[TheOne®]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I see many town names starting with Bad, what does it really mean?

Bad translated means bath. In combination with a town's name it means that this is a place with ancient subterraneous springs with huge amounts of minerals etc. that have some healing effect. Though, as time passed by, each of those towns began to specialise in some kind of medical treatment. Not all of them relate or do have those springs anymore today (of course, Bad Nauheim does lol). Bad Nauheim, for example, specialises in heart problems and cardiovascular diseases. We have the Kerckhoff Institute here with a huge research and lab centre etc. Others city however may focus on other things.

[TheOne®]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

lol That is correct. I finally met the Hunter. He had brought some wild boar sausages with him, no prizes for guessing who shot that wild boar

Much as it would add colour and emotion to this story, I have no drama or confrontation incident to offer. I had a warm and wonderful time with Jenny's family.

Yes, we had a very nice evening after our wonderful afternoon at my grandma's and in the woods, enjoying being together and enjoying the peace around us.

And concerning the evening: tell me, how could anyone resist TheYeti®???
And for those who missed the lines in our first holiday thread, let me tell you again:

The Yeti does not have to hide from me,
He is already a part of the family.
Whoever my daughter chooses as her man,
I will be his second biggest fan.
Because if he can make her happy
This man can simply not be crappy!

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I wonder. If you live here, where do you go for a holiday?

Oh, there are LOOOOOOOTS of places lol. You will get to see them all, promise!

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

One question Sam, Is it common for someone living in small town Germany to be comfortable with English language? Do they study it in school like we do?

Or were you talking in German?

As Sam said, we were not talking in German - though some bits could not be avoided. And he is right, it is not common for the older generation to speak fluent English. However, the younger and middle generation normally does speak English, it is mandatory at school. In my school times we would have to take Enlish from 5th grade onwards (min. 5 years of English), now they already start in 3rd grade.

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Hehe - Jenny seems my type.

Oho, now what a compliment lol!

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

The town, the cleanliness, the orderliness - uff it's killer. I would really love to settle down there. Wanna exchange homes, TheOne ?

Hmmm, let me think about it... No sorry, we cannot exchange - seeing that soon I will not be here anymore I have nothing to trade haha.

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

It is a difficult check-in at the Emirates counter. They have asked me to weigh my handbag and my check-in bag. Both are grossly overweight.

God, I have never ever experienced such a fuss at check-in. They made us weigh his suitcase three times!

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I'd do it again in a flash with a huge grin.
She's worth all that and much more.

The End.

I am missing the "blush smiley" here!

[PhrozenFire]

Originally Posted by TheOne®

And for those who missed the lines in our first holiday thread, let me tell you again:

The Yeti does not have to hide from me,
He is already a part of the family.
Whoever my daughter chooses as her man,
I will be his second biggest fan.
Because if he can make her happy
This man can simply not be crappy!

Poetry at its very best! . Two thumbs up for this great thread!

[abhishek_rait]

amazing again ..

same stories but different feeling's expressed .. you guys should publish these stories .. u would have a long list of fan's across the globe ...


I was in munich for like two years on a research work .. God i was astonished to see sun at 9~10 pm .

i have been to one such place called as Bad Kissingen .. quite a famous place and i had to drink that water from the springs quite salty though .. my boss was there with me and he was born there . Infact he gave me a lecture on all the medical benefits of bathing and drinking in spring water.

Kudos to you two The Yeti and The One .. Sounds Big "The Couple" sounds much better . How about you guys !!!

[TheBrother®]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

As we are parked, once again we discuss the fact (unthinkable to me) that every gas station has a different price for petrol (or diesel). Repeatedly Jenny has explained that prices change every day, sometimes different prices within a day.
Even though it is controlled, each Oil company can change the price.

Here is a classic example of my confusion.

