Categories: austria, postcards
Date: 30 October 2007 22:20:51
Poking around in a bookshop one day, my eye fell on a small book extolling the virtues of Vienna in glorious technicolour. The text was a concise summary of Vienna's finest virtues in German with an absolutely stunning translation into English. I could not believe my eyes. Not just any old translation - but MY translation, gentle reader, MY translation! Of course, I don't get any royalties (boo... hiss...) and my name isn't even in the credits (the translation agency is credited ...louder....boo...hiss....) but I was so elated I plucked the book off the shelf, sailed up to the crumbling gentleman who was behind the counter and told him that he was standing in the presence of the translator of this fine work of tourist literature. He seemed singularly unimpressed (how many non-famous people does he meet a day, I ask) whereupon I paid him almost as much as I was paid for the translation in the first place - and presented the book to Miss M and family as a small memento of our holiday.