Visible Relief
Jungfrau was a destination on the trek through Switzerland in the Spring of 2017. It is a mountain top in Interlaken, Switzerland and it was one of the few places we had to see. Arriving in the afternoon, we got off the train greeted by clouds and rain. With no reservations, we wandered and wandered and sought out internet to find a room.
We ducked into a hotel to ask about a room. The ceilings were high, the walls were ornate, and the staff was wonderful and helpful. They informed us of the snowboarding preliminaries that were happening at Jungfrau and enlightened us to the fact that we would be unable to get to the top of the mountain thanks to all of the activity. Goody. We were wet, tired, unable to reach our destination, and room-less.
The kind staff told us that the rooms they had left were four hundred Swiss Francs per night and there was no way we were going to drop that kind of cash for a bed. Especially not with a hostel in town. They were kind enough to give us directions to the hostel, though admittedly in a slightly dismissive tone.
After rounding another corner and visiting another hotel, Mom spotted one more and took a shot. In she walks to speak to the woman at the counter. She was blonde and beautiful and more than happy to offload her last room at a discount. She even threw in breakfast for us for the sake of being booked up.
Relieved and still wet, we were led to our room by the nice blonde. A bed. We were so relieved to have a bed and a dry place to be. The room had a television that rose up out of the foot-board at the touch of a button, automatic blinds, and a large balcony. Mom and I ran to the balcony and took in the view. We were met with snow-capped Alps and the illusive Jungfrau that we wouldn't be able to see up close. Heading back inside to pull out the necessities for the night, I walked around to my side of the bed to deal with my bags. It was in that moment that I noticed it.
Confused, I stepped closer. Realizing what I was looking at, I looked at my mother. "Mom...," I said, nervous. "This is different." She looked up to see my reflection in the closet mirror. At first she didn't put it together, but once I opened the door with no variation in my reflection, it dawned on her. The bathroom door was glass. Clear, perfectly clean, see-through glass. And the closet mirror was in the perfect position to catch a reflection of an innocent urinator.
"Oh my," she says, realizing the reality of the situation. I shut the door again and stared at her in the closet mirror through the bathroom door and we laughed so hard our sides hurt. Sometimes, you have to just laugh at an odd circumstance.
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Thanks, y'all!
