadt, that had sounded so boring in my guide book, was one of the most interesting stops so far.