Die Raststätte

Florian Werner shows that rest areas are more than just places to take a break and refuel. "Rest areas are places of magic – and this is a magical book." Saša Stanišić

German rest areas attract more visitors than the Cologne Cathedral, the Brandenburg Gate, and Oktoberfest combined. Especially in a nation of drivers like ours, they are the most important structures of all. Florian Werner takes a closer look at these overlooked places. He talks to truck drivers, bottle collectors, and highway police officers. He meets a rest area operator who loves the noise of the highway, learns from a botanist how to eat from the plants at the edge of the parking lot, and develops a small philosophy of the Sanifair toilet. The result is a loving, humorous, and very personal homage to a place that is far more fascinating and complex than its reputation suggests.