(coming soon)
Alleenstrasse
In German, an “Allee” can be any broad avenue, but the word usually refers to a tree-lined road. The Deutsche Alleenstrasse runs from Ruegen at the north end all the way down through eastern Germany to the Bodensee, AKA Lake Constance, the huge lake that borders Switzerland and Austria. When we drove toward Putbus, the tree-covered Allee pretty well charmed my socks off. It was like going through a green tunnel which was just on the verge of turning into the colors of autumn, helped along by the warm colors of sunset.
The downside of the German Allees is that the penalty for going off the road – whether due to avoiding a deer or any other reason – is often death or serious injury, airbags or no. Hit a good sized tree and the tree wins. Crosses by the roadside are a fairly common sight. We enjoyed the sight and drove carefully at the 80-kilometer-per-hour speed limit as locals passed us, casting sideways glances that seemed to say, “Wimp.”
