Tag Archives: fines

laws, trip planning

Firenze, Italy sends Bill New Year’s greetings…

Some of my regular travel blog readers might recall that Bill and I took a trip to Italy last spring. I blogged about the trip in sixteen parts, which also included stops in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We visited Parma, Modena, Florence, Pisa, Viareggio, and several adorable towns in Tuscany, as we visited several Chianti Classico wineries. That was the most recent of our more epic European trips, and I’ve found myself looking back on it wistfully. I am REALLY in need of a trip somewhere. But other events are in the way, to include our dog Arran’s chemotherapy, which is still going surprisingly well.

I’ve even been giving some thought to visiting Italy again in 2023. I follow the Meet the Wengers YouTube channel, which is a family vlog run by an American woman named Katie, who married a German man. They have three adorable and apparently well-behaved children. Recently, she posted some videos about the family’s fall trip to Verona, a city I haven’t yet visited in Italy. Her videos make me want to go there and explore.

One of a few videos the Wengers have done about Verona… Now I want to go, too.

Well, yesterday, Bill got a reminder of our most recent trip to Italy. It came in the form of a traffic ticket. We drove to Florence, mainly because we wanted to bring some food and wines back to Germany, and because I didn’t want to deal with flying, due to the pandemic. Having a car makes travel in Europe a little bit more liberated, as it means not being dictated by timetables or established routes. However, car travel comes with its own hazards, which include traffic cameras that take photos of those who break the rules.

In our case, the infraction occurred on April 27, 2022, when Bill mistakenly drove our Volvo through a restricted area. It seems that many towns in certain Italian cities don’t allow non-residents to drive on certain streets. We had a bunch of bags, since we were on a long trip. The hotel we stayed in was on the third floor of a building and kind of hard to find. Bill was disoriented as to where we were supposed to go, although it turned out there was a very large parking garage near the hotel.

Long story short, the cameras caught Bill driving where he wasn’t supposed to go. Naturally, we were both completely oblivious to the infraction. Some Italian cities that have these rules against non-residents driving on restricted streets, will allow travelers to register their vehicles before their arrival. I think the city of Bologna is one of those places. Bologna is another city I haven’t yet seen. Maybe we’ll go there next time and avoid Florence! 😉

Yesterday, Bill had to sign for a letter at the post office on our local military installation. It was in a window envelope, and came from the city of Firenze. Inside the envelope was the notification of the driving infraction, written in both Italian and English, and a complete rundown of the law that was broken. There was also a schedule of the fines to be paid. It’s 68 euros if Bill pays within six days. If he delays payment between 6 and 60 days, it goes up to about 95 euros. If he doesn’t pay within 60 days, it goes up to 176 euros.

At first, Bill thought the ticket read that he would have had to have paid within six days of the infraction, but obviously he hadn’t been notified at that time. Upon closer examination, he read that he can still pay the reduced fine, since he just got notice. It’s done via bank transfer, as most things here are.

We’re just glad this didn’t happen in Switzerland, as the fines are probably a lot higher there… but they probably also come within a couple of weeks, rather than several months, routed through The Netherlands. I don’t know why the ticket went through The Netherlands. Maybe it’s because the ticketing agency is outsourced.

I just took down all the Christmas decorations. I’m glad to have that yearly chore done. It’s a lot easier to take the decorations down than put them up; and for that, I’m grateful. However, I always find it a little sad to see my living room in its normal state. I like the homey look created by the Christmas lights. On the other hand, it’s less to have to deal with, and I also look forward to more daylight and better weather. I’m definitely ready to have some fun! So now, on with making some travel plans for 2023! We’ll be more careful about where we drive and park, next time!

Edited to add: The day after I posted this, Bill got a second ticket from Firenze for the same offense. He drove through that historic area twice! I’m glad he moved to a different area after dropping me off. Both tickets, paid at the lowest rate, were about 60 euros each– so, 120 euros for driving in the wrong places in Italy. Expensive lesson learned.

