Really, I’ve been using softener????

Really, I’ve been using softener???? October 3, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — thechirpingbirdie @ 9:25 pm

Let me share with you all a discovery I recently made. Liquid fabric softener is not the same as detergent!!!! When I first arrived in Vienna I went to the store and along with other things I purchased laundry detergent. It came in a nice peach bottle with the word Silan across the top and made my clothes smell delightful. Well, the Silan ran out last week, so I went to the store to replenish. I stopped into Zielpunkt, one of the many grocery stores (not the kind Americans think of… we’re talking 5 short aisles and a deli) within 4 blocks of my apartment. I found the laundry detergent and reached for that beautiful peach bottle. I noticed that the Silan brand was a shelf or two away from the other laundry detergent looking bottles and the thought briefly crossed my mind ‘What if this isn’t detergent’ but I quickly dismissed it. My clothes seemed to come out of the washer looking cleaning and smelling great! I made my purchase and headed home. Once I made it back to my apartment, the thought popped into my head again, that maybe I haven’t been buying laundry detergent. The bottle was covered in German writing of which I could not understand a lick. A mistake wasn’t out of the question… A few days past with the question persisting in the back of my head. No attempt was made to find the answer during those days, because frankly I did not want to feel stupid. Finally I broke down and took the bottle over to my neighbor, Becca, who speaks German. And, of course, it was liquid fabric softener. So, for the past 6 weeks, I have been washing my clothes with fabric softener. All is well now. I made it back to the store yesterday (dragging Becca with me) and purchased the real deal and today I did about 5 loads of laundry. Ah, the obstacle of language. I’m sure I’ll have many more of these stories to come….

Here are the rest of the Salzburg trip photos..