Driving through the car wash is an excitement for my son every time. When we still lived in Clarksville, TN, we washed our red Toyota Camry ourselves in our own driveway. Here, in Germany, you’re forbidden to wash your car in your own driveway, because the soiled water could get into the ground water. Instead, we drive to a cool gantry car wash while staying seated in the car. It is great fun! Just make sure you close all your windows tightly (Lyons Cub once said, “Mommy, there’s foam coming through my window!” – face palm…).
In contrast to car washes in the U.S., where water is just sprayed on your car, in Germany, huge brushes come and scrub your car clean. I guess we’re scared in the U.S. that the coat of the car might be scraped? Anyways, it’s fun to put your automatic car onto the conveyor belt in the “N” function and be driven slowly through the car wash. Before you drive in, the clerk hoses off your car and its wheels with a high-pressure hose. Then, you screw your antenna off and let the clerk put a plastic bag on your back window wipers for protection. Afterwards, you put your left tires onto the conveyor belt and let it be driven slowly forward without your touching the steering wheel or the gas pedal. Took me some time to get used to it 😉
Blue and red light, like from a police car, makes the foam appear colored, to the delight of the children. The brush makes a lot of noise. Alas, my car beeped the whole time, since it felt obstacles around it. So make sure to turn the volume down when watching our video! 😉
The worst is when a metal bar suddenly appears right before your windscreen. It has the words written on it, “Don’t brake; I will rise shortly” — so, don’t brake in panic, because it won’t come crashing through your windshield, even if it looks like it would.
