Bankhead Adventures

02 April 2009

Germany Debacle #1


View Larger Map

On our way from Wurzburg to Leipzig, it started snowing.  Just as we were approaching the tunnel through the mountain pass, the police kicked us off the autobahn and into the surrounding villages.  Gretchen, our GPS, kept telling us to make a u-turn and get back on the closed autobahn.  So I victoriously followed my nose through a few towns in the direction where I thought the autobahn would be, only to discover it was hundreds of feet above our heads with no entry or exit in sight. Every time we thought we found a new way, there were  non-English speaking fire fighters turning us away from the only road through the mountains.  

Defeated, we bought a map and drove in circles in the middle of the night on mountain roads with 6" of snow through little German villages.   The snow got deeper and the road steeper until we arrived in Oberhof and discovered it was a ski area at the top of the mountain the autobahn had tunneled under.  2 hours later we emerged from the back country and made it safely to Leipzig, only slightly worse for the wear.   It's a bit embarassing to get this lost, but I would at least like to complement myself for not swearing during this particular episode.

7 Comments:

  • Strong work. I thought for sure when you said, "We ended up at a ski resort" that you decided you couldn't live without trying out the ski slopes. But I'm glad that even without skiing, you made it to Leipzig. It was so fun having you here. I love you guys!

    By Blogger Michelle Glauser, at 1:35 AM  

  • I'm glad to see you've reformed your swearing ways in your old age Paul!! I'm sure Johnny (who's experienced your road language personally) will agree!!) :)

    By Blogger Em Russ, at 5:52 AM  

  • p.s. does your title imply that there are more debacles to come? I can't wait!

    By Blogger Em Russ, at 5:53 AM  

  • How fun that you guys are in Germany. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

    By Blogger Trulee, at 5:58 AM  

  • Bankhead, I am a little disappointed. The young man I knew always spent a couple of hours studying maps until he could commit the lay of the land to memory. And, for your family's, sake I am glad you didn't come up on any tractors on the autobahn.

    By Blogger Johnny, at 1:32 PM  

  • yikes!! I bet that was stressful. I can't wait to hear more soon...

    By Blogger brittney, at 2:44 PM  

  • So my only question is this...why didn't you stop to ski at the resort you ran into? :)

    By Blogger Kara, at 2:40 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home