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Hello Fresh admits it’s got a “glitch”…

Here’s a brief update on my Hello Fresh saga.

I will completely admit that I have a tendency to go a bit off the deep end about some things.  I also admit that I kind of did go off the deep end about this Hello Fresh nonsense.  It’s partly because we’re about to move, and I had visions of the next people in this house receiving unordered food boxes while I get billed for them.  Then, because I refused to pay for the boxes, I had visions of being tracked down by hostile German collections people.  Having read up on what happens if you have a bill that goes into collections in Germany, I started getting anxious just thinking about it.  I envisioned myself cussing out old ladies in English as they insulted me in German and dragged me to court.

I can be a real stickler about certain things.  One thing I am very uptight about is paying my bills on time.  I have never missed a bill payment.  I have never had so much as a late charge, let alone had anything go to collections.  Because of that, I actually did give some thought to simply paying off Hello Fresh.  I did that the last time this happened, but it was also the event that made me decisively come to the choice to sever my dealings with Hello Fresh back in 2016.

I was really close to just paying the bill so we could move past this, but then I got fired up again.  This was truly Hello Fresh’s error.  What’s left of my pride couldn’t take wimping out and paying off the bogus 54,98 charge, even though it would have been easy to do that.  I suspect that a lot of companies count on people to pay them off so they’ll go away.  If I had done that, I would only be encouraging the practice and/or not giving them an incentive to fix their “glitches” so other people don’t get similarly inconvenienced.  So, even though simply getting an email from Hello Fresh now raises my blood pressure, I determined that I’d risk eventually being sued by Hello Fresh or a collections agency and/or insulted by “Frau Zickig”.  I refused to pay.

We waited out the weekend after I sent several irate emails and left a pissed off comment on Hello Fresh’s Facebook page, as well as a review on Trust Pilot.  Poor Bill had to listen to me repeatedly grumble about this issue, which came up at a very inopportune time.  I suppose I’m glad it happened this month instead of next month, though.  Next month, no one will be here to collect any packages and send them back to the company.

I am convinced that raising hell on social media and riling up other people is one way to get companies to listen.  Also, I am relieved to see I wasn’t the only one who had this problem.

  

Yesterday, I got an automated from Hello Fresh wanting to know how I liked the box they sent.  Since I sent the box back to Hello Fresh, I can’t judge how good it was.  I will admit that I sent a profane response that included the f-word.

About an hour later, I got this email from Maria, at Hello Fresh.

I sent this response…

Then I got another email from Domagoj, who noted that Maria had helped me.  And she did help me, although I notice they only canceled one charge.

I hope that by the end of today, this mess will be a memory.

 

Earlier this year, Germany passed a very strict data protection law that has, so far, done much more to annoy me than anything else.  But Bill noted that if Hello Fresh doesn’t delete my data, we could have a case for making things very unpleasant for them in court and sending some very expensive fines their way.  I would rather not go that route because it seems like overkill and I have a life to lead.  But since we have invested in legal insurance and haven’t yet used it, I will admit that the thought crossed my mind.  What can I say?  I don’t like being fucked with.

In the course of dealing with this mess, I also discovered Germany’s consumer protection agencies.  Before I got yesterday’s emails from Hello Fresh, I gave some thought to giving them a buzz, too.  They might have enjoyed getting into the fray.  Although I have been on the receiving end of classic German strictness and insistence, as well as the yelling and unpleasantness that can come from it, I have to admit that sometimes, strictness and intolerance for bullshit is a good thing.  In fact, I think some of it is rubbing off on me.

Anyway, hopefully my next update about this situation will be in a post that isn’t about Hello Fresh and it will be along the lines of “Ende alles, alles gut“.

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laws

The high price of giving someone the finger in Germany… part two

In May 2015, I wrote a piece on this blog called “The high price of giving someone the finger in Germany”.  That particular post has proven to be somewhat “evergreen”.  I still get a lot of hits on it, even though it’s over two years old.  I suspect people find it when they hear about Germany’s rules about not insulting people when driving and not cussing out the cops.

