Categories: austria, postcards
Date: 30 October 2007 22:20:06
One day, the family had an arrangement to meet up with Viennese friends, so I took the opportunity to revisit old haunts. I took the tram up the Wiedner Hauptstrasse to find my old flat in the Johann-Strauß-Gasse. I had lived there with E but she had not expressed any enthusiasm for seeing the place again.
I was always quite proud of having such a fine sounding address when I lived there. The flat was nothing to write home about but the address had quite a waltz in its step. In my day, the flat was located above a pet supplies shop which had a sign above each of its windows - in English - “Dog Shop” and “Kitty's Corner” and the building was opposite a supermarket (which was very handy) called Billa - evoking the German word “billig” - cheap. So altogether the place was not quite as classy as it sounded - but it was a reasonable area. Billa is still there - garish in its yellow and red corporate colours but Dog Shop and Kitty's Corner was no more. A garage has been put into the ground floor. I looked at the panel of doorbells - mainly to see if ours had been mended. Thankfully, someone had seen to it. I remembered the following conversation which had once taken place on the subject.
Me: When you get to the right house, press the doorbell that doesn't have a name.
Him: But how will I know that it is yours?
Me: Well, all the doorbells have a name next to them, except ours. The nameplate is broken.
Him: But if it hasn't got a name, how do I know which one to press?
Me: It's a process of elimination. Seven of the doorbells have a name. None of those names is ours. Press the doorbell that doesn't have a name next to it...because that one is ours.
Him: But how...
Me: I'll tell you what, I'll leave the window open. When you arrive, just shout up. I'll come down and open the door.
The flat now houses a speech therapy practice. The old rattly windows have been replaced with double glazing, there are vertical blinds at the window instead of the old heavy lace curtain I bought at the flea market, and rubber plants can be seen where my other flatmate, Barbara, had her budgerigars in a cage. The front door is still the same green and looks as beaten up as it did then and the stucco bearing the date 1899 is still there, too. Amazing that in the meantime, the building has had its 100th birthday. It seemed a lot older than that when I lived there. That's youth for you....