Now i know the secret.. my local guru of all things VW told me...

To put the wipers in Park mode (so you can change the blades with ease) you just turn off the key, and push the wiper colum down so that it springs back but makes the wipers move.. they move to the vertical and stop there until you start the car again...

You also carefully pull the end of the unit of the wiper and you will see a small catch keeping the rubber element in place... pry up the end of it (the part furtherest from the end of the wiper blade) as it has 2 small metal prongs that push into the rubber of the blade after you clamp it down.. I know it sounds not easy.. but trust me it is.. approach the strip of metal running parrallel with the rubber blade from the side and pry it up... you will see the two metal prongs... then you can slide the rubber out..... give it a try.. the rubber inserts were $12 from my local VW Guru, as opposed to $54.95 from Wiper Tech for the entire units....

cheers