Rest Stops on limited access highways are often a necessary evil – new or old, they offer stale food at outrageous prices – and hopefully a clean bathroom and maybe a place for kids to play.

In Germany – the food in the rest stops is actually quite good, nice cheese, tasty wurst of different types – even freshly fried schnitzels. But still – nothing to write home about.

Well – the rest stop at Kellmunz an de Iller – just north of Memmingen on the A7 is a horse of a decidedly different color.

Can you imagine recommending a rest stop? Well I can and I do! This place was unique.

We knew it was special as we pulled past the gas station. Swirls of what looked like ice cream decorated the roof, fun art decorated both the inside and outside.

Even the revolving door had creative touches – plants in the corners, designs on the glass. Each space was unique and fantastical. There was a room just for kids, with kid sized tables, chairs, and games. Things to look at and admire hung from the ceilings, cascaded down the walls, and in some cases – ran along the floor.

But the absolute drop dead feature were the bathrooms.

When have you ever seen such bathrooms!

From the kid sized Entrance cut in the normally ‘handicap’ access – to the amazing broken tile work – These are bathrooms I shall never forget.

Next time you are driving around near Munich – route yourself to this rest stop. It’s a hoot.

PS: Victor is having a ball driving on the German Autobauns – the lack of a speed limit, and the quite nice Audi A3 that we rented combine to make driving quickly fun. Another advantage of the A3 – it was a wonderful GPS system. Unlike most it actually pronounces place names correctly – or at least as expected, and it was very easy to figure out how to use it. There are all the standard features – points of interest by topic, last destination, and a specific control over the volume of the spoken commands. It also offers a very nice ‘alternative’ route option, shows you the next 3 intersections of interest, as well as time and distance to your destination.Another feature I love – it’s polarized the opposite of my sun glasses – so I can see it – even when wearing them. Now why didn’t BMW think of that for their heads-up display.

And unlike the voice activated system that Helmut was using – it doesn’t argue with you if it doesn’t care for your accent!

Driving in the fast lane, averaging 150 Km/hr – and loving it.