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December 17, 2004
I'm turning into John Cleese!
Hi All
I am it appears I realy am turning into John Cleese in my old age :( Im not sure if thats a good or bad thing but let me relate another tale from my mad life!
Last night a friend and I decided to sample Vienna's culinary delights :) We met up at Stephansplatz and decided to try an eatery that we hadnt been to before. All was going well until it came to the desert :( Now you see I have my peculiar ways :) and I do so like pancakes with lemon and sugar mmmmm its an English thing I know!
The menu showed crepes (pancakes) BUT they come filled with icecream :( Waiter? In my best German "ick spreken keine deutsch" ok lets try in English :)
`Could I have the crepes but without the icecream please`? he looks at me a bit strange and then says "but its not on the menu" `Yes I know I say but it is a simple matter to leave the icecream out when the chef makes them up isnt it`. `let me ask he says`. I can taste them already mmm.
The manager comes over. `Can I help you sir` `Yes please I say`. `Can I have the crepes but without the icecream I say`. He looks at the waiter and they both consult the menu. "But sir its not on the menu"! Smiling. `Yes I know its not actually on the menu but can`t you tell the chef to leave the icecream out when he prepares them`? `Let me ask the chef` the manger says.
This really did happen to me!
The chef comes out. So now I have a crowd at my table and my freind is pissing himself laughing at me :( So I ask the chef? `When you make my crepes and you get to the point that you have the icecream spoon in your hand, just quickly put it down and bring them out to me without the icecream in please` (is this so hard)
He consults with the Manager as he does not speak English too well :( "It cant be done"! they all say as its not on the menu. `Yes I know its not on the menu but cant you see how simple it is to make me happy`. "Yes but its not on the menu they all say". By this time my mate has had to leave the table because he sniggering so much (git)
At this point I realised that I have turned into John Cleese because things like this always happen to me :) I actually gave up and ordered the crepes with icecream in only to scrape it all out!
Don`t get me wrong here I do like the Austrians but in the UK the customer is always right :) Apparently not in Austria or Germany for that matter :)
If your not on the list you aint coming in! or alternativly if its not on the menu you cant have it!
Mark...
Posted by Mark at December 17, 2004 10:35 AM
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I love John Cleese and this certainly does sound like one of his mad tales.
Posted by: Dianne at December 18, 2004 2:01 PM
Your experience at the Austrian eatery reminded me of a similiar experience I had in Italy twenty some odd years ago. While my German proficiency was "sehr gut", my Italian communication skills were not. Rather than omit something from the dish listed on the menu, I wanted something "added". Like your experience, the entire wait staff gathered at my table to help decipher my request. And what was served? To this day, I'm still laughing at their interpretation!
I'm new to blogging and would appreciate a visit and commentary at my site.
Posted by: Anne P. Mark BSN RN IBCLC at December 18, 2004 7:54 PM
Oh I just love it! Too funny....(come on, just admit it! You're JC's nephew on your mother's side..)
Posted by: dotbar at December 19, 2004 3:40 PM
This is pretty funny. If you were really John Cleese, though, the waiter would have a war wound, the manager would be melodramatically apologetic, and the chef would have attacked you with a cleaver.
Come to think of it, the chef in that skit was John Cleese ...
Posted by: Saint Nate at December 19, 2004 11:22 PM
I think its a mixture of the traveling I do and my slightly odd sense of humour.
Mark..
PS
Anne I dropped over to your Blog. Looks really good although thinking about it I dont know much about breast feeding! I shall endevour to follow your posts and increase my knowledge..
Posted by: Mark..  at December 22, 2004 9:17 AM
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