Year in Review Blog: Before

As the end of my first year in Germany approaches its inevitable conclusion, I reflect on my time here, the lessons I have learned and the person I have become. Many stories will get told for the first time, some existing stories will get a behind the scenes look. This series will last a week and by the end of the week, hopefully you will have a better view of what it is like to be a student abroad.

Episode 1: Before

I will never again experience life before coming to Germany. The invariable clock of time will not allow me to go back. Even if I could, I would be hard pressed to find a reason why I would want to. Before September 2013, I was less aware of other cultures, I could only speak one language, and I was less of a person that I am now. But time will do that, time will change a person, whether it be growing into a better person or shrinking into the recesses of one's inner being, hiding away from everything that the world has to offer.

I had plans on what this year was going to be like before I got here. But truthfully I didn’t have a clue about what to expect. Most of what I had seen of Europe had been from movies like Bourne Ultimatum. I remember questioning if what I was about to do was really for me. I second-guessed pretty much every aspect of it. This is a normal reaction to a major life change; it was after all the biggest step outside my comfort zone I had ever taken. Going to a country where I knew exactly two people and about seven words of the language wasn’t the easiest thing ever. But as soon as I was on the plane inside the European Union I knew that it would be the experience of a lifetime and that I would come back a completely different person.

Arriving at Denver International Airport was something that I have done so many times I can do (and probably have done) it in my sleep. We got to the airport with plenty of time, as per our custom, especially on international flights. I remember going to a frozen yogurt place in the airport and sitting around enjoying the last few hours of being in America. I don’t remember any of us saying a whole lot, I don’t remember what ice cream flavor I had, however anyone who has ever eaten frozen yogurt with me can probably make a good guess since it is always the same flavor, and I don’t remember what the man on the TV overhead was talking about. None of that mattered. I was enjoying the time with my family. It would be the last time that I could sit with them and eat for quite a while.

The flight to Iceland was memorable in that I slept the whole way. Almost all of the eight hours was spent sleeping. I remember waking up to see the sunrise over some icy landmass, but in the same way flashback scenes in movies flash for a few seconds never gaining full focus, so this image is ingrained into my head. However brief it was, it has stayed in my head thus far. As soon as I stepped foot into Iceland I felt I could understand Samwise Gamgee’s sentiment when he told Frodo “If I take one more step, it will be the farthest from home I have ever been.” I was now a long ways away from anything familiar. The language may as well have come from another planet making it fit with the uniquely beautiful alien landscape.

Coffee was a must because not only was it 6am local time, I also wanted to try coffee from as many countries as I could. Iceland made a good effort in the list of great kinds of coffee, and this was from inside the airport. The food was really quite delicious as well, at least the things I ate. Fortunately there wasn’t any whale in my meal. I don’t remember what I had, just that I was extremely pleased with both the flavor, and the price.

Water from Denver still remained in my water bottle. I sipped it slowly, but I also bought some local water. I wanted to keep my little reminder of home with me as long as I could. Even though it was city water instead of well water, it was wonderful to me. I look back on this now and laugh. I had more things from home besides the water that remained. The fifty-pound backpack on my back was a constant reminder of this.

The flight from Reykjavik to Copenhagen was short and I watched The Big Bang Theory on the nice Scandinavian Air TVs. I think I did the same from Copenhagen to Berlin. Seeing both a sunrise and a sunset in the same day on an airplane is a pretty big reminder of just how long a trip is. I was a little too disappointed by the fact that I was on the wrong side of the airplane to see the Berlin TV Tower, but my disappointment was fleeting because suddenly I was in a foreign city at almost 23:00 local time with no idea what my ride looked like or where I could find it. After wandering in the area of where my bags had come, I went outside where the taxis were and just sat down and waited. Eventually I did make it to Friedensau. (Spoiler alert) There I met two of my teachers, one of my classmates, and a student helper. I am sure my sleep addled brain made all kinds of sensible conversation. Fortunately our teachers are used to us not really making sense in several languages.

The next morning would start my first full day in Germany. I was ready. It was going to be a good year.

