Garlenda 2015: Burkhard at the world's biggest Fiat 500 meeting
2015, HIV activist and globetrotter Burkhard Hildebrandt visited the world's biggest Fiat 500 meeting Garlenda - accompanied of course by his faithful yellow Fiat 500 "Bea" and supported by the company Axel Gerstl which took over travel expenses from Hameln to Italy. On the big show stage he reported about his experiences during his recent trips to Africa, especially from this year's Tour from Paris to Dakar.
Especially "Bea" with the trailer and the numerous extraordinary conversions (the trailer is powered by a starter motor, fed by solar cells on the roof, there’s second fuel tank for long distances, etc.) enjoyed great attention by the technically interested visitors of the meeting.
But also Burkhard got a lot of attention: at his car, where he handed out leaflets with the story of his journey (of course, in Italian), he talked to many guests and met, amongst many others, our newsletter reader and Fiat 500 driver Thibault Lagardère again, who had met him at the beginning of his last tour on a French motorway. He also met one of his two "saviors" of the Morocco tour, who brought him a replacement cylinder head to the campground of Chefchaouen, when Burkhard had some troubles during his ride through the desert (see here). And in the evening, while the Fiat 500 enthusiasts were dancing to the music, Burkhards demo movie was running on the big screen in an endless loop. You can also see it for the rest of the year in the club's own Fiat 500 Museum.
Finally, Burkhard’s summary was very positive in deed: he was very happy to get the opportunity to present himself and his idea. All the guys of Fiat 500 Club Italia were extremely helpful and friendly. He was very thankful for the special guided tour through the museum and the talk to the director of the museum. Burkhard was very touched by the way people responded to him and his story. “I think it’s because everybody has his own history of experiences and adventures”, Burkhard said, “and that’s why they develop so much empathy for my cause”.
