The Unfall (Accident)

A strange looking limo in Dresden

It started out as a great evening. The two engineers who are teaching with me in our Study Abroad -Leipzig program (Professors Becky Blaust and Sean Falkowski) and I took a 1 hour road trip to Dresden that ended with a great dinner at the Brauhaus am Waldschlosschen. Light traffic was encountered on the way back to Leipzig, and after dropping off Sean and Becky I was very close to home when the accident took place. I was about 25 yards from my apartment and parking places when I had to make a left turn. Coming my way was a car way too fast, and consequently my rear door and quarterpanel were smashed and the car was turned around. Both side airbags deployed and I came out of the car confused and in shock. The other driver was OK, but his airbags also deployed.

As of now, I am OK with the exception of a stiff back muscle. My car was eventually hauled off -- "abgeschlepped" and I finally made it to bed by 12:30 a.m. The long and the short of it is be very careful because drivers can go well beyond normal speeds in cities, and also know the laws of the host country as well. I did not know that at an intersection that is not marked, you cannot make a left turn. That resulted in a warning on top of all the other bad stuff.

For the short haul I'll be seeing you on the tram, bus, or train! More will follow.