The main reason I went on a trip to Europe was not because of a post-Covid-19 travel revenge. Actually, I wasn't even thinking on ever traveling to Europe. But since I had the opportunity (and funds) to do it, the main destination should be the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt that I heard about in social media. Since I started working in my old Audi 90 in Mexicali, I started to join Audi owners' groups on Facebook. In one of them, I saw one post from someone sharing pictures of the Audi Museum showing all of the Audi history and their most notable cars, including the machines that made Audi a super power of motor racing in the world. Since then, I wondered about what would it be to travel to Germany and see all of those beautiful cars live. And, in year 2024, I had my chance to make this dream come truth. 

It would be obvious to say that I had more than a blast in Europe, visiting multiple cities in different countries. I had multiple, exciting experiences, and a lot of fun. But when it was the turn to travel to Germany, as soon as I landed in Munich airport I had language barrier issues. In Amsterdam, for instance, most of the people there speak English, so I never had issues there when talking to people or asking for directions. But in Germany it was a bit more complicated. Luckily, on my way to Audi in Ingolstadt from the Munich airport, I met a guy. His name was (is) Ralph. He was arriving to Munich with his wife and heading to his home in Ingolstadt. He happened to be an Audi interior engineer. He was a fluent English speaker so I was able to communicate with him. While I was completely clueless on where to go to take the bus to Ingolstadt, he gave me the directions I needed. I remember I asked him "Good afternoon, is this the bus that goes to Ingolstadt?", he said "Yes". I said "Okay, I am heading to Audi Museum". He said "good, I live in Ingolstadt. I work for Audi". And then my eyes shined more than the sun on that cloudy, raining day of Germany. I was like "Really? That is awesome!". We kept talking, and then, while we were waiting for the bus, he offered to give me a ride from the Ingolstadt bus station to the Audi Museum, which I humbly accepted". The trip from the Munich airport to Ingolstadt takes about an hour. In the bus, I told Ralph I was coming from Mexico and that I am a big Audi fan, I am building an old Audi 90 Quattro with a 1.8 Turbo engine swap, and I showed him a few pictures that I had in my phone. He started seeing the pictures and he said "good job!". Right after that, I had a feeling that he started to trust me on my genuine interest in Audi. That was actually good since he was going to give me a ride in his car, and not everyone accepts to give a ride to a stranger coming from another country. So yeah, that was a very nice gesture, and when we finally made it to the Audi Museum facility, I thanked Ralph and told him "this is something I will never forget. I will never forget you". He just smiled and wished me good luck. This is without any doubts the best experience I had in my whole trip to Europe, and since then I remember it with joy. I was thinking, when there is a common interest and passion, people get along more easily and become friends, even when they belong to different countries or cultures. I think Ralph understood my passion to Audi enough so he made the decision to help me, when I was struggling to find my way to the museum. One day, I will return to Audi Museum, once they bring the actual F1 2026 car to the showroom so I can go and take some good photos. 

In regards to the museum, there is no waste of time when you are in here. The atmosphere is calm (it's not very crowded I should say). There are about 4 floors with cars displayed on each of them. And the main attraction, all of Audi's racing cars are displayed in some sort of giant elevator, so you can see them all coming up and going down, from every floor that you are. Amazing experience!  Then, I saw the myth in real life: The Audi 90 IMSA GTO race car. The same one that was raced in the US IMSA GTO championship by Hans J. Stuck, Walter Röhrl and Hurley Haywood. What you are seeing in the cover photo is me pretending to be seating inside the car giving thumbs up. For a second, I felt the dream of being a race car driver turned into reality, and that is what ultimately gives our lives a meaning. I came from very far, just to see this piece of automotive history in real life. And here I am. 

I hope everyone enjoy this gallery, and if you ever want to visit Audi Museum in Ingolstadt, Germany and need some directions and advice on how to get there, feel free to contact me through Instagram https://www.instagram.com/waterpumpers.