Sometimes the bliss of ignorance really helps make life better. Had I known how hard it would be to learn a new language, had I known the insecurity of the times when I didn’t know it and had to just figure something out, had I known the sacrifice my pride would make just to make it through a conversation with a child, the inner battle for coming here might have turned out differently. But had I not come here, I would have stayed in the same rut of ignorance, naivety, and complacency that I had been able to develop for twenty-one years before. Nothing can match the experiences I have had this year. It was the best life choice I have made to date. I have learned much more than German. I have learned about myself.

A Wave of Hammers

I have officially ended my world travels for this school year. As far as I know, I will be just in Germany until I return home in early June. I like the idea of a blog and want to keep it up, but unfortunately, because of my lack of travels, won't have as many exciting things to write about. So instead I am going to start writing life lessons that I have learned throughout my years on this planet that have helped me get to where I am now. Don't worry, I will try to keep it the serious and taciturn way you have come to know.

The sun shines through the small gap in the curtains as discreetly as an elephant in the shire. The bright light awakens me from my probably wonderful slumber. This day is going to be good despite the obtrusive light beam. The perpetual optimist in me was already hard at work. It was the weekend after my 10th birthday and I was about to try out my new bike. 

Truth be told, I really don't remember how that day started, or if my tenth birthday was on a weekend or not. I do know that I did get an awesome bicycle and was keen to jump it great heights and to great distances. I do remember it was sunny, and of course, I remember how the day ended. There was a dirt track in the neighborhood but because either it was too far away to be allowed to go by myself, or because I simply didn't want to, I decided to build jumps out on the street in front of my house.

The focus that I had as I left my house with my bike was palpable. As the garage door rolled slowly open it would have slowly revealed me holding onto my bike staring straight ahead waiting to depart in a manner that would have worked well for a slow motion Chariots of Fire music video. The first step that I took with my bike in hand was comparable to Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon, or so thought 10 year old me…probably. 

I spent the day riding back and forth  gradually increasing jump size and the distance of gap between the two ramps. As my confidence grew, so did the danger. It wasn't long before the jump was taller than even the highest sky scraper in the city. Granted there was only one, the bank, but it was pretty tall. I propelled myself forward with all the speed my incredibly active 10 year old self could muster. I am pretty sure before arriving at my monstrous creation, I broke the sound barrier…twice. I hurdled through the air at a remarkable trajectory. I don't remember having a lot of time, the speed of sound twice is pretty fast. I do remember wondering if I moved the other ramp, my landing ramp, far enough away. As my trajectory became more effected by gravity, I quickly found the answer to my question. No. I had neglected to move my landing ramp which means that my 700 mile an hour approach to the earth would be met flat on instead of gradual. 

At ten years old I didn't understand physics very well. I learned some that day. Things like having a bike abruptly stop under you as you continue your ascent only to be stopped yourself by a fast approaching ground tend to teach you things things quickly. I don't remember how far I bounced and slid and rolled. I do remember being glad for my helmet. After standing up I felt like any of the heroes in the epics where they are bloodied and tattered but willing to fight some more. This feeling lasted just a little bit longer than a soy bean at a vegan convention.  I felt as though there was no more skin left on me. And when I leaned over to pick up my bike it hit me like a wave of hammers. I proceeded to bravely run crying to my parents. 

As I had said, I wanted to write about things that taught me life lessons. This one has many. But the one I want to focus on is a simple one. One that I like to use a lot. It helps me have more fun experiences more often than not. Just because you cannot do something doesn't mean you shouldn't try. This story isn't one that puts this life rule into good light. In fact I have had many experiences that would have been more relevant to this rule. But the second part of this rule would have to be something along the lines of If it looks too sketchy and you have no one to impress, then its okay to find the best way to back down dignity in check. Because really, no one actually loves going to the ER on a weekend. It's not easy walking the fine line of being adventurous and not dying. But some one has got to do it.

The bike incident remains to this day one of the single greatest losses of skin cells in a single incident I have ever had. Because it was nothing more than that I never had to go any farther than the cleaning of wounds that I got at home. My bike being only a few days old managed to live a long an happy life in my pretty destructive hands. It wasn't the last time that I would have a horrific wreck on it but it took it like a champ. As for the life lesson that I learned…it would take several more times before I really understood the art of trying something you know you will probably fail at for the sole purpose of a good story. This is why some of my experiences in Europe have been so much fun. I know things might end in a fiery crash at the bottom of the proverbial cliff, but shoot, why not climb to the top of a tall Alp peak and ski off of it. You might just have the time of your life. 

