posted
I need to get the police report. After months of slow (no) movement on my situation from the accident in Germany, I need to get a copy of the police report. This is the progress so far.
1. Look up German embassy in Google. Surely they can help? 2. Get information for German consulate in Houston. Call German consulate. Get only voice-mail. Give up. 3. Look up Germany police in Google. Results: travel photos 4. Look up Germany Bavaria police in Google. Results: archived pleas for help in contacting the police in Germany. 5. Look up Germany in Google. Get www.germany-info.com. Send an email requesting contact information for police department covering Fussen, Bavaria, Germany. 6. Get e-mail directing me to German consulate in Houston. 7. Call German consulate. Lady answers, asks me to call back later when there is someone there who can help. 8. Call back next day. Get voice-mail. Leave a message to please call. 9. No call. Call back next day. Get message the embassy is closed for lunch; call back later. 10. Call back later. All lines are busy; call back later. 11. Call back later. Embassy is closed and voice-mail system is turned off. Call back later. 12. Suspect they have my number on file, and are refusing to answer phone. 13. Call back on Monday. Get a human! Yay! "Please, the number to Fussen police?" "No one here who can help you. Please look up Fussen police in Google, or go to www.germany-info.com.".
"I tried those, and they sent me here. Do you kn--" I'm talking to an empty line. He hung up. 14. Call back. "I tried those sites, any other ideas?" "www.google.de" "I don't speak German - is there a site in English?" "No." He hangs up on me again. 15. Police is polizei is German, I discover. I try www.google.de. All returns are in German. I briefly consider calling an old Nemesis who happens to speak German; put idea on hold for later. 16. Call back embassy. "I tried those. I still don't speak German. Is there anyone I can talk to?" Man (lady? not sure) thaws a bit. "I thought they would be out of meeting. Call back in half an hour." "What time does the embassy close? (It is 3:00pm.)" "3:30pm." "Am I going to call back in half an hour and the embassy will be closed?" "No, someone will answer the phone." "Thank you. I will talk to you in half an hour."
posted
My German's rusty or I'd offer to help. But if you get in a bind (translation-wise), lemme know. I've probably still got some contacts who can hammer it out better than I can.
posted
Is German one of Kama's languages? Not much help here, I speak Spanish with a southern accent.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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1. go to www.google.com 2. search for "Bavaria Germany Polizei" 3. go to ninth entry, "Governments on the WWW: Germany" and hit the "Translate this page" part of the link 4. Click on "Bayern (Bavaria)" under "State Institutions"
In the next list, you will find links to translated pages for
Okay. I call back, and the same man/lady (?? why can I not tell?) tells me the consulate is closed and to call back tomorrow. I don't think so. I press details of who exactly I need to talk to, and I am put on hold.
Someone else comes on the line. He doesn't know. He does, however, suggest I try the American consulate in Munich. Okeydokey.
This guy was nice. I don't know what the first one told him, but he knew I'd been calling for some time. It was a little bit funny, except I then had a flash of nice-girl guilt for being a pain in the butt. Compared to the first person hanging up on me twice, however, this is nothing.
Okay. Next try: American consulate in Munich.
What time is it there? Dang it!
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I am not entirely sure that it is here you want to inquire; apparently they also have something called traffic police office (Verkehrpolizeiinspektion), however none for Füssen. At least they will probably be able to refer you onwards. If they can understand you...
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yes, German is one of Kama's languages. If you have no luck with Tristan's link, or need my help in communicating them, let me know (everything's in my profile)
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Oh my gosh, I love Hatrack. I should have come here long ago. Thank you, thank you! Y'all are brilliant. Yay!
I sent a letter to Kama with links to the sites. I couldn't find mention of Fussen, but I am not sure that is the German name of the city. I know it is the closest big city for quite a few miles around.
posted
Katharina, it is perhaps not that easy to know who has your police report, but here are the authorities that have jurisdiction over Füssen that I believe might be able to help:
Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt (losely, Bavaria's state criminal bureau)
I called the last number there - the one for the Fussen police - and actually talked a helpful German who spoke English who is in Germany. It's midnight there, and he couldn't find it in the comupter, but he said that the records from 2001 were on paper, and I should call tomorrow morning. Not there yet, but SO much closer. Yay!
Unfortunately the only German I know is "Spiel mit meiner Wurst," from when a female friend of mine was getting ready to go on exchange to Germany. We made sure to warn her that the correct response is "nein."
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Glad to be able to help, Katharina. I hope it works out alright in the end.
Twinky, that sentence would get much more attention if it came from a guy . Edit: ah, now I get it. Someone would say it to her. Right. That could happen...