Lately, the weather over here has been pretty depressing.  I think it’s starting to get to people.  Over the weekend, there was a very long thread in one of our local Facebook groups about how “rude” Germans are, especially in the Stuttgart area.  A lot of Americans chimed in, agreeing with the original poster that people here can be cold, insulting, and unpleasant.  Quite a few Germans from other parts of the country have also written that this part of the country isn’t like the rest of Germany.  Some have even said that people here… well… they can be assholes.

While I have been yelled at more than a couple of times by locals, I personally don’t agree that people here are any more unpleasant than in other parts of the world.  What I have found is that Germans, as a whole, can seem uncommonly blunt and/or assertive about some things.  The Stuttgart area is part of Swabia, which is apparently considered “different” somehow than other parts of Germany.  Indeed, there is a dialect here that even native German speakers say can be hard to understand.  Swabians, as a whole, have a reputation for being very tight with their money and uptight in general.  However, reputations are really just stereotypes and not everyone lives up to stereotypes.

Trixi demonstrates how different German dialects can sound, even to native speakers.

When Bill and I moved back here in August 2014, I befriended a local on Facebook.  I still haven’t met her in person, but she follows my blog and often gives me useful tips.  One very helpful piece of advice she gave me was to read Your Swabian Neighbors.  Written by American Bob Larson, who once served as a military liaison between German government officials and American military officials, this handy book is all about the idiosyncrasies of life in Baden-Württemberg for those who aren’t actually from this area.  Larson, who married a Swabian woman and lived in Germany for many years, published his book in the early 80s.  Though some parts of the book are dated, a lot of the information still holds true today.  I’m thinking it may even be time to re-read that book as, after three years, I am starting to miss my homeland a little.  At this point, there’s no telling how much longer we’ll be here.

Sometimes Americans in Germany advise others to “flip the bird” to people who piss them off in some way.  I know this is not a good idea when driving or dealing with police officers.  Nowadays, most everyone has a camera on their phones and if it can be proven that you used an obscene gesture, you can be fined up to 4000 euros (although my local friend says this isn’t the usual fine).  It’s probably not a good idea to flip people off even if you’re not driving, though.  Germans like their fines.

I see the original list of insults I included in my first post about this has been updated.  Here’s the translated list for your amusement.  Some of the insults are pretty funny.

I know it’s tempting to fire back at people who yell at you, but you might want to hold back from using obscene gestures or engaging in namecalling… 

 

It’s not always easy living in another country, even when it’s Germany, which has some things in common with the United States.  I know people get frustrated.  I get frustrated, too.  And I will even agree that sometimes dealing with locals can be infuriating.

On the other hand, there have been times when I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the kindness of locals.  In fact, on Saturday, Bill and I went to a grocery store and picked up just one item.  The lady ahead of us saw that we had a small order and enthusiastically invited us to go ahead of her.  In my neighborhood, my neighbors threw a block party and invited Bill and me to attend.  Every morning when I walk my dogs, I am sure to hear at least one “Guten Morgen” from other dog walkers or my neighbors.  They usually sound like they mean it, too.  Sometimes they even smile!

Even the vet where we take our dogs has taken a shine to us.  I’ve been having some problems wearing my contact lenses lately.  I’ll wear them for a few days with no problem, then one or both of my eyes will suddenly get really irritated.  Last week, I took Zane in to his vet for an allergy shot and she asked me if I was okay.  It was probably because I was wearing my glasses and hating it.  But she noticed I wasn’t myself and genuinely wanted to know if I was alright.  That’s a far cry from the usual “How you doin'” you get in the States where the person doesn’t actually care how you are and doesn’t expect a truthful response.

So… the moral of this post is, assholes are everywhere.  I don’t think there are any more assholes in Swabia than there are in other parts of the world.  It may just seem that way, especially to Americans, due to cultural differences, the occasionally harsh sounds of the German language, and, maybe, even the gloomy weather we’ve had lately.

