Actually, today’s ramblings have nothing whatsoever to do with the title, but it’s a bit catchier than what I’m really going to talk about, so just wanted to set you on the right track from the start, so you don’t feel badly done by at the end. Just thought I’d chat about the vagaries of travel from different points of view-namely, that of Aussies versus the rest of the world!
In spite of what might seem to be a total rant against all things European, I don’t mean any of this to be taken in a negative sense at all. Just to let you in on the vagaries of the situations here which actually make everything lots of fun, & we are certainly having lots of fun.
Mind you, I could mention ships, & how happy I was with myself for not getting sick on the ferry yesterday, between Gesner (Denmark) & Rostock (Germany). However, if we’d been on it much longer it may have been a different story. The nice people sharing the deck seat with me were obviously able to understand English, though they’d given no hint of this during the earlier part of the trip, but when I mentioned to Bill that if the route were much longer, I might actually find myself in a delicate position at the railings, they all got up very hastily and disappeared! Possibly because the wind was blowing in their direction! Oh well.... some people just can’t handle living dangerously!
I would also like to mention that the good citizens of Europe (excluding our second home of Italy, I hastily add) don’t appear to understand that we of other lands & nationalities like to present an unruffled front to the world as no ironing facilities are provided whatsoever. We have finally located a unit in the delightful city of Dresden which has a washing machine in which we are presently washing the first load of several suitcases full of clothing, though it’s amazing how long one can go on the same set of outer garments... And we have given in & bought an iron.
The other mentionable item is hair dryers- the guys can go & get a cup of coffee here. Anyway, Girls, in past times, I have always brought my own (hair dryer that is. I bring my own guy too, of course) but this time, as we were coming for longer & I would therefore need to have more weight available for acquired goods ( hope the guys are still on their coffee break) I decided that as the rooms we had booked advertised hair dryers, I would throw caution to the winds & use what they offered.
What the ads didn’t add was that one needs the patience of Job as well as a PhD in electrical equipment to get the things (a) to work & (b) to continue working. A number of them would blow your hair to the other side of Europe & others need the assistance of a paramedic trained in CPR to get them to actually do anything- & that’s after you find the little hidden switch up on the wall at the head height of a giant & usually located behind a door that’s never to be opened!
We have learnt that when it comes to hotel architecture, the collective synonym for “charming, authentic, cosy...” is bloody- difficult- to- navigate- up- to- the- 7th floor- with- 2- large- suitcases,- 2 small- ones- &- sundry- other- bits- of- equipment. So on occasion, we have been known to forego the authenticity for plain, old, boring buildings with elevators. Oh no! How culturally crass! But the ease of effort makes up for it all.
The air conditioning is another topic of interest. It will heat the rooms a treat, but try to get a cooler option & it’s easier to open the windows, though be careful here, because they open two ways- normally, & also from the top, as if they’re falling on your head, which adds another dimension entirely to the OMG factor. There are no screens or safety features, which is interesting so I wouldn’t recommend sneezing too close to an open one.
Europe, including the UK, is the greatest place on earth, after Australia & now, we leave it up to our friends in other countries to even up the observations with the various vagaries unique to Down Under.
No comments:
Post a Comment