Connections in Budapest and Vienna 2/16-2/18

I saw Madi and Caroline (Alzar) after not seeing them for almost three years this weekend and it reminded me how no matter how long you are apart from someone you really care about, if it is genuine the connection will never fade. Being reminded of Alzar and the significant period in my life brought out a side in me that I hadn’t seen in a long time. It's interesting to see how much I’ve changed and grown up since then, but the main qualities I learned from Alzar are still prominent in my life everyday. How lucky am I to have people I miss and times I wish I could relive! Madi and I were talking about human connection, and she told me she sees it as knitting a scarf. She explained to me that every person you meet is a stitch in a scarf, and the color is their aura/energy. If it is just a person in passing, your scarf will only have one snitch of that color. But if that person is a constant in your life there could be rows and rows of their color because of the impact they’ve had on you. And at the end of your life you have this beautiful scarf that consists of every significant person and connection you’ve ever met and had. I thought that was beautiful because connections with others and yourself are the most important part of life. Seeing them was a breath of fresh air and reaffirmed my beliefs of how special connection is and no time or distance will ever damper that.  

We’ve been incredibly busy this past week and I wouldn’t change a thing! Before the weekend we went to a Sparta Hockey Game and it was SO fun. I guess Czechs don’t hate everything! Then on Friday we traveled to Buadapest, Hungary. We didn’t really plan any major events, we just walked around and explored. I didn’t realize how beautiful Hungary was with the mix of mountains and city. We found this really cool small farmers market that had a ton of cool stuff like old film cameras, records, rings, and small trinkets that Camille loved. After that we went to a church looking building but sadly I didn’t get the name. Grace found this awesome rooftop bar that overlooked St. Stephen's Basilica where we ended up staying for a while. We then traveled across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to the Fisher Man’s Bastion and saw the most beautiful view during sunset. After that I met up with the one and only Caroline Pitfield and her friends. We all got dinner and went on the bottomless prosecco boat tour and the name really reflected the experience. We bopped around town and then went to our hostel which had a club inside it and that was a blast. 

Budapest--

The next morning we woke up at 6AM to travel to Vienna. We arrived at 10:30 and the lovely Madi Mulick met us at the train station. The reunion was perfect. Madi took Caroline and I to the Belvedere garden and palace. We walked around and went to the Summerhouse palace which was equally awesome. After eating some pasta we went to the Kunsthistorisches museum and it was insane. There was marble everywhere and the ceilings were ridiculous. Camilla found this italian restaurant that was so good our waiter said his name was airplane and for some reason we believed him? But he was great. Madi took us to a bar called The Church and it was SO FUN. I attempted pool but was horrible so I stayed on the dance floor with the live band. We all laughed and danced and appreciated each other's company the whole time. The next day we went to the butterfly garden and St. Stephens church and then headed home. This trip was very special and made me appreciate the connections stitched in my scarf:) 

Vienna--

Maya Kollme 2/19/24