If you ever feel tempted to flip someone off or call them names, take a minute to consider all of the awesome vacation destinations in and around Germany.  Wouldn’t you rather spend 4000 euros on a cruise somewhere or a first class flight?  I know I would.

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The high price of giving someone the finger in Germany…

Some months ago, I wrote a blog post about how it’s illegal to flip someone off while driving in Germany.  That post wasn’t all that informative because I didn’t know much about the German laws regarding fines for insulting officials.  Apparently, it’s a very big deal here.  I had heard that shooting someone the bird could result in a big fine, but I didn’t know the fine could run into the thousands!

One of the German members of our local Facebook group posted a price list of fines one can expect to pay for obscene finger gestures and cussing at cops.  Behold…

As you can see, calling an official a “dumb cow” is a relative bargain at just 300 euros.  If you call them an old pig (or sow), the price jumps up to 2500 euros.  Given that pigs are very intelligent if not a bit smelly, it seems like that would be a lesser insult than calling someone a slut (schlampe).  But if you do go there, you could end up with a 1900 euro fine.  Curiously, calling an official a “stupid pig” (or really, bloody bastard) results in a much lower fine (475 euros) than calling them an old pig.  And calling someone an idiot can result in a 1500 euro fine.

According to the accompanying guide, the reason for these fines is that driving requires mutual respect and constant care.  If you give in to swearing and making obscene gestures in a stressful traffic situation, you run the risk of escalating a situation that may already be tense.  So it is forbidden to blow off steam by going off on other drivers or the police.  By doing so, you may upset them and cause them to go off, and then things could snowball into an obscene gesture and swearing brawl on the Autobahn!

In all seriousness, I think the Germans make a good point.  On the other hand, I have seen some behavior on the Autobahn that would certainly try the patience of the average motorist.  Indeed, my husband Bill is one of the most mild mannered people I know… except when he’s driving!

Now, I have not yet been in a position to insult anyone, let alone a cop or a judge.  Still, I have to admit that I’m fascinated by this list of words you can’t say to cops without risking a fine.  I was so interested that I found the Web site where this stuff is listed, opening it in Google Chrome of course.  My German skills still aren’t so great.  There, I found out that getting caught driving drunk (BAC over .05) the first time results in a 500 euro fine, two points on the driver’s license, and a one month suspension of one’s driver’s license.  That, to me, seems like a more serious crime than flipping someone off, which can result in a fine of up to 4000 euros (the guide says the fine is more likely to be around 600 euros– still a lot of cash for a non verbal insult).

The guide suggests that those who feel inclined to insult on the road “take a deep breath” or take a short break.  Consider whether or not you’d prefer to spend 600 euros on a fine or on a vacation.  Or, if things are really serious, consider anger management therapy.  Surely some time and cash spent learning how to deal with your emotions is worth the investment.

I get a kick out of the fact that the middle finger gesture is referred to as the “Stinkefinger”.  I also think it’s funny that Google Chrome’s translation of these insults is so hilarious.  In reading this list on Chrome, I learned that “Du Wichser!” means “You wanker!”  So now, thanks to the German catalog of fines for insults, I now know how to call someone a wanker.  I just won’t do it while driving, especially if they’re wearing a Polizei uniform.  I also like how the price list page pictures an angry man sitting in his car, baring his teeth!

I see the catalog also helpfully provides fine information in Austria, France, and Italy.  That makes sense, since Germans drive to those countries somewhat routinely.  I don’t see Switzerland listed, though lots of Germans drive there.  Maybe it’s because it’s not in the EU?  Who knows?

If this article has piqued your interest, I recommend having a look at the comments posted…  They are quite funny to this American.  On the other hand, perhaps we Americans can take a lesson in civility from our German friends…

Edited to add in 2019…  I still haven’t shot the bird at anyone in Germany, nor have I ever sworn at them in German, although I must admit the temptation has been there a few times.  I generally don’t insult people unless they insult or harass me first (and I have proof).

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