autobahn

Turn the key in the ignition, there is a quiet rumble as the car starts, a star cart. The keyhole is in the middle, between the seats. Press the brake, pull the gear lever back, and the tiny car moves backward with it's typical jerk movement, the clutch is dragging a bit.
Look forward, see that it is dark outside, the headlights are not on. Turn the plastic lever, now the lights go on, there is the sound of an electric motor whirring, adjusting the angle the lights are set to.

Now move off down the cobbled street, press the button on the gearstick to turn on the automatic gear  changing and fiddle about with the knob that is to adjust the headlight angle. It stops whirring. This is yet another thing that will require attention.

At the end of the cobbled street turn left, stop on the line at the stop sign, then turn right, leaving the cobbles behind and heading for the tunnel after a further right hand turn at the end of the street. Pass that stop sign without stopping at all, there is no traffic and there are no police about.

The tunnel echos, is all brightly lit. There are manhole covers in the middle of the lane, the little car takes them badly because of the short wheel base. Zig zag to avoid this shaking  and bumping. Then settle down to driving at the steady fifty kilometres an hour demanded by the signs at the side of the carriageway. There are signposts picturing people running there too, and arrows pointing to the nearest emergency exit. There is a traffic light and a T-junction at the end of the tunnel, take a left and head out of town. One more traffic light, and then accelerate the tiny black car up to the permissible maximum of one hundred kilometres an hour, turn on the cruise control.

Ahead, a small white transporter with an open flatbed to the rear is moving just a bit slower. Slow down, but the speed adustment on the cruse control is insufficient to compensate for this. Brake, thereby turning off the control, and slow down. There is a building site with a traffic light to control the traffic.
It is red.
Stop.

And then go, cruise all the way to the roundabout, navigate this and proceed, past the traffic light that has not been turned on yet and take the right turn onto the ramp for the motorway, the Autobahn, the racing track for so many high-powered vehicles, and huge trucks.
Speed along the slipway, joining the traffic ahead of a big truck, increas the speed of the car to one hundred and twenty kilometres an hour, and move over to the fast lane to overtake the next truck.
Ten minutes later, traffic slows, blinking lights, there is some kind of blockage ahead. A truck, nearly immobile on the fast lane. Slow down, let it over to the right, then pass.
And back to one hundred and twenty.
Road repairs.
Road narrows, to accomodate the traffic from the other carriageway of the dual carriageway, speed is reduced to eighty kilometres an hour, draft along behind a big car on the left hand lane, the lane reduced in width, the opposing traffic on the other side of a tiny temporary fence, barely half a metre away. The trucks to the other side, slower, the same distance away.
Move on, almost ten kilometres of this, tight claustrophobic driving, feeling the streams of air buffeting the tiny car as every truck is passed.
Finally, the white sign with the diagonal black bar. Let the tiny engine pathetically roar a bit, the speed of the car climbs back to one hundred and thirty, and the journey continues.

Leave the express road at Freising South, and drive past industrial zones, used car sales places, amusement centres, all these places on the outskirts of Munich.

Finally, the car park at work.
At this point, realise that the radio is off.
The day's news has been missed.
It is seven thirty three in the morning.
The end of two weeks leave from work.