hold me tight, vienna

for if you don't, i shall not stay long...

Even as I recollect romantic vienna and the musical hills of austria altogether, my memory is slightly fuzzy as I am already two countries away, having weaved my way along the danube, spending a brief yet filling 24 hours under the slovakian sun, and later coasting into the big paprika... also known as Hungary.

but vienna, my magical, mystical, romantic friend... we were torn to leave you. you inspired us, brought us in close, gave us a whirlwind tour of your finest streets while old folks with austrian outfits and bug eyes stared as we tranced around your town like a gaggle of smurfs on primitive vehicles, dressed in bright green and orange breathable tees. but honestly, we are a sight to behold.

accomodation hasn't proved to be the easiest thing to find in the large cities we visited. a campground in amsterdam that was paid for by the generous bahai community, a centre for troubled youth on the outskirts of prague that was found upon arrival to the city, and countless communications from daniel, of the austrian green party, to find us a church parish for our stay in vienna.

daniel and the green party's hospitality did not end there however. our day off in the city was planned around a photo shoot for local media at 9am, followed by some on camera interviews for the local tv station, a tour of the united nations complete with lecture (for which i regret my eyes would not stay open), and last but not least, an absolutely amazing dinner at a RESTAURANT called 'lux', which was nothing short of luxurious, hosted by the green party for us ridiculous young punks. this is where i learned to love sweet cheese strudel, maybe a little bit too much - but that stored energy would prove to come in handy for the events that followed dinner as a few of us decided to explore vienna's nightlife after the sun went down on our cobblestoned candlelit dinner party.

a short wander brought jake, jenika, mark and myself to a nearby park where the enchanting sounds of opera music bellowed from the base of a large gothic looking church in the distance. obviously intrigued, we pushed our bicycles along a path lit with tiny lamps that shone on the faces of lovers and families and friends who were seated on the the benches listening and laughing. as we got further, the park opened up to a giant film fest where Carmen, the opera, was playing on an enourmous screen to an audience of thousands gathered at the foot of this church. beer tents and romantic purple and yellow lights set the tone for good times, while behind the church steeples flashes of lighting played tricks on our eyes and fooled everyone into thinking it was a well timed light show playing in tune with the staccato and baritone sounds of the opera.

needless to say, the four of us trekked closer, leaving the crowd and running into the windstorm that was funneling leaves into small tornados behind the church. we lay on the grass in the open, staring at the lighting storm above, until grey clouds covered it up, and then we lay there a little longer. enough to feel the first rain drop, and then the second, and then the third, and soon enough we were drenched. rain doesnt hit often in vienna, or this part of europe, but when it does, its hard and pounding and fast and furious and flooding.

our minds escaped us as we ran toward the closest wall to protect us from the harsh winds. we chose a covered space on the opposite side of the street from the subway station, and waited out the 15 minute flash storm, but not before having the opportunity to have the wind pick up my bicycle and thrash the big spiky chain poker thing into the back of my ankle for a dramatic bloody effect. so there you have us, 4 shivering kids with bikes and blood, soaked and slightly lost. trees were falling all around and branching toppling onto the cars that had quickly blocked the streets as the previous opera party goers piled into the roads to get home toute de suite. later, we would find out that this storm had killed 8 people throughout europe, and debris and cracked tree frames lined our entire route into slovakia the next day.

in those moments while we waited out the storm and met other wet and random strangers (including a very strange woman who seemed to have swept through the park after the storm to find a few treats that others had left behind ... a bottle of croatian iced wine, top notch olive oil and homemade honey - to name a few)... in those moments i thought it would be impossible for us to pick up the next day and leave this city and its beauty.

but thats the nature of this tour.
we ride, we ride, we ride. each day is new. and just over 12 hours after the storm we were looking at signs notifying us that we would enter bratislava in less than 12 kilometres. mon dieu.

one day in slovakia - and a most grand reception to be had...