Today we woke up at the crack of dawn, oh did I say 'woke up?' More like got out of bed. I just can't sleep well before a trip. Toss and turn, mind going a thousand miles a minute trying to remember if I packed what I should have. And of course you'll always forget something...at least that's how it goes in my family.
Luckily, Steven gave us (me, Elowyn, and my sister who is visiting for a few months), a drive to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station for regional or international travel - DB). We got there early, really early, so had breakfast at one of the many bakeries. We walked up to our train platform to wait in the waiting room. Then, with only 10 min before our train was to arrive, E suddenly has to go pee. Wait for the train I said, but no, it was a 911, so off we went in search of a German toilet.
I saw the signs and turned the corner and saw these huge pillars declaring they were toilets. I had seen something similar to these on TV in Paris so started pressing it to find the opening, much like a secret door. Daughter started laughing at me, and the more I tried to find the hidden door, the more she laughed. Finally, I looked at her in exasperation and said, 'WHAT?' She pointed down the hall to an entrance that said WC. I glared at her and walked past.
Flustered now, I fished in my purse for change, because you know, in Germany, the toilets are NOT free. Finally found some change, quickly got a ticket, went through the glass doors which slammed shut behind me and turned a corner only to see a man peeing in one of a long line of urinals. I looked over at the wall and saw that the stick figure had two legs. Dawning horror! Oh God! I quickly walked back before Elowyn too ended up in the wrong place. Through the glass I pointed to the woman stick figure a few metres away and Elowyn's eyes grew round in surprise, then the little weasel roared with laughter...AGAIN!
Sigh....I routed in my purse, no more euros. The glass door was closed. Trapped! Our train was coming soon. I made a snap decision and thought gender neutral thoughts and turned back into the men's WC. Incredibly, the man was STILL peeing! I was thinking maybe he had Austin Powers' bladder, but he wasn't facing me so I scurried into an empty stall. The cleaning lady of the WC was humming a tune and occasionally breaking out in song. Happy in her work.
Elowyn was waiting for me with a big smile on her face. Say cheese! Click! She practically skipped up the steps on the escalator dying to tell my sister about my misadventure; the big news as it were.
And yes, I was humiliated once more with Elowyn providing embellishments in a rather loud voice in the waiting room. And for a country of people who don't seem to speak a lick of English when you ask them a question, there were plenty of Germans openly grinning. Yeah....
One small mercy, thankfully, they weren't on my train. Elowyn says that she'll go to the bathroom with me ANYTIME. Finally, I had to laugh. These things always seem to happen to me. I know I will be reliving this as Elowyn will be sure to spread the word, so I'm one upping her and giving it to you straight by writing it myself.
Teens!
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