travels (26T): heidelberg, germany

September 1993. Like many Bavarian cities (many European cities?) Heidelberg has an "old city" and a "new city." We had a hotel reservation waiting for us in the old city as we travelled up the Romantischestrass. It was a cold, rainy afternoon as we pulled up to the little B&B jammed in between the other centuries-old buildings. Not a parking lot in sight, despite the fact that they advertised parking, but we had learned that in Germany this typically meant that they had a bunch of reserved spots a few blocks away.

So I ducked inside and checked in with the portly lady behind the counter. Where's the parking, I asked, figuring she'd whip out a map and give directions. Not quite. Out she comes from the counter and into the tiled entrance hallway; opens out a set of double doors to a little courtyard between buildings, then the double doors to the wet and windy street where my Missus was waiting in the rented 190E; and gestures. Drive 'er in here, buddy.

This was too weird. She wants me to drive the car down the hallway. Had to kind of bite my tongue to keep from asking Can I park it next to the room?. So, feeling foolish for some odd reason, I drove it between these sets of doors and out to the spot at the back left.

We encountered stuff like this a number of times in Germany. I guess when you're dealing with buildings and streets that were laid out centuries before motorized travel, you just gotta do what it takes. One more European thing that we don't have to deal with in Canada.