Look at 2 gas stations BANG opposite each other. Now look at the displayed prices. How can this be?
Attachment 31844

Hey Sam,

have to actually answer this question even though TheOne® might have already done that. I've been working at gas stations for the last two years and by now I do know a bit about them.
The prices are remotely controlled from Hamburg where the big oil companys sit together and debate about the prices 24-7. Now the price varies from gas station to gas station but there is a system in this chaos. The prices throughout Germany never varie more than 7 or 8 cents so if the price for diesel is 1.4 euros in Berlin, it won't be any cheaper than maybe 1.33 euros anywhere else in Germany.
But let me make this clear with Bad Nauheim as an example city. Bad Nauheim has 6 gas stations. Each gas station has a different owner, different opening times and different way of managing everything. They do all buy their gas from the same company though.
Gas station number one sells diesel for 1.45 euros and at the time is the cheapest station in Bad Nauheim so the others do not wish to be more expensive. They will call Hamburg or even more likely use a special software and request permission to lower their price to 1.45 euros. Hamburg will check if it is true that another oil company is cheaper and then will send new prices to the gas stations, maybe even cheaper than 1.45 in which case all of this starts all over. Important is that gas stations may not chose their prices, the big billionairs in Hamburg do that for them.
But if it works like this, why is it that the prices sometimes varie by 3 or 4 cents? Because it takes time to request new prices and have them activated from Hamburg, fastest possible time: 35 minutes. And that would only be if you would request for new prices the second another gas station gets cheaper prices than your own. Station owners must constantly check the prices of the other stations in town and act if something changes.
The picture you took there is something different. On the left you've got a Shell gas station. An international company, rich and earning billions of dollars each year. On the right is a small privat gas station which belongs to a local guy. He needs the cheaper price to be able to compete with the big companys so German law says: a privat gas station always has the right to be one cent cheaper than the other stations in his area.

That was the short short short version of a very complex and difficult system. Questions? :-)

Now sis and Sam, great thread. Already knew most of this stuff but it's somehow different to be able to read this and see the pictures!

TheBrother®

[shajufx]

TheYeti®,TheOne® and TheBrother® are taking control of all the favourite (5star rated) threads. I cant wait to see TheHunter®, TheMother® and TheSister® joining the gang ! Which other automobile forum has travelogues, plenty of discussions and healthy debates on almost everything under the sun ? I cant find any. What more can anyone wait to get addicted to team-bhp for life ?!!

[Jayabusa]

Awesome travelogue Sam and lovely pics! Long live the Yeti!

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by TheBrother®

I've been working at gas stations for the last two years and by now I do know a bit about them.
The prices are remotely controlled from Hamburg where the big oil companys sit together and debate about the prices 24-7. Now the price varies from gas station to gas station but there is a system in this chaos. The prices throughout Germany never varie more than 7 or 8 cents so if the price for diesel is 1.4 euros in Berlin, it won't be any cheaper than maybe 1.33 euros anywhere else in Germany.
Station owners must constantly check the prices of the other stations in town and act if something changes.
The picture you took there is something different. On the left you've got a Shell gas station. An international company, rich and earning billions of dollars each year. On the right is a small privat gas station which belongs to a local guy. He needs the cheaper price to be able to compete with the big companys so German law says: a privat gas station always has the right to be one cent cheaper than the other stations in his area.

TheBrother®

Why thank you Thomas, that was really interesting to know. By what you say I understand that it takes less than 35 minutes to update a system and change the price of gasoline at a pump? Wow, we can take longer than that to fill up a car.
Terrific information and a matter of great interest to all the petrolheads on this forum.


It would also be of great interest to Indian petrolheads to know how gas stations operate in Europe and other countries. I am sure many of you already know, but this is for the benefit of those who have not yet visited a gas station abroad.

Nobody fills anything for you. lol.
You go to the station. Stop your car, get the hose, plug it in and fill it up. Either to full tank or whatver you like.
When you are done, you lock your car, leave it either at the filling station, or park it to the side (if someone else is waiting behind you) and enter the convenience store, where you go up to the cash counter and tell the person your filling station number.
Then you pay.
While there might be cameras to record your car number, there are no barriers or anything to stop you from going.

In India, more than half the public would have filled up and gone. lol.

Jenny always laughs at me because I have never really filled gas in my own car so it can be a little awkward sometimes lol.

And don't even ask me about filling air in the tyres. I had never seen a contraption like that. She just asked me to fill air and left to pay for the petrol. I was staring at this thing. I just had no idea how it would fill air in the tyre.
Then she came back and showed me.
It was like a little barrel of air that I had to lift off the air reservoir and carry to the car. Quite cool. Only my hands got all dirty with the wheels. That's because Jenny doesn't wash her car regularly. (There, I told everyone! hahaha)


Back in the car...

