Life still writes the best stories: Whether police or customs – helpers and officials in Baden-Württemberg also recorded numerous strange incidents in the year that was drawing to a close.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Whether kangaroos on Lake Constance, a gondola on the motorway or a “creative” train driver – the past year in the southwest had some curious stories in store. Not all of the extraordinary incidents left those involved unscathed.
– Because she found the lion pattern typical of Baden-Württemberg so beautiful: In February, a 53-year-old woman used nail scissors to cut several pieces of regional train seat covers. Ten lions from four seats were their haul on the regional train from Mannheim to Heilbronn. The woman gave the reason for her “creative” handling of the train seats “that she finds the lion pattern so beautiful”. She “wanted to have a souvenir”. For the called federal police, however, this was property damage. An ad followed.
– In May, the people of the Swabian Jura also had a sight that was not every day. Klaus Weigand was out and about near Munderkingen (Alb-Donau-Kreis) with a running machine he had built himself. The former owner of a carpenter’s shop in the Waldshut district is fascinated by the predecessor of today’s bicycle: the walking machine by the Baden inventor Karl von Drais (1785-1851). In order to be in keeping with the times of the wheel, Weigand also wore a jacket and top hat. Not only did he attract numerous curious looks, he also repeatedly struck up conversations with people along the way, as he reported.
– A gondola on a motorway in the district of Lörrach caused a similar stir. Customs officials stopped a motorist on the A861 with this rather unusual “contraband” at the end of May. The man had loaded the gondola of a Swiss mountain railway onto his car trailer. However, he had not registered with customs and paid any import duties. The gondola, which cost 600 euros, was supposed to be a birthday present for his girlfriend, as the man told the customs officers. After paying the import duties of around 200 euros, the man was allowed to continue his journey in the gondola.
– Four escaped kangaroos called the police on Lake Constance in early July. The marsupials from a circus in Überlingen hopped to a gas station, through a residential area and across an empty parking lot. Several concerned witnesses contacted the police. Officials and circus workers recaptured the animals after about an hour. How the quartet had fled the circus grounds remained unclear.
– Burglars who gained access to a restaurant in Karlsruhe in November were obviously hungry. They not only helped themselves to the drinks in the fridge and took around 100 euros in change – they also baked a pizza. According to the police, the intruders use several kitchen utensils and ingredients. An employee of the restaurant discovered the devastated kitchen when he wanted to open the pizzeria for evening business.
– Because of an alleged collision with another car, a man called the emergency number near Dossenheim (Rhein-Neckar-Kreis) in September. When police officers found the drunk man, however, they found a dead wild boar and no other car. Officials assumed the man caught the animal as it was about to cross the street. A breath alcohol test gave the 75-year-old a value of almost 0.4 per mille.