Folks You Meet It’s, You Know, Like, The People That Make Traveling A Lot Of, You Know, Fun, For Sure
It has been said it’s not the places you go but the people you meet along the way that make travel interesting.
Well, judge for yourself.
The following is an actual conversation between two American college coeds taking some time off to travel around Europe during their junior year abroad. I overheard their exchange on a train between Copenhagen, Denmark and Hamburg, Germany, while I was writing on my laptop in the same couchette.
Woman No. 1: My favorite place was Paris. I was with this guy Antonio. He’s Italian.
Woman No. 2: You met him in Paris or Italy?
No. 1: Paris. Well, it was kind of embarrassing. I met his friend, Ben, first. Ben grabbed me on the street. He’s a crepe maker. I thought he was disgusting at first, but, you know, then we started talking. And he was pretty cool. So we went out. And he took his friend Antonio. And he was gorgeous. He’s a part-time model, you know. That’s how we met. So that’s why I’m going back to Paris now. Have you been to Paris?
No. 2: Yeah, just for a few days.
No. 1: How’d you like it?
No. 2: You know, like, I must be the only one who feels this way. But I didn’t like it. It was dirty.
No. 1: Have you been to Rome? It’s even dirtier.
No. 2: Really?
No. 1: Yeah, don’t even go.
No. 2: Have you been to Salzburg?
No. 1: Yeah, have you?
No. 2: Yeah, did you go on the Sound of Music Tour?
No. 1: I had to, my mom would have killed me if I didn’t.
No. 2: Same with my mom.
No. 1: What’d you think?
No. 2: Stupid, but fun. You?
No. 1: Stupid, but fun. But the apple strudel with vanilla sauce was great.
No. 2: Oh, my god, wasn’t it? What’s her name - that woman who makes it?
No. 1: Mrs. Something.
No. 2: I know, I know, it was Mrs. Braun.
No. 1: (Laughing) Yes, Mrs. Braun’s Strudel. Oh, my god, that is so funny. That woman must be making so much money.
No. 2: Oh, for sure.
No. 1: And did you go to that brewery, the one in the monastery?
No. 2: That was the best. I went with some Australians. Have you traveled with any Australians?
No. 1: Yeah, I love the Australians.
No. 2: They are so cool. They are so much fun. I have to go to Australia.
No. 1: Me, too. That would be such a blast.
No. 2: Have you been to Vienna?
No. 1: Yeah. It was beautiful. But I just had time to get off the train and have a pizza. But I’m definitely going to go back.
No. 2: Did you go to Munich?
No. 1: No, I had to skip it. I was in Sweden visiting some friends.
No. 2: Oh, how’d you like Sweden?
No. 1: It was pretty cool. My friends were foreign exchange students at my school, so I knew them from before. Anyway, they showed me all around. It’s really expensive, though, if you don’t know someone.
No. 2: Do you speak any Swedish?
No. 1: Yeah. I learned some words while I was there.
No. 2: Are you fluent?
No. 1: Not really. I just know “Tack” and “Nej Tack” and “Ja.” I think it’s pretty similar to Dutch.
No. 2: Amsterdam is the coolest. Did you go to a coffee shop there?
No. 1: No. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe. You know what? It wasn’t even affiliated with the Hard Rock Cafe system but I didn’t know that until I went to the one in London. We have one in Las Vegas, where I’m from, so I wanted to get the T-shirt from the one in Amsterdam.
No. 2: You’re from Vegas?
No. 1: Yeah. You wouldn’t believe how many people over here have never heard of Las Vegas. I bring this postcard along to show people (she passes around a postcard of Circus Circus Casino at night). Anyway, my friends wanted me to go to the Bulldog but I didn’t feel like it. So I just went to the Hard Rock alone. Have you found that people are surprised that you’re traveling alone?
No. 2: Oh, my god, all the time. Except, I’ve been traveling with other travelers most of the time. But when I’m not, everybody thinks it’s so strange.
No. 1: Totally.
No. 2: But this is definitely the best way to travel. It’s so much easier to get off the beaten path.
No. 1: I know. I have this friend back home who is a part-time model. She spent two months in Europe last year traveling alone and had the best time. That’s why I decided to go.
No. 2: What did you think of London? I’m going there now.
No. 1: You are going to love it. It’s one of my favorites. You have to go to Harrod’s and the British museum.
No. 2: What’s Harrod’s?
No. 1: That’s OK, I didn’t know either. It’s this great department store - like Macy’s, but better. Just trust me, you have to go.
Where are you coming from now?
No. 2: Norway.
No. 1: Oh, how was it?
No. 2: Really expensive. But it was beautiful.
No. 1: How much did you see?
No. 2: I was just there for, like, two days, but I took this day-tour called Norway in a Nutshell - so I saw most of the good parts.
No. 1: Did you go to Prague?
No. 2: That was the best. Did you?
No. 1: That has to be one of my favorites. Did you try the original Budweiser?
No. 2: Yes, it’s so much better than the American Budweiser.
No. 1: I didn’t like it that much, but I kept one of the bottles. It’s in my pack. That’s why it weighs about 60 pounds. I can barely lift it. I brought way too much stuff.
No. 2: Tell me about it. I have three pairs of shoes.
No. 1: Me, too. And the only time I used my good ones was in Madrid. Did you go there?
No. 2: Not yet. You recommend it?
No. 1: No, not really. I mean, the night life is pretty good, but everyone smokes.
No. 2: Oh, my god, I am so sick of smoke. That’s one thing I miss about the U.S. - clean air!
No. 1: Then definitely don’t go to Spain - everyone smokes. And Madrid is pretty lame. You can skip it. But Barcelona - oh, my god - you have to go to Barcelona. It’s one of my favorites.