Life as We Know It
Arriving in Vienna from Delhi was a real shocker. I was sure that the two cities couldn't be more different but as I walked around the pristine streets I realized the two worlds couldn't be further away. Vienna is so clean and quiet. You can actually hear birds chirping in the heart of the city!
Arie and I flew through Austria on our way to Turkey and spent only a few hours in Vienna. We took the 15 minute clean, quiet train ride from the airport with the other three commuters. Trains in India are not clean, not quiet and not empty. My mouth was agape the entire time. I couldn't believe how beautiful the latte and croissant Arie ordered at a cafe looked. She couldn't believe how amazing it tasted either. We were floored by the fresh fruit stands, the spacious sidewalks and the fact that the dogs were all on leashes.
It was strange how much like home it felt to us. The other times I've traveled to Europe I felt like I had arrived in a romantic land far, far away. Europe always seemed so...well...European. After spending two and a half months in India and Nepal, Vienna looked exactly like Seattle. The only apparent differences were the language, the license plates and the number of bakeries. Life in the West has it's advantages; more conveniences, but a little less colorful.
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