Vienna

People are complicated; I sometimes forget how complicated, until I look back my own actions and motivations.

Vienna was beautiful.  Before boarding the bus, I had made plans with a couchsurfer named Klemins, to stay at his place for a night.  He had sent me directions, but they were somewhat vague.  He would name things as landmarks, but didn't say if they were streets, or stores, or exits, and so I quickly became lost.  Thankfully, he did not mind me texting him repeatedly.

But wait, I am getting ahead of myself!  The bus ride was long, but oddly cathartic.  I enjoyed the 20 minutes rest stops, because I often did not know what country I was in.  It reminded me that countries are just man-made constructs.  And for the most part, I was mostly fine.  Though STILL sick (what has it been?? 2 months?! But more on that later), I only had the occasional coughing fit, which adaquetly served to keep the seat next to me free.  I did sleep an awful lot.  It was unfortunate that when I wanted to read, everyone else glared at me- and the girl behind me actually poked me- because the reading light bothered them.  Then I just slept some more.  At the very, very end, with an hour left, someone did sit next to me, and she was fucking crazy, and got into a fight with the girl in the aisle across from her, and in the middle of her rant said in English "fuck you and your mother," which was unexpectedly hilarious.

Then I got to Vienna and found my couchsurfer.  He and all his flatmates were really great.  School was cancelled for all of them, so he took me around Vienna and showed things off to me.  Even let me borrow his camera, so fingers crossed I get those pictures one day.  Then we went to the Queen's summer palace and then walked along the outside of the zoo, gazing at the animals.

At that point his only female flatmate caught up with us (who I had a bit of a crush on) and we went to a coffee shop and had cake and coffee for a while.  Then they told me how to get cheap seats to the opera (you buy standing tickets and then they fill you in the empty seats) so I went and did that.  Unfortunately, the opera I went to (Madame Butterfly!  With English & German translations scrolling across the bar in front of me!) was sold out, so I did have to stand, but it was so beautiful that it was worth it.  Definitely worth my 4 euros.

And then I went back to their place and wasted lots of time trying to buy tickets to Budapest, and finally slept, and slept, and slept in the comfy bed they allotted me.  Woke up very, very late, sent postcards, then went to the train station via subway.  I forgot to say earlier, but the subway was amazingly easy to understand.

The train was much nicer than the bus I had taken previously, but there was nothing particularly unique about it.  The view was nice to watch sometimes.  And for second class, it was quite nice.  I would recommend it, certainly.

AND THEN I GOT OUT.  And that was terrible.  I should say, harkening back to what I wrote at the beginning, that I was having breathing difficulties in Vienna.  Klemins had once had asthma and asked me if I had it, and I said yes.  I didn't want to create a fuss.  I was having so much fun!  And I definitely wanted to sty couchsurfing with them.  And so I acted like the breathing difficulties were normal, and went on my way.  And I suppressed most of my coughs, before finding excuses to walk away and cough where they couldn't hear.  I had other problems too, the inside of my thighs are terribly scraped up (long, stupid, surprisingly-not-sexual-story-despite-the-circumstances story) and other, even weirder/more embarrassing things going on.  But I ignored them, and suppressed them, and was fine.

And then I got off the tray at Budapest and had a particularly violent coughing fit, and couldn't breathe, and then freaked out at the hungry look some beggars gave me when I nearly collapsed.  It was getting dark.  <i>I had no plans!</i>  I had thought I would get off the train, and find a coffee shop with wi-fi, and figure my shit out.  I did not see anything that looked like it might have wi-fi.  And so I just kept shuffling forward with my bags, acting like everything was normal, while everything hurt.  Eventually I found a western hotel and enquired about the prices, and just stayed here and calmed myself down and rested.

And then today I woke up, and my cold & flu symptoms that I thought I was finally rid of, were back. I couldn't really sleep long last night, because my coughing fits kept waking me up.  But even so, I was surprised to wake up with a sore throat, and a runny nose, and eyes glued shut.  I really must go to the health center when I get back.

And so here I am!  I bought a 48 hour "Budapest card" and I will go to a museum later.  But I'm going to rest a bit more still.  I woke up early for the hotel's lovely breakfast buffet.  And I may meet up with couchsurfers later, fingers crossed.