cleansing

Monday night I debated what to do with my evening. It was raining and not the best of times to be wandering much longer. Do I take a short river cruise down the Rhine? The only one I really had time for wouldn't produce any castles or anything - that would take at least a full day, and how nice could that really be in the rain? Maybe a nice dinner? That often isn't as enjoyable when alone. I decided I would get the most out of going to the Waschsalon. Yup, the laundromat. The amount of smoke my jeans and shirts had soaked in was really starting to get to me, plus when did my wranglers get so saggy?! I hauled some stuff down and struggled for a while with the German instructions (none of this was in my basic German class - and the illustrations weren't helping much either.) Even the name of the machines sounded ominous - Nyborg. grrr. Though I was amused that the dryers seemed to be called "mesodry" - like "mesohorny"? Then I realized I had put the money in the main switcher number for a different machine than I was trying to operate. Done in by numbers, not language; figures. it worked. I sat on the bench watching the rain outside, finishing another Augusten Burroughs book and drinking an Apfelschorle I bought at the store next door. It was cleansing. It was really more a perfect storm kind of thing, but this couldn't have been a better thing at a better time. I had just gotten word that the renders being done remotely for me for a project were done and delivered on time. This was something that had caused trouble for several days, so getting that final piece was a huge weight off my back, plus it was the final stop in finally putting a project to bed. I also had turned around from a day of feeling pretty crappy physically the day before, so I felt like I had turned that corner as well. And I was excited about getting to Munich to see my friends in a place that is comfortable and familiar and almost has become a third or fourth adopted home. And I had clean clothes. No more smoke. It was like a new recharge for the rest of the trip at the perfect time. Its not always the exciting parts of travel that are rewarding.