Entering Brasov elevator
Notice the interior doors don't meet
Entering Prague elevator - note look on Bug's face
Inside Prague elevator
Leaving Prague elevator - Phew, cheated death one more time!I will admit that I did not have a lot of expectations coming on this trip. I mean, Brasov is in the mountains so it should be beautiful and I thought Budapest and Prague would be romantic – not lovey-dovey romantic, but old world James Bond romantic. So far, that has all been correct. But I didn’t think much about the infrastructure of these countries. They are all former communist countries but I wasn’t sure what all that would mean. Well, I soon found out that it means that they have the scariest elevators I have ever seen. By far the scariest was in Brasov. First of all, when you stepped in to the elevator, the floor bounced. Yes, bounced. Not only did it bounce but it also tipped so when you stepped in the front of the elevator it would tip forward and then when you moved to the back, it would tip back. Tipping and bouncing floors are NOT what I want in my elevator. Then, you had to close the door outside the elevator – BY HAND – and then close the doors on the inside of the elevator – BY HAND – and then press your button for the floor you wanted. The doors on the inside didn’t close tightly so there was a small gap and you could see the floors passing by as you went up or down. After the first time riding the elevator, I decided that I would not be doing that again and we could take the stairs to our third floor apartment, thank you very much. Well, that was until we found out that although we were on the third floor, it was actually at least 7 stories up. Obviously they don’t count the same way we do. Three floors is doable. 7 is a bit more problematic. So I had to suck it up and hope that Romanian engineering was going to hold. I saw my life flash before my eyes every time I stepped in to it.
In Budapest, we didn’t have much need to take the elevator. We were on the 1st floor (which is not the ground floor by the way) but to get to the elevator, you had to go up about 5 steps in the lobby and then back DOWN about 5 steps to the elevator lobby. This did not seem to make much sense and kind of defeat the purpose of the elevator but who am I to judge. We took the elevator one time just to see how it was and it was similar to Brasov. The elevator didn’t bounce and the floor didn’t tip so that was an improvement but it still had the doors you manually close and you could still the see floors going by as you went up or down.
In Prague, we are staying on the 3rd floor – again though this is not 3 floors up but 4. Still makes no sense. The elevator is very small (a feature of all the elevators we have experienced) but this is by far the smallest. Three people hardly fit in, even with no luggage at all. This elevator doesn’t have the inside doors so you get in the elevator, close the door to the lobby and then press the button for your floor. As you go up or down, the doors to each of the floors you pass goes by you – right in front of you, no barrier of any kind.
This is all a bit too much for me to handle. I take an elevator multiple times every day at work. I have no problem going up 46 floors to get to work. You step in the elevator, press the button for your floor, the doors close AUTOMATICALLY and off you go. Sometimes, you can hardly even feel the elevator moving. Not the case here. You have to close the doors yourself, you can see every floor pass by and you definitely know you are moving, there is no doubt about that.
In Budapest, we didn’t have much need to take the elevator. We were on the 1st floor (which is not the ground floor by the way) but to get to the elevator, you had to go up about 5 steps in the lobby and then back DOWN about 5 steps to the elevator lobby. This did not seem to make much sense and kind of defeat the purpose of the elevator but who am I to judge. We took the elevator one time just to see how it was and it was similar to Brasov. The elevator didn’t bounce and the floor didn’t tip so that was an improvement but it still had the doors you manually close and you could still the see floors going by as you went up or down.
In Prague, we are staying on the 3rd floor – again though this is not 3 floors up but 4. Still makes no sense. The elevator is very small (a feature of all the elevators we have experienced) but this is by far the smallest. Three people hardly fit in, even with no luggage at all. This elevator doesn’t have the inside doors so you get in the elevator, close the door to the lobby and then press the button for your floor. As you go up or down, the doors to each of the floors you pass goes by you – right in front of you, no barrier of any kind.
This is all a bit too much for me to handle. I take an elevator multiple times every day at work. I have no problem going up 46 floors to get to work. You step in the elevator, press the button for your floor, the doors close AUTOMATICALLY and off you go. Sometimes, you can hardly even feel the elevator moving. Not the case here. You have to close the doors yourself, you can see every floor pass by and you definitely know you are moving, there is no doubt about that.
No comments:
Post a Comment