Very quickly now…

We’ve been saying our good-byes throughout the day today,  and now we just have to get ourselves to the airport tomorrow morning.   “Ich leide dem Abschied”,  has been my mantra today.  Which,  loosely translated is something like,  “It’s sad to say good-bye”.   This was met with knowing nods.

I’ll now offer a brief photo essay.

 

 

And….that has been our life over the last couple days. 

Such fun.

 

Then it comes down to this.

 

And actually,  there’s a bit of a story there.   It seems that the bikes were placed on the “air shipment” list.   Couldn’t find them listed anywhere.  Everything has to be listed.  No exceptions.  So the boss and I had to go back upstairs and put them on the normal list.  That was it for anything remotely close to a mishap.  Of course,  we’ll see how things look when we open the packages in several weeks.

Everything gets sucked up into the vortex of the shipment.  Even my old running shoes that I was going to turf out.  Damned if I didn’t leave them sitting in the living room yesterday at the end of the day.  They were starting to hurt my feet,  which is exactly why I was willing to part company with them.  They got packed. Looks like I’ll be seeing them one last time. 

Dammit.

Hey,  maybe I’ll wear them in the garden.  I’m such a cheap bastard.

 

At the end of it all, there are meters to be read,  along with a fairly thorough inspection.  Everything was in good shape.

We’re kind of anal that way.

 

And then,  it all goes back to this…

 

We’ve given back our keys,  car and cards for the parking garage.   We’re done.

Whatever could be given away, went. 

See you all on the flip side.

 

Thanks for stopping in.

Slip knot or square not?

Both,  actually.

This is where all that Boy Scout knot tying comes in handy.  Well actually,  I was a Boy Scout for all of about a month,  and we moved and I didn’t join up again.  Might possibly have to do with sailing.  Maybe just “stuff” you ought to know?

 

I didn’t want to do this one until the penultimate day.  First of all,  it gives off enough light,  and there was that whole “putting it off”  thing.

It was easier to put up,  than take down.

Trust me.

Don’t try this at home.

 

 

I’ll let the pictures tell….

 

From this…

 

 

 

To this….

 

….and that’s how you ship a crystal chandelier.

There’s still gobs more on the list.

 

Pitter patter.

 

Oh and,  this…

 

….is what goes up in its place.

Swanky, huh?

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

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By land or by sea.

No wait,  it’s more like,  “by sea or by air”.   That’s the actual quandary.   We worked away at it over the weekend.  Of course,  the biggest consideration is that Travelling Companion doesn’t want all her clothes to be totally wrinkled by the time they end up at their destination,  so she’s hesitant to lay them out for the “air shipment”.

 

 

We *think* we have a pretty good handle on it,  even though it doesn’t really look that way.   Like, not at all?

Both of us really and truly prefer “neat and tidy”,  as opposed to what seems to look more and more like something left behind in the wake of a tornado.

I did manage to accomplish one major thing this morning,  and that was to take back the near empty propane tank and get my refund.  

 

Looks like this,  only we had one of the big ones. (10kg.)

This type of canister is really very cool,  and I certainly hope we go this way someday in North America.  They’re light weight (especially when empty),  you can see the level of the liquid through the sides,  and they’re virtually indestructible.  Plus,  I looked high and low, and there was no hint of an “expiry date”. 

Don’t even get me started on that expiry date bullsh*t. 

I was gone all afternoon Saturday,  trying to find a gas station where I could unload the thing.   You’d think it would be pretty simple.  I mean,  using our North American way of thinking, propane bottles or canisters,  or whatever you call them, can be had most anywhere.  Home Despot.  Crappy Tire.  Kmart?  You know.  And then there are some gas stations.

Well,  it seems that here in Wienerland,  BP *has the final word on portable propane tanks.  It wasn’t that way in the Netherlands.  I bought a tank at something along the lines of a hardware/tool store, although it was the metal kind,  which are no longer available.   

*that’s a neat interactive site that shows all the features of these canisters.  Go there.  Really.

Anyhoodle,  I discovered at the my first stop on Saturday,  that they were “full”.   What?  What does that mean,  “full”?   Well,  it turns out that they’re only allowed to have a maximum of twenty canisters on hand at any given time.  Same could be said for the second stop.  And of course,  none of these places are right around the corner from one another.  I mean,  they’re service stations all from the same company.  They’re going to be spread out.   By about the fourth attempt,  I had had enough and just came home. 

Oh ya,  almost forgot,  by then Mariahilferstrasse was closed off for some stupid reason,  so I ended up having to go up Zieglergasse the wrong way in order to get into the parking garage. (Don’t tell!)   Didn’t help that my first stop after getting in the door was the toilet either.  Hence the sense of urgency.

 

So when I took Travelling Companion to work this morning,  we still had our beloved propane tank standing on the floor behind the passenger seat,  so she was a bit squished.  Even though I was taking it back for my deposit,  I didn’t think it was such a good idea to lie it down in the trunk.   If I had managed to unload the thing on Saturday,  she could have taken the car as she usually does.  Stupid propane tank.  Stupid rules.

You’re probably wondering why I was so dead set on getting back my deposit?   Well,  other than the fact that there was no way I could even think of leaving it behind here,  perhaps in the upstairs storage,  the deposit on the thing was €54.   Yes kids,  fifty-four Euros.   You can do your own conversion.  

I think BP wants their canisters back,  yes??

Lo and behold,  after dropping T.C. off at the Company that Cannot be Named,  I went right around the corner to the nearest BP station,  and they had LOTS of room.  I don’t even think the dude bothered to count.   Why the hell didn’t I just go there Saturday?   Come to find out (after I told the guy he had just made my day) the clerk or whatever you call him,  had lived for a time in Ireland,  commutes every day in from Hungary (really?)  and he and I had a very nice little chat.  Most of it in English it turns out.   Oh,  and his opinion was that the Irish are a lot more friendly than the Austrians.  I’ll reserve judgement.

Not much else has dropped into my simple noggin,  so I guess that’s it for today.

 

Back to whatever the hell it was I was doing.  Half the time,  I don’t really know.

 

Keep those sticks where I can see them.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

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