So I go into a gas station to pay the typical 80 Euros for filling up the tank, when the clerk tells me, "Cash only"! I then look in the direction he is pointing to see an eeeeeeeeetty-bitty sign that says "No kreditkarte". At this point, we still didn't have a working bank account, thanks to our fascinatingly unorganized relocation agent*, and therefore no way to get cash, except for with R's passport. Well, R was at work, and I was far far away from him with no real hope of getting any cash for another 4 days when R could go down to the bank and withdraw it, which you can only do between the hours of 10am and 4pm during the week. Plus, he works in the suburbs. So, for all you Chicagoans, imagine working in Aurora and being told to go to your downtown branch during your lunch hour to get some cash. Not going to happen, right?
Anyway, the man starts yelling at me, first in German and then in broken English, "Why would you take the gas if you couldn't pay for it!!!!", over and over again. I tried to nicely explain that I didn't see the sign, but as he kept repeating this phrase, I saw he thought I wasn't upset about the whole thing. So I started raising my voice, saying, "What kind of gas station doesn't accept credit cards? I've never even heard of that! Why would you have a gas station that accepts only cash when you spend 100 euros every time you fill up!" At which point he backed down and said, "it's okay, it's okay. You give me your passport and I let you go".
Yeah right. Well, first of all, I had no identification with me other than my driver's license and my useless credit card--not that I would have given him my passport even if I'd had it with me. We then loudly argued about what I could leave him as collateral for a while, and finally I told him, "you'll just have to trust me. If i was a bad person I would have left without saying anything."....AT this he apparently saw my logic, or no other option. So, to make a long story short, after much ado, (this in and of itself is quite a long story, full of "it's not possible"'s),I found a way to get some cash and went back to pay the man, who of course looked quite relieved upon my return.
Lesson learned: if you get into trouble in Germany, just start shouting!
Also, carry lots of cash.
*Isn't it the nature of a relocation agent's job to be organized?
Frankfurt
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Vespinator vs. Germany: shouting match #2
Here are a few amusing observations we've made in the past couple of weeks:
1. Most responses to our questions on, pretty much everything, come back withe German's favorite English phrase, "It's not possible!". But if you suggest the same thing in a slightly different way, they will say, "well of course you can do that". But they never offer to solve your problem. And so it seems problem solving skills are not possible for most Germans.
2. Everybody here is active. No one is really slender or skinny-minny, and no one is obese. They are just average-sized, sturdily built, active people, and I love it. If you ask anyone what they intend to do that weekend (in the rain), they will tell you, "Sports". And by that they may mean biking, hiking, running (in the rain), even badminton(!); or, in the winter, snow-shoeing, skiing, etc.
---We actually came across the surfers last weekend while walking through the English Gardens. It's entertaining! (see below for pictures)
3. Maybe since they are so active, they feel they can do anything while on a bike. Tasks, you or I may fail to perform, thinking it would be too hard, the Germans will do without batting an eyelash. The other day I saw a man in a bright all-red, 2-sizes-too-small addidas jumpsuit, with bright blue socks and shoes, on a bright yellow bike, carrying another full-sized bike as easily as you might hold a diet coke in your hand. Pretty impressive, and yet another example of what I now like to call, the "tight and bright" style of the Europeans. You may also see a mother of 3, baby strapped to her back, carrying 2 kids in a bike trolley behind her, with groceries and holding an umbrella while biking down the road.
4. Also, everyone is really really tall, and sturdily built. It is not at all uncommon to see 6-ft-plus women on a regular basis, and even taller men. I'm tempted to grow a few more inches myself, after another pound or two of sauerkraut and sausages... Anyway, if I fear for my life, and I do, I won't be starting any fights anytime soon with the Germans. Although....
5. They love to argue! And in fact, no one takes you seriously here if you are upset about something and not raising your voice (see the story "Germans like to shout it out" for an example of this).
6. One thing that is possible, as R comically put it: It's entirely possible to be driving 120 miles/hr down the autobon and have some little Fiat overtake you going twice that speed.
7. At any given time you may see the following in a parking lot: BMW, audi, VW, VW, audi, BMW, BMW, audi, audi, audi, VW. etc. all in the racy color of, black. Perhaps they need a neutral background from which to show off their tight and bright wardrobe.
