One thing I'm going to miss about Stuttgart is the smallness and closeness of the American community. Even though the Post Exchange is on another installation, it's a relatively short drive with two available routes. One route is the autobahn, which can become congested rather easily (a stau) due to rush-hour traffic, construction delays or no particular reason at all. The other route is "frog road" or the "frog-bahn." This is a winding two-lane road that more or less runs alongside the autobahn. It's beautiful in the fall with golden leaves surrounding the road. In the spring, however, you see the signs warning to be on the lookout for frogs...hence the Americanized name of the road. The road is on the migratory route of frogs, and the Germans put up frog barriers to direct the frogs away from the road so they can safely cross via underpasses. I can't say that I've ever seen migratory frogs on the road, but I still get a kick out of the signs warning motorists to keep a watchful eye for the green amphibians between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. every spring.
Labels: Germany, Travel
One thing I'm going to miss about Stuttgart is the smallness and closeness of the American community. Even though the Post Exchange is on another installation, it's a relatively short drive with two available routes. One route is the autobahn, which can become congested rather easily (a stau) due to rush-hour traffic, construction delays or no particular reason at all. The other route is "frog road" or the "frog-bahn." This is a winding two-lane road that more or less runs alongside the autobahn. It's beautiful in the fall with golden leaves surrounding the road. In the spring, however, you see the signs warning to be on the lookout for frogs...hence the Americanized name of the road. The road is on the migratory route of frogs, and the Germans put up frog barriers to direct the frogs away from the road so they can safely cross via underpasses. I can't say that I've ever seen migratory frogs on the road, but I still get a kick out of the signs warning motorists to keep a watchful eye for the green amphibians between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. every spring.
