[Suggested background music for reading this blog: Rose Royce's "Carwash" -- good funk and appropriate here. This may be a new blog feature, like an extension of the SIP Soundtrack.]
She's clean and we both feel better about that. Bonnie, that is (I assume Ms. Royce is as well). She was filthy with all the street mung and nasty weather, but I had heard all these stories about how different each of the car wash places were here that it was a bit intimidating, especially on days when a lot of people are anxious to wash their cars and I might be holding up the efficient German process.
So Thursday last night I had to stop and buy more gas. (The cost of diesel is down to €1.049 per liter from €1.079 when I last/first fueled her, for those who are interested or are considering whether to advise me to start my own biodiesel manufacturing capabilities here.) I went to the same Shell station I had visited the first time. (I suspect that I will be intensely loyal to establishments I encounter early on, not because they are the best, but because it's so nice to go where I know what's going on.) As I was paying inside, I noticed a price list for car washes. I hadn't even noticed that there was a car wash attached to the place. So I asked for him to add the Express-Wasch to my total. He gave me a card with a number on it and I figured that I was set and drove around back.
I had to get out of my car to enter my code into the machine, but no big, the code was accepted and I believed it was telling me to drive forward. So I got into the car and drove in until the red lights came on and signalled me to stop. Piece of cake, right? So I sat there waiting for the wash to begin. And sat there. And sat there. Hmmm.... Maybe I actually drove too far forward? So I backed up a bit, and then the green lights came back on telling me to drive forward. Okay.... And the red lights were back on again. I stopped, turned off the engine, and waited for, once again, nothing. Hmmm... Around this time someone pulled up behind me, so the pressure was on. I finally just thought I'd abort and tried to drive forward, thinking the door at the front would open. Not so much. Hmm....
So I got out of the car (which would have been the perfect Murphy's Law time for the car wash to begin, right?) and walked back to the other driver who was just getting out of her car. She spoke English and I asked for her assistance. Well, apparently the deal with this car wash is that you are supposed to get out of the car when the red light comes on, then walk back to the machine and press START and then wait while it (with doors still open and mist spraying out at you) does the wash. Then it tells you to get back in and off you go. Who knew? Suffice it to say, I will now be getting all of my car washes at this place simply because A) I know where it's located, B) I know how it works, and C) it's connected to my gas station of choice. Ah, habits....
In other Bonnie news, I learned about one of her features this week. I had noticed that when I was sitting in traffic and put her in neutral so I could rest my clutch foot, she would frequently stall. Most frustrating. Well, I was sharing this with the guys on the way to lunch one day and they said that it is actually a special BMW feature that you pay extra money for. Huh? Apparently it's supposed to save fuel you just re-engage the engine by pushing the clutch in. It still seems to me, though, like this would be a lot of extra wear and tear on the engine or starter. Kind of like how it's supposed to use more energy to turn lights on and off frequently than to just leave the lights on over a period of time. I have to believe the German auto engineers (Gunther?) have it all figured out, though. Or it's a sneaky ploy to get me to buy a new car sooner than I'd prefer.
I should note that my German driver's license is on its way. Did you know that you don't have to renew your driver's license over here? Not even when you change addresses. Interesting. You do, of course, have to change your license plates when you move, though. (I may not have mentioned this, but the license plate indicates the city of the car's owner/driver. There are really four sections of the license plate. At the far left is the EU symbol and the letter(s) indicating the country that issued the license plate (in Bonnie's case, D for Deutschland). Then on the white face of the plate, there are 1-3 letters at the left that indicate the city of the owner/driver. In Bonnie's case, M for Munich. Then there are two round stickers arranged vertically, the top one indicating the date on which the plate registration expires, and the lower one indicating the landen (like a state) that issued the plates (in Bonnie's case, January and Bayern, respectively). And then there is a combination of letters and numbers that don't appear to have any special significant (LY-1685, in case you want to steal Bonnie's ID).)
So anyway, the license.... Apparently, because my Illinois driver's license was issued over two years ago, I don't have to take a driving test here. Birgit from the relocation company stopped by the office earlier this week and picked up both my passport and Illinois driver's license and took them to some company that is authorized to translate the Illinois license. Then yesterday, we went to the driver's license office to apply for the license. My first opportunity to see the German civil service in action as Birgit handled all the work permit and city registration issues without my having to go with her. It was fascinating. You go to a room that resembles an empty classroom. Some hard wood chairs in a row, some of them with a writing surface attached. And a machine at the front that hands out tickets, which are then "called"/displayed periodically on a digital sign overhead. No human there. Our number was finally called and we walked to the indicated room, which was some desks in an open area with an awful lot of live plants and some random posters on the wall apparently brought in by the employees. It almost looked like a fun place to work, which took me by surprise as I have never envisioned the DMV as anything close to nice. (Birgit said this was not a typical office environment for the DMV here, either, I should note.) "The guy" had me sign some stuff, provide a copy of a photo (yes, you get to bring your own photo rather than being at their mercy!), had Birgit go somewhere to pay something to someone, and then we left. Apparently in six weeks ago I am supposed to get a letter telling me to come back for my license. Interesting process.
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