H-Force-1 (knock on wood) has been treating me well, although the price of gas will run even the most fuel-efficient car-owners into the ground (1.30€/L; that’s about $1.83CAD). This is the non-crisis price, I might add. Fortunately, I was told very early on that grocery store gas stations (because most grocery stores here have gas stations) are generally cheaper than gas chains, and I’ve found that to be true to the tune of 5-10 cents a litre. It’s insane!
There is one amusing story though…thinking back to the Justy, and it’s 1.3 litres of raw power, you’d think it couldn’t get much lower. Welcome to the world of the 1-litre engine (in a country where the major highways are limited to 130…and yes, the car can do it, surprisingly enough). H-Force-1, if I haven’t mentioned it, is an early-90s (I forget the exact year) Peugeot 106, in a beautiful shade I lovingly call ‘Peugeot green’. This shade is (if what I’ve heard is true) owned and/or copyrighted by Peugeot, and is found on a surprising number of 106s in the area…because they’re made in Mulhouse. I don’t know if it still exists, but unlike with the Justy (which did, nonetheless, have twins and less identical siblings around Oakville), the Peugeot Green 106 is anything but a one-of-a-kind in Mulhouse.
On to the story…en route to a mountain-top walk with the English department at the beginning of the school year, I offered to drive Liz (of course…maybe that’s not really an ‘of course’ for some of you, so I’ll tell you for now that she’s my roommate, and a lectrice, and tell you more later) and 3 other lecteurs. The mountain we were going to was (and still is, barring any major geographical changes I’m not aware of) in Germany, near Müllheim (just across the border). On our way past Müllheim, and just before the navigation would get tricky, Ellen, an English prof, appeared in my rearview mirror. So, we drove merrily along knowing that at least if we got lost, we wouldn’t be the only ones. As we made our way up the mountain, trying to see the ruins that would help guide the way, which were invisible in the fog that day, H-Force-1 started losing momentum. I was getting very very worried, and finally pulled over, hoping Ellen would do the same. She didn’t; she just started driving past. Fortunately, there was a road coming up onto which she had to turn left, so I had time to jump out of the car and wave her down. As a temporary fix, the two males in the car got into Ellen’s minivan in the hopes that we could make it the rest of the way…which turned out (to my embarrasment) to be about 100 metres, and no longer really uphill). Anyway, the temporary fix worked, and was unnecessary on the way home, since it was, well, back down the mountain.
More on that trip: the sweaty walk in the mountains (and it wasn’t even hot that day) was followed by a trip to a nearby village (Badenweiler) where there is a thermal baths complex (Cassiopeia Therm). Michel (an English prof and VP of the university) graciously paid for everyone present (about 20 people) to spend several hours in the pools/saunas in the complex. It was absolutely fantastic. With hot tubs, cold pools, regular pools (indoor and outdoor) of varying temperatures and currents, it was the best soak I’ve had in as long as I can remember (I haven’t had a bathtub in years…definitely one of the few things my apartment is lacking).
So there you have it, a little story to let you know I’m still here, and still doing well. I hope you enjoyed it!
