What's a Maker faire?

Who would be better to explain it but the creators themselves:

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement.

Now one should never underestimate the work and efforts of people who relentlessy pursue a goal but all heroism aside, the Make magazine was first published in 2005 and was followed by the first Maker faire exhibiting and inviting people to make stuff in 2006 in the San Franciso Bay Area.

The Do-it-yourself spirit has long existed before but the advances in technology not only made the creation of online communities easier it also put more tools than ever in the hands of everyday people. Printing 3D objects, using lasers and computer-aided-design just to name a few would simply not have been possible decades ago.

Some of these communities are also present on this years Hanover Maker Faire such as the R2-builder club. People devoting countless hours to build functional Star Wars robots:

Trip

Lunch

Before I present you with the typical lunch picture, bear with me on this.
When I was a teenager I spent half my summers in the South of France. Once the major motorway routes were completed driving south became a pretty boring exercise. Since we were far from the only ones driving south during the summer holidays the motorway restaurants and restareas were flooded with people and someimes you saw the low end of the human condition..

Now today was not so bad, but despite the standardized franchises of these restareas there are still those that do not seem to conform. Maybe I am getting too used to streamlined shopping experiences but this one was a bit of a mess organization wise. There are separate gas station and restaurant places despite being in the same building and finding the right parking area was a bit of a challenge too. Judging from all the cars and trucks parking next to the Do not park here sign I was not the only one.

However inside it was again the aforementioned Sanifair toilet which thankfully now also accepts Contactless Visa payments. For US-readers who have not been to Europe beware that you most lilkely have to pay for bathroom access in Europe. Traditionally you have the cleaning person sitting at the entrance with a small tray to pay on motorways you probably run into Sanifair or similar franchise-operated restrooms. These will usually give you a coupon to use at the nearby restaurant or shop.

I am not sure why i devoted so much space to discussing a mere 40 min stop at a random rest area but I probably just spent too much time in the car. Driving alone can do that to you :p.
()

Eating a Schnitzel in Germany is a bit of a clichée but apparently one founded in reality.

After the small stint at the sufficiently discussed rest area, it was back on the road.

Mad Paul - Fury Road

Let me get this out of the way, I love trucks in all shapes and forms, I had them as a kid as small models, in metal , in plastic, in Lego (ok those I still own today) and I even had a book about a truck driver, driving his truck alone, on the road, only stopping for a cold beer and a Schnitzel.

But dear l*rd, did I get to despise them today. John Oliver has said that for Americans driving on the German Autobahn is as close as you could get to experiencing Max Max: Fury Road. Abroad Germany is known for its Car-fetish, not talking about the ongoing Diesel scandal, but some of the German motorways have not speed-limit. Yes you heard right, NO limit, go as fast as you like, or can.

Today that was not fast at all, not because of all the construction work, that has everybody slowed down to a reasonable speed. Well most people, some try to squeeze themselves past on the left lane despite their car being too wide. Yes you too Golf, Ford Focus, Hyundai i30 and you Opel Astra.

That was bearable, sometimes even an almost welcome reprieve from speed, to slow down and enjoy the view of handsome orange-clad man at work.

No that was not infuriating at all. What was, were the three lanes with no speed limit, and you could only go 110 km/h on the left most. Why? I had the suspicion that these slowdowns only occured when trucks tried to pass each other using the middle lane. As a scientist I know about the importance of a unbiased source of information and valid sample size. Anyhow I managed to crawl my way closer and closer to Hannover, located in the Bundesland of Lower Saxony.

There I saw the mandatory poster greeting me upon entering.

Always a good idea

Indeed

Not only did they limit the maximum speed to 130 like in Luxembourg but also did they forbid trucks to pass other vehicles. These limitations were constantly repeat on overhead panels and curiously enough they worked.

Driving 130 km/h on the middle road became a breeze.

Halleluyah.

Two things come to mind:

• First, speed limits do work to improve traffic flow.
• Don't drive long distances alone as you have way too much time on your hand to rage about traffic ;)

Finally I arrived in Hannover and I tried to get to my Hotel, unfortunately the blocked 2 of the 5 roads to get to it so I had to cruise around to find a mousehole to sneak through.

Don't forget to get your "Umwelt-plakette" when you enter Hannover-center.

Later at check-in the receptionist told me that even she had trouble this morning to come to work.

The rooms as nice, and the underground parking spots are wide enough, so after cleaning up I walked around a bit and got dinner at Vapiano.

Now im off to bed and rest since tomorrow will be a long day ahead. I probably won't update during the day so check in later.

PS: Here is a nice idea for weekend project: