A Journey

It was October in Austria and even though the weather was chilly I took the first regional train headed to Hallstatt, a place I had been dreaming about for a long time. I was almost falling asleep when I felt the train reducing speed and heard the voice of a lady announcing the name of the next stop on the train speaker.
I got off the train quickly, finding myself in a little station surrounded by trees, which was the only sign of civilization besides the railway. That place seemed to be the middle of nowhere. However, as I looked around, I noticed that behind those trees was the lake that I was looking for. I walked fast on the narrow trail until I arrived at the pier. A man with a wrinkled face and gray hair was standing in front of a boat. As I approached, he talked to me with a heavy accent, only saying the price of the ride and nothing more. I searched for a few coins in my pocket and handed them to him. He nodded in silence, stepping aside so that I could get in.
That is when my journey to the village began. Just as the boat started to sail, I could see the greatness of the Alps surrounding the lake amidst the small amount of clouds, making me feel so small compared to it all. The morning sun was bringing a golden shade over those mountains, revealing the colors of every leaf, some of them yellow and red, while others still green.
Once the village started to get closer, I could see ducks and swans that passed by peacefully swimming. Their paths were similar to scratches on a mirror, one that reflected everything around us: the magnitude of the mountains, the unique towers of the churches and all of the beautiful houses piled up on the hill, all of it part of a village that have been there for hundreds of years.
I felt as if the boat was carrying me into another land that I did not believe could be real, that place brought me peace and tranquility as I had never felt before. That was the moment I realized what life is supposed to be for every one of us.
As soon as my thoughts started to wander far away, our small vessel hit the pier breaking the spell, already arriving on the other side of the lake. The old man stepped off the boat and helped me, holding my hand. I thanked him and left the boat, which soon was sailing away back to where it came from. Nevertheless, the feeling that it created in me never really left. It is a part of who I am now and I know that no one can ever take it away from me.