Our eastern europe trip has been a hugely fun, enriching journey, a blast to the past back when Mozart made pieces, empires fought over land, communists ruled the day and fascists ran amok. Austria-Hungary-Slovakia-Poland-and still ongoing!
I am still amazed at the sheer serendipity, the fateful twists and turns that happens through our trip. One day before we set off, and Stephen convinces me to go for the school-organized trip to Salzburg. And we made it on the reserve list, saving loads on the travel there. Not to forget, we spent the day with our Potluck gang, Andrew, Paul et al as well as many other exchange students from TUM! Personally, it was too distracting talking to all the people around, and i could barely appreciate the beauty and wonder of Salzburg itself! I just remember being shuffled here and there into group photos with castles and statues, and meeting new friends from Iran, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, etc... (and more of the latter, at that.)
The day ended with us scrambling to look for transport to Vienna. The trains were ludicrously expensive; it would have been cheaper for us to travel from Munich to Vienna instead! As we wandered around looking for a last hope, we stumbled into an internet bar. We began to converse with the owner, but he barely knew English. Yet at that very moment, his english-speaking friend came in. And she actually took the time to help us look for a rideshare option (and the owner made free calls for us, to talk to the ride hosts). So it was that we happily spent the night riding to Vienna in our host's car, together with a student and a professional football player.
To make things more difficult (and exciting, of course), we reached Vienna only to find out that ALL hostels and hotels were full for the night. Turns out the Vienna City Marathon, 32000 participants strong, was about to begin tomorrow. Again, we stumbled from block to block in the freezing night, lugging our heavy bags along. Even the living rooms were occupied in one of the hostels! Finally we found Hostel Ruthelsteiner, and maybe it was our frostbitten faces or Stephen's charismatic begging, but we found ourselves invited inside for a free night's stay, comfortably settled in their bar couches :)
That night, we felt both the desolate feeling of being homeless, and the pure warmth of receiving shelter and kind hospitality.
Dawn arrived, and we were up to explore the city! Daybreak brought runners scrambling for a quick breakfast, and we chatted with them for a map of the marathon and tips on where to catch them in action :) And it was very, very interesting to go down to the starting point, where swarms of people in fancy running suits geared up for the race. (P.s. we took a picture with the medals and certificates later - will post up again haha.)
Vienna...a beautiful, refined city, it bustled with monuments, museums, statues and concert halls galore. We wish we had the time to go through these cultural learning experiences, but with the one day that we had, it was a big rush to navigate and explore the city centre (without a map, too). To our very, very pleasant surprise, along the way we met Marte, a Berliner, who was able to give us FREE train tickets to Budapest, our next destination! I cannot stress how casually our conversation went and how this windfall fell out of the sky into our laps. Just like that.
The night found ourselves grabbing some beers and socializing back at the hostel (we'd gotten ourselves a proper room this time haha). We got to know Eun A, a Korean who was just beginning to travel alone in Eastern Europe. That sounded kinda dangerous to us, so we thought it'd be a good idea to invite her along. And well, she's still here with us haha.
Anddd off we were to Budapest the next day. Farewell, Vienna... somehow i feel like i haven't grasped the full cultural experience you offer. Wait for me to come back in a more appropriate suit and bowtie next time!
Anyway, this first leg of our journey was the most unplanned, unexpected, and... exciting :p It fits Stephen's and my nature to go out there in this vast, wild world and just, you know... get lost. Because it's only when you find yourself lost, that you can discover new worlds of the unknown. Sometimes you have to let go of the control you assert upon the world around you, and instead ride the currents of fate to wherever they bring you. It may not be safe or reliable, and it may lead you to unintended territories, but... isn't that what life should be about? Since when did life degenerate into a little cubicle or flat, a tiny comfort circle where you took pride in the feeble control you had? Since when did life decay into an infinitely extending racecourse, where you scrambled to win and succeed? Since when did you begin fearing to live, to lose, to risk and to die?
We all need a little chaos in our lives. So don't forget to pack it in your suitcase the next time you go traveling :)
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