Today is the day, the 15th of February, Rosenmontag (Rose Monday.) I’ve just spent a few beautiful days in Vienna with Luise and Fritz and their family. Now I’m sitting on the train, waiting to go to Bratislava. At least I am on the right train!

All of us woke up and quickly had a cup of coffee together. Said goodbye to the girls, who had gotten up too. Luise gave me some cleaning rags, Handi Wipes, and a sponge. She heated up bread with cheese for me to take. Great! She’s awesome! They’ll be thinking of me – and I hope to go to a more civilized place (I will choose more carefully) next time. 

I got here from a taxi driver friend of Fritz and Luise’s (this is 1999, pre-Uber). He was nett (nice). I’ve got a window seat mit zwei andere Americanerin (with two other Americans) sitting here also traveling to Bratislava. They’re from Louisiana, where Mardi Gras is currently going on. (It’s like Fäschings here in Germany 🇩🇪 and Austria 🇦🇹.)

Asking Myself Why

Already I can’t wait until I go back to Wein again and stay at Luise’s, and also back to Dagmar’s. Dagi may even start her own Sprach Schüle (language school) in their basement. Perhaps I could teach with her, or write from there. Don’t know yet, it’s too early to tell. I’ll need a good nights sleep tonight, after all today’s new-ness. Hopefully the flat is heated. I don’t know what to expect, but I doubt it could be too good. Yeah, the chatterbox and my mind are battling this out. By tonight the mind will win. It’s always won so far.

I’m feeling okay, very curious, telling myself again why I’m doing this. “Why?”

“Because it will be a good experience,” I tell self. “I’ll make new friends, and start a new chapter. I’m starting a new career path, exploring new regions, while helping people to expand their own experience. I may even get to travel to, live in, and experience different cities after my three months in Kosice; and there’s more. You’ll learn new languages, read new books, learn more history, and visit more new old museums.”

All in all, there will be good things in store for me! And I’ve talked to Bibiana. She’ll be there at the train station to meet me at 16:00 this afternoon. Bibiana also said she has found a flat for me, and she hopes it will be a quite nice flat. She said it was difficult at the moment to find one, although she didn’t know why. She also said to bring my own bedding with me.

Preparing for Košice

Sweet Luise had given me cleaning 🧼 sponges 🧽 and cloths, in case it’s not very clean when I get there. Luise said she’d send me everything I need. Although Luise’s uncle had recently been to Slovakia 🇸🇰 and he told us that if you have money, you can buy anything. “Alles can mann kaufen wenn mann Gelt hatte.”

Now the Pass Control (passport control) came by, and as the (fellow) American (traveller) pointed out, mine beeped when he entered it in. But it was okay, no problems—one of my worries is over. I wasn’t sure of any potential questioning, due to the (Slovak) visa application and the visa, which I don’t have yet.

At 9:20 (in just over an hour, we left at 8:15) I’ll be in Bratislava. Then six more hours to get to the infamous Kosice. Right now we’re still in Austria.

It has stopped snowing since yesterday. Now the snow is dirty and still deep. We had a beautiful day on Samstag (Saturday) going out in the wild winter snowstorm, and a nice relaxing day on Sunday.

Changing Trains in Bratislava

As we climbed off the Zug (train) in Bratislava there was no board with schedules. There were no direction signs that I could read. So I chased down a conductor and asked him in my proficient Slovak, “Košice?”

He asked another train guy, then led me downstairs. Luckily he carried my heavy blue bag, leading me up and around some wet slippery stairs. We ended up in the main area. I almost slipped and fell once, with my heavy backpack, and my German friend Michael was right– there are no escalators!

The conductor checked a schedule board and told me, “Gate three,” pointing me in the right direction. 😊 So my first interaction in the Slovensky Republicky (Slovak Republic) was nice.

I managed to climb the next set of steps and get myself situated on the nice, simple, clean train headed to Košice. The sun was shining through. It hadn’t snowed for a day or so here. It looks like Wien (Vienna) looked this morning when I departed; still snow on the ground, but not fresh.

Feeling Okay

People on the train all look friendly. Some seem to be Austrian going on ski Urlaub (vacation), with sleds, skis, and packs. I noticed this train stops at Poprad, which is the connection to the High Tatras Ski Resort. Dagmar my German friend had mentioned that the Carpathian Mountains have become the new vogue place to take ski vacations to.

There is one older man who got on the train, next to a lady with a cold. He has been talking continually, uninterrupted since he got on. That’s been 25 minutes now.

I believe, and think, and feel (and know) that yes, everything will be alright. I may even enjoy myself -in Košice!

 

This is an excerpt from my Košice Journal, documenting my exodus from a (relatively happy) bustling life in beautiful San Diego, to (voluntarily) take a post teaching English in the newly independent eastern capital of Slovakia during a very cold winter 1999.