Bring me the head of Wilmington's Cow
It's been a while since you last heard from me, and so much more happened than I would have ever thought possible... not necessarily in quantity, but in quality. I'll try to go chronologically here.
I was just heading off to Budapest when you last heard from me. That was a strange experience. I've been pretty... emotionally "fragile" I suppose you could say, since travelling alone has really started to get to me. Hungarians are not a happy people, and it was hard being in a place where I felt so unwelcome, and where I didn't understand a word of the language. I had become to accustomed to being able to get by on my awful German in Germany and Austria that it was just too frustrating to be around such anger and hostility. Granted Hungarians have had it pretty hard, so I'm not berating them for how they act... it just wasn't where I wanted to be. I did make it a point to stick around for a bit though. My hostel was great, after the initial shock. Most buildings in Budapest look like they were once palaces but then spent a couple hundred years cracking and crumbling (not to mention being damaged by Soviet tanks in the 1950s). So the city has an interesting vibe.
I went up to "memento park" where they have a large collection of original Soviet statues that once stood in Budapest. My inner history nerd was thrilled.
After two nights, I decided it was time to get back to where I felt comfortable, and headed to Vienna.
This is where it gets interesting.
When one checks in at the hostel, they get a voucher for a free drink from the bar. So i went and decided to get a glass of wine and check out the scene, look for people to talk to, etc.
I order my drink from this delicious, dreadlocked bartender. I look around the bar... All Croatian and Australian soccer fanatics (the Euro Cup was going on, and they were playing the game on a big screen in the bar). So, soccer fanatics. Not really my type of people, and I was really dying for a good conversation. I figure, what the hell... I'll chat up His Deliciousness behind the bar, who ended up being Austrian (score). We ended up talking all night and going out for a drink after the bar closed at another bar around the corner. After exchanging contact info, we said goodnight, with what I hoped were sparks flying.
So we got in touch with eachother and made plans for later in the week.
This is where it gets really interesting.
After a couple days of wandering around Vienna, and loving it, we met up at night and went out for dinner and some drinks. 9 and a half hours later, at 6:30 AM, I realized I'd had a Before Sunrise night. That whole time the conversation just flowed so amazingly. Everything he said I eagerly responded to, and vice versa. We went to a couple bars, and then sat by the Prater, the big famous ferris wheel, and then wandered the streets some more, all the time basking in the glory of really connecting with someone.
I haven't connected like that in a really REALLY long time. In fact, I can hardly even think of another example... and it was so great that the feeling was mutual. "I haven't had a conversation like this in a month... a YEAR..." he said, as the sun was coming up and we were winding down.
And the whole time, for me at least, there was that other sort of energy - the build-up-to-the-kiss energy. Of course, as we were saying goodbye (and, really, goodbye would really mean goodbye, as Canada and Austria are, well, fucking far apart), it came naturally, and I just felt like melting. All these little things that gave me butterflies in my stomach... like when he put his hand on my hip, on the one little part that my shirt wasn't covering... that skin the skin contact...
I apologize for the gushing, but it was just such a perfect night... and I would have never thought that would have happened to me, especially on this trip. Putting it into words seems essential, though I suppose a public forum doesn't necessarily have to be the place to go to do that. But what the hell... I had a Before Sunrise night.
What a memory...
I was just heading off to Budapest when you last heard from me. That was a strange experience. I've been pretty... emotionally "fragile" I suppose you could say, since travelling alone has really started to get to me. Hungarians are not a happy people, and it was hard being in a place where I felt so unwelcome, and where I didn't understand a word of the language. I had become to accustomed to being able to get by on my awful German in Germany and Austria that it was just too frustrating to be around such anger and hostility. Granted Hungarians have had it pretty hard, so I'm not berating them for how they act... it just wasn't where I wanted to be. I did make it a point to stick around for a bit though. My hostel was great, after the initial shock. Most buildings in Budapest look like they were once palaces but then spent a couple hundred years cracking and crumbling (not to mention being damaged by Soviet tanks in the 1950s). So the city has an interesting vibe.
I went up to "memento park" where they have a large collection of original Soviet statues that once stood in Budapest. My inner history nerd was thrilled.
After two nights, I decided it was time to get back to where I felt comfortable, and headed to Vienna.
This is where it gets interesting.
When one checks in at the hostel, they get a voucher for a free drink from the bar. So i went and decided to get a glass of wine and check out the scene, look for people to talk to, etc.
I order my drink from this delicious, dreadlocked bartender. I look around the bar... All Croatian and Australian soccer fanatics (the Euro Cup was going on, and they were playing the game on a big screen in the bar). So, soccer fanatics. Not really my type of people, and I was really dying for a good conversation. I figure, what the hell... I'll chat up His Deliciousness behind the bar, who ended up being Austrian (score). We ended up talking all night and going out for a drink after the bar closed at another bar around the corner. After exchanging contact info, we said goodnight, with what I hoped were sparks flying.
So we got in touch with eachother and made plans for later in the week.
This is where it gets really interesting.
After a couple days of wandering around Vienna, and loving it, we met up at night and went out for dinner and some drinks. 9 and a half hours later, at 6:30 AM, I realized I'd had a Before Sunrise night. That whole time the conversation just flowed so amazingly. Everything he said I eagerly responded to, and vice versa. We went to a couple bars, and then sat by the Prater, the big famous ferris wheel, and then wandered the streets some more, all the time basking in the glory of really connecting with someone.
I haven't connected like that in a really REALLY long time. In fact, I can hardly even think of another example... and it was so great that the feeling was mutual. "I haven't had a conversation like this in a month... a YEAR..." he said, as the sun was coming up and we were winding down.
And the whole time, for me at least, there was that other sort of energy - the build-up-to-the-kiss energy. Of course, as we were saying goodbye (and, really, goodbye would really mean goodbye, as Canada and Austria are, well, fucking far apart), it came naturally, and I just felt like melting. All these little things that gave me butterflies in my stomach... like when he put his hand on my hip, on the one little part that my shirt wasn't covering... that skin the skin contact...
I apologize for the gushing, but it was just such a perfect night... and I would have never thought that would have happened to me, especially on this trip. Putting it into words seems essential, though I suppose a public forum doesn't necessarily have to be the place to go to do that. But what the hell... I had a Before Sunrise night.
What a memory...