My affair with a Passat

You could hardly blame her for reacting in such a violent and remarkable way to a long period of neglect! She even brought me here on July 31, my conveyance to Münster. We parked her behind the apartment building on a spot set aside just for her. It had a little flaw however. It was on a slopey slant and we soon learned that slopey slants are not good for the brakes. We also learned that hand brakes don't like to be tense for so long and therefore prefer a position of rest. So she found her way out onto the street called Piusallee and there she waited until the day the city began tearing up the street and sidewalk. On that day I had exactly 10 minutes to race up the flights, fetch the key to her heart, drive her around the not-so-square block and find a new spot for her. The street worker admonished me that she would soon have been towed. Not too long later she went out on the town and got herself ticketed for parking illegally. With great relief I realized that this occurred while she was in someone else's hands and therefore someone else had to pay. Passat is actually on a very meager diet and hasn't consumed much this year at all. Just once, after she had been in the hands of agreed-to others, she got her fill for the very memorable price of $90. Since then she has had very few outings, just out to the airport at Greven a couple of times and such. That last trip out to the airport however was under very severe conditions. Vision was very poor almost o%. The poor girl was almost fully encased in bird droppings. Those lovely tall trees on Piusallee afford much shade but also are home to more than a few feathered friends. Getting the windshield clear took some doing. The windshield wipers and the cleaning fluid helped a bit. Then I descended upon the old girl with paper towels and more window cleaning fluid in hand. A sticky substance, perhaps also from the trees had fully sealed the car as well as the droppings. With much effort and more scraping, the old girl began to shine. By then it was time to visit the motor car inspection station just up the road. They were kind and efficient enough to inform me that the old girl needed work before she could go on stage again. Her performance would have to wait. At the Pit Stop they wanted my money and Passat was invited to spend the weekend while replacements for her private parts were procured. The really fun part was opening her trunk and slipping the bicycle in so that once there I could have conveyance on to school. Lifting and tugging and shoving we got the bike in, but I was trapped within the handle bars and only with great contortion was I able to free myself from the situation. Bungee cords held the trunk cover in place and we were set to roll. Fortunately the mechanic takes VISA and he even managed to tack on the fee for the final inspection so a further visit to the TÜV people would be unnecessary. As I picked the old girl up I found myself putting the bicycle into the trunk once again. There were two men, one on each side of me, and just for a brief moment I imagined one of them offering to help me juggle the bike into place, but no, no one said a word and well, I guess gentlemanly graciousness is dead. So sad. In any case, we got home and now we avoid that nasty Piusallee parking spot. We are on the side road, with the two left wheels up on the curb. Here that is perfectly legal, at least it appears to be since so many cars spend their nights that way. As a matter of fact you can be facing any which way on that side of the street as long as two of your wheels are up on the curb. Well, we know that we have at least one more outing ahead of us and that will be the full service car wash but we are waiting for a warm dry July day for that special spa visit. There is a lesson to be learned in all of this. Had the Passat been taken out more frequently and regularly she might not have had rusty brakes and then she might have passed inspection without a trip to the mechanic. One would have to have calculated carefully knowing the price of gas per liter is €1,48 to know how much driving would have kept the brakes oiled and happy and not to have spent more than the €558 which the brake job cost. In any case there is no way I would have given up my bicycle year in Münster.