An asthmatic solution (113)
In Stockholm there is a very popular youth hostel. It´s an old ship called “af Chapman” with masts and everything. It´s situated at Skeppsholmen (the islet of ships) one of the islands that make our fantastic capital, the Northern Venice, Stockholm.
We wanted our boy to have an adventure, to live one night in this ship, looking out through the round window imaging how the life of a sailor was in times gone by.
Mi wife called the youth hostel and booked a room for three. All went well, there were rooms for three and we enjoyed to be able to live one night on a boat.
When we came to the youth hostel we began to suspect that it wasn´t so easy to live one night on a boat….. Why? Because the hostel had two units. The ship and a building on land. And of course, we didn´t have a room on the ship… But problems are to be solved.
This happened the year before Stockholm was to become the European Capital of Culture and on all of Skeppsholmen they were preparing the buildings to have them fashionable. And the building where we lived was an historic building too and the windows had coverings hanging in front of them which made it impossible to look outside.
And the windows hadn´t been closed and because of that there where dust in the room. We saw that Martin didn´t like it and thought: What do we do?
My wife, who is not asthmatic, said: Go to the reception and tell them that I´ve got asthma and that it´s impossible to live in a room like this. I went to the reception with this message and they gave us another room, on another floor, but as dusty as the other one and with coverings in front of the windows. The situation was absurd…..
Then my wife went to the reception. She said it was impossible to live in this habitation because of her asthma. And she also added that if the last train hadn´t gone we had gone home. A discussion began and the girl in the reception looked among the keys and wrinkled her forehead. Finally she said: “We´ve got a room on af Chapman, the ship, but it´s the room number 13”.
Well, if we have to, of course room number 13.. We simulated, inside us yelling: Hurrah!
And by help of this little asthmatic white lie we went onboard on af Chapman. The room number 13 was a room with four beds (now the ship has been renovated and it has very luxurious beds). Martin immediately threw himself on the bed and began to study the capital through the round window. And all ended well.