It's the law. If you're going to drive around here, from mid-October-ish until Easter-ish, your vehicle must be equipped with winter tires. So one of today's chores was to take our borrowed car to the shop and navigate the process of changing over to Summer wheels, in our new language. Oh boy. Sounds fun, right?
Using Google translate, hand gestures and the ample patience of the mechanic, we got sorted and as the tires were being changed I walked down the street to a hardware store. After an hour or so of looking at hämmer, schraubendreher und rasentraktoren I dropped back in to check on the status. Patient mechanic was waiting, furrowed brow, greasy hands on hips. Apparently two of the four summer tires I'd brought were in bad shape and he wouldnt be able to install them. Of course, pretty par for the course. More Google translate, more gesturing and more patience later I'd bought replacements and we were back in business.
Thirty minutes passed and I was back in the driver's seat, tires spinning at 80 km/h and reflecting on what I'd just learned. Yes there was some new vocabulary and yes a bit of local knowledge regarding the nuances of customer service but the chief takeaway was a universal one. Every now and then, the person in front of you could use a bit of grace or just a little bit....or maybe alot...of patience. Grateful for the unexpected source of that today, and for Summer tires.
