Always Carry Change

Yesterday, Pauli and I went to Das Schloss. It's a shopping center right at the Rathaus-Steglitz S-bahn stop. The S-bahn and the U-bahn make up Berlin's public transportation system on rails. The network is well organized and gets you pretty much anywhere. When transport on rails is not available one takes the bus or ferry. Anyways, back to the point. So we went to Das Schloss because I wanted to buy some new sneakers because all I brought with me here are sandals, a pair of running shoes and some black ballet flats. Das Schloss is a relatively new shopping center. It opened in spring of 2006 and has 90 specialty stores on 4 levels. Its a really nice mall and apparently I heard that inside, pictures of the sun, the clouds, the stars in heaven or the deep sea are projected onto the ceiling! Unfortunately, I didn't look up and missed that whole thing. Ah well, next time I guess. So yes, after the shoe purchase (white Adidas sneakers) I went to the restroom. Very impressed! Not only were they insanely well designed but the service was amazing! The ladies who worked there opened the door for me and showed me to my stall. As I came out to wash my hands, one of the ladies immediately went in after me to clean up, while the other handed me a towel for my hands. As I was washing my hands I looked around and saw the little dish where one is expected to deposit a small tip. I already knew this because believe it or not, the outdoor washrooms at the soccer game were also equipped with these very caring ladies. So I wiped my hands and searched desperately in my purse for some change. I swore I had something... Sadly, I did not. The ladies were watching me and I turned to them with an "I'm so sorry!" expression and they smiled very nicely and told me not to worry and that it's ok. Relieved that they weren't upset but super embarrassed I hadn't learned my lesson from the soccer game, I left the restroom and of course one of the ladies opened the door for me to exit. I'm really not used to these full service restrooms in most public places. Anyways, I felt so bad because they were so nice and I had nothing to offer. From now on I will always carry change in my bag!!!