Pav Explains... Parking in Europe

The hilarious "Smart Car"

Europe is a very old, very crowded place. When many of the bigger cities here were established hundreds of years ago, they were very well designed - for pedestrians! Nowadays, most of these cities, especially in the older parts, are a twisted nightmare of one-way streets and traffic circles. If your car is bigger than a horse, you are screwed. Thus, parking is truly a daunting task. The first week I was in Germany, a few times I thought some maniac was coming up on the sidewalk to run me over. But no, they're just parking... on the sidewalk. They park everywhere you could imagine, and respect for other vehicles is non-existent. If a space is a little too small, you'll see the car work its way in, and nudge the car ahead of it forward. While this woulld trigger a shootout in the states, here, it's just they way it is.

European cars are hilarious. While there are always the impressive BMW's, Mercedes, and the elegant Ferraris and Maseratis, the majority of eurocars are a joke. Take a normal car, or even a minivan, and shrink it to half-size. Voila - you now have a eurocar. Of course the reason for this is parking, and fuel prices. Standard unleaded gasoline is roughly four-times the price it is in the states - thus, many people opt for a diesel. Myself, I'm still a big fan of public transportation. The trains and buses are dependable and actually clean, and you don't have to sweat driving after enjoying a couple of Germany's finest beers with dinner.