Our bike and barge trip is done, and now it’s off to other places. We departed the Mainz boat mooring early and four of us (Linda, Randa, Neal, and me) wandered around old Mainz (the Altstadt) for a couple of hours before I had to pick up our rental car. Picking up rental cars is not as fast and efficient as it is in the States. It took well over an hour to get our car and find Randa and Neal by the boat. We did make it safely out of Mainz and headed to Klein-Gerau, a very small town near Frankfurt where I lived with friends in the late 1970s. Randa found a cool lace to stop for lunch and a beer – Der Ponyhof. I drove some old familiar roads and a few unfamiliar ones, and eventually found the restaurant. It was closed.
We eventually found a great place in the nearby town of Buttelborn. We had schnitzels big enough to last us the day. We arrived in Freiburg a little past three in the afternoon, checked into our hotel, and headed out to explore the old city.
My Clark Griswold Moment
Just so you know, I am a very good driver. I have driven all over the world, on both sides of the road, and in cars with steering wheels to the left and to the right. I’ve never had trouble navigating foreign roads.
But sometimes, I do miss a sign. This happened to me in Freiburg.
I was driving toward the Altstadt, looking for a parking spot. Perhaps it was because I was looking at the GPS screen on the dashboard. Or perhaps it was because there were hundreds and hundreds of people on the streets. Whatever the reason, I somehow missed a sign that indicated no cars were allowed on the street.
I ended up in the oldest section of town, the section where only pedestrians, bikes, and streetcars were allowed. I was the center of attention as I literally dodge walkers, bikes, and streetcars coming form both directions, No one said anything. Mostly I saw looks of amusement and ridicule – people thinking, “Stupid tourist”.
I eventually got back on a legal street, parked out of sight as quickly as possible, and the four of us joined the throng of people in the Altstadt. The police (POLITZAI) never found me.
Here are a few images from Freiburg.
