|
| Number 206 - English version dated 31.08.2022 - © Axel Gerstl |
The Great Axel Gerstl 2022 Photo Contest
Martin Buschmann, Gereon Roemer and Luigi
|
The Great Axel Gerstl 2022 Photo Contest / Luigi must go home – Part 5 Dear customers, dear friends of the Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600, As the summer holiday season is about to come to an end, it is time for The Traditional International Axel Gerstl Photo Contest! This year’s photo contest is themed: My funniest Fiat photo. Click here to learn how you can participate in our contest and get the opportunity to win one of the many prizes. There is news of ‘Luigi’, the little Fiat 500 wrapped in the Italian national colours, as he completed the next leg of his tour from Freiburg in Southern Germany to Catania / Sicily, the birthplace of his owner and driver Martin Buschmann. After a visit to Lake Como, a very special photo shooting in Milan’s Cathedral Square, trips through the Cinque Terre, Tuscany and Rome, the Eternal City, he now faced a very special challenge. Click here to read about the adventures of “Luigi” together with his human companions, Martin Buschmann and his fellow photographer Gereon Roemer on their way through Pisa and how they mastered their challenge. And of course, we are also proud to present the "Fiat of the month August" along with some interesting current offers and news concerning the Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600. We hope you enjoy reading this month's newsletter! The Axel Gerstl team P.S.: After the legendary Fiat 500 meeting had to be cancelled in 2020 and took place in a totally different format as the Fiat 500 World Wide Meeting in 2021, the Fiat 500 world celebrated its return to Garlenda on the first weekend of July 2022. Click here for photos and videos of the world’s largest Fiat 500 meeting organised by the Fiat 500 Club Italia and supported by Axel Gerstl! |
| > Photo contest 2022 |
|
The Traditional International Axel Gerstl 2022 Photo Contest! The motto of this year’s international photo contest is: Send us your funniest Fiat 500, Fiat 126, Fiat 600 or Fiat Topolino photo! The closing date is October 23, 2022. All you have to do is observe our terms of participation! Send us your photo and we will publish it on our homepage and invite all Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600 enthusiasts to vote for their favorite photo! And with a little luck and the right amount of votes, you may be among the winners and receive one of our several great prizes! Please note: You must be the rightful owner of the photo. By entering the contest, you accept the terms of participation and agree to grant Axel Gerstl the limited right to publish the photo freely in our newsletter and on our website. How can I participate? Please click here! The Axel Gerstl Team looks forward to your participation and wishes you all the best of luck! P.S.: Here on the left, you find some examples of what your contribution might look like! |
|
What can I win
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
4th place
5th place
6th place
7th place
8th place
9th place
10th place |
| > Part 5 of the Journey from Germany to Sicily |
Luigi on the campsite
Luigi: ‘Bella figura’ at the harbour
Cheers!
‘Luigi’ serving as a coffee bar
ZTL
Martin Buschmann is going to take the final shot
|
Luigi must go home! – Part 5 ‘Luigi’ must go home, i.e. to Catania, the birthplace of its owner and driver Martin Buschmann, where the little Fiat 500 faithfully served the Buschmann family as a family car back then when Martin Buschmann was a child. Moreover, Martin Buschmann and his companion and fellow photographer Gereon Roemer are equally drawn back to their own (Italian) roots as part of their very personal road movie supported by Axel Gerstl. In the meantime, the little Fiat 500 F built in 1967 and the Buschmann/Roemer duo have already completed half of their route. On their way, they diligently collected film and photo material, which will be presented to the public in a live multivision show after completion of the tour from Freiburg in Southern Germany to Sicily. Their trip is divided into individual stages (the reports and photos on the legs covered so far, i.e. Lake Como, Milan, Cinque Terre, Tuscany and Rome can be found here). After the challenges posed by Roman city traffic, they had planned to go to Naples, but Martin Buschmann and Gereon Roemer decided without further ado to catch up on a very personal challenge that they had to postpone during the Corona period: They wanted to place ‘Luigi’ in front of the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, maybe the most important photo motif of the entire trip, as Martin Buschmann put it. “We took