The work I do at Volkswagen seams to be never ending. Meetings and a lot of coordination with other contractors keeps me busy most every day. I stayed in Chattanooga this weekend to help with providing project support. We worked a few hours Saturday morning and determined all would be fine for the rest of the day. The notion was to take a little trip to the whisky-whiskey distillers. We, Klaus, Reiner and I, talked about the tours of George Dickel and Jack Daniels distilleries. Both are in the same county and only 12 minutes from each other. The misspelling of whisky is based on George Dickel deciding to use traditional Scottish spelling of the spirit name. With the help of TomTom and iPod we enjoyed our drive up to Tullahoma and Lynchburg.
The George Dickel distillery tour was given by a girl named Brandy. Yes, we had a whisky tour by Brandy. During the tour we were instructed how to taste whisky be smelling the fermentation tank contents. Brandy instructed the brave, to lean over the tank, reach down with a cupped hand, then pull up air toward our face and inhale. The first time I think I burned my nose hairs. Then we instructed to do it again, but to breathe in through our mouth. The second time I could taste the whisky. The George Dickel tour group was small and the gift shop was nice and not crowded at all.
We left George Dickel distillery with souvenirs. Klaus and Reiner picked up a bottle of whisky each. I picked up a t-shirt. I'm no longer considered a drinker of any sort. I would have liked to been offered a sample from the distillery, but they weren't offering.
Lunch was wings and things at Zaxby's in Tullahoma. The first time Reiner and Klaus had ever eaten there. Both seamed to enjoy their meals and said they would probably eat it again if given the chance.
I think the little voice in the GPS gets confused when you stop along a route for lunch. We left Zaxby's and were instructed to turn left, when I was almost certain we should go right. We traveled a few blocks, then were instructed to turn around. Sheeesh!!! After that little side trip, we were in Lynchburg, TN and at the Jack Daniels distillery. We were joined by hundreds of others wanting to tour the distillery. We were told it would take 30 minuted before our tour would begin. Reiner and Klaus walked around the lobby for a while, then they decided to skip the tour and take a look at the town.
We walked a few blocks to historic Lynchburg and stopped in several shops. I picked up a few items and took a few pictures. Reiner and Klaus did the same and decided that it was one big tourist trap. We left around 4 and were back in Chattanooga around 6 for a light meal a few beers for Klaus and Reiner at Hooters. We sat next to a rowdy bunch of college boys who were wrapped up in the Alabama v. Arkansas game. I'm still not sure why the pulled for 'Bama, but they sure did scream and yell a lot about it. Reiner took a picture of Klaus with our our waitress before we left. I think Klaus enjoyed the place.
It was good to spend time with my German colleagues outside of work. Sometimes things get to serious and we don't know each other other than what we have to do because of the job. Letting down our guards and enjoying life helps make the working relationship all the better.
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