Tagebuch: December / January 2008/2009

Dear Diary,

It had happened again. Four in the morning and I was woken up by the not so subtle yell of natures call.  Kicking myself for having that last glass of water before bed, I groggily made my way to the bathroom.  As soon as I stepped in I was shocked to my senses by the icy puddle of water that had accumulated on the floor.

Our shower had been leaking unstoppably since our arrival in Vienna and there seemed to be no plumber capable of halting its inevitable takeover of our tiny apartment.  Of course, when it had happened the first time we had informed our landlord and she told us that the plumber would fix it within a few days.  2 months and 4 plumbers later, we were getting a little fed up with the personal Mediterranean our shower bestowed upon us every morning.  After profuse apologies our landlord ensured us that not only the plumber, but his assistant as well would arrive at 10 the next morning.

The next day, after an hour of drilling, chalking and smashing noises, their work was done.  After they left we rushed into the shower to examine the magnificent transformation that must have occurred. Small tiles had been laid around the edges of the shower, making sure that water on the walls would flow into the drain and not onto the floor. That was it.  A small row of tiles was supposed to be the cure for our uncontrollable leak.  Skeptical, we left the shower alone for the prescribed two days, then took it for a test run.  It worked!

The floor was dry as a bone!  No longer would I have to suffer through undignified trips to the floor after exiting the shower or wet socks that refused to dry for days.  Oddly enough, I had experienced one of the most exciting events of my European trip and didn’t even have to leave my apartment.