Cattle Rustling.

If we had say,  a small herd of cattle on the roof,  I could have sworn someone was up there this morning trying to herd them.....well,  somewhere.
Onto another building?   Don't know.


We had seen the ladder to the roof hatch just outside our apartment door this morning when my travelling companion left for work,  but I failed to realise that this was "chimney sweep" day,  or whatever you'd like to call it,  and that there would be a couple guys scampering around the building opening hatches and generally thumping and banging.


This guy....

was fairly clean compared to his younger companion,  who came to the door a little later to explain that they wouldn't need to inspect our boiler until 2014.
At least I think that's what he said.  He kind of had that whole thick Austrian accent going on there.

Whatever.

Works for me.

Any ideas where we'll be in 2014?

I also immediately determined that the younger dude was the one who ended up with the dirty end of things in this whole arrangement.

He wasn't quite  as dirty as these guys,  but you get the idea.

 .............




Meanwhile I took a little journey yesterday to get my "Führerscheinuntersuchung"

I'll let you take a second to try and negotiate that word.   Don't they like their long words?

Well,  it seems I'll be needing to get my Austrian drivers licence,  and the first part of the process is a very brief medical exam.
And no,  I'm not making this shit up.  We're not talking about flying an aircraft here,  or driving a transport truck.
 The "Führerschein"  part is the "license"  part of the word,  and  "Untersuchung"  is the "exam"
(that word is also used to mean an investigation,  but let's not get side tracked here)

That's your German lesson for the day.
No charge.


The first part of the test was finding the damned place,  and I pity the fool who doesn't speak the lingo and can't ask for help.  Seriously.  We could make it into some sort of treasure hunt,  and charge people to try and find the doctor's office!

Somehow the words,  "rabbet warren"  comes to mind?


So after I managed to find the place,  filled out my form,  it wasn't much more than a 15 minute wait before I got to see the Doc. 
Not bad in the grand waiting room scheme of things,  actually.

Turns out it was a lady Doc, which I already knew,  not that it matters,  and the "test" is pretty basic.   I now know I can do at least one deep knee bend,  my blood pressure is fine, (well,  sort of fine, but I had been traipsing up and down the stairs trying to find the damned place)
  I have the same peripheral vision I had almost forty years ago when I first got my driver's license,  and oh....I can still almost read all the numbers on the eye chart.  Turns out my right eye is a tad weak,  but I guess as long as I stick to using both eyes when I drive,  it's all good?


When it came to the reading glasses,  I just explained that my arms were too short, and she didn't hold that against me.




Let's just contemplate this for a moment, and try and put it into perspective,  shall we?


  Forget the fact that I've had my license since 1972,  and that my first summer job was delivering lumber.... (five forward with a splitter) Let's just skip on ahead,  shall we? 


Let's see, I've driven in Puerto Rico,   since we lived there for just over a year,  with nary a scratch on the car I might add,  and since we've been over here,  we've been to some crazy busy cities in Europe.   Going to Paris three times by car comes to mind.   And let's not forget Amsterdam,  Bonn,  Cologne,  shall I continue?
 
How about driving around the Arc de Triomphe?

 Yup,  been there.....



There are twelve streets that converge...

Here's a view from 35,000 feet.

 Here's an impression of just how "orderly" that whole experience can be.

Fun stuff huh?   And I noticed in that clip,  what's with the white vehicle that's completely sideways?  Where the heck is he going??

Oh,  and if you happen to miss your planned exit,  you have to go all the way around again.   My travelling companion would start to get a little rattled on the second go around,  accompanied by a certain amount of butt clenching.....


Actually,  now that I think on it,  I've driven right up through down town Montreal, Québec in a class "A" motor home!
Probably not the brightest move in hindsight buy hey,  the city buses could do it,  why not me?



And for those who have no clue what that is,  here's a pic.....

Kind of like a bus,  right?

And no,  that part that's hanging out at the side doesn't stay out for driving down the road.  Don't worry.  It's a "slide"....and it "slides"  in...
(in case you just tuned in from say,  Turkey or some other such place)


So where was I?

Right.


So now.....what?  If I can't touch my nose with my index finger with my eyes closed (forgot,  that was the other thing) or do a deep knee bend,   I can't drive in Austria?


Are you kidding me??


I guess it doesn't really matter,  since I "passed".  
Oh my,  I'm just so thrilled.


The next step in the puzzle will be to get a translation of my Ontario Driver's License.

*sigh*



Oh yes boys and girls, the fun continues!