Each Destination is a Key To Your Soul

Early September 2010, I went with my boyfriend, Robert, to a bar where he was playing with a band. It was a no big deal, attendees are friends of the band, Thursday night kind of thing. However, it was the beginning to how I found myself in the Czech Republic only four months later.
Robert introduced me that night to a friend of his, Claire. She would have been going to school with me at the University of New Orleans were she not leaving to study abroad in Prague for a year. She left only a few weeks later, and Robert and I were obviously excited for her. I was so jealous. I get travel fever so, we started talking about how maybe we should visit her. For months we schemed, making arrangements, but it all seemed like the kind of thing you talk about. None of us really believed we’d go through with our plans.
Come December, it was time to make a decision. Despite researching for months about the central Europe, Robert and I still had no idea about what to do when we arrived. Mostly, we were trying to imagine how to dress for the cold (Our second day after arrival was only three degrees Fahrenheit). Eventually, against all reservations about cost and practicality, we bought tickets. On January 29th we landed in Prague, and it was white.
Robert and I are from Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, we don’t see snow like this EVER. As soon as we were there, we were on adventure mode. By the end of that day, I hadn’t slept in 47 hours. For a week everything was fast-paced. It was constant exploration and so exciting. It was the first time I’d been overseas on my own terms, without my family.
For New Year's Eve we went to the Ost Klub in Vienna to see a host of Eastern European-style bands like Caspian Hat Dance whom our friend Joe played for. With him, Robert and I stayed at a squat that night. The next day we were off for Budapest. We were on our own then. We knew maybe two Hungarian words, but we managed well. Budapest is probably my second favorite city. It is Ottoman imperial beauty. The buildings are centuries old, and it sort of made me feel at home, like I was standing on my grandparents’ grandparents’ grandparents’ home.
It was worth the flight changes, the bad weather, and even the weariness. I’ve never been so unsure of anything in my life. For half of the trip we didn’t know where we’d be staying and half, we didn’t know where we were. I’ve realized that spur of the moment traveling is not my forte and having a map with street names that match the signs is important.
I know I’ll go back to Budapest some day, and I’ll try to retrace my steps: for the food and for the people live on the edge of my western world.