Our car headed toward the southwest for a short time on the Autobahn. It was my first time to drive on the Autobahn. The toll was free, and the vehicles around us were speeding at the speed of 160km/h or more. It really surprised me. I'll make up the map of our journey today and post it here later. It will be fun for you.
Mr. D told us that the autobahn originally had no speed limit, but in the area we were at that time, the speed was limited to 120 km/h. However, most cars were speeding and it was just like in Japan. I found a Mercedes towing two motorcycles. Were they going to take the motorcycles to a certain distant place and enjoy riding around the place? I began to feel like riding a motorcycle not only in Germany, but in Europe.
Before long, our car exited from the autobahn and crossed the Rhine. It was France. At the French side of the bridge, there was an open space. There used to be a check point for passports. When I visited Strasbourg via Kehl last autumn, I had seen the same scene through the window of my bus.
The next picture is of a motorcycle shop. The main brand that the shop handled looked like Kawasaki, one of the Japanese manufacturers, judging from the signboard. I was surprised at the fact that there was a Kawasaki motorcycle shop in such a rural village in France, a few kilometers from the border.
I was disgusted by lots of unkind things that French people said to me last autumn and I had made up my mind not to visit France again at that time. However, contrary to my belief, I stepped into France again. Let's see how it goes.
(Vocabulary)
toll (公共サービスの) 使用料, (道路・橋などの) 通行料
highway tolls 高速道路の通行料
speed along/down sth 〈車などが〉 ＜道路など＞を疾走する
speed sb/sth to/toward sth ＜…＞を＜…＞へ急いで連れて行く
pay no respect to the speed limit 制限速度を守らない
speed 《[自]通例進行形で》 スピード違反をする
before long やがて
Rhine ライン川
disgust〈人〉に嫌悪［反感］を抱かせる, をうんざりさせる, むかつかせる
unkind 不親切な, 意地の悪い, 薄情な
contrary ＜印象など＞とは反対に
contrary to popular belief/opinion 世間一般の考えとは反対に
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