Leipzig, Dresden, and Driving with Greta
Well, I started this post a few days ago and had to stop to feed the little guy. I thought I'd write two posts about the last week of my parents' visit, but I have finally realized that I'll be lucky to get even one out so here it is!
I have to start by telling you about Greta. Normally I would save the best for last, but--again--who knows how long I'll have to write so, henceforth, it will be best first. (Right now, David is happily snuggled up with his aunt Lauren.)
My parents rented a car for the last weekend here so that we could all drive to Leipzig and Dresden, and the car came with a GPS system. Naturally, this was in German. As the Car Talk men have noted, the GPS voice is nice, even-keeled and never ever EVER gives you tone--no matter how many times you ignore its directions. It is also a woman's voice, so we kept referring to it as "she". In the end, "she" became Greta. Greta would tell us where to go, and Michael or I would translate. It was all good fun.
The problem with Greta was simple: She wasn't very good with directions. We discovered this on our journey home from Leipzig. We arrived there on our own with no trouble, but decided to use Greta to get back to the Autobahn. She navigated us smoothly through places we never would have thought to turn--little neighborhoods and business parks which turned out to lead to bigger roads. All was going so well that my mother exclaimed "That's it, I'm sold! I'm getting GPS on my next car....Noooooo!!!!!!!!!" (the "Nooooo....." was uttered by my mom and dad in unison, actually.)
There we were, about to drive onto what was obviously a pedestrian walkway. Sure, we were at the Autobahn, Greta had managed that, but there was no way to actually get ONTO the Autobahn. I suppose we should have been more specific in our instructions.
This happened a few times. Here's the best part--in each and every case, my father defended Greta. "She has an old map", "It's her first assignment", "She didn't know about the construction!" Despite her many, ahem, mishaps, my dad actually had the audacity to ask at one point "Look, we have to make a decision: Are we going to listen to Greta and go home, or just keep wandering around?" (As if the two were not one and the same.) I believe my father had a bit of a crush on mild-mannered old Greta.
I have to start by telling you about Greta. Normally I would save the best for last, but--again--who knows how long I'll have to write so, henceforth, it will be best first. (Right now, David is happily snuggled up with his aunt Lauren.)
My parents rented a car for the last weekend here so that we could all drive to Leipzig and Dresden, and the car came with a GPS system. Naturally, this was in German. As the Car Talk men have noted, the GPS voice is nice, even-keeled and never ever EVER gives you tone--no matter how many times you ignore its directions. It is also a woman's voice, so we kept referring to it as "she". In the end, "she" became Greta. Greta would tell us where to go, and Michael or I would translate. It was all good fun.
The problem with Greta was simple: She wasn't very good with directions. We discovered this on our journey home from Leipzig. We arrived there on our own with no trouble, but decided to use Greta to get back to the Autobahn. She navigated us smoothly through places we never would have thought to turn--little neighborhoods and business parks which turned out to lead to bigger roads. All was going so well that my mother exclaimed "That's it, I'm sold! I'm getting GPS on my next car....Noooooo!!!!!!!!!" (the "Nooooo....." was uttered by my mom and dad in unison, actually.)
There we were, about to drive onto what was obviously a pedestrian walkway. Sure, we were at the Autobahn, Greta had managed that, but there was no way to actually get ONTO the Autobahn. I suppose we should have been more specific in our instructions.
This happened a few times. Here's the best part--in each and every case, my father defended Greta. "She has an old map", "It's her first assignment", "She didn't know about the construction!" Despite her many, ahem, mishaps, my dad actually had the audacity to ask at one point "Look, we have to make a decision: Are we going to listen to Greta and go home, or just keep wandering around?" (As if the two were not one and the same.) I believe my father had a bit of a crush on mild-mannered old Greta.
And now for some photos. No more time to write, so these will be a bit disorganized:
David's first time in his carseat, and looking very cool I might add:
David, when he heard that we were going to give Greta one more shot at getting us home:
David wondering why we would ever take him outside in heat like this...
David's first time in his carseat, and looking very cool I might add:
David, when he heard that we were going to give Greta one more shot at getting us home:
David wondering why we would ever take him outside in heat like this...
David on his first ride in a stroller:
OK no more time I'm afraid. I'll come back and give captions, but for now you can guess which are Leipzig, which are Dresden, and which are Jena :) Sorry!
And finally, my parents...no caption really captures it :)
4 comments:
Stop picking on Greta. We got home didn't we!
Papa G.
P.S. Who told you that you could post that last picture?
What wonderful pictures. Every time I see pictures from your trips in Germany - I want to go there even more. You and your family are so lucky to be able to have this experience.
Greta sounded really cool. Loved how your dad stuck up for her - sounds like something Tim would do.
Your little man is getting bigger.
Love that last picture of your parents. I can't get over how Griffin-y David looks!
Great photos! I love the one below of our Bib. study group. Miss you and think of you often! Glad little David is doing well. And I'm convinced there is no easy way to get from point a to point b in Europe, literally or metaphorically, with or without GPS.
Post a Comment