When he proposed Gesine to go to Tuscany, I was kind of relieved. When her friends all other destinations currently on the agenda: Depending on the Season either club holiday in Turkey or Christmas market in Nuremberg or Dresden. Something of that nature pastime so that you do not need and quite a normal man can go to the mental substance. Compared to Tuscany seemed like a heavenly place.
also prevailed over the means of transport rather quickly agreed. Yes, I know: For environmental reasons, would have to take trains. Other hand, speaks in principle, nothing. But the devil is, as so often in the detail. The long track itself is not the problem, they are the last 50 kilometers. Think about it: get off in Pisa, Florence, Siena or even Piombino off the train (assuming these places are really connected to the rail network), what then? How does it go on?
bus? With all the luggage? (And I speak not from my luggage.)
taxi? Please! Since you already have to watch like a hawk, that one will not cheated, and then even in a foreign language area? No, no.
remain a rental car. But I must say that I am not a car type. Since you do not even know what bullies are previously driven by car. Maybe they did something broken and in the return anything said? Then you go before the entrance to a vineyard on the brakes and is surprised that you shoot without a noticeable delay through the pine avenue Kopp and Heister ends at the next cypress. Conclusion: Self cooker is worth gold, and the same goes for your own car. Either true or not.
We then let's go. I admit that after a few hundred kilometers, the latest just before the Swiss border, register subliminally doubts about the decision in favor of the car. But then: Helvetia! High mountains, green meadows, doll-like houses, winding roads, tunnels as long as the Eifel. And then quasi
: Italy. At the first toll station still stirs the vague hope that the fuel was included. Twenty-seven toll stations and three miles to bid farewell to this funny idea. And quite quickly can be identified by envy, that the Italians have perfected this highway robbery as a carrot and stick principle. Shortly after Milan was suddenly an end to tolls on the highway. The relief that holds only so long until you noticed in passing from the corner of my eye that there is one at each exit. From that point materializes in the head a counter that together simultaneously calculates the amounts of their own day and time deposit accounts and current stock prices to determine whether you will still be able to redeem at the target exit.
But it should come anyway everything else. Parma
We had left behind and climbed the mountains. From then It was basically downhill, towards La Spezia. Behind a short tunnel to a sign: "Welcome to Tuscany". And shortly after the sign: failure of the fuel pump. Gesine noticed the damage, but not by the reluctant jerking of the vehicle, but to my analytical expression.
"You all right?"
"no. Car is broken "
We had a blessing in disguise. A mile down there was a motorway service station. A few phone calls later, on the hope that there is a towing company. The only catch: It was of course Friday afternoon. Nevertheless, a half hour later met two representatives of the nearest garage, where the word is understood nearest relative. I was surprised at first that was already in the back of another car with two passengers, and asked me how she wanted to take us there. But the two helpers, dressed in blue shirts of their national football team, two rolls of lead from the rear of the truck. Then they pushed my car to the front wheels on it and lifted hydraulically to the roles to eight inches. Done. Front wheels on the truck, rear tires on the road. We would definitely save fuel.
"Back in the car!" Meant one of them. "And nothing brake! Attention! Nix brake! "
Well, that makes sense. Unstoppable! I'm not stupid! So off we went
, further down, towards La Spezia. However, only about ten kilometers. Then the tug took the exit, and while I'm still clear: "That was not so far," we were at the toll station. The cashier turned out to be compulsory obsessed pedant: he conceded not only the driver of the tow, but also with the people in the back and of course me. And I was in Milan last time paid what seemed to him to be happy. He probably did not take every day such sums. However, I did not
to too much to quarrel with my fate, for while I was cranky after the workshop on the lookout, the tow truck took the opposite Driveway and began their journey back, back uphill, mile after mile, and that mileage, I had already paid for their wheeling charge. My heart no good.
"Where do the men?" Wanted to know Gesine confused.
"The workshop of course. Where else? "
Now I admit that this kind of movement is used to. You sit in the car, as always, just a little tilted backward, and goes about a meter behind a truck, without apparent influence speed, distance and direction anyway. In addition, the car bounces gently with each bump up and down. It is quite remarkable, and the term "Strange" does not exactly describe the feelings. Gesine any event had drawn her diary from her handbag and started to work on a draft of her will, and she wailed softly to himself.
plagued me all other concerns. I noticed that is suddenly that I had agreed to the two Juve fans in the cockpit of any communication. And yes communication is often underestimated, for example, if you want to say that one will burst the bubble in the near future. And just this emergency pioneered in using power. Now I would
can honk. But among us: We were in Italy. Since it fell on most, if not honked. And I all the time had not honked, I knew already that this would not help. Now I could use my Händi, with nearly a thousand numbers after all, memory. You guessed it: the tow of the two were not among them. I even briefly illuminated the idea herunterzukurbeln the window and shout loudly and gesticulate. But, first made wind and tow a noise as twenty harvester, so that the acoustics turned out as a tool, and second, the truck was much taller and wider than my car, so I promised myself visually little chance of success.
Eventually came the moment when the broke the basic biological mechanisms of its passage, the moment when I desperately the brakes. Our car jumped out of the front pad and hopped two or three times with the spring legs until it gently rolled out on the hard shoulder, accompanied by shrill squealing of the brakes of the tow truck, whose driver from my lonely decision was as surprised was how the occupants of the other damaged boat to the loading area, the car from the braking down hard into the retaining chains was spontaneous and therefore decided to trigger the airbags. When the nitrocellulose explosives slammed, I was already comfortably with a sigh on a bush beside the road edge and let the physiology of redress.
held Unfortunately, at this very moment of physical and mental relief, a police car next to me. After a trial in Italian Carabinieri assured me in broken German, because I just did something very disorderly. He also wanted to know who the lady was unconscious in my car and what I have done with her.
To make it short: A little later, almost all interested parties to go separate ways. The tow truck with two terrified passengers in addition to relaxed air bags in the back towards the garage, my car with a second tow truck in the direction of other workshop, Gesine by ambulance towards the hospital, and I with the Carabinieri police station in the direction.
Gesine and the car I only seen again the next day. Cycle and fuel pump went again. We are not then moved to Tuscany. Maybe next year.
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© 2009 Julius Moll, cologne-Prussian editing Institute
