Diebstahl in Schoeneberg
[der Diebstahl in German means 'theft'] guess what this blog is about...
As a part of the last years goings on in the Eisenacher Strasse, let me explain about our adventures with the insurance company, the local organized crime ring, and our previously-enjoyed-but-no-longer-in-our-possession possessions.
In chronological order:
1) The Navigation system (GPS) that was originally built into our VW Sharan (don't think that's available in the states; its a minivan-like thing with 7 seats, 2 of which have integrated kiddyseats, which is really handy). I forget exactly when, but it was sometime in 2005. We went out to the car and found that this big 5x4x5 inch device had been carefully extracted from the dashboard. It was quite expertly done. No wires had been cut; all the connections were unplugged and left hanging out. Actually it was rather kind of the thieves to have left us a mostly undisturbed result; just a void where our beloved GPS used to be.
I was at first angry because it appeared as though the car had been left unlocked; there were no outward signs of breakin. We even drove to the police station, where the policelady chided us for having disturbed potential fingerprints. She dusted the inside of the car with sticky black stuff, and of course came up with nothing, but left us with quite a cleanup job. When we called the station, the guy there instructed us to bring in the auto. There appeared to be some kind of tension between certain members of this particular department. When we described to said policelady what we had been told over the phone, she said 'well thats the height of freshness', or something along those lines. Later the guy from the insurance agency came by (AXA) and inspected the lock with the key. It didn't work. He said this is common. The bad guys (some element of organized crime from you-choose-where) use a thing called a 'polish-key' which is basically like a hex wrench welded onto the end of a key like thing. They stick it in and torque it and the lock breaks while simultaneously disarming the alarm system. Quite clever. The VW design I mean. Who would have thought they'd work so closely with the mafia to create such an elegantly break-inable product.
Anyway, we got the lock repaired, and a new removable Navi system. I highly recommend the Navi system for anyone too lazy or uncoordinated to concurrently drive, read a map, talk on the phone, and drink their coffee. Its been a godsend, especially out of town. We went all through Denmark and Sweden with it, and didn't get lost. Its quite kind too. It just says 'make the next available Uturn', after I take the wrong exit, or go down a 1way street the wrong way.
2) Jackie bought a very nice bike when we first moved here. It was very useful, as we lived for about a year without a car. The previous tennants had sold me 2 bikes they had for 20 EUR; they were in fair repair, just above the junk threshold. In fact they were so junky, I never needed to lock them. Quite an advantage.
Anyhoo, Jackie left her bike in the hallway outside our door sometimes, because the bike cellar is downstairs (as the name implies), and is a pain to lug bikes up and down. One of the disadvantages (among several) of living on the ground floor at this time became painfully apparent, i.e. stuff in the hallway outside one's apartment can be seen from the street. Our apartment house is not the zenith of uptodateness; and the front door is a good example of this: it does not close fully. Somehow, the bad guys had become aware of this. We are all convinced there is an active crime ring in our neighborhood, and that lots of folks are involved. The cast of characters includes the guys who come and deliver adverts to every mailbox in the house: they know which houses are easy entry (like ours). There are the guys who go around and leave little flyers and cards on your car somewhere advertizing crappy stuff or the next yoga sitin. They know which cars have the goods, and how long they've sat in one place, and likely who owns them, when they go to bed, etc. Then there are the actual crime doers. I'm thinking there's likely a 2 year educational track in the eastern states where one can become certified to do this. It is extremely expertly done. I don't have a picture of the lock that was broken to steal Jackie's bike, but they left it in the hallway. I guess it was just their way of saying 'hi'. The lock is a plastic covered steel cable, about 3/4 in in diameter. It weighs about 5 pounds. They didn't bother cutting the cable. They used some kind of device to pull the cable out of the housing that holds it where the two ends come together to create the lock. There was about an inch of exposed cable at the end. It obviously required a specialized device that could pull, with great force, the cable from the housing. I think they've had lots of practise. And the creepy part is that our apartment is only separated from these guys by a 5 inch think plaster wall. We were there when they stole the bike, sometime during the night. And people come and go all the time. They had to be fast and quiet, and choose just the right moment to do the deed. I have Sharon's bike just to show a comparative example of what and where. Nice, huh?
3) Regrettably, just the other day, well, it happened again...in the car again. The same entry technique, nice and clean.
I was walking out to get my morning coffee, and happened to stroll past the car. I looked in and noticed something strange. There was more space than usual. In fact, way more space. I thought, 'gee, that's strange'. Then I walked back to the apt. and asked Jackie if she would please tell me that she or Sharon for some reason had taken all the seats out of the car; perhaps to transport something large and heavy...
The VW Sharon has another nifty feature: you can simply and quickly remove all 5 of the middle and rear row seats. A new seat costs around 300 EUR, except for the integrated kiddyseats, which are about double the price. I'm starting to regret having opted for the high deductable insurance.
Interestingly, they didn't take the time to remove the rear-left seat because Lukas' baby seat was strapped in. I guess they were in a hurry.
