Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Necessaries. Salutes to Ingenuity and Linguistics


Necessaries.


Denmark ladies

Denmark Gents


The Wickeltisch. Language issues. Switzerland

We all know WC.
Now what, advanced class:
Dusche -- shower.
Clear enough who goes where.
Wickeltisch -- changing table. Not in babelfish, however. Have to look up Wickeltisch itself and hit the translate this page button.

In pertinent part, fair use: a small part of the whole offering there:
"A changing table is a table on the infants to toddlers, the diaper can be changed. The winder can perform while standing the change. The table is either a converted kitchen table or a washing machine or a specially designed table, one of the sides a gang and has various compartments for certain implements such as diapers, baby powder and others. The changing table is uncommon in a changing room. To prevent falls, you can handle babies from the fourth month on the ground."

Exact grammar is not needed to get points across. You don't need to know the language before you go.

One word to know, however, is DETOUR. In all languages you may encounter, know that one. When in doubt, point each index finger in opposite directions, and proceed.

And now, the four-square life.



Outside to the Necessary, Telc CZ

At Telc, in the Czech Republic. Pay your nickel at the restaurant, and follow the stairs, down and out.

No problem.














Then, a castle on the Rhine, Kaub and Burg Gutenfels, I think. See ://www.castle-liebenstein.com/germany/rhine-river-castles/index.html. Note the little outcropping there center left, up near the top level of the castle. There it is.

WC on the Rhine, Kaub and Burg Gutenfels, Germany













Tower WC, Blarney Castle, Ireland

And at Blarney Castle, in Ireland, there is same kind of little WC outcropping there, seen on the outside. A little room up there. Some have covered sluices going down -- an old access route for invaders.  War is not pleasant.

We do not have a picture of the outside WC at London Tower, but it is there.

People had to trust the tides in the moat, from the river, in the old days to keep matters tidy.  The moats were drained in the 19th Century at London Tower, we think.














TP Dispensary, Trebic CZ, WC

Sometimes the best things in life are not free.  Here, paper is passed out two sheets per. Keep change in your pocket, for the 4-5 cents (in koruna increments) up front. You will not get the key to go in until you pay in many places.

Gas stations have free facilities, however, as do most larger restaurants-cafes. It seems to be the smaller establishments and public WC's that charge.


This one may be in Trebic, the Czech Republic. Pay for what you need.
In many countries, you also will find the kind we were told were "Turkish toilets." See one at ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet. They work fine. In Greece, there were many, as in the outlying areas of Romania, the Balkans. See also ://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1153527.

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