Now that I've decided that I will most likely drive to/from work - the traffic isn't that bad, and I like being able to leave whenever I want and not be limited by train times - I've decided I need a "real" car. I've done some research and I narrowed my choices down to a BMW, Audi or Volvo. I looked into buying a used car first; this being Germany, it is a bit more complex than at home. Most people save up and just pay outright. It is possible to get a loan from a bank to buy the car, but this is also a bit more complicated than I anticipated. I've been advised that my best option is to finance or lease a new car.
After looking at the various angebote (offers) from the different companies, I decided that I would probably go with an Audi. I looked at Car & Driver, Consumer Reports and Top Gear to try to find the most versatile, fuel-efficient car that was still something that would be comfortable to drive for about 1 1/2 hours every day. I reached out to one Audi dealership - no response. I got lucky on the second try and found a salesman who speaks excellent English. Now, here's how the car buying process differs from the U.S. (I can't speak to the UK as I had a company car while there):
- There is no just show up and look at a car in the showroom. You need an appointment. You can just show up, but you will then be encouraged to... yep, make an appointment.
- I don't know about used car dealers, but with the dealerships, there is no sleazy haggling. Everything is up front and you can see EVERYTHING - the dealer's price, the dealer's commission, etc. I saw with the salesman and built the car I was interested in, and he pointed out every single cost and item.
- There is no hard sell. My entire experience was completely laid back, friendly and similar to what I've experienced the few times I've ventured into super high-class boutiques.
- I wanted to take a couple test drives. You know what came next, right? Yep, I needed to make an appointment. Yes, you read correctly. I was IN the dealership, LOOKING at a car, INTENDING to buy a car in the near future, and they let me leave. I now have an appointment on the 5th for my test drives.
The whole experience was quite pleasant, and I'm still looking for the "catch". I have everything printed out and will share with some German colleagues next week for their opinion - is it a good deal, is the interest rate right, etc - but so far, I'm quite pleased. I wasn't intending to sign any papers today, but even still, it made me happy that I didn't get any pressure to do so whatsoever.
While chatting with my salesman, I mentioned that my next purchase would be a city bike (stadt fahhrad). He directed me to a really quaint bike shop around the corner, which had been in business for the past 93 years. I was able to explain - in German! - that I was there to look at a ladies' city bike - and I was able to understand the directions to go to the back showroom and ask for help. I ended up finding a really cool bike for a great price (it being end of season here). The best part was that they insist you try it out before you buy it and so I hopped on to take a short ride. I know you never forget how to ride a bike, but I haven't been on one in any real capacity in probably 25 years or something. Those first few seconds were mighty wobbly!
I apparently lucked out into finding a "real German's" bike shop - as they do not normally serve tourists or expats. The man who helped me knew enough English for us to communicate and what I loved is that he helped me find a bike perfect for my midget height.
And... and... a BASKET! AND A BELL! The bike also has lights, but I don't find those nearly as exciting as a BASKET AND A BELL! In my head, I'm already zooming all through the streets of Frankfurt, happily ringing my bell, with a basket full of fresh fruit and bread. (Don't ask me why I have this image in particular - I blame too many subtitled foreign films). They customize the seat and all the other stuff, so I'll be able to pick the bike up when I'm back from my travels - either on the 5th or the 19th, whichever works best for me.
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| This is the style of bike I have. There will be a basket on the front :) |
You would think that was enough excitement for one day, but no!
As I've mentioned, my good friend W. has encouraged me to sign up for the Berlin half-marathon in April of next year. As it has been a good two years since I was running on a regular basis, I decided to ease into my training with a 10k training plan. I use the Nike app, which so far has been pretty good. Each day I have something to do - whether it is run, run/walk, cross train or rest. Today was my first big day - 8.04km.
After getting back from the bike store, I made a sandwich and did some laundry. I then changed into my running gear for my big adventure. According to my Nike coach, I was to alternate between running and walking - run 1K, walk 1K and so on. I have been curious about the path along the river, so I decided to run that way - forgetting that it was Saturday (aka tourists everywhere in the city center). I headed out of my flat and all was good until I hit the Zeil area. This is the main shopping (and thus tourist) area. I walked my first 1K and then shifted to running. This became a bit like my own version of frogger - only instead of cars, I was dodging clueless tourists. About halfway through the run, I had to switch to a fast walk because there was just no room to go. Once I got to the river, I noted my time and adjusted when I walked and ran to make up for the switch, ensuring that I had an even balance at the end. The path along the river is really pretty but not very long. I ran to the end one way, and then almost to the end another way. I think if I cross the bridge towards Sachenhausen, then the path may go on longer. I'm okay as long as I'm doing under 10k, but when my half marathon training begins in earnest, if I want to be outside, I'll have to find more places to run. There's a gorgeous park near my house, but I exhausted that path just doing 6k.
So on my way home, I decided to stop into the local gym. I'd been trading emails with them for a couple weeks and - yep, you guessed it - they kept asking me to make an appointment. I never got around to it, but I thought I'd take my chances on just showing up. Worst thing that could happen was that I would be asked to make an appointment.
The gym is very small but fully equipped - treadmills, elliptical, weights, TRX, etc. In addition, as part of the membership, I will get 3 initial sessions with a trainer - session 1 has me do a circuit to evaluate my overall fitness, session 2 has the trainer give me exercises and a plan to maximize what I want to do and session 3 is a calibration session to see if everything is working. Then I have a session every 3 months to track my progress and make any necessary adjustments. The price was really surprising - just 59 Euro/month - and the nice manager also gave me access to the new club in Bornheim that has a sauna and swimming pool - and is just 15 min drive (or about 25 min bike ride) away.
I'm trying to run outside - as the half marathon will be outside - but for the colder months, it will be nice to have somewhere to go inside. In addition, I really need to work on my cross-training. I have resistance bands and weights at home, but I can really do with some concentrated weight training and core work. I have missed this since I left the UK as my personal trainer Andy used to really put me through my paces, and it made a huge difference to my overall fitness level.
Last weekend I had my first guests in (yay, E. and A.!) and while we had a brilliant time, I am not sure I can go hard again. There is a music event tonight featuring greatest hip hop of the 2000s - and I'm very tempted to go - but I'm still aching in weird places after busting several moves last weekend. (For anyone curious, this is where we were: www.cookys.de.) A and I were trying to teach E how to drop it. I believe there even was a pretzel involved as a prop. Suffice it to say we weren't entirely successful, but I got a hell of a workout doing all those squatting moves.
And so now I'm home, after what was the most amazing hot shower. (Something about showering after exercise... so very, very nice. Although nothing beats the shower I took after the Mudathalon a few years ago - that was like a religious experience). My big plans for the evening include ordering in sushi and a combination of catching up on some shows on my iPad and reading. Good times :)
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