bathing time.

V.

Hello guys! :)

Awwww. Yesterday was such a wonderful day! It was incredible! :) Well, it wasn't at first, to be quite frank.. I'll tell you the story. It all started around 8:30 when I awoke sweating heavily due to the unbearable heat in my apartment. I actually wanted to sleep a little longer (as I am late riser), however the former wet and cold cloth I layered around my body the night before had now adopted the features of a hot-water bag. Boiling hot water. Only it wasn't a bag, it was a cloth. Well.. however - I then did my daily getting-up-routine, turned on the TV and organized a few things for university. When I tried to open one of my art history books a drop of sweat suddenly made its way to my nose and within seconds splashed on my newly bought book. I was furious. I then turned the page and the same thing happened again except the next drop got even bigger and was eventually followed by another one right after. That was it. I felt ridiculed. The one day in summer on which I actually dared to open a book for university to actually get some work done, - and then this! I couldn't even concentrate on my own swearwords in my head so I decided to pack my stuff and go to one of the loveliest (at least that's what many people told me) open-air pools there are in Vienna. It's called "Gänsehäufel", which is a small island situated in a cut-off meander of the Danube. It first opened in 1907, due to bomb attacks in WW2 however, it was destroyed entirely. It reopened again in the 1950ies and a lot of its old "charm" is still visible all around the bathing area.

The first thing I stumbled upon- as I really needed to go to the toilet- was THIS. A wooden door that had a writing next to it which said: "Aborte Mädchen". I know, for most of you guys neither of those two words ring a bell, as you're probably not german-speaking :), however I also wasn't able to understand it entirely,- only the second word wich means "girls". So I figured.. if I compare Aborte with another word.. an english word.. then abortion was the first word that came to my mind which then confused me and freaked me out even more. I later found out that Aborte is an old german term for toilet. But how was I supposed to know that? I couldn't even find that word anywhere on the internet! My mum was the one who told me eventually, as she knows a lot of outdated terms from the past.. :) 

The next thing I went to was the place where the lockers were situated, however, there were like a million different little.. let's say.. buildings from the old days that honestly reminded me of some sort of prison camps.. It was kinda scary.. So I went in and found those wooden lockers, which again, looked liked lockers from the 50ies,- (and I guess they were), doubtfully left my wallet, IPod and mobile phone in there, locked the door with an ancient yet really cute iron key and finally made my way to the pool area. 

Since for the past couple of years I've always refused to even dip my toe into those heavily chlorine filled public swimming pools that are home to fungal infestation and sheer urin, in which you also feel like a boiling lobster- in my opinion, I again decided to quickly pass by them and find a spot that's just right for me. 

It didn't take long for me to find it :). I'm telling you guys, I am so in love with that spot! It's a little bit cooler here at the riverside and there are even some cute little fish swimming right next to you in the water! 

I immediately felt comfortable and unpacked everything. For the next 6 hours I had a marvellous time eating ice cream, drinking lots of fluids and sitting in the water while going through the required reading for a test I have to take in a month.. Even the learning part didn't bug me at all as I was sitting in the water, tanning and getting smarter at the same time. Ha! What more could you want? :) I was feeling so relaxed and great, neither that brat who furiously started throwing stones at me for no particular reason could ruin my perfect day, nor the sweet little turkish boy (who later turned out to be pure evil) who poured water at me after I had mistakenly commited queue-jumping in front of the water fountain- I honestly didn't see that little fella and I thought it was my turn! - But he didn't care and followed me with his water bottle even after I was splashed from top to bottom. Well.. Other than that, I had a fantastic time and will probably go there again soon! :)

Have a nice Wednesday, guys! :)