Just Be

January has always been my least favorite month. It’s the “tease” month. It bares all the promise and excitement of a new start but in reality its just January; long, cold and wet!

I’m not one for New Years resolutions. I figured out years ago that beginning the year a failure was no way to survive January. However, I stumbled across a bit of inspiration the other day. Now I’m not one to post deep thought after deep thought. To be completely honest, I’m not that pensive, but unlike most this one has struck a cord.

I found myself realising just how much truth there is in this most simple advice. Let’s take January for example. Leading up to the longest-month-of-the-year is all about “the go”; a massive race through the year. It starts so steady with long weekends and little trips away and picks up a little speed through the Summer with longer days and the desire to out last the sun. The sprint to the finish is filled with holidays, friends and family jamming that calendar right up to the first of the year! January holds all the promise and hope of things to come; that promotion or raise, the future love of your life, the next big move, the next big dream materialized. So, by the 29^th your either wondering one of two things; ‘why hasn’t it happened yet?’ or ‘why is it still January?!’ (Ok. Ok. Maybe more likely ‘is it payday yet?’)  But maybe, just maybe, January is that space between “no longer and not yet.” January might just be that special moment when you can ‘just be.’

So, here it is. The dreaded New Years resolution! This year I’m not going to rush. This year I’m going to learn to honor the space between and know that my ‘not yet’ will find me in time.   

All Are Welcome

The church bells chime filled the air as Baby Bro and I stepped out of the Vienna underground. We were congratulating ourselves getting up and out of the hostel so early on this Sunday morning when the bell's song drew us into the beautiful cathedral like sirens singing.

We sat in the back and were awed by the heavenly choir, the beautiful catherdral and the echoing of the footsteps as people found their seats. As the priest read the first readings (in German) people continued to trickled in and out. Some just there to get a closer picture and others to worship.

There was a sweet homeless man who stood not far from us the whole time. He would sing at the top of his lungs (missing every 3rd word or so) in a deep, but shakey, Austrian voice. When he wasn't singing he was consistently flipping through some sort of plastic cards (which I could only assume we're Austrian Pokemon). I was amused by him and spent a good bit of time wondering his story. (I guess I'll just have to make it up!) 

A young man pushed in an elderly woman bundled up in her wheelchair. He gently removed most of the layers (occasionally adding one or more back on at her request) while she glazed up at him with adoring eyes, reminding me how important family is. 

In front of us a wife leaned over and whispered to her sleeping husband and he jumped make to attention. This made me chunkle! 

Then the Priest was quiet and the hall was filled with the most beautiful song, a female solo from the choir, and it was clear; the spirit of the Lord had filled this place.

Faces of Travel

I'm lucky enough to have a little brother who loves to travel and wants to travel with me! This year Baby Bro came over on Christmas Day and we headed off on a couple of adventures! First stop was Inverness in the Scottish Highlands (one of the prettiest places I've ever been - I will definitely be heading back in the summer to explore the outdoor life a bit more in warmer weather!), then down to Edinburgh for the New Years' Hogmanay Festival. After that we popped over to Budapest, Hungary and finally landed an impromptu train to Vienna, Austria.

This last few weeks it began to strike me just how many people come in and out of life for little moments in time. There are brief snapshots of fast best friends which make an impact and create a special memory for all to share before they move on their way. Sometimes you never even learn their name!

We've had several faces pass in and out throughout our journey. Here are a just a few of our stories.

Our first night in the Inverness hostel was supposed to be a quiet one. We entered the room to find someone already occupying one of the beds. He had his head glued to a computer screen, his earphones in and didn't even glance up when we walked in. "Anti-social" we unfairly labeled him. It wasn't long until the door burst open and our next roommate came busting in. He drew our first roomie out of his computer and quickly became the life of Room 2! The four of us ended up at a Scottish music dance bar called Hootananny. We all tasted new Scottish beers and returned to the hostel to play Cards Against Humanity until the early morning hours. The next morning we said our goodbyes without even exchanging contacts and last names. And our journeys continued in separate directions.

We spent the next days braving my left side driving (don't worry - I only hit two things; a wall and a parked car. No one or car was injured) and hunting for the Lockness Monster, Nessie. While many more people crossed our paths over the next few days but those two helped create a fond memory to last a lifetime.

Next up was Edinburgh where we meet up with some good friends to ring in the new year. Since there was six of us we opted to book a place on Airbnb. This was one of the most pleasant rental experiences I've had. Our host was lovely leaving an arrangement of goodies! We were just another group to stay in her flat but she emailed and texted after our stay to say Happy New Year and ask about our experience. It's the little acts of kindness that make a massive difference.

Hungarian Hospitality is the only way I know now to describe the pride and excitement we witnessed from the Hungarian people. From the man at the tourist information booth whos excitement was contagious when he spoke about all Budapest has to offer to random people we asked for help on the street to the Hungarian tour guides, so full of personality, that made our tourist activities special; each face lit up when they got to share a piece of their culture. Hungary will forever hold a soft spot in my heart. And the atmoshpere and opportunity of Budapest, as a city, is one I never expected. There is so much to do in that little city that I honestly think the impression of most travellers is under rated. Everyone - check it out!

We boarded a train to Vienna (just cause we could, duh) and started playing cards. A middle aged Indian man approached us asking if we were Austrian. We politely replied "no" and went back to our game. About 20 mins later he was back asking where we were from and where we were going. He was travelling for work and had the weekend off and decided to take the train to Vienna for the same reason we did (just cause he could)! He must have been lonely because he filled our ears with work story after work story, most of which went right over our heads but he'd laugh and we'd courtesy chuckle along. This continued for the next two hours of the train when he finally got off a couple stops before us. We signed relief as we could finally chill again but I couldn't help feel a little soft for this lonely man and consider how we might have made a difference or a small memory in his trip just like so many of the people who have made an impression in ours.

We are just a couple days away from ending the trip and have enjoyed many good times in Austria and met some really lovely people! I hope the memories we've all made here will carry with us through the rest of our travels and longer.