Susanne looked around to get her bearings, but a mob of people getting out of another streetcar blocked her view. Someone popping open an umbrella showered her with droplets of water. She gritted her teeth and counted to ten in German, in English, and then in her admittedly rusty French.

Why the hell had she thought taking public transportation was a good idea?

But it wasn’t as if she had a choice. Freiburg’s city center was a car-free zone, and even around the edges of the pedestrian area, finding a parking spot was about as likely as winning the lottery, so she had left her beloved BMW in her apartment building’s parking garage. She would have to ask Uncle Norbert about parking options and getting a special permit so she could take her car to work.

Once the crowd in front of her cleared, she glanced around and checked her phone to see in which direction she was supposed to be heading. A bronze equestrian statue marked the middle of the busy intersection where all the streetcar lines crossed. According to Google Maps, she had to double back a little. She turned and headed toward the tower gate through which her streetcar had just passed on its way into the city center. Its green copper roof and two corner turrets rose high up over the surrounding buildings. The sidewalks and the streetcar tracks ran under its two arches. Her last visit to Freiburg had been more than twenty years ago, but if she remembered correctly, the gate had been left over from the medieval city fortifications. Now, instead of armed guards, a big McDonald’s sign had been placed above the right arch.

Shaking her head, Susanne crossed the street so she could pass through the arch.

A streetcar wildly rang its bell to hurry her along.

Susanne clutched her chest and leaped onto the sidewalk. She hadn’t seen the damn thing because the umbrella had blocked her view. “Don’t you worry. It’ll all work out great,” she mimicked her mother. “Yeah, but not if I get killed on my first day at work.”

A guy pushing a bicycle gave her a curious look, but she ignored him and marched on.

A familiar green-and-white logo greeted her on the other side of the gate.

At least Freiburg had a Starbucks. Mollified, she headed toward it. No way would she survive this day without caffeine.

But the long line in front of the counter convinced her otherwise. Her uncle’s store opened at ten, and if she wanted to be taken seriously by his staff, she couldn’t be late.

If he even had any staff.