I, Doofus

The Live Austrian Wine Adventure nearly came to an ignominious halt this morning.  I took a cab from my hotel to pick up the rental car for the drive down south.  I paid the cabbie, collected my luggage and trudged up two flights of stairs to the rental car office.  As the clerk began filling out paperwork, she asked for my drivers license.  "Sure," I said (except I was feeling confident so I was doing my best to conduct the entire transaction in German.  I actually said, "Ja, sicher.").  I reached for my wallet and felt nothing save leg and pocket lint.  Hmm.  I shoved my hand in pocket number two.  Nothing.  Oh, surely it had to be in my rucksack.  Negative.  No wallet; anywhere.  Oy.

I began to schwitz.  It's funny how quickly foreign language skills leave one when one somehow loses one's wallet after paying for a taxi, and before reaching for it again - a mere 45-second span.  The rental car clerk was very nice and assisted me in calling the taxi company and hotel.  She was also extremely helpful at translating my German, which under stress, had evolved to "Germglish."  Fortunately the cabbie found my wallet and was happy to ferry it quickly back to me.  Problem solved.  LAWA saved.

Never again will I silently mock any tourist sporting one of those ghastly fannypacks.  However, I may have to lose my wallet once more before I break down and buy one.  I wonder if I can find duct tape in Austria?

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