These Last Five Days

Travelling in Eastern Europe has come to an end in Austria. The train ride from the city with too many J's to the ski town in Austria captured my attention more than the gripping book I was reading. Mountains shot into the sky cutting the horizon like the jagged edge of a broken knife. Just one thing was missing: snow.

In the middle of our vacation we had a week long ski trip in the Austrian Alps. Nothing sounded better. But the problem remained; no snow. This winter has been really warm all throughout Europe. Evidence of this is that I wore a T-Shirt in Bulgaria in February. During winter in this region, most people are cutting open TaunTauns and crawling inside to keep from freezing to death. As we got closer to Austria geographically and chronologically my concerned grew. However I had one of the best ski trips of my life in these last five days.

The view outside our ski cabin in Austria blew my mind. These same rugged Alps now seemed to be close enough that I could cut my finger on their edge if I tried to touch them. On this trip I had decided to both ski and snowboard. There was no way that I could limit this experience to one sport. This later became one my best choices. The first day was an easy day where the hardest run was a blue (to Europeans a red). I got my metaphorical sea (or ski) legs back, and with a little bit of effort became the skier I remember being. Remembering how to ski after so long is like riding a bike. It comes back, but it doesn't mean you aren't going to fall. Fortunately all of me is still in one piece. There was a straight groomed run designed specifically for going straight down it. So naturally I used it for its designed purpose, and I got my adrenaline rush for the day that way.  This was day one of these last five days.

Day two would have shone bright through my window when I woke up had it been late enough for the sun to be fully up. There are few things in this world I will get up early for; skiing is high on that list. Eager to hit the slopes Michael and I ended up being one of the first groups out the door. Now that I had my ski legs back I could do more challenging things. So naturally we headed for the first black run (conveniently still called black in Europe) to warm up. Then we saw a beautiful sight. A high mountain where people had been climbing so they could do some back country skiing. Our Colorado heritage and constant search for adventure kicked in and away we went. We would end up climbing this mountain twice to the top and about four times half way in the span of that day. We were feeling pretty good about being the crazy Americans who would ski crazy things. Our group grew a little and we became the crazy group that would ski crazy things. This was day two of these last five days.

The day blended into a whirl of adrenaline, high peaks, razor edges, potential avalanche danger, the Alps, and all around adventure. Now addicted to the high country snow conditions versus the low country, no snow condition, we spent the entirety of every day in search of the perfect line and the perfect powder. My skiing ability grew although it was never as good as it used to be and it certainly wasn't as good as Michael's. This was okay though no one seemed to mind waiting for me. I kept this in mind as I would later wait on them. On Wednesday evening I traded in my skis for the sport I know more and am subsequently better at: snowboarding. I was picky about the board I would be getting because I was doing something so specialized and well, because who isn't picky about the board they ride? After communicating what I wanted completely in German (something I am quite proud of), I got the right board for me. This ended day three of these last five days.

Snowboarding day began just like the ski days, getting out of bed before the sun and hitting the slopes as early as possible. Although this time something was different. Maybe it was the fact that my boots are a thousand times more comfortable and at least half the weight, or maybe it was the fact my sore knee from a fall in the trees while skiing yesterday didn't seem to effect my snowboarding, either way I had a new found energy that my group pointed out as I left them in the dust on our hikes up the mountains. 

On the days before I had been only moderately fast. But on Wednesday I had changed to a bigger back, one that had a hip carry option, and distributed the weight better and on Thursday I didn't have heavy skis to carry. Now it was Thursday, and people were calling to me from behind saying that I must have eaten too many energy bars. I remembered how patiently they waited for me while I was skiing so I returned the kindness and waited patiently at the tops of the peaks. Besides, I had my camera and could take pictures. Our attempt to ride down from the summit was dampened when we checked the snow and found a 3 inch layer of powder on about a ten inch layer of crust that had powder under it. Deciding that this was too high of an avalanche danger for our liking, especially since it was late in the day and the daytime highs were up to 10 C, we started from lower. Our summit was not for nothing though, because besides the accomplishment of the climb we had a spectacular view on a knife edge ridge to enjoy. Our decent was beautiful, the deep powder under my board was a dream. It didn't matter if I fell, nothing besides gravity would bring me down. And so concluded day four of these last five days.

