Autor: Ulrich Seidl
Autor: Ulrich Seidl
Traveling often is a chapter of its own when it comes to the fixtures and electrical devices, with their different standards worldwide. For example, what I couldn't handle at all in China were the washbasin and shower buttons in the hotels there. In each place, the design of these things was different. It often took minutes to figure out how they even worked. And most of the time, from the knobs, switches, levers, or whatever innovative functional part marked with blue that you happened to have in front of you, scalding hot water (Chinese standard) would come out. For a woman in the shower, that’s a special experience.
The same story with the operation of the various lights and lamps: If you were sometimes in a hurry and didn’t have time to turn off the room’s electrical systems due to a tight schedule, it meant that upon returning later from an appointment, you would either have to go to bed with the TV still on and all the lights blazing or stumble to the toilet in the dark because you couldn't operate the electronics by the bedside or simply didn’t feel like figuring out that mess late at night.
Admittedly, it's not much different here in the West. Every hotel feels the need to profile itself with an individual design, which can sometimes really spoil your stay. With the wellness trend, some places have installed showers that make showering nearly impossible: jets above, jets below, jets to the right, left, sideways, and then you’re supposed to turn left, turn right, press, at the same time, forward, backward, pull… At that point, you just skip the shower and make do with the sink. The worst are the so-called designer hotels. In those, you find yourself wishing for the good old, always-functional separate knobs for hot and cold water. And then the power outlets... everywhere outside of Germany, it’s the same problem. But most guests are prepared for this these days, traveling with a suitcase full of adapters. Just don’t change your travel route spontaneously.