Germany - Mountains, Vineyards and Waterfalls on Saturday

Ok, lets start with some lessons learned on driving in a foreign country:

Lesson 1 - While reading street signs in the US is failry simple, you recognize most of the words on the signs as last names or places. So when there is a difference in the words, like Williams and Wilson, this is pretty easy to spot real quick. However, when you are in a country where none of the words mean anything to you, and you have never seen them, this is much more difficult. For instance, LautenschlagerstraBe, and LautenschlemerstraBe. Try telling the difference between those is just a few seconds. So, lesson is, know the names of the roads really well......or follow the advice of a later lesson

Lesson 2 - When driving a stick for the second time in 5-6 years, do not attempt to drive in a large foreign city on this second time out. This can cause all kinds of problems, like contributing to your inability to tell the difference between street names and you are shifting, um what else, oh, you could, I don't know, maybe sit through an entire green light stalling you car out over and over because you are on an hill trying to start.......to the dismay to the line of cars behind you....this is of course, hypothetical...

Lesson 3 - Using a phone as your GPS in a strange country is not a great idea. Again, looking at Lesson 1, you do not recognize the street sign names, so this is hard to utilize the directions, and, while usually the GPS can work well, it is illegal in some contries to drive with your phone in your hand.....Germany is one of those countries.....70 Euro fine

Lesson 4 - Using Google Maps outside of the US. While Google Maps is stellar in Michigan, where we have a Tron-like grid of roads, as well as the rerst of the US, the roads in other countries are not as grid like, or north and south, or labeled well, or wide enough for two cars. And apparently Google stuggles with this a bit, at least in the areas I visited on Satruday.

Lesson 5 - I would advise that when driving around a strange country in an area you are unfamiliar with, I would bring a person who speaks the language, can read the street signs, or at least recognize what the informational and directional signs, or at the very least, bring someone else in the car who can help navigate, and hold your GPS device.

Whew, never forget those lessons kids.

So, for those of you that are looking for a happy ending to this blog, with stories of the items I mentioned in the title of the, and who will be very disappointed, and maybe even a hold a vendetta against me if you do not get the above things.......please do not read on.

For those of you that would like to hear a comical story of my Saturday, that will paint a picture of my troubles, frustrations and complete lack of preperation.....then by all means read on....

9 am Saturday morning, I am on the road to Stuttgart to pick up a mountain bike I am going to rent from a bike shop in downtown. Things are going well, I only stalled the car once on the way to the highway at a light, I had it in 3rd......oops, rookie mistake. That was the first honk I got that day. On the highway I was great, got off fine, drove through the outskirts, drove past the viastore headquarters, sun was out, all was well.

Then I got downtown, where I found that as traffic intensifies, the more I am trying to read the directions from my blackberry, and the more frustrated I get, the worse I get a driving stick...imagine that. So I am trying to find this rad with the crazy name I mentioned above, but there were so many similar. The last road I passed, which I think was actually it, was the last turn I could make. Now I am on a trek through parts of Stuttgart I think I would rather avoid, but I am doing fine, using my phone to find my way back to where I need to be. I finally make it back to the decision point after about 15 minutes. I again, make a poor choice. Now I am going to a different neighborhood I am unfamiliar with, but I know where the road is I came in on, if I could just get back there I could find my way. So I hang the next right which according to Google, looks good. Bad move. Now I am on really narrow, hilly roads, winding though a shopping area, so people everywhere. Lefts and rights, anything I can do to not run someone over. But I am sure at one point, I was on a pedestrian path....

Once I got off of that, I decided to do some company promotion. The company car I have has viastore written all over it. So I was thinking, what could I do to get people to notice this???? Well, I stopped at an intersection where there were a lot of people crossing, and standing on the sides, shopping, loitering, smoking, lots of cars to. I figured this would be a great spot to make a scene. So, what I did, and our maketing department should take note, is when the light turned green, I did not go through the intersection, oh it was a grand exploit, I must have gotten everyones attention within 3 blocks. Between the honking of horms, the revving of my engine, and the laughter from the bystanders, there is no way the name viastore could not have gotten some publicity this day my friends :-)

Ok, so yes, I stalled the car.......8 times maybe, trying to start on an incline, and I missed the entire green light....as did everyone behind me Never tried that before, I learned later that you use the parking brake to help...

