Parking Stinks in Germany - What you need to avoid
There are days like today when we are pretty sure we have the worst luck in the world. When we first arrived in Germany we parked in a handicapped spot accidentaly (when parallel parking, the sign marking it a handicapped space is on the end, not the beginning of the space) and got a speeding ticket (going 10 over the speed limit in a 30 zone we didnt realize had dropped so suddenly) because we didnt understand the way parking works here. We think we figured it out, knew where to park and where not to park.
After a wonderful day exploring a nearby city Sunday, we park the car in the perfect spot around the corner from our apartment and skip inside to enjoy a hot meal and some TV. After a long day Monday, we grabbed our shopping list and went out to get food for the week but as we rounded the corner where we remembered the car to be, ther was instead an old beat up car. Definitely not ours. Did we really park here? Not sure... There have been many times I've confused 3-days-before-parking spot with yesterday's. I'm certain. Our car was towed.
I don't know enough German, So we frantically call every friend who speaks a lick of German, find the number for the police station, and find out that's our next destination. Of course there is no information online as to the cost of towing, what's going to happen to our car, if they give notice, anything. It's now 9 o'clock at night and we haven't gotten any food (which of course is my real concern). The police at the police station are very helpful, and point us in the right direction (with really intense hand movements as he tries to illustrate what he's trying to say in German) and we're back to search for our car on some side street. So then we drive around looking for a towing company, and make it to the end of the street and back and still haven't found any.
Our car was sitting in a parking spot on the side of the road in the middle of this industrial area. On the windshield was a completely soaked ticket. With some drying off it was a parking ticket for 25 euros and still no idea how much the towing was going to cost. If we were in the States we would fight it of course. We would demand reimbursement and proof that they had 48 to 72 hours notice on that parking spot. But because we don't have a German lawyer, don't know how to speak German, and are fed up with German law, there's not really much we can do about it here. From what we can find online, towing can cost between 150 euros to 300 euros and of course we are hoping the first.
(Turns out the building we were parked next to put up a sign because they were having work done and needed the spaces. We intend to appeal of course. The American way!)
The moral of the story is to never leave your car more than a day unattended because signs can pop up randomly and screw you over. The law says you are not allowed to leave your car in a public space for more than 3 days consecutively, and they are supposed to have 48 to 72 hour notice on any parking violations. Many Germans even suggest leaving your phone number on the dashboard for the friendly Germans to give you a call if they need to ask you to move your car. Would have been nice to know before we have to pay the probably 300 euro fine.