Since I was coming from Konstanz and my sister and mother were coming from the Heidelberg area, we decided it would be best if we met up where the train line intercepted their "car line". I got there a bit early, but soon enough the two of them pulled up in my parents' obnoxiously orange car. What we hadn't realized was that Offenburg's main train station is a really bad place to meet up. Yes, it is right off the Autobahn... but the signage is really bad and not at all conducive towards getting back ON the Autobahn and into France.
My mother no longer has any patience for crazy car drivers (maybe this is one of the many traits I've inherited from my mother?!), my sister is a good navigator but not a very insistent one - and I just wasn't going to get involved. I've learned when to keep my mouth shut.
Our first attempt, which involved following the signs took us right back to the train station. Our second attempt which involved following my mother's gut instinct (which usually is a good compass to follow) plus the signs spun us in another circle - and we suddenly dead ended at the beginning of a pedestrian zone. Yes, one might have thought that there would be sort of indication that the street ends suddenly with no opportunity to turn around or anything, but maybe we were just too close to France.
So there we sat. When suddenly...
You know how in slap-sticky comedy flicks things get really crazy and people are chasing each other and running away and missing each other and there's complete chaos there's always a marching band that will come out of nowhere and add exponentially to the confusion? And every time you watch a movie like that, you think, riiiiiiiiiiiiight, like that would really happen. Every time. Who comes up with this stuff? Isn't art supposed to imitate life?
Well, either art does imitate life or sometimes life just imitates art, but just as we came to a complete stop and frustration hit it's high point -
yes, the marching band began to play. I couldn't help myself and started laughing: "Really?! Really?! A marching band?!". Ok, it wasn't actually marching toward us aiming to engulf us and slam it's cymbals through the window and the trumpet player did not walk up onto the roof of our car or anything - they were sitting in the town square playing peacefully (albeit loudly) but still - a marching band?!
We did make it out on our third attempt and were merrily on our way... once we were rolling towards France we all started giggling, seriously? a marching band?!
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