Feeling masochistic...

After years of procrastination, waiting for a rumoured (but not yet materialized) reciprocal agreement policy, I have finally embarked on what is sure to be the unmitigated torture of legitimately acquiring my German drivers license (gasp for breath).

Yep, I am about to 'swap' my Aussie one for a Deutsch one.

I must point out that the term 'swap' is a tad misleading as, while in essence, the process has me handing in my Australian one and receiving a bona-fide German one, the steps in between involve (but are not necessarily limited to):

-getting an official translation on the original license (35 euro -thanks very much - for a mere 6 lines and 2 official looking stamps),
-an eye test,
-a local first aid qualification,
-studying 1500 road rules,
-being tested on the road rules,
-having at least one practical driving lesson, and
-taking a practical driving exam,
-enduring German bureaucracy (can you imagine????) at each step.


Remarkably similar to acquiring a driver's license from scratch, I'd say.



I have heard many horror stories about this process and I am not looking forward to it. And I'm more than a tad annoyed at the discrimination involved. After all, AUSTRALIA SWAPS GERMAN ONES!!! If I held a license from, say, the UK or Canada (which could be simply acquired by swapping- as in 'no tests' -just SWAPPING my Aussie one) then I'd have no problem swapping THAT ONE for a German one. There is no logic. Unfortunately, despite many years exploring slightly fraudulent options this route seems closed to me.

A jaded friend who has recently gone through the whole confluted process sent me the following message:

"So you're entering the nether world of the great 'Fueherschein fuer Aussie Auslander' rip-off, ey? I wish you luck, inner calm, and the ability to suspend all notions of fairness and common sense."

As I am not naturally blessed with any of those attributes, I fear the coming weeks might be challenging.