He called you what?

Just another story of living cross-culturally. Driving here is always an adventure. We drive a standard so that always makes things interesting but then the traffic, cobblestone streets, narrow streets and cars parked everywhere just makes it crazy. Parking is even funner! Most of the time one has to parallel park. Jason and I were helping get our new team member settled and parking on the street can be hard to find. One has to watch for driveways, no parking zones and whatnot. Jason found a spot and we pulled in. I looked and didn't see any problem, there was a door but nothing obvious. We payed for 2 hours of parking and went up to her apartment. Two hours later, we send Amy (new team member) to pay for some more parking and she comes back saying someone wanted us to move our car. I grab Amy's shoes (I had only slippers on) and run outside thinking that someone just wanted us to move a little. When I got there I was very surprised.

The man sees me and asks if this was my car. I said "yes". He then goes into his tirade. Did you not see the no parking sign? Can you not read? This is total crude (he used a mild word). Are you stupid? I missed an appointment, I have been waiting for 30 minutes. Isn't it clearly marked? He also used a few other choice German curse words.

I quickly said first, that it was my car but I didn't park it. He asked if my husband was blind. I also got in a few "sorrys" and what else could I say. As parting shots after what seemed an eternity of being chewed out, he told me to lay off the alcohol!! I just laughed and told him I didn't drink! I think he would have been better off and gotten away faster if he had just said he was upset and let it go. I guess he felt better giving me my due and I felt pretty lucky to get off so easily. I am just glad I didn't cry!

Everything becomes an adventure! I will share about Amy's doctor visits later! Germany- good times! (and I really mean that, even though it can be difficult)