In Hunt Of A Headache Tablet & Being Caught Out By European Lunch Hours!

A headache caused another headache!

Oh those good old days of just running into Checkers, Pick n'Pay or the corner shop to buy an ordinary headache tablet. Just a humble Paracetamol. Gosh, Paracetamol was as much a staple in our handbags as were lipstick and tissues.

Here in Austria, you can only buy Paracetamol at the Doctor's rooms or at a Pharmacy. Fair enough and luckily you don't need a script or some such. The hard part is remembering to buy a new packet once you get to the last few tablets in the box.

Yesterday, Bob had a headache and I could see it was a bad one. Going to our Doctor was out of the question, as they are closed on Wednesdays. The nearest pharmacy is in Grosspetersdorf which is about 13 km away. Almost jokingly I asked Bob if he would like me to drive there. When he said, " Yes please, would you mind? ", I knew he had a bad one.

Off I went, rather enjoying the solitary drive. As I told you ( rather funny blog piece, at least I think so ), it is not often that I get a chance, because usually Bob is at the wheel. When I get a chance to drive him around, he usually pumps the pretend brakes and has a running commentary about my driving style. My cheeky husband even dares to comment when I am his designated driver...

Observing the various speed limits got me to the pharmacy at 12.09 pm. As I found a parking space right outside ( suspicious in itself ), I looked up and saw that the shop had no lights on. When I noticed that little sign dangling lopsided in the middle of the door, I almost said a few choice words out loud.

Oh darn, they had closed for lunch at 12.00 pm! Trying to wait for lunch to finish was out the question, as lunch is from 12-2 pm! Oh yes, here in Austria and possible all over Europe, a lunch time is observed. Shops close and staff go home to eat.
Apart from the Shopping Malls ( who more than likely rub their hands with glee ) and supermarket chains, most shops and businesses are closed.

Coming from South Africa, where the shops are open throughout the day, it takes some adjusting. Look, it must be great for the staff. Yet, is it really? Eating a big lunch at home and then having to go back to work, seems impossible for me. Getting back to the office would have me in search for a comfy couch! I would rather have a day off each week instead of two hours each day...

Luckily for us, my Mum saved the day. She had some spare tablets and dropped them off for us....Mums are great!

Biggi