internet connection or personal connection
Right now, I’m sitting in a comfy seat on a high-speed train. We just crossed the Austria-Germany border. I think we have about an hour left until we arrive in Vienna. Our computers, books, water bottles, and snacks are spread out on the table between us. But for the first 6 hours of this journey we kept our things neatly on our side of the table that we shared with another couple traveling south...
As we first boarded the train at 10am and found our seat numbers, I felt a tinge of annoyance. I secretly wished that we would have our rows to ourselves. That way I could listen to music, read my book, and maybe even take advantage of the wi-fi to post something on the blog. But it was clear that we would have to share the coveted table space with two other travelers. I immediately started to think about whether I should just put in my earphones and avoid conversation. I’m sad to admit that I often choose the antisocial path. But today, we chose conversation. We started to chat, at first sticking to the usual small talk...
Where are you from? Germany, a small town near the Netherland border.
Where are you headed? Passau.
How long will you be there? Just for a couple of days until we start a 2-week bicycle trip through Austria.
From there, the conversation started to flow. They were gracious to speak with us in German and patient in moments when we struggled to express ourselves clearly. We meandered from topic to topic, inevitably touching on US politics and the debacle that is our current president. We also talked about happier things like family and travel. We didn’t blab on incessantly. Instead, we flowed seamlessly between conversation, reading, napping, and eating snacks. We shared a truly lovely time and a genuine connection. As the train neared their station, the woman (whose name we still didn’t know) gifted us a book she had recently read and thought we would enjoy. She had added a lovely inscription wishing us luck on our adventure. It was a simple, sincere gesture.
It isn’t always easy to do and it doesn’t always pay off, but this time choosing personal connection over an internet connection truly brightened my day.
Thank you for such a lovely day, Uwe and Wally! We’ll be on the lookout for you as you ride through Vienna!
