Driving in Germany

Matt and I have recently acquired our German drivers' licenses. Before we arrived here, I figured that driving in Germany would probably be like driving in America, only faster. But I was wrong. It's very very different. First of all, there are about 168 different road signs that you might encounter on a drive, and not all of them are easy to interpret at first glance. And they're in German. Which is a problem when you don't know any German.

And then there's the autobahn. I'm still a little terrified of it, but autobahn driving is not as intense as I thought it was going to be. In most places, there are speed limits: the norm is usually 130 kilometers per hour, which is about 80 mph. But every once in a while, you come to a stretch of road with this sign posted:

...and all bets are off. People start flying past you at 170 kph or more. Even in the places where the limit is 130 kph, people are still usually driving at 140 or 150. And the fines for speeding here are drastically low compared to the states. The dealer who sold us our car (Yes, we bought a car! More on that in a moment) said that the fines are usually only about 25 euro. So people like to go fast. Right now I'm sticking to the two far right lanes. 

A few days ago we bought a new 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. It's "tempest blue," shiny, sporty, and we can't wait to drive it! It needs to clear customs and be driven up here from a town a few hours south, so it's going to be a few days. But we're so excited! Pictures to come. 

Rachel