As of: March 17, 2024, 10:00 a.m
By: Verena Möckl
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Self-experiment with electricity fasting: Reading by candlelight is annoying after three pages at the latest, says DN editor Verena Möckl.
But she has an idea.
© Sixteen Miles Out/Unsplash
DN editor Verena Möckl has taken it to heart during Lent to live more abstemiously and consciously.
She decided to go without something for 24 hours that she would otherwise never voluntarily say goodbye to: electricity.
Dachau – Basically the whole thing was doomed to failure from the start.
In order to survive without electricity for 24 hours, a certain amount of preparation is required.
Unfortunately, I fell asleep on the couch while watching TV the night before.
When I wake up the next day at 8 a.m. and my experiment begins, a few lights are still burning in the living room.
That started well.
I have the feeling that today it won't be as easy as I thought.
With a guilty conscience, I turn off the lights everywhere and lie down again.
Self-experiment during Lent: 24 long hours without electricity
When I get up, the next faux pas happens to me: my cell phone only has 41 percent battery left.
But luckily the power bank is charged.
Somehow I feel like I'm cheating when I connect my phone.
But I don't use electricity directly from the socket, I tell myself.
And anyway, my cell phone will be my most important tool for getting through the next 24 hours without getting bored.
A mistake, as I will discover later.
Drowsy, I pad into the windowless bathroom.
I automatically reach for the light switch.
When the ceiling lamp comes on with a whirring sound, I'm startled.
I immediately turn the light off again and feel like a toddler who has been caught snacking.
Challenge number 1: Eating breakfast without electricity
Now have breakfast first.
I scan our kitchen appliances with my eyes and realize with frustration that I have to forego a banana milkshake, tea or coffee today.
It will be a glass of mineral water.
The soda maker is the only unpowered appliance in my kitchen.
I realize how poorly I have prepared when I see the only baked goods in the cupboard: a packet of toast.
I actually wanted to take the most important groceries out of the fridge the evening before and store them on the balcony.
But I literally slept through it.
I don't feel like eating soggy white bread.
But I have a plan B. I trudge into the basement and pull out my first ace: my camping stove.
20 minutes later the water in the pot is bubbling and I add the Spirelli.
Proud of my inventiveness, I serve pasta with pesto to myself and my friend.
Challenge number 2: Showering without electricity
My good mood quickly disappeared in the shower.
No electricity means no hot water, as I realize with a shiver.
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Challenge number 3: Evening activities without electricity
But the greatest challenge comes at dusk.
I grab a book and realize that reading by candlelight becomes annoying after three pages at the latest.
But I have an idea.
A little later I'm sitting on the couch beaming.
The headlamp provides perfect reading light.
I only take off my new accessory when I go to bed.
When I sip into the bathroom the next morning, there are still a few minutes until the experiment ends.
I press the light switch again, and again I'm frightened.
At exactly 8 a.m. my electric toothbrush gives up the ghost.
Relieved, I put the device on the charging station.
Next time, I think to myself at this moment, I'll fast for chocolate again.
Verena Möckl is not the only one in the Dachauer Nachrichten editorial team who has given up something essential during Lent; volunteer Frederic Rist gave up his cell phone for 24 long hours.
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