Driving in Europe

In London our hotel was in the middle of town and we could walk many places. We also had pretty good access to the Underground (subways), and we got pretty good at navigating those. We also used one of those sight seeing buses. They had a "hop on, hop off" system, and a whole bunch of buses, so if you saw something you liked you could get off, go check it out, then get on the next bus. We did take a taxi a couple times, like from the airport to the hotel, then back to the train station, it was just easier with the luggage.

But Londoners were pretty crazy drivers. Besides driving on the wrong side of the street, and having the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car, (which totally tripped me out to see someone driving from the passenger seat, especially when no one was in the driver's seat).

If I thought Londoners were bad, the Parisiens were worse. They might drive on the right side of the road, but they still scared me in general. There were many, many motorcycles and bicycles on the road as well. We walked a lot, and took the Metro (subway) there a lot too. Our hotel was pretty close to the middle of town again, so everything was pretty convenient. Again, we used a taxi to and from train stations, it's just easier with the luggage.

Here in Germany we have a car. It was supposed to be a Mercedes. B-class. I guess they don't have those in the states, I think it's supposed to be a pretty small car. Europeans like their small cars. There are no Yukon XL's here. (Not that I've seen anyway. ) Gas here is like twice as much as in the states. You wouldn't want to drive something that big. So we were supposed to get a Mercedes, but the guy at the rental counter looked at our baggage and asked us if we wanted something bigger with more room for the baggage. (we each had one suitcase, plus one other bag). We're driving a Ford Focus. So what I want to know is how small the Mercedes was if the Ford Focus is the BIG car. So that's totally irritating that I am in Germany, a country known for it's automobiles, totally surrounded by Audis and BMWs and Mercedes everywhere, and I am driving a Ford. The only upside is that it is a convertable. I'm sure this afternoon I won't be complaining too much.

We have a car because we aren't in the city. They have a subway here, well, not where we are, but in Frankfurt itself. We are outside of the city, more on the countryside. We are staying in a hotel close to John's training center (whole reason for this trip). This hotel is the one that has the contract with, or was recommended by, or is the suggested place to stay for those doing this training. It's a pretty nice hotel. But like I said, it's not close to anything. There are no subways, and walking anywhere is out of the question. We need a car.So far the Germans don't seem to be as crazy drivers as the other cities we've been in. All the cars are stick shifts, you can get an automatic if you really want, but you'll pay through the nose. Good thing my dad made me learn to drive a stick shift. All our cars are automatics now, but I still know how. That doesn't stop me from forgetting the clutch when I'm starting the car, or remembering to take off the parking brake. I am concerned about driving in cities, cause I can't read the street signs. They're a little different. I'm worried about finding parking and not getting tickets, and I'm terrible at parallel parking. I avoid that at all costs.

We have a map, and a GPS, so this morning I took John to his class, then programmed the GPS to take me back to the hotel. Here's where the plan failed. I'm totally driving down this road, lined with these huge trees. Huge big green, leafy, old trees everywhere. It's hard to get your bearings because it all looks the same. The trees obscure most of the buildings, and there are fields everywhere as well. I pass this turn off and I think to myself that that looks like the turnoff, or it looks like my turn off, but I could be mistaken, because I get confused easily. I look down to check the GPS and make sure it says I am still going the right direction, and I realize that it is totally dead. AAACK!!!!!

I am seriously out in the middle of the German countryside, alone, without a cell phone, map, translation guide,or GPS. Plus I think I could be lost. I have a sneaking suspicion that that was my turnoff, but I don't trust my own judgment. I get turned around easily. I generally have NO sense of direction. So I followed the road through some very pretty countryside, found the first place to turn around, went back to that turnoff, and within seconds I saw the hotel. Whew! I rewarded myself with some fresh strawberries from a fruitstand nearby. I'm okay now.