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I think I leave it to twinky to explain himself. Somehow I feel slightly embarrassed about translating it. And once I've said this, obviously it would be getting worse to change my mind, because then I would have made a big deal out of it and given the apperance of being a bit of a prude. Perhaps I could compromise and only translate a couple of key words and let the rest of you draw the conclusion? But that would be just silly and wouldn't fool anybody, would it? Ah, what the heck, it means "play with my sausage". Could be worse I suppose, and perhaps not worth the build-up
I don't think she'd need it. The German men were so nice when I was there! Is Ophelia around? She would know. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Yes, exactly. So while she was studying German in preparation for the trip, some of her male friends (myself included) would just periodically say it to her out of the blue to ensure that she remembered to reply in the negative.
My circle of friends enjoys a good bit of juvenile humour. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
I have been. And we've all been dreading graduation since first year, but there was nothing we could do to slow its inexorable approach; and to make matters worse, the closer to it we get the faster time seems to pass.
My close male friends (who I live with most school terms) and I call what's coming the PGP, short for "Post-Graduation Penis." We use "penis" as a negative expletive. Generally when you enter our dwelling-place you either shout "huzzah!" if things are going well or "penis" if they are not. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Well, I'm very glad you found what you wanted
Tristan did a great job, indeed. But if you still need me to write them an e-mail, or translate, or anything, just let me know, ok? Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
So I called the next morning, and got another very nice-sounding German policeman who very nicely tried to brush me off.
He looked me up in the computer, and I'm not there.
"Please send a letter."
yeah, I don't think so. I'm not waiting a month turnaround to find out what he doesn't want to tell me on the phone. I ask him to look it up perhaps in the paper records if it is not in the computer, and he says to call back during business hours - the secratary isn't there right now. She left half an hour ago. "Call back 8:00 German time."
Holy crap, that's one in the morning. Well, okay. This should be interesting. I'm still just so dang excited to talk to the police station that I'm willing to wait for two days of runaround. Also, if I call then, I can briefly ring the embassy in Munich and see what they say.
Thank you all, very, very much. It is all moving along.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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quote: The German men were so nice when I was there! Is Ophelia around? She would know.
Yes, all the German men I've ever met have been very nice. Some of the other Europeans (and Americans) living in Munich were creeps, but I never had a problem with any of the Germans.
Good luck with all of this. Posts: 3801 | Registered: Jan 2000
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I called just now today. I was going to call last night, but I fell asleep and didn't set my clock for the three in the morning. I had a lovely conversation with Shariati, the secretary.
She was VERY friendly, and tickled I was calling from Dallas. She confirmed that the computer system had changed in the past couple of years, and she needed to research this. I gave her my name, the location, and the approximate dates ( I can't remember exactly what day it was), and she asked me to call back tomorrow morning. "No problem." "Tomorrow morning - our time." Dagnabbit. If I'm tired at the picnic tomorrow, this is why.
Still she was very nice, and we are off to the races. She didn't sound overwhelmed at the request, and promised results. Yay!
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I'm glad it's getting taken care of, Kat. I can't believe I missed the debacle - when did you get hit by a truck (or was it a bus?) in Germany? Was it during one of my hiatuses?
(Hatrack, indeed, rawks. Everybody does summin around here. I'm considering sending my shirts to Hatrack to have them laundered.)
Posts: 7600 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Is the number up there so you don't lose it? Or are you expecting lots of Hatrackers to be calling Germany soon? Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
You know, this isn't the only telephone number available in Germany. There are plenty more. Enough for every Hatracker to pick one at random and call, actually.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Ahh, Kayla, you apparently haven't heard my voice interface yet. It's so sexy it would raise the dead.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Well, it seems like I'm more than a little bit too late for this. I do speak fluent german in case you still need help.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
You get cooler every time I learn about you, Rabbit.
I might need it yet - I sent a fax requesting it, but haven't heard back. So far, everyone speaks English, but I'm pretty sure the report will be in German. This could be interesting.
Basically, I need four pieces of information:
the police report the hospital records the trucking company (of the guy that hit me) the trucking company's insurance company
I'm pinning my hopes on the police report at the moment, but it's hasn't come yet. But when it does, that should lead to the next steps.
posted
Noemon, this is spooky. You must clairvoyant. I just got a call from the secretary this morning saying I had a fax upstairs. This could only be it!
posted
I just ran upstairs and got the fax. I have the police report! And this was the accompanying text:
quote:Dear Mrs. ( ) Pilkington,
with this we send you 3 pages of the police-report. we had sent to the district-attorney in 2001.
If you should need further informations, you (or your lawyer) unfortunately have to contact a German lawyer, who is authorized to apply for these informations at the court in Kempten. The court's address is : [info]
We hope we could help you.
Yours sincerely
[Fussen police department]
Yay! This is so cool! Should I send them flowers? Can I do that? What's the protocol here?
*reads report* Uh, it's in German. *thinks*
Maybe I can fax this to Rabbit for interpretation? I just need to know the name of the driver, the company he worked for, and the hospital I was taken to. Maybe there's another way to find the hospital I was taken to.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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