I don't think I have experienced anything as crazy as today. It started out really nice but ended another way. In the morning we shopped around Rothenburg and it was beautiful! We bought a few things and walked around the city more. Around 11:00am or so we decided to head out so we loaded everything and started to drive to Neuschwanstein Castle. Mom of course loves seing Europe "through the back door" so we decided to try to get off the Autobahn for a little while. Well, we headed towards the Romantic Road which ended up not being romantic at all! It was basically another highway. It was too bad because it added an hour or so on to our trip. It wasn't a big deal because seeing the countryside in the car is part of the fun. We got to Neuschwanstein and it was breath taking. We had kind of a hike up the mountain to the castle but it was all worth it for the scenery! The weather was great and the sun was shining over all of the tiny villages with the mountains in the background. I have never seen anything like it! The pictures do not give it justice and neither does my description. I had been to Neuschwanstein before but it was a lot better this time. I think the weather helps out a lot! 
After getting a tour of the castle, we headed to Salzburg. We thought it would be about a 2 hour drive but that definitely didn't happen. We started following the GPS because our real map wasn't much help. The GPS took us through the smallest German towns and we ended up getting completely lost! None of the towns or even the streets were on the map. After we ended up on a street that looked like a driveway with goats right along the street we eventually turned around and asked for directions. We found a younger guy walking on the side of the street. Mom simply asked "Salzburg?" and the look on his face was priceless. He only said "Long way". I think he was laughing at us too! He ended up being extremely nice and helpful. He gave us direction and they were exact. We didn't really have any trouble after that. Well, atleast not for awhile.
His directions eventually got us back on the Autobahn and we felt a lot better. It was a little stressful for awhile and once we got to the highway we felt a lot better. That didn't last too long. As we were driving, Dad saw some flashing blue lights behind him. He assumed it was the police but he didn't know how to pull over since we were going to fast on the Autobahn. Eventually the police car pulled in front of our car and it had a sign that read "Stop! Polizei!". Then we knew he was pulling us over! It was crazy! We pulled off onto a side road and the man came to our window with a flashlight and just said "Hallo, Polizei" in the most stern voice. It was just like in a movie! Mom asked what the problem was and he said "control". We assume he was with border control because we were really close to the Germany/Austria border. Once the guy found out we were Americans, he didn't really give us any slack. The only things he said in English were passport, drivers license and registration. He asked for all of our passports, Dad's drivers license and the car registration which we of course didn't know exactly what it was. We eventually found it. This really put my German to the test because once he knew that I was the only one who could understand him he somewhat railed the questions at me. He asked where we were coming from, where we were going, what we were doing in Germany and where we bought the car. He spoke really fast and I am kind of surprised that I knew what he was saying. I guess there was just so much pressure that I had to! Eventually he said we were ok and let us go but it was completely insane! After we pulled out I just couldnt believe that we got pulled over by the German police! So crazy! We finally got to Salzburg and of course the hotel booking was wrong and we only had a double room for three people. It was just the cherry on top of a "perfect" day (as Mom would say). So we got to the room and had some drinks. We were all glad to be off the roads!
Nickie was our HERO! She understood everything the officer asked ß and beleive me he did nothing to disspell the stereotype of German officers!!
ReplyDeleteTwo quotes ß all by Scott: Is this even a road?
Does he want US to pull over?
Tracey's answers: Yes
YES
The last post was from Mom ß love to you all!!!
ReplyDeleteHave you hear the expression "scared straight" I think thats what happened to you when the officier was barking out orders. The language came back to you in a hurry. Why am I not surprised that you would get pulled over just when your dad is nervous already. Nickie I am so proud of your spelling on all the towns!
ReplyDelete