Jump on in!

2006: I was in Leipzig for a seminar. Several participants and myself decided to take a weekend trip to Rügen Island on the Baltic. This area is known for it's chalk cliffs, as painted by Caspar David Friedrich. It's also a favorite holiday destination for Germans within Germany.
Our first train was Leipzig to Berlin and the second was Berlin to Stralsund. The first train was delayed - we waited and waited, finally an "ersatz zug" came. That is to say a replacement train. It was many cars shorter than the original train and we were sardined in. My two friends and I shared 2 seats in first class. We had a great time talking with the little girl across from us. As we pulled into the station we ran to the track to try and catch our train to Stralsund. It had already begun to pull out of the station, but it was going slow and the back door was still open. We threw our backpacks in the train. One of my friends (sadly I've forgotten her name) jumped in .... The train began to pick up speed....I jumped in.....going a bit faster....Alicia jumped in. OMG we all made it! We were experiencing an adrenaline high as one could not imagine! We had a great train ride and experience in Rügen.

Now on to last night where I got to carry out a repeat performance of my ability to jump into moving vehicles..... We went to a birthday celebration and were driving home sometime after midnight. All of a sudden Kathi could no longer drive as the clutch suddenly no longer worked! After inspecting the situation, Ian and I got out to turn the car and push it downhill. The hope was that Kathi could engage the gear and we could drive on. It didn't work. So Kathi called her husband Sven to come rescue us. Ian and I then decided to push the car again so it could be steered off the road. In doing so, all of a sudden Kathi got the car in gear and was driving - but she couldn't stop (or it would no longer go)! Ian and I ran after the car. Ian jumped in. He jumped in behind the front seat and into the back. Then I jumped into the front and closed the door behind me. We continued to drive without stopping until we got to a red light. This time only Ian got out and performed Indiana Jones moves. We were able make it home....

It has been suggesteds that the next moving vehicle I spring into will be an airplane!


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Location:Günzburg, Germany