With the threat of rain while on the slopes, day five began with an interesting fervor. A low fog hung in the valleys of the ski area we were at. We knew that if it was too thick, our backcountry escapades could be in danger. Cliffs are a thing you have to worry about and if you cannot see them, you are sequestered to the slopes. Fortunately the fog lifted before we made it too far into our hike up the first mountain for the day. The skies completely cleared and the threat of rain dissipated as quickly as the morning fog. The heat of the day was just like the others and soon we were very hot. Stopping for a rest we determined that this snow was quite terrible. 

The previous day's heat combined with the night's freezing temperatures had made the whole mountain side a crusty horribleness. It felt more like an icy groomed run than the deep fresh powder we were used to. Fortunately by the time we made it to the top the sun had changed it back to a soft powder and our decent was wonderful. After lunch with the group they decided that we needed a group video. Fifty people of varying skill, skiing in semi close proximity didn't seem like that good of an idea. Feeling as though I was one of the better ones I was close to the front of the group. After I passed the camera I shot down the hill. I promptly hit a patch of ice and then remembered the one bad thing about this rental board. The edges. The board laid me down like a motorcyclist turning too sharp in sand, and I slid for about 100 meters varying between head first feet first on stomach and back trying to stop, catch and edge or in some way slow down. I finally stopped and cursed my luck for inwardly claiming to be one of the best and then falling in front of all the people, Pride apparently does go before the fall. 

After we made a hasty departure from the group, our smaller group headed back to the back country in our quest. This time we were going where no one else had gone before so we had to break our trail. It was extremely hard work that ended up being exceedingly rewarding. We accidentally found the best snow of the week. On our way here we saw where we had gone earlier that morning. I noticed a small fresh avalanche. It wasn't very big but it was definitely big enough to have swallowed our group. I was thankful that it happened after we had gone. The beauty of the mountains and of the snow conditions on our last ride cannot be described. It was truly one of the best pieces of fresh snow I had ever experienced. It was a great day to end these last five days.

Epilogue: 

Even though we did some things that are considered dangerous, we made sure that it was as safe as it could be for our trips. The last thing we wanted was anything bad to dampen our wonderful time. A few times we had to choose somewhere else because of the danger to where we were. 

This is my second time in Austria. I love this country a lot. The mountains are irresistible. The country is beautiful and it has a homey feel to it. Even on the radio they play American Country Music. I discovered this when I heard Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver on the radio and the Germans told me that Austria loves country music. Another check in the list for why Austria is a super country.

We ride back to Friedensau on Sunday. I expect the train ride to be wonderful for the first two hours. I cannot wait to see more of this countryside on my way home. Though I will be on the train, Take Me Home Country Roads will undoubtedly be going through my head.

Too Many J's

The rain that had been following us around throughout the ends of our trips through cities didn't disappoint at the end of our stay in Zagreb, only this time it rained in earnest. None of this drizzling mist stuff. We had discovered a bit of a time discrepancy on when we needed to be in Austria and were making new plans on the fly. We decided that the best thing do do was to stay in Ljubljana for the night and catch the next train to the town in Austria we were going to be skiing in. This prompted us to pack in a hurry and run out the door thanking our host profusely. I mean the man bought be a bag of Turkish coffee and taught me how to make it, all because I said I didn't drink alcohol and instead enjoyed coffee. He was quite a cool man. The rain pushed us to our goal quickly, and the tram sheltered us all the way to the train station.

Slovenia, we thought, was going to be a lot like Zagreb; cool, but not really worth spending more than a day in. Our train ride through the countryside of Slovenia was trying to prove us wrong. It was a beautiful ride that wandered through the mountainous region. We had seen evidences of a large amount of water recently being in the area, and the river that was by the tracks raged as it was bursting at the seams. 

