Don’t be quick to judge

It’s kinda difficult to park around the house because it’s very close to the old city center. In the middle of the square there is a public parking where you can only park if you pay, and right in front of the house we have a pedestrian zone. On the streets around the square there are marked places where residents can park. I have a permit for the pedestrian zone but it’s only short term, for loading/unloading, and I also have a resident parking permit which I can use to park on the streets around the square. Depending on the time of the day, it can be quite difficult to find a free spot.

Yesterday I had to go some places (I finally got my driving license back 8-) ) and when I came back, I tried to find a parking spot but without much success. After driving  around couple of times, I noticed someone getting ready to leave from a resident spot so I stopped, signaled and waited for that woman to leave.

Behind me there was another car, waiting for the same spot probably, hoping maybe that I would go somewhere else. The woman leaves, I park in her spot and the guy behind me pulls over and signals me to lower my window. I do that and he proceeds  to tell me that I should not park in there, that’s a spot only for residents, that you need a permit, that I will get a ticket and a lot of other mumbojumbos. He seemed a bit upsed that I took “his” spot.  I was just quietly watching him, waiting for him to finish his stuff. At the end, I just lifted my permit from the dashboard and calmly showed it to him without saying anything. The guy realized instantly he kinda made a fool of himself, apologized and left.

Most likely, all this started because I got the permit for the company car, which does not have local license plates (my company’s offices are outside this Kreis). The dude must’ve thought I am just another dumb tourist which parks on the resident’s spots instead of using the paid parking.

This is what happens if people are quick to jump to conclusions without having enough information. I wish they would be a bit more open-minded and would think a bit out of the box because appearances can be deceiving. But what can you do …

Driving License

I remember many years ago when I got my driving license: complicated business, lots of paperwork, long lines, heat, smelly crowds, public workers with the enthusiasm of a brick, etc. I don’t know what’s it like these days, not sure if anything changed.

Well, today being my free day, I managed to get to the Kreis capital. The Landratsamt building (the authority which deals, among other things, with driving licenses) has its own underground garage so I didn’t have to look all over the place for a parking spot. I got inside, there was nobody in front of me so a lady asked me if she can help. I told her the story, she asked for a picture, a form (which I had already filled in at home, it’s available on the net) and an ID. And that was it. She explained that if the Police stops me it should be ok, at least in Germany, they will know about it. 5 minutes later I was out of the building. I wonder how  much something like this takes, requesting a replacement driving license after yours was stolen. Would be interesting to know if things changed.

I managed to day to get a parking permit from the town hall. It does not allow me to park in front of the house (it’s a pedestrian zone) but I can park for free in the marked spots from the area. It’s not the most idea l solution but it’s kinda messed up with the parking around here because it’s the old city center. I can rent a permanent parking spot in one of the park hauses in the area but I pay 45 euros per month and while it’s not that far, it’s not in front of the house. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Today I also made another trip to the dumpsite place with a van full of trash bags, old wood, old electric devices, metal, etc. It was cold, heavy snow, wet, very bleh, yucky! And this time there was a guy watching us and he took his job really serious: “Oh, this goes there”, “This goes over there”, “No, no, no, this does not go in here. This is type 3 electrical trash, go on the other side”, “Oh, cardboard ? Over there, in that container”. Shit, that dude ran us all over the place. I hope I won’t have to go there anytime soon.

And now off to bed. Since I moved here I need 25 more minutes to get to Münich in the morning so I have to wake up at 4:00am. Great.

Picked up cars: good or bad?

Today I noticed that they are at it again picking up cars and this does not seem to be an isolated case. Opinions about the whole thing are kinda divided, some agree with this while others argue that it makes no sense because there are no other choices. I think both are right in their own way but I tend to agree with some of the comments I’ve read: if you can’t park right in front of your building, then look a bit further. It won’t kill you if you walk a bit.

This might come as a shock to many but here in Germany you don’t find public parkings every 50m. There are a lot of cars in the big cities, just like in Bucharest. The rule is simple: if find a spot, you can park. If not, you risk a fine (and be sure you will get it) or, if you block the traffic, an even bigger fine and a picked up car.

I know it’s not a perfect solution but I believe in time things will get better. I would say it’s a good start, I for one like better clear streets and less blocked intersections due to a lane being blocked by illegally parked cars.