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February 4, 2007
Conquer the Autobahn: Hitch-hiking 2.0
Bad things ensued on the German Autobahn when I hit the brakes while on black ice at 70 kph in my small Mitsubishi Colt (Mirage). No, you really shouldn't brake when you're on ice. But what do you do when the guy in front slows down? He was far away. And his car was equipped with anti-blocking. Mine was not. The Mitsubishi started to spin.
The 5-second story ended on the crash barrier, luckily with no-one hurt. The 40-ton truck that followed us could pass. With me in the car were three others that I barely new, a couple of computers and lots of luggage in the trunk. That was back in February 1999.
My passengers back then didn't complain too much and were sorry for the damage. We continued our 7-hour journey across Germany from Mainz to Berlin.
Hitch-hikers have always been patient passengers - even though I picked up these hitch-hikers with one of Germany's first ride-sharing agencies. These shops matched up drivers and passengers for a fee - and as a driver, I saved on fuel money because my passengers were chipping in. Now, eight years later, ride-sharing has really taken off. Web sites such as Mitfahrgelegenheit.de list willing chauffeurs, often dozens of rides to choose from between major German cities. It's rare that you see classic hitch-hikers on the road. Shoestring travel has just become more reliable.
The system works: a month ago, Simone (left) was kind enough to take
Anne (right) and me to Berlin. Simone sells databases for Oracle, Anne
is a budding artist - soon she'll be presenting an installation of
her's in Germany's new (old) capital. For just 20 Euros, I made the
trip - a steal compared to overpriced train tickets (90 Euros unless
you book weeks ahead of time). High gas prices have convinced drivers to share rides and cost - expensive train travel has driven passengers back on the road.
A day later, I got back into some stranger's car, which took me down to Leipzig, later to Munich and eventually back to Mainz near Frankfurt, where I caught a flight home.
One thing you have to deal with as a passenger: different driving styles. I did hold my breath when I could make out what movie the kids were watching in the rear seats of the van in front. I find tailgating at 140kph autobahnspeed is rather exciting.
Did I always meet fantastically interesting people? Of course not. But they've always been friendly and for sure as reliable as the British trains or international aircraft.
Posted by dr at February 4, 2007 2:44 PM
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Comments
German Autobahn :-) nun ja ich glaube es heißt Highway
Posted by: Gerald Mann at February 11, 2007 8:23 PM
Ha, a language question. Great.
Since the Autobahn is where Germany shines, we've managed to export the word! Check Google for "Autobahn Germany" and you'll find plenty of hits.
There are a few other German words in English, by the way, angst, kindergarten (also: kindergarden), bratwurst, and also compounds with a German part such as apple strudel.
Highway works too - I believe its etymology stems from when they built roads that weren't level with the rest of the land (let me know if I'm wrong!). And as usual, the Americans still use the old version of that word, in a fairly general sense. The modern word for autobahn, used in Britain, would be Motorway.
Posted by: David at February 28, 2007 10:18 AM