that trip around Easter,” he told us. “As you can imagine, the Pisa region was very crowded at this time of the year.” But they were lucky: Some kilometres away from Pisa, Mating Buschmann, Gereon Roemer and ‘Luigi’ found a pitch near Viareggio on one of the many campsites close to the sea. During an excursion, ‘Luigi’ was shown around the harbour and the Buschmann/Roemer photographer duo had the opportunity to toast the first beautiful motif shot of the little Fiat 500 with a cool Corona beer (see left). “Let’s hope that Corona will not thwart our plans this time,” Martin Buschmann commented. However, it turned out that (this) Corona was not the biggest problem, but a so-called ZTL - ZONA TRAFFICO LIMITADO (= traffic-calmed area) was an obstacle on the way to the perfect photo. Martin Buschmann was almost in despair: ‘Zona Traffico Limitado’ actually means: NO ENTRY! Definitely no entry! Everything was secured with cameras and bollards.” In fact, entering was possible for the small Fiat 500, as with its slim dimensions, he would have easily gotten past the bollards. But Martin Buschmann was sure that the parking ticket would cost a lot of money. “We spent a whole day checking out all the access roads to the Leaning Tower to find a way in without getting a ticket,” he explained. “We had no chance, the ZTL had become a natural enemy. We were almost sure to get a ticket.” Or could they rely on a ‘Luigi’ cuteness bonus they had benefited from so often during their past stages? Martin Buschmann had no intention of pushing his luck too far and prepared for the worst-case: “We will have to put on a brave face and accept a ticket. When we asked other people, rumour had it that the fine would be between €60 and €240. We decided: Okay, that’s worth it for this photo!” This was their plan of action:
The whole operation was to take place in the morning at 6 am, i.e. at sunrise, and when no one would be around yet. On the ground, the dreaded hordes of tourists did not disturb them, but the two photographers and their little 500 encountered the military, just like on Milan’s Cathedral Square. “In order to mitigate the whole thing a bit, we decided to push ‘Luigi’ from the bollards to the tower, with the engine off,” Martin Buschmann said. He hoped that the military might then put mercy before justice. However, it took not even one minute before a soldier stood in front of the ‘Luigi’/Buschmann/Roemer team and strictly asked them to leave the square. “I begged and pleaded, and finally the nice soldier took pity on us. He simply asked us to move ‘Luigi’ five metres further to the left, then everything would be okay,” told us Martin Buschmann. “In about two minutes the changing of the guard would take place, and they would have to go through here with their armoured vehicle. No sooner said than done. We moved ‘Luigi’ five metres to the left – you wouldn’t believe how happy we were! Thus, we had the license to take our photo!” For Martin Buschmann and Gereon Roemer, the photo of ‘Luigi’ in front of the Leaning Tower was their “top shot of a lifetime”, as Martin Buschmann put it. “Thanks to having ‘Luigi’ well prepared beforehand – including a new clutch assembly, new shock absorbers, a new electronic ignition – ‘Luigi’ was able to inhale Italian air through his air filter again. ‘Luigi’ took us a 50 times, as it seemed to us, from Viareggio to Pisa,” resumes Martin Buschmann. “A big thank you to our trusted dealer!” The next destination of the tour will finally be Naples: “We are looking forward to it and would love to continue our journey tomorrow – in the land of ‘dolce vita’ and ‘bella figura’!” While ‘Luigi’ is ready again, Gereon and I still need to relax a bit.” TO BE CONTINUED... in one of the next Axel Gerstl newsletters!
The final shot
|
| > Photo Album: Fiat of the Month August |
|
Fiat of the Month August If you want to present your Fiat 500, Fiat 126 or Fiat 600 to our readers, please send a photo to service. There’s no special motto, no limitation. And if you’re lucky, your Fiat will become Fiat of the month! To all previous participants: Your photo is still active and can still become Fiat of the Month in the next months. Click here to find the previous“Fiats of the month”. |
| > New items in our online shop* |
|
for example Windscreen
|
| > Offers* |
|
for example Aluminum oil pan
|
|
for example Set of foot mats
|
|
for example Bumper front
|
| > Please note |
|
Subject to change, errors excepted. |
| > Contact |
|
Company Axel Gerstl
Telephone: +49 - 8141/53 48 6-0
E-Mail: service |
| > Configuration |
|
If you want to receive our newsletter regularly, please click here. If you wish to send us a message, do NOT reply to this email, but send your message to service. |