So, at this point I am a little fliustered, so I get out of this shopping district and I am back on a main road, but still cannot get back to where I need to be. So after more honks, stalls and frustration, I decide that I can find a bike elsewhere, and just drove staight hoping to get out of Stuttgart. I tried to enlist my phone at this point, with it's GPS locator and Google Maps, to tell me where I am, and which direction to go to get out.....right about now is when I entered the longest tunnel I have ever been in. So, my phone has no idea where I am, and I have no idea where I am going, I could be going right back into the middle of town. Well, I think it was about 12-15 minutes, I pop out of this tunnel, and Google says, you are on the road to Baden-Baden, which was my final destination. GREAT NEWS. A few minutes later I am driving on the Autobond.

I have an hour and fifteen minute drive, which is flying by because I am going about 160-170 Km/H, which is about 100 mph. This may be the fastest I have ever driven, but there was one time in West Virgina when I was about 21 that might top it...but lets say this takes first because I am driving a stick. So no problem here, I am crusing along, getting to where I am going. This would not have been possible, I still had a hard time following the exit signs, so when the GPS showed I was supposed to exit, I did, regardless of what my logical self was telling me. And this worked out. I exited off of Highway 5 towards Baden-Baden. I have direcitons to the Visitors and Conventions Bureau, who have already assured me that they are open, and can help me. I also have saved into my Google Maps the addresses of the waterfall I want to see, the resturant I want to eat at and the vineyards I want to visit. I was planning on the Bureau to confirm my directions, but now I need directions to a bike rental place and the bike paths.

Well, as I enter town, I see the international sign for information, the big smaller case "i". I have directions, but they look a bit complicated, so I follow the "i". It tells me to turn right, and I do, then the sneaky "i" disappears for good, never to be found again, so any one of the 40 buildings I have turned towards could be it. And when I ask....no English. So, back to Google Maps plan, I follow the directions to the Bureau, I turn off the main road, which is like the beltline, divided highway of sorts, and immediatly up a hill, which I am excited about. I travel through the woods, over some bridges and past a festival of, well, old wood, from what I could tell. Then I kind do a 180, which Google says is cool, but now I am on a road that barely fits 1 car. But hey, Google is my boy, he's always got my back, so I blindly follow. The directions took me to a hill, ok, I'll give Google a little credit, I could tell that people walked this hill many times, so it had visitors at some point, and I am looking for the vistors bureau. Well, I continue down this narrow path, through some neighborhoods, stop in someone driveway to check the maps (they didn't speak english either). Then, I somehow made it back the the main road. Now I am frustrated, and I decide to just go find the waterfall, relax by it, take some pics, and then try again.

So I am off, headed down this main drag, which again leads me through a tunnel. When I come out, I am bobing and weaving through more neighbor hoods, but I am recognizing all the roads, and Google seems good. Well, I get a little more out into the country, and the road narrows again, very rural. Google says, hey, there is a three pronged fork in the road, take the middle prong. Cool......except there are only two prongs....so I go left. This is a dead end road that I find out about 5 miles down, and there is not turn around, so I am doing a 20 point turn. So back to the fork, and I go right......this is actually someones driveway, and believe it or not, they do not speak english. So.....totally deflated, I head back to town, determined to park and walk around till I find and information booth, and english speaking person....or at least the resturant I wanted to visit. Back into town, off the main road, driving around circle and stalls, and circles, there is no where to park in this place. So, two more failed attempts at finding english speaking folks, I am out, back on the Autobond...........I drove back to the hotel, and stalled the car try to turn in.....

Well, that was my day Satruday. This is not meant as a rant, so please do not take it that way, just a funny account of my day. I actually still had a good time, got to see a lot of the country from the highway, hit up the Autobond at a fast pace, mingled with the locals, and listed to lots of German music....... I mean, how can I complain, this is a beautiful country, I am getting to meet a lot of new people who are treating me really well, and I am getting to learn a lot of new things......Lessons if you will :-)

Hope you enjoyed my tale.....hopefully Sunday will be better.