Ich bin ein Wiener shopper

I hurt my back and need to lie flat every now and then to ease the pain. When I do this the cats feel the urge to come and give me shicatsu massage.

I had a victory today and for breakfast bought three Wiener Kipferls on special for €1.98. I paid in brown coins and got rid of quite a few. However I got caught later at the stationery store. I had the correct money – mostly in brown coins – in my hand and the man spotted what I was up to. The cunning devil immediately applied a 3% discount to the transaction and gave me 6 brown coins in the change. So I still have about 13 kilos of them in an umbrella stand near the door and scoop up a handful every time I leave the apartment.

I went back to see Frauline Schnauzer at OAMTC. I was pushing two bikes up towards Schubertring and it didn’t start to rain heavily until I was past the half way point – but nothing was going to stop me from insuring those bikes.

Frauline Schnauzer had the misfortune to be available when I arrived but gave me a wan smile and launched into the transaction. The first part took an immense amount of time – I would not like to try to insure anything larger than a bicycle. We then conducted the bike inspection. I was required to turn them upside down so that she could see if they were girls or boys (they are both boys) and took notes of the numbers tattooed on the bottoms. A great deal more administration followed – after which I was relived of a substantial sum of money and given many documents in German.

You would not believe the collection I have of these now - and one day when I speak German I promise I am going to read them.

Also at the counter was a little old lady who was there when I arrived and was there when I left – and was probably there when they closed. She had brought with her, in a trolley, apparently every document she owned and was intent on showing each and every one of them to Frau Grimm - who was not pleased to be a participant in the process. I don’t know what she was trying to do but she had met her match with Frau Grimm who was displaying great resilience in the face of many and varied aged documents.

I went to Lutz to buy a stand for the TV. This is a glass thingy that fits on top of the TV console and under which you can put (in our case) the Sky box, the UPC TV box, The UPC Internet box and the DVD player.

I found the perfect thing and eventually found a sales assistant having a cigarette out the back and enticed her back into the store. Pointing at what I wanted I indicated that I was keen to purchase it. ‘Eight weeks’ said the sales assistant. ‘Perfect’ I replied.

Clearly stunned by my response, she regrouped and sat at the PC ‘Hmmm……let me see…..ah yes…400 Euro’ she administered the coup de grace with a grin. ‘Excellent price’ I said – ‘I don’t know how they make them so cheaply’.

She realised that she had met her match and that she was dealing with a seasoned Wiener shopper. She immediately punched some keys and said ‘I can do it for you for €349'.

I knew then that I have made it – I have been accepted – I am an Auslander but - as a shopper I am one of you (Sob). She then exchanged pleasantries and told me that they have wrestling in Am Heumarkt in Summer – can’t wait. When the thingy has arrived they will send an SMS to someone (it is unlikely to be me) and it will be available for pickup.

News Flash! Cate has received her new Blackberry Bold. Preliminary indications are that it works but extensive testing is required and is now underway.