8. A gentle word of warning: Beware of the European toilets! Despite the whole "German engineering" type of misguided stereotype you may be holding onto, the Germans (and most neighboring countries) have a lesson or two to learn on the big flush. Despite generally great water pressure in all showers and faucets, the water level could be confused for a non-working toilet, and that, with a hole in the back of the bowl the size of a quarter. Subsequently, nothing goes down into the corridor you had hoped it to travel with a simple flush, which is partly due to the shelf-shaped "bowl". Sorry for that, but don't say you weren't warned! And, if you visit the country, don't be surprised if your hosts heavily hint at where the cleaning supplies are. ;)
9. People are very law-abiding and honest here. For instance, you could probably litter (not that you ever should litter!) a piece of your mail, and someone would likely find your mail, send it back to you with a note saying, "you dropped this". It's also a sure way to start a conversation with someone, if you, say, do something horrific, like jay-walk. Someone is sure to start shouting at you, and after they have calmed down, you can make a friend!
10. On the same note, and very unlike Chicago, people rarely even bother to lock up their bicycles. Sometimes they will put a chain through the wheel and and the bike's own frame, but hardly ever will you see a bike locked to a solid object. (Don't tell the bad people or they will come and ruin it for us all.) It's pretty amazing though, and, I believe Munich is listed as one of the safest cities in the world.
*River-surfing: http://www.google.com/search?
1. Most responses to our questions on, pretty much everything, come back withe German's favorite English phrase, "It's not possible!". But if you suggest the same thing in a slightly different way, they will say, "well of course you can do that". But they never offer to solve your problem. And so it seems problem solving skills are not possible for most Germans.
2. Everybody here is active. No one is really slender or skinny-minny, and no one is obese. They are just average-sized, sturdily built, active people, and I love it. If you ask anyone what they intend to do that weekend (in the rain), they will tell you, "Sports". And by that they may mean biking, hiking, running (in the rain), even badminton(!); or, in the winter, snow-shoeing, skiing, etc.
---We actually came across the surfers last weekend while walking through the English Gardens. It's entertaining! (see below for pictures)
3. Maybe since they are so active, they feel they can do anything while on a bike. Tasks, you or I may fail to perform, thinking it would be too hard, the Germans will do without batting an eyelash. The other day I saw a man in a bright all-red, 2-sizes-too-small addidas jumpsuit, with bright blue socks and shoes, on a bright yellow bike, carrying another full-sized bike as easily as you might hold a diet coke in your hand. Pretty impressive, and yet another example of what I now like to call, the "tight and bright" style of the Europeans. You may also see a mother of 3, baby strapped to her back, carrying 2 kids in a bike trolley behind her, with groceries and holding an umbrella while biking down the road.
4. Also, everyone is really really tall, and sturdily built. It is not at all uncommon to see 6-ft-plus women on a regular basis, and even taller men. I'm tempted to grow a few more inches myself, after another pound or two of sauerkraut and sausages... Anyway, if I fear for my life, and I do, I won't be starting any fights anytime soon with the Germans. Although....
5. They love to argue! And in fact, no one takes you seriously here if you are upset about something and not raising your voice (see the story "Germans like to shout it out" for an example of this).
6. One thing that is possible, as R comically put it: It's entirely possible to be driving 120 miles/hr down the autobon and have some little Fiat overtake you going twice that speed.
7. At any given time you may see the following in a parking lot: BMW, audi, VW, VW, audi, BMW, BMW, audi, audi, audi, VW. etc. all in the racy color of, black. Perhaps they need a neutral background from which to show off their tight and bright wardrobe.
8. A gentle word of warning: Beware of the European toilets! Despite the whole "German engineering" type of misguided stereotype you may be holding onto, the Germans (and most neighboring countries) have a lesson or two to learn on the big flush. Despite generally great water pressure in all showers and faucets, the water level could be confused for a non-working toilet, and that, with a hole in the back of the bowl the size of a quarter. Subsequently, nothing goes down into the corridor you had hoped it to travel with a simple flush, which is partly due to the shelf-shaped "bowl". Sorry for that, but don't say you weren't warned! And, if you visit the country, don't be surprised if your hosts heavily hint at where the cleaning supplies are. ;)
9. People are very law-abiding and honest here. For instance, you could probably litter (not that you ever should litter!) a piece of your mail, and someone would likely find your mail, send it back to you with a note saying, "you dropped this". It's also a sure way to start a conversation with someone, if you, say, do something horrific, like jay-walk. Someone is sure to start shouting at you, and after they have calmed down, you can make a friend!
10. On the same note, and very unlike Chicago, people rarely even bother to lock up their bicycles. Sometimes they will put a chain through the wheel and and the bike's own frame, but hardly ever will you see a bike locked to a solid object. (Don't tell the bad people or they will come and ruin it for us all.) It's pretty amazing though, and, I believe Munich is listed as one of the safest cities in the world.