So how do you fill air in your tyres back in India?
Uhh.. we drive to the corner of the pump and wait. If we're fussy we roll our window down and say 29 loudly.
Someone goes round your car. The machine makes beep beep beep.
Then we give 2 rupees to a hand that appears at the window.
Then we drive off. It's a great system.

have to actually answer this question even though TheOne® might have already done that.

She didn't, lol. It is a matter of no interest to her and you know that when something does not interest our Jenny, she pays no heed to it.

[PhrozenFire]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

.

In India, more than half the public would have filled up and gone. lol.

Half?? For free petrol, 90% of us would have just driven away!

[TheBrother®]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

In India, more than half the public would have filled up and gone. lol.

Sometimes somebody actually leaves without paying but usually they don't do that on purpose, they just forget. Happens to me like once or twice every month when I'm at work. It is an inconvenience to me because I have to fill out a form and contact the police in case I saw the license plate. If not the owner will check the cameras the next day and then call the cops. They then inform the owner of the car of the situation and if he doesn't show up to pay, the cops will show up at his place.
Sometimes the people drive away and notice when they get home and call me and come right back. If that is the case, nothing happens at all.
In the end, the petrol wasn't for free.

Somebody want to see some pictures of our gas stations?

TheBrother®

[Raajiv]

Originally Posted by TheBrother®

Sometimes somebody actually leaves without paying but usually they don't do that on purpose, they just forget. Happens to me like once or twice every month when I'm at work. It is an inconvenience to me because I have to fill out a form and contact the police in case I saw the license plate. If not the owner will check the cameras the next day and then call the cops. They then inform the owner of the car of the situation and if he doesn't show up to pay, the cops will show up at his place.
Sometimes the people drive away and notice when they get home and call me and come right back. If that is the case, nothing happens at all.
In the end, the petrol wasn't for free.

Somebody want to see some pictures of our gas stations?

TheBrother®

Yes,please post it. :-)

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by TheBrother®

Hey Sam,

have to actually answer this question even though TheOne® might have already done that. I've been working at gas stations for the last two years and by now I do know a bit about them.

Here in US a difference of 5 cents per gallon is common. when drastic changes happen in global oil prices, you can notice upto 25 cents difference. At one particular day speedway had more than 25 cents more than mobil, within .5 miles of each other (speedway is supposed to lead the price in ohio), and it remained for more than half a day. the mobil had a long queue of cars to fill up till evening.

and Sam, in US most of the pumps are prepay (optional). so you swipe the card, fill up gas and go. as far as i know, only new jersey has full service stations, like in india, you don't even have to get out.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

and Sam, in US most of the pumps are prepay (optional). so you swipe the card, fill up gas and go. as far as i know, only new jersey has full service stations, like in india, you don't even have to get out.

Boston has them too (manned gas stations). Its another matter that several of the attendants would be candidates for deportation!
BTW, most pumps also allow you to pay at the counter in the gas station after which they enable that particular pump (pumps are numbered) for the paid amount.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

and Sam, in US most of the pumps are prepay (optional). so you swipe the card, fill up gas and go. as far as i know, only new jersey has full service stations, like in india, you don't even have to get out.

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

BTW, most pumps also allow you to pay at the counter in the gas station after which they enable that particular pump (pumps are numbered) for the paid amount.

Yes and that's my point.

In Germany you don't even have to say hello to anyone, leave alone swipe your card or pay in advance.
You go to an unmanned station, fill how much you want to fill and then go inside and offer to pay. Cash or card, whatever.

Hence the explanation by Thomas, people forget to pay sometimes and drive off.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Yes and that's my point.

In Germany you don't even have to say hello to anyone, leave alone swipe your card or pay in advance.
You go to an unmanned station, fill how much you want to fill and then go inside and offer to pay. Cash or card, whatever.

True. Its the same in Austria as well. I had the same problem with filling air in my rented car, and could not see where. So, I asked the attendant if he could help me with filling air (and he probably got it that I didn't know being a visitor), and he filled it for me from the cylinder and I left him a couple of Euros...