October 19, 2013 -- On My Way to the Kennel I met some very nice People!

October 19th

O.k., so it is not a good idea to leave the house and head off to the dog kennel without the name of the kennel, the telephone number or your cell phone.  But, that is exactly what I did.  On Friday morning, I had to drop the dogs off at the kennel before we left for Bruges and Ghent.  My usual kennel was full, so I had only been to this kennel once to pick up the dogs.  I got the address off my e-mail, plugged it into the car and left with Mac and Ana.  After traveling 35 minutes, the navigation system said that I had arrived at my destination, but I knew immediately that I had not.  I looked at the address and discovered that I had inadvertently typed in Giesheimer Strasse instead of Giesheimer Weg.  So, I think, no problem and attempt to put in the correct address.  Guess what?  My navigation system does not have that street.  Now I panic a little (it is 10:00 and you have to drop the dogs off by 11:00 or they will not take them).  I have a great idea -- go to the train station and ask someone for directions.  I arrive at the train station and find a cab driver.  I ask him "Wo ist Giesheimer Weg" not "Strasse".  He points and gives me directions in German which I sort of understand.  I follow the directions and end up at --yes, you guessed it -- Giesheimer Strasse.  So, my next plan is to go into town and ask directions.  I stop at a Foto Shop and ask the woman there -- Sprechen Sie Englisch?  She tells me that she speaks a little English, so I ask her if she know where the Tierpension (Dog Kennel) is on Giesheimer Weg.  She says she is not from the area, but directs me to the Stadtplan (City Map).  At this point, I ask her if I can use her telephone.  She graciously allows me to do so and I call Chris.  Unfortunately, Chris is not yet home from the airport.  While I am trying to get Chris, she leaves the store and a minute later comes back with another shop owner -- she only speaks German.  I ask her if she knows where the Tierpension is and she answers -- Ja.  She then gives the directions in German to the other shop keeper who translates them into English and draws me a map.  10 minutes later (20 minutes to spare), I made it to Birkenhof Tierpension in Weiterstadt.  What nice people!

Lesson for the day -- always carry your cell phone with you and always have the address of the place you are going and the telephone number should you get lost!!!