... Take it easy?
Well ... I'm trying.
This isn't my first big post on landing in Vienna and exploring around and my first impressions. Hopefully I'll write that tomorrow. I've taken several pictures and want the post to be a good one for you devoted readers <this is where you insert the sound of me chuckling at how hilarious that last statement was>.
This post is just to stay in the habit of writing, and share a little story that I hope highlights some of the changes I'm trying to continue here in Vienna.
Earlier today, I ventured out to view two potential apartments I might rent for my tenure in Vienna. The first apartment was being leased by a lovely couple whose names were Gerta and Heinz. We met in front of a coffee shop in the building adjacent to the apartment, and went inside to check it out. Right off the bat, I knew that it wasn't going to be a good fit for me. A small studio apartment with low furniture, a very high price tag, and busy traffic all around. Thanks, but no thanks. Yet, I sensed that the apartment was something they took pride in furnishing and renting ... a sense that was confirmed when Heinz talked about some hand-made accent pieces, and Gerta discussed how they enjoy this "side business" since both of them are semi-retired. I stayed, asked some good questions, and then they invited me to chat with them over coffee.
Now here's where the old me would have come up with any reason to bail. Not only did I know that I wasn't interested in the apartment, but I didn't want to be stuck for an unknown length of time in the interests of politeness. But - to my surprise and pleasure - that feeling disappeared as we walked along the Vienna sidewalk. Where did I have to be? Nowhere. What did I have scheduled? Nothing. These two lovely people were being kind and generous with their time, and rather than flee to the relative safety of isolation I said to myself "what the hell, let's have coffee!"
I'm glad that I did. Gerta and Heinz were warm and conversational. I learned that they have a son named Thomas who is a co-pilot with Austrian Airlines, and who flew them to Chicago last year during the weekend of the Air & Water Show. Not bad! I also learned through this discussion that Austrian Airlines has a new non-stop service to Chicago (that makes them the only carrier to do so). They offered some recommendations about Vienna, places to visit, information about traveling around, and details on a high speed boat (!!!) that connects Vienna to Bratislava in about 40 minutes (sweet!). I'm genuinely glad that I slowed down a little, and voluntarily traded about an hour of the day for some coffee with two strangers.
Reading this post back I'll be the first to admit that the story above feels kind of lame. Nothing exciting, nothing dramatic. "So, Nik saw an apartment and wanted to be a jerk by leaving to be alone but instead wasn't a jerk and had coffee with two people. Great blog </sarcasm>" Well, it doesn't have to be exciting or dramatic. It's about change, and reflection, and improvement. It probably says some words like that in the Ground Rules post or the "About Me" section. One of the goals for this trip was to slow down, appreciate things, and continue to be more social and outgoing. So far, I'd say that's an encouraging sign.
Another goal for this trip is to learn how to count goals. For example: knowing the difference between three smaller, discrete goals versus one giant convoluted multi-function goal. That'll come later ;)
