Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Futuristic, but not

My new apartment building is semi-techy.  I have a fob I place on the side of the building to open doors and you must make an electronic appointment to do laundry.  This is where the techy part ends.  Bike rooms and laundry are in the basement but to get there you must take a rickety cargo-like elevator down.  When Jen was here we made a video which you can view HERE.

I was not a huge fan of this elevator to begin with but after this weekend's disaster I have sworn off the elevator forever!  I took my bike out for a little exploration and to go to the weekend farmer's market to load up on my fresh fruits and vegetables for the week.  I came back laden with a full basket and an even fuller bladder.  I managed to get into the elevator in the impossibly short allocated time and the door swung shut behind me locking me in.  Then nothing happened.  The floor didn't move, the doors wouldn't open again, nothing.  I laughed at the probability of me getting stuck in a Swedish elevator in my first week in Sweden then began pushing all buttons, hoping and praying something would make it move or open.  

I pulled out my trusty iPhone and google translated all the Swedish words I read on the elevator dashboard.  In case you ever get stuck in a Swedish elevator, hold down the button with a bell on it for 15 whole seconds and it'll connect you to the Swedish police.  

"Hej," and more Swedish words.  "Um, hello?  I'm stuck in an elevator."  "Hej," and more Swedish words."  "I speak English.  I'm stuck in an elevator."  "Ah, you speak English.  You are in an elevator?"  With broken English, I talked to a man for several minutes as he tried to figure out where I was and then he abruptly hung up.  I wasn't sure what the outcome would be but lo and behold, a man came by 20 minutes later banging on the unmoving elevator.  

I got out.  Now there is giant yellow tape across the elevator and everyone's bikes are lined up against the wall outside the building.  I'm not sure if I am entirely to blame for the broken elevator but just in case, I'm not telling anyone it was me.  And, I'm never going in that elevator again.

1 comment:

Phill said...

I wouldn't worry too much about them blaming you for the elevator accident. Sweden is a neutral country, their wrath would probably include biscuits and fika.