what could these signs mean?I don’t even want to drive in Germany. Okay maybe just a little. But with so many rules, so many Fragebogen to get through. Ugh. I want to take the test before the end of this year because I hear that the exam format will change February 2008. I’ve been studying a battery of old exams passed on from Alex’s old Fahrschule teacher, the trusty Wikipedia, and three on-line German-English dictionaries to get me the know-how to pass this thorough exam. Lucky me, my license from Florida has partial reciprocity, where I am exempt from the practical exam.

Everything regarding driving is on this exam: from how to provide first-aid at the scene of an accident, how to recognize problems with the car and what to do, how to be environmentally conscious at the wheel, how to load a vehicle and where, everything to do with towing a trailer.. and this doesn’t include the street signs or the golden rule: right before left. There is plenty of room to screw up. All I remember from the written portion of the Florida driver’s license exam was how bone-dumb easy it was.

I’m just at the border of passing the exam. A total of 10 answers can be wrong but only two worth 5-points (the diagrams) can be wrong. Here’s a sample of the test on paper. But the exam I will take is the computer version. I just got back from the ADAC to pick up my translation of my driver’s license. The no-brainer cost me 49 Euro and I had to listen to the man hustle me for a one-year membership with them for just 10 Euro more. When all this is over, I think I’ll have forked over more than 100 Euro. Still, better than if I had to take the practical exam and so many hours of driving school, that would be some shiny €€€€.