*River-surfing: http://www.google.com/search?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Intro &The Close Call
Greetings and welcome to The Blog!
Let me introduce the players to those who may or may not know us.
We'll call me "M", sometimes known as Vespinator, due to my habit of scooting around town on my red Vespa ("Mama Scoots"), which I totally love riding.
R is my husband. Hubby. Honey-love. You get the picture. He rides on the back of Mama Scoots.
And, well, that's all. Except I did have a crown Beta fish back in Chicago. When I moved 2 months ago, I had to hand him over to two of the cutest little girls you ever did see. He's dead now though, I hear....and it's probably for the best, since he was renamed Melody by the girls.
So we recently moved into a great 1-bedroom place, perfectly situated by the Isar River & Oktoberfest. But it's amazing how one seemingly minor glitch can keep you from getting a lot of things done during an international move, like a bank account you can't access.
Our sea freight arrived last Thursday, & we have been in a sea of boxes ever since. Because Germans mainly work on a cash only basis, and, because we don't have a working ATM card, it has been a difficult move. You might imagine the obstacles of having no working lights, no closets to put things away in, in a 780 sq. Ft area, no kitchen, no garage, and a car with invalid parking stickers (for this and the bank account issue we have our relocation agent to thank).
Not that we're complaining. Well maybe we were, but things are starting to perk up. We received our Atm cards saturday & spent the day in lines @ Ikea. A team-building exercise ensued shortly thereafter, & it was actually fun to build a couple of closets together! & we (I) did a little dance afte clearing out many boxes. it feels so much more bright & happy in the place now!
As we were returning from our ikea trip, we pulled up to a parking spot right next to my scooter to find two men rocking the scooter, likely just trying to move it to the side so they could fit their big ole mercedes in.
Well, I rolled down my window & shouted, " Hey! Hands off the scooter!! That's my ride!" to which they responded with some choice German words...not exactly the Martin Luther kind of German, if you know what I mean... They even threatened to call the Polizei, to which I responded, "Yah, go call the polizei! Let's see what they have to say about you rocking Mama Scoots around!" At this point I started to get out of the car, and the two big Germans scurried back to their mercedes and flew away. I'm pretty sure they were intimidated by my size. Or perhaps they sensed I knew where all of their major nerves were located.
Let me introduce the players to those who may or may not know us.
We'll call me "M", sometimes known as Vespinator, due to my habit of scooting around town on my red Vespa ("Mama Scoots"), which I totally love riding.
R is my husband. Hubby. Honey-love. You get the picture. He rides on the back of Mama Scoots.
And, well, that's all. Except I did have a crown Beta fish back in Chicago. When I moved 2 months ago, I had to hand him over to two of the cutest little girls you ever did see. He's dead now though, I hear....and it's probably for the best, since he was renamed Melody by the girls.
So we recently moved into a great 1-bedroom place, perfectly situated by the Isar River & Oktoberfest. But it's amazing how one seemingly minor glitch can keep you from getting a lot of things done during an international move, like a bank account you can't access.
Our sea freight arrived last Thursday, & we have been in a sea of boxes ever since. Because Germans mainly work on a cash only basis, and, because we don't have a working ATM card, it has been a difficult move. You might imagine the obstacles of having no working lights, no closets to put things away in, in a 780 sq. Ft area, no kitchen, no garage, and a car with invalid parking stickers (for this and the bank account issue we have our relocation agent to thank).
Not that we're complaining. Well maybe we were, but things are starting to perk up. We received our Atm cards saturday & spent the day in lines @ Ikea. A team-building exercise ensued shortly thereafter, & it was actually fun to build a couple of closets together! & we (I) did a little dance afte clearing out many boxes. it feels so much more bright & happy in the place now!
As we were returning from our ikea trip, we pulled up to a parking spot right next to my scooter to find two men rocking the scooter, likely just trying to move it to the side so they could fit their big ole mercedes in.
Well, I rolled down my window & shouted, " Hey! Hands off the scooter!! That's my ride!" to which they responded with some choice German words...not exactly the Martin Luther kind of German, if you know what I mean... They even threatened to call the Polizei, to which I responded, "Yah, go call the polizei! Let's see what they have to say about you rocking Mama Scoots around!" At this point I started to get out of the car, and the two big Germans scurried back to their mercedes and flew away. I'm pretty sure they were intimidated by my size. Or perhaps they sensed I knew where all of their major nerves were located.
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