Today was quite a day. Productive, fun, informative and expensive.
Marie presents a book on historical writings to a local historian. In the meantime, the crabby neighbor was having my van towed.
We had a meeting with an historian and family history expert in Karlsruhe, about an hour south of Heidelberg. We arrived in the leafy neighborhood and I parked the van in a well-marked zone near his house. About 90 minutes later, we emerged from a very enjoyable and productive meeting. My van was GONE. Now, this is the second time in my career that I’ve found an empty spot where my van once stood. The first was in September, 2005 in Prague, at a four star hotel right at the foot of the Charles Bridge. My van had been stolen by a professional thief during the night right under the “watchful” eye of a security camera, spotlights, and a so-called full-time security guard. (Yeah, right. I wonder if he had any trouble spending the money earned from looking the other way while my van was driven away at 12:25 a.m. on that warm September evening) It was only later that I learned that VWs were of particular interest that summer in Prague. Mine was the 5th stolen in the last 45 days. OK, would have been nice if the hotel receptionist had mentioned that little nugget of information when I asked about parking overnight in their lot!
Anyway, this morning’s shock was much the same. I walked over to the empty spot and looked around. There, hidden by foliage, was a sign about seven feet high marking the spot as a private handicapped spot. There was no painted white wheelchair on the pavement, as is usually the case in both Germany and America. I’d backed into the spot and so the sign, even if I had seen it, was pointing the wrong way for me to have noticed.
”The
The towtruck driver took pity on me as he collected my cash. “The city is trying to save money by not repainting wheelchair symbols on handicapped spots,” he said. “You must always be looking for the special sign.”
My donation to the city of Karlsruhe in the amount of 130 Euros (about $170 plus a fine I have to pay later in the amount of 35 Euros) will hopefully pay for a half gallon of white paint so that the city can once again properly mark private, handicapped spots.
Oh, the German version of the Supreme Court is located in Karlsruhe. Do you think I have a chance at an appeal? I can buy a lot of schnitzel for 165 Euro…
We found out later that our host had written an angry letter to the parties responsible, letting them have it for having a visitor’s vehicle towed away.
Without the work of Herr Mehldau, I would never have come to Germany!
It was through his computerized recording (still ongoing) of all the church records in Wittgenstein that I was able to match my immigrant ancestors back to their homeland, from the birthdates on their tombstones.
I also discovered that my immigrant ancestor had left behind an illegitimate son, and through Herr Mehldau’s records I was able to trace down to cousins still living in the area and have a reunion with them in 2006.
None of this would have happened without the years of work of Herr Mehldau and I thank him again.