Before getting to Ljubljana I had read that the exchange rate was similar to that of Hungary. I was relieved to find out that they had changed to the Euro in 2007. I was back to not having to stretch my brain to find out how many Euros went into different currencies. As it turns out, the city of Ljubljana has many fun things to see. We could spend more than just one afternoon here but that is not how time works for us right now. We heard tell of a castle on a hill and promptly searched it out. On our way up the hill we navigated past an incredible amount of fallen trees due to water. As it turns out there was indeed a lot of water that had recently fallen in the area. We finally made it to the top of the hill and to the castle. There we climbed to the top of the tower and looked over the city. We may or may not have a complex about needing to be on the highest point around. From here we could see the cute town (yes I did just use that word to describe a town). It was quaint and in many ways resembled parts of Austria. Since Austria is just a few hours away I could see this to be possible. Nestled in the southern part of what used to be Yugoslavia, Slovenia had many of the same issues as the rest of Yugoslavia, and several more to boot. In a country that is only one year older than me, I found it to be quite remarkable what all they have done. Being the first country I have been too in weeks to use the Euro, proves that their economic state is relatively stable. I had just one problem with Ljubljana. It has too many j's in the name.

First coming here I had, as previously mentioned, thoughts that this might not be an interesting city. I was thinking that for entertainment people learned how to spell the city with super hard spelling. I knew that's what I was probably going to end up doing. Because I was wrong in assuming there would be nothing to do, I still don't know how to spell it. I had to copy the name off of Google and am pasting it wherever I want to use the word. The pronunciation makes it worthwhile in the end. Because even though it is an exceptionally hard word to spell, it's really fun to say. And frankly, that's all that matters, we have the internet for the spelling.

300 to 1

Foreword: 

In preparing for this blog I had made many notes about jokes I could make about being hungry in Hungary. You see, for some reason, my metabolism kicked into really high gear right around the time I visited the city of Budapest. I found it inconvenient because it could potentially cost large sums of money, that is, until I found a grocery store and realized their groceries are actually really cheap. Still, I always found myself searching for sustenance and as much as the setup for the play on words is there, I must refrain. But please know that it is with great restraint that this blog stays pun free. Other blogs haven't been so lucky,

*****  

We left Romania like we entered it. Cold and rainy. All other days in between were perfect weather so it didn't matter that entry and exit days were of poor weather. We traipsed from the city center to the train station and caught our sleeper train to Budapest.

I don't remember sleeping well. The bed was too short like most beds, but for some reason I was exceptionally squished on it. By morning I felt as though I was 15 cm shorter. I my head would later find this to be false. Finding out that the Hungarian currency is about 300 Forints to 1 Euro I saw my first bill with a ten thousand on it. In a bit of a miscommunication we had neglected to book a hostel. So we found the nearest McDonalds (free wifi) and ordered something to eat. I ordered a yummy pastry for an equivalent of about 1,50 Euro. We booked our hostel then walked across town to it. 

It wasn't until later that I realized I had made a tragic mistake. I had left my charger in the hostel in Romania. (See The Charger Interlude) Now I had to walk around all of Budapest for two days without a cell phone. Determined to not let this ruin my stay in the city I headed out with all my camera gear into the vast unknown. We found a palace on a hill and explored it. Due to lack of sleep the night before I wasn't feeling the excitement that I normally do when first arriving at a city, especially one so awesome as Budapest. There at the palace, which was now a museum, I learned that Budapest used to be two cities named Buda and Pest. It wasn't until later that they became the one city.

Earlier in the day I had thought I shrank by about six inches because of my sleep on the train. But this was later confirmed to be false when I hit my head entering and exiting an old World War 2 bunker museum.  This museum showed the struggles of Budapest in the second world war. It was truly sobering to see the suffering that this city went through. 

After realizing that we hadn't eaten something of real sustenance in almost 24 hours (a small 1,50 Euro sweet roll doesn't count) we were starving. We found a most excellent place to eat. No longer starving, I was now reenergized and ready to explore the city again. We walked all over, took metros  and trams, and made it through most of the really cool parts of the city. They have a most amazing Parliament building. 

