Passat - Volkswagen :: 2003 - Broken Hood Release Strap

The hood release strap broke on my 2003 VW Passat. It fully came out from under the hood while the hood was closed. I had the car at a shop the day before, picked-up the car at night and found the part dangling above the grill the next morning (the work included work under the hood so they were the last ones to open the hood). Of course the shop knows nothing about it and said they've never heard of this happening before. The part broke at the end under the hood that connects to the release point and cannot be repaired (two eyelets broke on this plastic part). I found the part can be bought on-line for about $11 plus shipping. Obviously the first step is I have to somehow get a tool under the hood to release the hood where the strap made the release in the past. The question is how do I do that?