New Car! and German license!

Well it was a little iffy at times, but we have a car now! I won't go into the complicated story behind the car, but it's in our name now and it's just so great! We're also happy with the price we paid (in cash to a little Russian guy named Oleg). Here's our 2006 Toyota Corolla Wagon with only 18K miles on it:

This was pretty much as practical a purchase as possible: We wanted something that had a high resale value (Toyota) should we ever have to sell it, and something that had a history of minimal trips to the shop (Toyota), and something that would look nice over time (black with black trim), something that would fit in the itty bitty German parking decks/spaces but still be big enough should children/vacations ever come into the picture (small wagon), and something we could trust (3 people we know have this same car and love it). It also has a factory warranty for another year, which is great.

New cars mean new license plates, and Stefan wanted to pay the extra 12 Euro for 'personalized' plates. German personalized plates never look as such to me, but here's ours - can you guess what it stands for?
MR = Marburg, required, SJ 505 is the personalized part = Stefan Juliette May '05 (when we were married). Not as fun as a US vanity plate like this one, this one, or this one, but then we only pay 12 Euro.

This is my new license - you can tell it's a driver's license because the picture is horrid. You're not allowed to smile on a German license and they have to zoom in on you - like a mug shot. I have had a history of good license pictures over the years (despite having one taken after a tornado went through and another after I fell out of a boat at sea), so I suppose I was due for a really bad picture. This sucker is valid until the day I die, so I'm stuck with it. Sad. I think it actually looks pretty fake, don't you? I had to pay a few small fees and turn in my Massachusetts license to get it. I'm glad I came in with a MA license because many states are not valid for a simple exchange over here. Then you have to start from scratch and do all the classes, street practice, and tough exams. In the end you've forked out several thousand Euros. It's pretty insane.

However, I find the whole process of exchanging my MA license ludicrous. Ludicrous in the sense that I actually did all the classroom hours in California, then all the road practice in North Carolina (moved back there middle of my senior year of high school) and got my license first in NC. When I became a permanent resident of MA after college I just transferred my NC license for a small fee and got a MA one in exchange. Nevermind that NC and CA licenses don't transfer to a free German license like my MA one. Nevermind that MA drivers are absolutly TERRIBLE! it's all about MA's written regulations. Nevermind that I had to turn in my American driver's license just to get my German one - because I can order a duplicate to be sent to my parent's house in IN. We won't go into how the address on my MA license doesn't even exist anymore since the house was torn down. Like in America, Germany has some rules that make total sense and some that are just totally dumb. I'm just grateful that we didn't have to pay several thousand Euros for me to get this bad boy!