Two days flew buy one of them had rain and cloudy weather. That one storm seemed to follow us everywhere. It didn't matter, there were plenty of things to see that were right by metro or tram stops that we could get there in relative dryness. This city made a very good case to have me return to it some day. I am convinced that I want to really badly. 

On our last night, the rainy night, we walked through so I could get some night shots of the city. There was a region that I thought looked straight out of Minas Tirith and Cair Paravel and I had to photograph it at night. While Michael avoided the rain by sipping on some coffee in a diner just inside the Cair Paravel building I sat outside incredibly happy to be in such a cool city even in the rain. 

Our journey to Zagreb, Croatia was about to begin. To find out about that city read my Zagreb blog.

Part of the region that I thought looked like Minas Tirith

An area in the section that I thought looked like Cair Paravel.
 The Minas Tirith looking church stands across the square from here.
I was standing in between the two when this was shot

The exceptionally beautiful Hungarian Parliament building 

Science, Art, and Pizza

We arrived in Croatia in the evening this time. It was not far enough to take an over night train from Budapest so we spent the afternoon on the train. Six hours later, Poof! in Zagreb. I was reading a very gripping book so it did actually feel kinda like that. We just kinda rolled in. 

I had uncharacteristically decided that I wanted to read more. I figured it was better for my health than watching myriads of movies, contrary to my life belief. I decided to better myself. Besides, books are still stories, they are just a lot longer, and require a longer commitment of time, and reading is harder than watching a movie. But I quickly got over myself when I found a super interesting book about a Danish spy in the second world war. Truly a gripping book. I made it through more than half of it on the train ride. 

Our arrival into Zagreb was about as ceremonious as two guys getting off a six hour train ride. Convenient how that works out. We hopped on the first tram to our destination and arrived at a really cool, down to earth hostel. The guy who runs the place is really cool. His name is Igor. He is a fun Croatian who speaks nearly flawless English; German and Croatian are also perfectly comfortable languages for him. We talked for a while before we decided it was time to head to bed. The morning we were to explore this new and exciting city.

Morning halfheartedly dawned and mother nature took on the characteristics of a curmudgeonly old man. The nice weather we had the night before turned into low fog and rain. This inspires even the most earnest of travelers to create alternate plans. We decided to find as many indoor things to do as possible. As it turns out, Zagreb isn't the most interesting city in the world. It's not very big, and there just aren't that many fascinating things to do. Unless you like museums that is. Fortunately we do. After briefly visiting an incredibly normal giant cathedral we headed for the city's technical museum. This promised to be interesting. They even had a presentation on Nikolai Tesla, inventor of at least 7 different ways to zap people with lightening. The museum was quite interesting. For the presentation we followed a school group in as instructed by the man looking suspiciously like John Cusack. We were the only ones in the lecture room that weren't from this class. Also, the only ones to not speak Croatian. My basic knowledge of Tesla, and my new life ability to at least somewhat understand people of other languages helped me enjoy the lecture. I learned a few Croatian words but promptly forgot them as I will probably never need to use them again.

After the museum trip we found ourselves to be craving sustenance. We therefore headed towards the city center in search of vittles. Our search took a significant time longer than we planned, so our appetite was not lessened by the time we arrived upon a suitable eatery. I ate an entire giant pizza of mushrooms and cheese with a single green olive placed decoratively in the perfect center. Pleased with this arrangement we endeavored to further our entertainment by ways of museums. However our lack of knowledge of the region and my lack of cell phone at this point, yielded to the need for a tourist information center. Fortunately we found one, collected museum brochures and in a game of choosing the right hand decided upon the gallery of modern art. Our time to become farcical pretentious art critics was about to commence.

In addition to the attempt at betterment via reading more, I have also adopted a want for better posture. As exhausting as it is to retrain my body after years of horrific posture, this new effort came in perfect timing for the art museum. I postured about pretentiously through the halls of thickly splattered paints, and oddly sculpted plasters, collectively with Michael naming each work of art or describing the angst the artist had while creating their works. Each item spoke to the true nature of the essence of art in life and the needs to express their innermost smudge on an otherwise white sheet of paper. I was sure to stare at each item and cross my arms, lean in to examine closer, and occasionally stroke my beard in contemplative wonderment. Our titles and backgrounds became more fanciful until our absurd creativity and subsequent game waned with the daylight. Having previously planned to visit the Zagreb Eye, a viewpoint from high atop a local tall building, at night, we bid the art gallery farewell in a journey to the center of the city again. 