As a part of the last years goings on in the Eisenacher Strasse, let me explain about our adventures with the insurance company, the local organized crime ring, and our previously-enjoyed-but-no-longer-in-our-possession possessions.
In chronological order:
1) The Navigation system (GPS) that was originally built into our VW Sharan (don't think that's available in the states; its a minivan-like thing with 7 seats, 2 of which have integrated kiddyseats, which is really handy). I forget exactly when, but it was sometime in 2005. We went out to the car and found that this big 5x4x5 inch device had been carefully extracted from the dashboard. It was quite expertly done. No wires had been cut; all the connections were unplugged and left hanging out. Actually it was rather kind of the thieves to have left us a mostly undisturbed result; just a void where our beloved GPS used to be.
I was at first angry because it appeared as though the car had been left unlocked; there were no outward signs of breakin. We even drove to the police station, where the policelady chided us for having disturbed potential fingerprints. She dusted the inside of the car with sticky black stuff, and of course came up with nothing, but left us with quite a cleanup job. When we called the station, the guy there instructed us to bring in the auto. There appeared to be some kind of tension between certain members of this particular department. When we described to said policelady what we had been told over the phone, she said 'well thats the height of freshness', or something along those lines. Later the guy from the insurance agency came by (AXA) and inspected the lock with the key. It didn't work. He said this is common. The bad guys (some element of organized crime from you-choose-where) use a thing called a 'polish-key' which is basically like a hex wrench welded onto the end of a key like thing. They stick it in and torque it and the lock breaks while simultaneously disarming the alarm system. Quite clever. The VW design I mean. Who would have thought they'd work so closely with the mafia to create such an elegantly break-inable product.
Anyway, we got the lock repaired, and a new removable Navi system. I highly recommend the Navi system for anyone too lazy or uncoordinated to concurrently drive, read a map, talk on the phone, and drink their coffee. Its been a godsend, especially out of town. We went all through Denmark and Sweden with it, and didn't get lost. Its quite kind too. It just says 'make the next available Uturn', after I take the wrong exit, or go down a 1way street the wrong way.
2) Jackie bought a very nice bike when we first moved here. It was very useful, as we lived for about a year without a car. The previous tennants had sold me 2 bikes they had for 20 EUR; they were in fair repair, just above the junk threshold. In fact they were so junky, I never needed to lock them. Quite an advantage.
Anyhoo, Jackie left her bike in the hallway outside our door sometimes, because the bike cellar is downstairs (as the name implies), and is a pain to lug bikes up and down. One of the disadvantages (among several) of living on the ground floor at this time became painfully apparent, i.e. stuff in the hallway outside one's apartment can be seen from the street. Our apartment house is not the zenith of uptodateness; and the front door is a good example of this: it does not close fully. Somehow, the bad guys had become aware of this. We are all convinced there is an active crime ring in our neighborhood, and that lots of folks are involved. The cast of characters includes the guys who come and deliver adverts to every mailbox in the house: they know which houses are easy entry (like ours). There are the guys who go around and leave little flyers and cards on your car somewhere advertizing crappy stuff or the next yoga sitin. They know which cars have the goods, and how long they've sat in one place, and likely who owns them, when they go to bed, etc. Then there are the actual crime doers. I'm thinking there's likely a 2 year educational track in the eastern states where one can become certified to do this. It is extremely expertly done. I don't have a picture of the lock that was broken to steal Jackie's bike, but they left it in the hallway. I guess it was just their way of saying 'hi'. The lock is a plastic covered steel cable, about 3/4 in in diameter. It weighs about 5 pounds. They didn't bother cutting the cable. They used some kind of device to pull the cable out of the housing that holds it where the two ends come together to create the lock. There was about an inch of exposed cable at the end. It obviously required a specialized device that could pull, with great force, the cable from the housing. I think they've had lots of practise. And the creepy part is that our apartment is only separated from these guys by a 5 inch think plaster wall. We were there when they stole the bike, sometime during the night. And people come and go all the time. They had to be fast and quiet, and choose just the right moment to do the deed. I have Sharon's bike just to show a comparative example of what and where. Nice, huh?
3) Regrettably, just the other day, well, it happened again...in the car again. The same entry technique, nice and clean.
I was walking out to get my morning coffee, and happened to stroll past the car. I looked in and noticed something strange. There was more space than usual. In fact, way more space. I thought, 'gee, that's strange'. Then I walked back to the apt. and asked Jackie if she would please tell me that she or Sharon for some reason had taken all the seats out of the car; perhaps to transport something large and heavy...
The VW Sharon has another nifty feature: you can simply and quickly remove all 5 of the middle and rear row seats. A new seat costs around 300 EUR, except for the integrated kiddyseats, which are about double the price. I'm starting to regret having opted for the high deductable insurance.
Interestingly, they didn't take the time to remove the rear-left seat because Lukas' baby seat was strapped in. I guess they were in a hurry.
posted by jackie and fritz at 4:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home