When you PCS to an overseas location, taking your car with you isn't always an option. This was the position my husband and I were in when we moved to Germany. He was living in the barracks since he got there a few months before I did. When it was almost time for me to head over he bought a car since he knew we would most likely be living offpost. Old Blue became our 'almost-always faithful'. She was a 1989 BMW who had been passed from one soldier to another, but for the time being she was ours.
The first major venture with Old Blue was moving all of my husband's stuff from the barracks to our apartment. Given that we only lived 3km from post, you wouldn't think this would be a big task, except a Polizei (Germany Police) thought that the overly stuffed car was a little suspicious. The officer pulled him over and proceeded a line of questioning, to include asking him if he had been drinking (it was 1pm) and asking if all the stuff in the car was his. He continued to complete two breath alcohol tests and then was asked for his registration, which was in the glove box that was completely shoved shut with all the stuff in the car. He then was asked if he had all of his emergency equipment to which he told the officer it was in the trunk... the officer asked him to open the trunk and acted completely surprised that not only was the car full but so was the trunk. By the time my husband made it to our house, he was so irritated.
Just a few short weeks later, a friend of mine and I had gone out to dinner. On the way to take her back to the barracks, I came to a stop light that was red, so I stopped. After the light turned green, I made a right hand turn (unless annotated you can't legally turn right on red in Germany) and was prompting pulled over. Given it was 10pm on a Friday, I assumed that I would receive all the standard questioning. This wasn't the case - they had pulled me over to ask me why I had stopped at the corner, to which I replyed that the light was red.... they then told me that there was a yield sign as well and that overrode the light. Then they told me to drive carefully and sent me on my way.
This same car was the one I lost the car keys to when we were about two hours away from home on our first snowboarding trip - which cost us over 300 euro (or about $500) to get back in our house. We also had many winter mornings that we weren't able to get out of the parking lot from our apartment because the incline was just too much for Old Blue to make. Or the many times the only reason we made it up one of the hills to work was by my husband and I rocking forward and back trying to give her a little extra 'power'. Old Blue never heated up before we made it to work, even if we started her a good little while before we left. We packed more single soldiers than we can count into her to bring them our to our house for a home cooked meal from time to time. And she picked up more drunk soldiers and ensured they made it home safely.
Old Blue lasted us a little over a year, got us back and forth to Grafenwohr to see each other when we were in WLC (Warrior Leader Course) or back and forth to Hohenfels when one of us was on MEDEVAC duty.
Shortly before our second deployment, we kept the tradition going and passed her on to another soldier. Even though we got a brand new car after deployment, we still have a special place in our heart for Old Blue.
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