01 Beetle - Hood Won't Unlatch

I pop the hood latch in the cabin and the hood pops up, slightly... the black lever comes out and I pull on it and the hood won't unlatch. I'm afraid of taking any tools to it in fear of breaking off the handle... beautiful design, by the way... NOT!!! Is there another way to pop the hood? I don't want to drive the car any further, because the reason I have to pop the hood is because my oil light came on yesterday... Suggestions?!?!

thanks

sounds like your handle is it not connected to the cable. There is a little plastic piece that fits around the handle to keep in it place. that easily pops in and out with a screw driver. I slid the tip of the screwdriver right in the middle & popped it right out- although if you still have the handle attached this might not be as easy.
After you pop it out, look through the hole and you will see a metal piece, use the screw driver (long handled will be better) to move that piece forward and down (I think that's right) it's been a while since I had to do this) and the hood should pop open. It may take a couple tries, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to open it that way.