Cool People are Groovy

I have this theory that the majority of people in the world are pretty cool. Either this is true or I just got amazingly, inexplicably lucky with the people I have met.

I have mentioned before that we use CouchSurfing.com to fuel much of our travels, and we continued to do so in Vienna. Now, CouchSurfing can control for safety to an extent, but finding interesting, friendly, generous hosts sight unseen is, I have to think, luck of the draw. Given this, I’m at a loss to explain how we keep getting lucky. First, we had the lovely and ever knowledgeable Katerina show us and another very interesting pair of CSers around Prague. In Zilina, we were graced with Dana and Dushan and his family, who reminded us what hospitality really looks like. Our luck continued with the company of Adam and a whole group of Budapestian CSers, who made us feel one of the group in no time, despite the fact that we were spectacularly late for the meeting. And most recently, we stayed with Marco and Metty, two wonderfully friendly Luxembourgians (Luxembourgers?) at their flat in Vienna. Not only did they put up with our endless antics (props to Marco, who spent an afternoon listening to Kelly and me hash out some of the finer points of English grammar,) but also showed us the finest in Vienna. The restaurants, clubs, views, attractions, and other highlights that we were shown were only eclipsed by the fantastic company and hospitality we found there.

Now, imagine after completely lucking out in Vienna, I’m further spoiled in Mainz where Karla, who has been holding my Cairo-bound luggage for the last month whilst I’ve been gallivanting across Europe, gave me use of her home, right down to her own bed for the night before I flew out of the nearby Frankfurt airport. She even got up with me at 5:30am to make me coffee and pack a lunch for my flight. So, you see, I am at a loss to explain how I have had the good fortune to encounter so many fantastic, welcoming, kind, interesting, friendly, generous people.

Our last stop was Vienna where we spent one night in a hostel, and two with Marco, our previously mentioned CS host. Due to evil and vindictive teachers, Kristina spent most of the first night and much of the next day writing a paper while Kelly and I explored the city. As the seat of the former Hapsburg Empire, (shout out to one Mr. Fred Engel, my 11^th grade European history teacher for the wealth of background knowledge, some of which I haven’t forgotten) Vienna is spectacular. The palaces and cathedrals and museums and government buildings and … and… and… They are simply stunning. There’s no other description I can think of, so lets go a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words style.

Cool, no? In real life, it’s breathtaking. The only more opulent, luxurious view in Vienna: Café Demel, confectioners of the Hapsburg Emperors.

Go. Trust me, the plane ticket to Vienna is worth is just for their hot chocolate. Vienna was wonderful.

 Fortunately it’s a lot easier to end a vacation with another adventure than if I were just flying back to another semester in Boulder. Currently, I’m on my flight to Egypt. Honestly, it’s a little overwhelming. I barely speak the language; I’ve never been in a situation even close to as foreign as this will be, and I am moving, sight unseen, to the other side of the world, away from all my family and friends. That part’s a little scary.

But, on the other hand, I’ve been saying for the better part of the last decade (and when you consider my frame of reference, that’s an awfully long time) that I want to travel and experience other cultures and study other languages, to meet new people and learn new histories. I know that I’m happiest when I’m full of questions (just ask Kelly), when I get to figure things out. It’s like one big riddle I get to live. How is that not amazing? So I’m slightly terrified by what I’m getting myself into, but when I think of why I’m currently in a jet cruising over Sarajevo on the way to the biggest, loudest, hottest, most chaotic experience of my life, life’s pretty much just shiny.