We are back in Germany. Here we have 18°. It is not like the 30° in San Antonio. But it was good to come back to the family.

This Blog is our comment to YOU. 

In the word “you” are so many people included.

1. Our sponsor Arno who believed and promoted our project. Without him team Germany and this blog would not exist.
2. Our teachers who supported us not just in answering questions.  They also were very active to abet the practical rendition.
3. Our families who wrote a lot of comments and supported team Germany. When we needed some help our families were the first contact person.
4. My grandparents who have given us tips and attention.
5. Kay Larson who organized the hole competition with her kind of older sister Pat!
6. And those people who think they belong to “YOU”

Team Germany wants to say:       Thank “You” (Dankeschön).  Without a so big background we were not able to realise this project. We had a great time before and during the competition!

Now the normal life starts again. But this trip will never be forgotten!

So. Today it was the big day of high expectations. In the night we didn’t sleep well, at the breakfast we trembled a little bit, at the preparations we were terrified, but without reasons: all worked like a charm.

As the IYFCC 2007 was the great attraction at the “Fuel Cell Seminar” - fair, an amazing lot of   spectators at the race track, which lay right in the big exhibition hall. Thus we had to answer questions from a considerable quantity of people. But it was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it.

At the practising time our car worked nicely and the crowd gave it a hand. At the booth from the IYFCC the visitors could vote for 

• The nicest looking car
• The nicest looking fork lift
• The fastest looking car

After some practising we had the interview with the judge-team. It was only 4 minutes.

Then the first race started versus USA 1 - ready-set-GO-our car won with 6.3 s. After some other speed contests we won, we had the record-time of 5,63 s. In the long run we entered in the finals.

About 5 pm in the Convention Centre there was the big showdown: Final between USA 2 and GERMANY …and…

TEAM GERMANY WON !!!

At the final banquet the prizes were awarded.

Team Germany didn’t won a prize at all at the following contests: 

• Fork Lift: Artistic-Design, Efficiency Fork Lift, Quiz Bowl, Nicest Looking Fork Lift (open voting).

The Team Germany won:

• The first prize for the FASTES CAR

• The first prize for the best-engineered car

• The first prize for the fastest looking car

• The first prize for the best-looking car

• The first prize for the best-engineered forklift

• The special prize: “Southern Hospitality award”

We were very happy and enjoyed the amazing banquet with a wonderful Indian dance of the 3 Teams from India. We breathed a sigh of relief.

At this place, many thanks to Arno and his Team who were really the best we could imagine for sponsoring this awsome event!
We also would like to thank Kay Larson and her team for setting up such a wonderful competition with eight teams from four countries and a full programme over five days.

Today we had a well prepared Quiz-Bowl competition. We had to answer questions and we were randomly together in groups with pupils from all the other countries. Unfortunately we didn’t win and even come to the final round. But it was a lot of fun. The afternoon we took a nap and in the night we went at a famous Steak house.

Arno arrived today and we met him while we were working on our cars in the morning time. We told him, how far we are.
We had our competition for the fork lift. In the exhibit hall of fuel cells we had our booth with our cars and fork lifts. After a small interview from some mechanics we started the “race”. The rules were a little bit confusing for us because it was different to the way we arranged it. But we made our run as good as we could. We also had  a lecture series today, were we learned more about the actual process of the fuel cell.

Kathleen (Kay) Quinn Larson from FuelCellStore.com, Scottsdale, AZ, USA, Organizer of the 2007 International Youth Fuel Cell Competition, together with Arno A. Evers, Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR, sponsor of the Team Germany, from Starnberg, Germany

The day yesterday was very cowboylike. We visited a range and threw the lasso. We danced and ate sausage with beans. We also bought some wood for the track and we made a race in the hardware store. The ice from the “Mall” was delicious.
Yesterday to 2 o’clock am we designed a measure system for the fork lift. It was very difficult to find a way that fits for everybody. We will measure the Voltage, Ampere and the time that the forklift need for the drive to locate the used Power. Some minutes ago our car mad a run of 5,9 seconds which is amazing. Before we had 7,9 seconds.

Today we cleaned the racing track and fiddled some things and then we installed our car and our fork lift. Then about midday the students from India, Florida and Japan arrived. The rest of the day we twiddled on our car and talked with the other students.

Today we met a lot of nice people who talked a lot of their relatives in Germany. It was really exciting to hear the different stories and to meet a lot of American people. After a visit in the tourist information center (and after the best breakfast we have ever tasted) we got up to the “Tower of the Americans” where we had a huge view over San Antonio. Then we visited the “Institute of Texas culture”, which was a really interesting and lovely made museum from the beginnings of history with old Indians to the modern times. The evening we had the dinner in our great hotel, where after that we started to reassemble the car.

Today is our first free time in this huge American city.  In the morning we bought some (the shopping cart busted at the seams) snacks and drinks.  After a little shopping tour, the visit of “the Alamo” and an huge Ice cream we had a very special guided tour through San Antonio. We didn’t walk but drove on “Segways”. That are little One-Man Cars with only two wheels and a cool balance system. These gadgets made 12mph (19,3 km/h)! It was a lot of fun. After a jump in the pool Kay invited us to an amazing rainforest restaurant. It was an exhausting and beautiful day !

Here we are. In San Antonio. The flight took 14 hours but we were amused well. We made the last 3D animations of the model car on the laptop and watched the clouds. We had no problems.

In San Antonio we were picked up very friendly by Kay Larson. She showed us the hotel and the aroundings. We checked up that our fuel cell models are ok.

After a little dinner we fall in our bed.

Team germany is all on edge what happens next!

OK! The two vehicles are ready and safe in our suitcases between socks, T-Shirts and underwear. We packed also some important utilities like glue and so on in the suitcase. And we just checked in and got our tickets, tomorrow at 10.30 AM we pull out to the airport.

The images show our test road, with marks on the floor every meter. We filmed it with a camera to get good statistics about the races. So we located the perfect cogwheel. With our Laptop we calculated every race and made Time-Way-Graphs and so on.

We hope our time is good enough and we simmer with excitement to Texas!