We still had about a half hour of daylight left and we wanted a warm beverage. So we found a place ambiguously indoors (kind of indoors but secretly not because the "mall" had no doors and the shop had a roof that opened to the hall, therefore indirectly the outdoors, but still indoors) and ordered our drinks. I ordered simply "tea" and hoped that what returned was both inexpensive, and not terribly experimental. I sipped on this liquid that felt like it had recently visited the surface of the sun, and when I drank it too fast warmth struck my body like a sledgehammer.  Boy was it delicious though. I'm not sure what it was, some kind of berry tea, but it tasted excellent with lemon. 

The Zagreb Eye was a viewpoint with rails several inches apart from floor to ceiling. My hopes of a panoramic shot now gave way as fast as the inside wall of my esophagus after that tea. There was not really a way to jam my fat wide angle lens through the slats so I went with the telephoto. It was dark and the city looked nice all lit up. I was happy with our day in Zagreb. Frankly, we did things that you can do in almost any capitol city in the world, but what made it special was that we did it all in a country I had never been in.

Epilogue:

That night we decided to make our own meals for the next two so we went grocery shopping. After our obtainment of further nourishment we headed to our hostel. As I previously mentioned, the man there is very cordial, and we had another absorbing talk about movies and life. He had come from town and bought ice cream and offered to share it with us. Naturally I accepted. He will go down as one of my favorite hostel managers. You find awesome people wherever you go. All you have to do is be willing to give someone the chance.

The Charger Interlude

As soon as it happened I was distraught. I had heard of these things happening to other people but I never thought it would happen to me. I am very careful about remembering where all my electronic things are but as luck would have it, I left my phone charger at the hostel I had recently stayed at. At this point I began the first of the five stages of grief. I first went through denial. I hadn't left it. I just wrapped it into my other cords. I mean they are all white, they all look the same. Unfortunately this was not so. I was pacing nervously in my new hostel room, anxious of what a future without a phone charger would mean.  Is there life after cell phone?

As I walked a path into the floor of the hostel pondering these implications I began the second stage: Anger and guilt. If only I had been more careful, then my phone wouldn't be so lonely. I felt guilty for the lose of connection my phone would feel, I felt guilty for the inconvenience I had bestowed upon myself, and most of all, I felt anger. I was angry at myself, I was angry at fate, and I became angry at Apple for making the chargers so dang expensive. But then the next stage hit and I found myself bargaining with God. If he just brought my charger back, then I would be a better person. If my charger miraculously appeared upon my bedside, then I would travel the world proclaiming the good news that miracles still happen. Alas, I was faced with the reality that it just wasn't coming back. I had moved to the next stage.

When reality sets in, often so does depression, and loneliness. I was depressed. This small device that had brought so much joy and ease to my life lay lifeless on my bed. My pocket was empty without my phone there by my side. I began to finally accept that it wasn't going to come back. That I really needed to buckle down and buy another charger. Things had gotten too far out of hand. I had to constantly ask what time it was, I didn't have my back up camera with me, and most of all, I couldn't meaninglessly stab at the screen hoping to be entertained for a few seconds. After I had accepted that this loss was final I was finally ready to move on. 

There was an Apple store here in Zagreb and the man was very helpful. He asked if I wanted a two meter long charger or one. A pang of sadness hit. Nothing could replace the old one. But a one meter cable would do the trick. Besides it was half the price of the two meter. That's not happening. Handel's Hallelujah Chorus rang in my ears as I walked on clouds out of the store. Or maybe it was just that ubiquitous white glow that's in all Apple stores. Either way it has an effect that makes one feel great whenever around them. I was finally able to charge my phone again. And as I plugged the USB plug into my computer this evening, the all familiar two vibrate sound rang in my ears and the half eaten white apple appeared on my screen. I guess I would have to wait and see if there really was life after cell phone.