Learning to Drive in Germany (Again)
A daily driver back home in Kenya, an absolute beginner in Munich. Germany didn’t care about my previous experience — and maybe that’s exactly the reset I needed.
This year, I made a promise to get uncomfortable on purpose. So far that’s meant diving into learning a new programming language called Rust (blog coming soon), brushing up on Data Structures& Algorithms like I’m reliving my university days, and taking on system design challenges that feel like mental marathons. But somehow, the one thing stretching me the most isn’t code or architecture diagrams, it’s the fact that I’m back in driving school in my 30s.
How I Got Here
I've held a Kenyan driving license since 2019. When I moved to Germany in December 2020, I was allowed to drive for the first six months with my foreign license. For five glorious months, I drove every single day to and from work in my 2006 Volkswagen Polo. Granted, it was in a quiet village with minimal traffic and limited chaos, but I drove with no incidents. On paper, I was a driver. In practice, I felt confident behind the wheel.
Then the six months expired.
I didn't convert my license to an internationally recognized one in time, which meant starting from scratch. The entire process. Theory classes, practice sessions, first aid, fitness tests. Basically everything! My initial reaction? This law is nonsensical. Why should someone who's been driving for years sit through beginner classes like they've never touched a steering wheel? Meanwhile, people from certain countries with special agreements with Germany can simply exchange their license for a German one without taking any tests. Lucky them!
And to be fair to myself, it’s not like I ignored the conversion window out of rebellion. Getting a license in Germany is famously expensive, and back then I simply didn’t have the budget for it. There were bigger priorities. After moving from the village to Munich for professional reasons, I quickly realized that public transport system in Munich is reliable enough to get by just fine without a car. So I put it off. Just a little too long!
But then life happened. People live. People make babies. And make babies we did. Which means there’s now a very practical reason I can’t delay this any longer: I need to drop off and pick up my two kids from daycare and school.
When Ruby was our only child, I managed just fine on a bicycle. One kid, one bike seat, done. But now that Verena Moraa has joined us, the math doesn't work anymore. Two kids on a bike? In German winters? While carrying bags of diapers and all the chaos that comes with young children? That's a hard ask, even for someone committed to the cycling lifestyle.
So yes, I need this license. Not just for convenience, but for the reality of being a father of two in a city where having a car makes family logistics infinitely easier.
The Process
So, on the 9th of August 2025, I registered at the driving school next door and got started. First, I paid €580 for the study materials and 11 theory lessons, plus €154.82 for the TÜV invoice covering the theory and practical lessons. Then came the mandatory first aid course and eye test which I failed without my glasses. This means I’ll always be required to drive with my glasses as the driving license will explicitly indicate the same. Altogether, these initial steps cost about €60, a small but essential part of getting the whole journey started.
Fast-forward three months in, and I’m 35% through the learning app. With each module, I’m confronting gaps in my knowledge I didn’t know existed. Right-of-way rules at unmarked intersections, the nuances of the Autobahn zipper merge, the endless road signs that look similar but mean completely different things, this is all new territory compared to my driving education back home in Kenya.
From driving on the right side of the road, more explicit road markings to varying speed limits, there are a lot of subtle and fundamental differences in the driving experience in the two countries. These differences have meant retraining my instincts and muscle memory to increase my chances of passing the driving school exams and also become a better driver all round.
Life hasn’t paused while I study. Between caring for our newborn Moraa, picking up and dropping off Ruby at school, and helping more around the house while Vreni is nursing, finding time to focus on driving has been a juggling act. The driving school has three locations close by, ranging from a one-minute walk downstairs to a 15-minute bicycle ride. Theory lessons are administered in German, but I opted to take the exam in English.
The Discomfort is the Point
Truth be told, there are days when I feel unsure. Days when I wonder if I'll ever feel as confident here in the city as I did on those village roads or roads in Kenya. The theory questions sometimes twist my brain into knots, and I'm only 35% done.
But that's the point of getting out of your comfort zone, isn't it? You're supposed to feel a little lost, a little uncertain, a little out of your depth. Whether it's wrestling with Rust's borrow checker at midnight, whiteboarding graph algorithms I haven't touched since university, or memorizing the difference between a "Vorfahrt gewähren" and a "Vorfahrtsstraße" sign, the discomfort means I'm growing.
What Comes Next
So here I am, a licensed driver learning to drive again. It's frustrating, occasionally absurd, and unexpectedly enlightening. I've got 65% of this app to conquer, then the theory exam, then the practical lessons, and finally the driving test itself.
Will I pass on the first try? Who knows. Will I eventually be confidently navigating the Autobahn and executing perfect parallel parks on Munich's narrow streets? I'd like to think so. Will I look back on this and laugh about how stressed I was over road signs? Absolutely.
For now, I'm taking it one module at a time, one practice question at a time, one uncomfortable learning moment at a time. Because that's what this year is all about. Choosing discomfort, choosing growth, and trusting that the struggle is worth it.
To anyone else relearning something they thought they already knew: You're not alone in feeling like this is unnecessarily humbling. But maybe that's exactly what we need. Here's to starting from square one and making it to square two, then three, and eventually to the finish line.
Wish me luck. I've got a progress bar to fill and two kids who need to be safely dropped off and a passenger princess in Vreni who has been my chauffeur for all these years.