A journey is best measured with friends, rather than miles.

Unlike the physical beauty of Budapest, downtown Bratislava was an eclectic mix of really old architecture, run down Brutalist architecture and some ultra-modern buildings. I walked to the old town where there was a Christmas market going on and it was full of people. The vibe there was very cozy and relaxing, with tempting smells of cooked meat and warm honey wine drifting through the cold, winter air. I bought a chicken burger and a cup of honey wine to enjoy by myself. I saw another guy was also eating and drinking by himself so I asked him where he was from. It turned out he was also from out of town and was there for an exhibition. Mauro was an engineer from Italy. After finishing, he left but 10 minutes later he texted me and invited me for coffee. One of the most enjoyable parts of travelling solo is opportunities like this to meet new and interesting friends. I am sure that I would not have met Mauro or many other new people had I been travelling in a group with others I already knew. We had a lovely afternoon chatting at a modern coffee house in the old town. He left for his flight back so I stayed at the coffee shop catching up with my good friend in Barcelona online.

After that I met up with Pablo who I had hosted as a couchsurfer when I was in Barcelona and who was then in Bratislava on a working holiday. I love friends who travel because we always manage to meet in different locations or cities, and we never know where we will meet next. Pablo was from Argentina and was young and passionate about traveling. He inspired me by being very strategic about his travels too. Either he would take his mom or girlfriend on a nice holiday, or he would couchsurf and work to save up money. He was always on the road. I believe traveling doesn’t have to be expensive or a luxury for a rich few. Over these years, I have experienced both a luxurious travel lifestyle and also budget travels. I think both of these experiences are nice to have so long as you’re experiencing new cultures, new foods and meeting new friends. That always broadens your horizon in a way nothing else can.

Pablo was so lovely as I remembered and he invited me to try some special local hot tea, which contained 63% alcohol. We walked around the Christmas market and visited his favorite local art museum. He also took me to the hostel where he worked and it was really unique, and reminded me of Berk’s place. As it was, Pablo also knew about Berk who was very famous for his friendliness in Bratislava. I felt really lucky to be his guest.

I went back home and started cooking some noodles and asked Berk to have some. Berk is vegan so he really liked my veggie noodles. We watched Happiness Expenditure on Netflix, which is a documentary following a Canadian couple’s journey in a van across North America. There were so many ups and downs on the road but we were deeply touched by their spirit to conquer and explore. Berk said his dream was to drive a van and explore the north of Turkey and travel for a while. I told him my stories about how I bummed around in Europe for many years and fulfilled my travel dreams and he was very inspired by it. I encouraged him to pursue his dreams because the world was full of opportunities. We ought to follow our joy and our heart’s desire. We had a really nice chat and the conversations warmed my heart like the noodles did to mine, too.

Stay tuned...there’s much more to come!

In the next episode I’ll be sharing a story that happened in Zagreb, Croatia.

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****本系列会将中英的版本分开录制，想要进行更深入的英语听力学习或训练，可以听伴随在中文版本的下一集。