Adventures with BMW
Kendrah opened her eyes to a new morning underneath a bright blue sky. It was spring at its finest. Blossoms in full colour, birds alive with song and an unprecedented warm temperature for the season so far. She stuffed some summery clothing into a bag (recalling that the weather was rumoured to be balmy in Hungary) and dashed off to work for the morning for a few last harried hours finishing off writing a proposal. At lunch time, she stepped out of the office door into the sunshine and down the street filled with a wonderful feeling of freedom and the joy of spring. The proposal was handed off, the weather was inspiring, it was a long weekend, and she was off on a road trip with 3 lovely ladies and the promise of a delightful time in Budapest on the other end.
The drive started out blissfully boring…nice weather, nice conversation, nice croissants, nice fresh green trees along the nice smooth highway. They were making good time, and felt sure they’d reach Budapest by midnight.
A warning light appeared on the dashboard. An ambiguous red exclamation mark….what could it be…oil? an overheated engine? a fuel problem? A few minutes down the highway a sudden shakiness and shimmy in the car made the meaning of the symbol apparent: it was a low tire pressure warning (in a hi-tech BMW car) proceeding a flat tire reality. Discouraged, the 4 ladies slowed and moved to the side of the road, scouring the highway signs for any indication of a service station. “There’s one!...but what’s that giant X across the sign?....oh…it’s closed down”. Feeling very flat at this point, they pulled off at this overpass in any case hoping for some remnant of the former service station to still be in order. No such luck. “But it’s fine. We can change a flat. No problemmo. I’ve done it several times, says Kendrah. You do have a spare right?” “…Well, I think so, says the driver. I seem to remember seeing one…though I’m not sure…maybe that was someone else’s car. I don’t drive this car often, you see.” So the ladies unpacked all their luggage and rooted about in the boot. Nothing there…under the car?...nothing there?...under the back seat?...nothing there? “Gee…there are only so many places you can hide a tire.” No user manual. “Hmmph. It appears there’s no spare tire,” they concluded.
Just then, along came some potentially heroic gentlemen to rescue 4 lovely ladies in distress. They step out of their vehicle and in a strong German dialect, ask the girls about the direness of their situation. Gentleman #1 is over 6 feet tall, with a shiny bald head, deep-set eyes on a stern-looking face, and an impressive bushy black moustache with long handlebars. He’s wearing cowboy boots with jeans fastened tightly with a large-buckled belt, with a bulging pot belly protruding over it. Gentleman #2 has tanned leathery skin, 6 earrings in one ear, and long wavy black hair. He’s wearing a Harley Davidson shirt and black cowboy boots. Behind them is their vehicle. No…it’s not an impressive motorcycle painted in blue flames…or a big truck with a large muffler….it’s a smart car. A smart car covered in bright yellow and purple advertising for some kind of printing shop. They were surprised that the ladies didn’t have a spare tire in their car, but when the ladies in turn asked if they had one in theirs: “No room for it.” The ladies were surprised it had room for their legs and pot bellies.
The gentlemen escorted the damsels to the nearest service station, driving slowly on their super-thick BMW tires, which they now understood were designed this way to avoid requiring spare tires. There they were not able to get the service they needed, but were able to call the BMW highway assistance.
Unfortunately, it was 8pm on Good Friday. People were not very interested in doing mechanics. Eventually, BMW came through, and promised a technician.
Time passed…
Eventually, a truck with a flat-bed arrived, and carried them to the BMW service centre, which, thanks to them being in the heart of Germany, happened to be in the next town. But alas, the technician must have been out for dinner, or playing the organ at a Good Friday mass, or helping his grandmother paint Easter eggs, or any number of things, except being present & ready to fix the tire.
More time passed…
The ladies decided to go for dinner instead of standing in the cold & dark waiting.
More time passed…
The technician called. He was ready. The girls returned to the BMW service station, handed over their keys, and expected the tire to be replaced lickety split.
No such luck. Apparently modern BMW tires are so hi-tech they take at least an hour of adjustments and tweaking and calibration on some hi-tech machines. At long last, the vehicle was driven out, and as it pulled out into the parking area, something…no, two things, went ‘ping’…and then ‘ping’ on the pavement. Hmmm… “oh, it’s no problem says the technician”…you don’t need those”.
And off went the 4 ladies into the night, determined to yet reach their destination.
At 6 in the morning, they reached a city in northern Budapest where the driver of the car is from. Her parents generously vacated their bed early that morning to make space for the highway-weary travellers. Big pillows, soft duvets….home sweet home (who cares whose home sweet home it is as long as you can lay your head on a good pillow!)
They shut their eyes to the sun rising and their ears dismissed the birds singing excitedly about the new morning in the tree outside the window. They would pretend it was yet night for a few more hours before waking for the next day which was already going on without them...blissfully unaware of what adventures the day before them might hold.
To be continued...
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