Today I found something else that makes me happy no matter what. Unfortunately, like watching and photographing tigers, this, too, is not readily available enough to serve as an actual “happy place” but it will always be there in my mind. Driving that Porsche 911 Carrera 4S convertible was sublime, heavenly, fantastic, insert-any-similar-adjective-here, almost orgasmic, an experience of a lifetime.

My first up-close look at her on Tuesday morning

One of the concierges took these – not the angle I would have taken but I didn’t want to take up too much more of his time.

I’ve always loved driving and always loved my Hondas (especially my Preludes, why did they ever stop making them?) but how will driving ever be the same again now that I’ve driven a Porsche on the Autobahn?

The acceleration was exhilarating. I found myself smiling every time I stepped on the gas pedal, whether from actual g-forces or just sheer joy at driving such a fine machine I cannot say. Several times I even laughed out loud as I flew by the cars in the right lane.

The handling was so tight – I was on highways for most of the day but you could feel it in changing lanes, taking an exit ramp, making a U-turn or maneuvering a traffic circle. I wish I could have taken her for a spin on some curvy country road back home – that would have been sweet.

The quality was evident in every nook and cranny of the vehicle. German engineering at its finest, I must say.

It looks like she’s smiling, doesn’t it?

What a great rear view!

I loved the deep-throated purr of the engine each time I started her or stepped on the gas. At first I had to remind myself that the noise was coming from MY car – well, my car for the day – but eventually I got used to it. I meant to record her but then forgot – it’s okay, though, I can definitely hear her in my mind.

I don’t know the conversion from kilometers to miles per hour but I topped her out at 201 Km/h. I’m quite sure it’s the fastest I’ve ever driven. I wasn’t there long, though, as I could feel how fast it was. In my average range of 150-170 KM/h, though, it didn’t feel like I was flying even though I know I was.

I didn’t even get a ticket, imagine that, nor was I the fastest car on the road, especially on the return trip when I found myself slowing down so that I could enjoy the experience a bit longer. I could have driven her all night long – the rental was for 24 hours – but there’s also a lot of exhaustion that went into driving her – based on the fact that I don’t read or speak German and all of her directions, as well as those on the road, were in German. Not to mention that I drive a 12-year old car which was “fancy” in its day but is long past keeping up with current trends. At first I had a hard time finding some of the most basic functions on the car. It made for a very interesting day.

It was interesting and also unusual – in my job I plan everything to the minutest detail in order to successfully manage my client’s projects. On vacation I deliberately take a break from planning and you could tell today. My only plan was to obtain the rental – I had no map of Germany, no driving directions, no plans for where to go in the two towns I hoped to visit… I asked Michael (the concierge) to provide written directions and all he handed me was a slip of paper with 3 Autobahn numbers on it. At first I was nervous about that but as the day progressed it felt good to know I could find my way just as well in a foreign country as at home. There were only one or two wrong turns, which were quickly corrected either on my own or with the guidance of a helpful German.

I had trouble starting the car. Seriously, the most basic function – I kept turning the key fob to the right and got some warning in German. Of course I didn’t know what it said. I had the desk clerk help me – he started the car with no problem but then when I tried it again – same result, same warning. Then a gentlemen standing on the hotel steps asked if I needed help – he had the same model at home and he started it up. When I asked what I’d been doing wrong he said I needed to turn the key all the way to the left, first, and then turn to the right.

Lowering the convertible top was easy and it worked beautifully, as I found out the second time I got “lost.” I ended up on a dead end alley and figured I’d take the opportunity to open the roof. (The morning had been rather chilly up to that point.) As if driving her wasn’t exhilarating enough, taking the top down took it to another level.

Finally in Warnemunde, I successfully parked and found my way to the beach. I had planned a stop in Alt Stadt Rostock but skipped it because I had no details about where I wanted to go, deciding to make it solely a beach day instead. It was a good decision because the beach was beautiful, the weather was great and having only one stop allowed me to simply retrace my steps to get back to Berlin.

I’ll have to tell you about the beach in another post – this post is all Porsche – but there were some interesting observations, I assure you.

After several hours on the beach, I got a hot chocolate and a late lunch at a cute café / bistro / bar on the promenade. Returning to the Porsche. I was able to pay cash for my parking since the automated cash machine had an English language option.

I made the drink hot CHOCOLATE by adding the chocolate chips that came with it – it was only hot milk until then

Back at the car, I had trouble starting it again. Oy vey! I tried turning it the other way but it didn’t work. I had to ask a gentleman parked nearby to tell me what the message said. He kindly told me to put on my seatbelt, shut the door, put the car in drive (as opposed to park, who knew) and sure enough it started up just fine. I thanked him profusely and waved at him and his wife as I left the parking lot.

See how happy I look leaning on her hood?

The next challenge was filling the gas tank. All these simple things that you don’t even think twice about at home can become interesting events in a foreign country. (I would have asked the rental car guy when he dropped the car off, but he didn’t speak English.) I found the gas tank easily enough and then asked a gentleman at the pump next to me if he knew what kind of gas it took. I didn’t want to put in the wrong fuel, for Pete’s sake! He told me he’d never driven a Porsche – I assured him I hadn’t either, that it was just a rental for the day. So he looked at the inside of my gas cap and confirmed it required unleaded fuel. He asked his passenger to provide confirmation and this second gentlemen also explained to me that I could get Ultra if I wanted to but it was much more costly. Of course I knew that, but they were in “help the helpless female” mode and I appreciated their help and thanked them kindly, with a big smile. I went ahead and filled her with Ultra – if ever a car deserved the best quality gasoline, it was this beauty and I treated her right.

The last difficulty I had was with the headlights. I couldn’t turn them on no matter how I manipulated the lever with the headlights icon on it. I made it back to the hotel just before dark and asked the doorman about the lights – sure enough, there was another knob to the left that was turned to ‘off’ when it should have been turned to ‘auto’. As soon as he turned the knob the lights came on. D’oh!

By this time it had been a long day (12 hours) with so many experiences, I abandoned my plans of driving around Berlin for a few more hours just to continue driving the car. I didn’t know where to go, it would only be stop and start driving and I was exhausted.

Thus, I relinquished her to the hotel for the return to Avis. I admit to feeling bereft as I walked away. Although I could still see her from my hotel room window for a few minutes, parked on the street in front of the hotel, now she is gone, back to Avis. I will miss her, I’ll always remember her – my first Porsche experience, hopefully not the last, maybe I’ll make this an annual event on every trip to Europe – and I will never regret a single penny or Euro of what I spent to rent her. She was truly worth every one.

My last look at her from my hotel room on the 5th floor