The Lock

Justwhen things were going so well...

There was only one hostel available in Luxembourg city. So of course I was expecting it to be a total dump. Why make the place nice when the backpackers had only one choice? But when I got there, I was very pleasantly surprised! It was by far the nicest hostel I had ever been to in my entire life! It was huge and very clean and had everything you could possibly want or need out of a hostel. And I got in a female dorm of 6 for only 19 euro. Cheaper than Frankfurt even. It had a beautiful view as well and was just really lovely! And free breakfast!!!

My room was pretty big and had it's own bathroom and shower and lockers for everyone. So of course I locked all my belongings in a locker with my trusty old lock. Or so I thought...

When I returned from my lovely afternoon out, I decided to change into something a little warmer. But when I put the code in on my lock it wouldn't open! I tried it again and again and still nothing. I don't even know how to reset the code on it, so I have no idea how I could have accidentally reset it. I have not had a problem with it for the last 5 years. But it would not open. I did notice that the top dial seemed very loose. It was just twisting around in a circle freely without seeming to settle in on any number. So maybe it just broke. I have no idea. Never the less, I sat in front of my locker for an hour trying different combinations. I tried just one number off of each dial in case I had accidentally reset it that way. Then I just started at all zeros and tried different combos from there. But nothing worked and I got very frustrated. My already "wonderful" trip was getting more "wonderful" every second. Finally I went down to the front desk to see if they had a wire cutter or whatever you call that tool that cuts locks off. The front desk person brought one up to my room and had to work for quite awhile to get it off. I was nervous he would just give up and I would have to complete my trip with only the clothes on my back. Finally he got the lock off and handed it to me with a very frustrated look. I thanked him of course and he headed back to the front desk. As soon as the door shut I looked down at the lock. It's mangeled body lay in my hand, its functionality completely destroyed. All the sudden I was overcome with emotion. I had used this lock for the last 5 years and now it was worthless. Besides that, my belongings were pretty much my only friends these days, so I felt bad for the poor guy. The damaged body of my little lock friend was lying dead in my hand. I was suffering a loss. Not only that but now I had no way of locking my belongings up. Needless to say, it was a tragic afternoon for me. :-( I plan to never travel by myself again.