Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Wien, Ich Komme!!!

I’m starting to write this post with a smile. A wide smile. A wide and happy smile. Yet also with a hint of sadness in my heart and tears in my eyes. Yes, you’re right. I just got back from my favorite city. I’ve just returned from Wien, Österreich. 

It all started with Ernst’s idea to have a Hauptschule reunion. A proper one. Complete with the teachers and both classes, A & B. I don’t remember how it started but yeah... It was his idea. Or as he called it, it was HIS project, HIS baby. The second the date was set, Ernst started to nag me everyday. He wanted me to come. He really wanted me to come. He said everybody expected me to come. I told him it was impossible. First of all because of my health. Second, the expense. Third, I had to have someone who’d accompany me. But yeah, I still tried. I thought what do I have to lose. 

Long story short, Ernst’s nagging sessions paid off. It turned out I could come to the reunion!!! First, I asked my husband and what do you know... He said okay!!! The second person I asked was my doctor and she said okay too!!! She even said that it was a good idea. Traveling and meeting with my old friends could do me good, she said. So that’s it! The next thing I had to do was to find the right friend to accompany me. After a serious consideration and discussion with Hubster, I chose SiTante Erna, my longtime girl and Hubs’ confidant. From that on it was pretty chaotic. I had a lot of things to prepare but I did it excitedly. When everything was settled, tickets and visa and all, I told Ernst the news. There was silence from his side for a couple of seconds and then... He screamed!!! Loud. Very loud. Almost busted my eardrum :))

And then the time came. On March 3rd SiTante and I arrived in Vienna. And there he was, Ernsti, already waiting for us by the Ausgang. I was sooo happy to see him. After a tight big hug between us and proper introduction between SiTante and Ernsti, we drove to the apartment where we would stay for the next 10 days. It was a nice small apartment which was perfect for the both of us. Ernsti showed us how things around the apartment worked and then he left us to rest. And man did we need it!!! SiTante and I dozed off like we haven’t slept for days. Well, we practically hadn't with the time difference and all... But since then everything was great. SiTante and Ernst got along very well. Too well actually #LOL The chemistry between them was awesome. I was so grateful I brought the right friend with me. The language difference between them didn’t matter. From Day One they already teased and made fun of each other. All I had to do was laugh and occasionally save SiTante from Ernsti’s “bullying”. But yeah... The two of them became friends in a sec. Their friendship already involved shouting-yelling and making fun at each other, shoving and even lifting-up-and-throw-down on Ernsti's side #LOL

Then the night came. The reunion. The long-awaited “Klassentreffen”. I was so excited yet also nervous. I practically begged Ernst to stay by my side the whole night because I was scared. But he said he wouldn’t do it. On the contrary he said he would ignore me and stayed away from me so that I would spend time with the others. At first I was upset but then... Well what do you know?!? I had sooo much fun!!! And I wasn’t even a second being clingy to Ernsti!! #LOL But what made the night even greater for me was the fact that everybody still remembered me and they expected me to come. They were very happy and thankful that I came. Frau Maresch, my class teacher, was hysterical when she saw me. Frau Löffler, my PE teacher, was so happy to see me she practically squeezed me. After that the kids came. Some I still remember, some changed so much I had to ask for their names :)) Especially the one from the B Klasse. But from my class, A Klasse, I had no problem to remember. My favorite boys, Nenad and David, my girls, Susanne and Monika, Tanja, Sonia, Bettina, Zeljko, Kathrin, Cemile, both Alexanders, Frau Tomecek, and many others! They were all there! The reunion was a success!!! I didn’t expect to see them all in one place like that. And the most surprising thing was my German was good!!! Everybody understood me!!! #LOL I think I used minimum english word that night. In short, the reunion was a blast. 

So having the stress of arranging the reunion behind him, the next days Ernst took SiTante and me out around Vienna. We visited the Schönbrunn, Donau, Prater, Rathaus, etc. We couldn’t visit a lot of places because Ernst had to work but SiTante didn’t care much about tourist sites. Every day before Ernst picked us up, SiTante went shopping for shoes!!! She said she’d be out to go jogging but then... She came with 3-5-6 until 12 boxes of shoes!!!! #LOL Thank God I chose to stay at the apartment, watching tv and sipping coffee!!! As for my health, I had minor episodes but it wasn’t bad. No seizures whatsoever. I just had to rest for a while and then everything went back to normal. On March 8th there was a surprise. A very lovely surprise. SiTante and I woke up in the morning and saw snow flakes falling from the sky :) We were sooo excited because we didn’t expect to see any snow since it was already March. But there it was. SiTante’s first encounter with snow. It wasn’t much but it was still pretty. On March 10th, I met Susanne, Monika and Alexander Dietrich for dinner. It was very nice to see them again since the day after would be my last day in Wien. 

Then it came. The day when we had to go back to Jakarta. On March 11th morning Ernst, Alysha, Lena, SiTante, David and I went for a superb lunch and some coffee in Donau Zentrum. After that David and I said our goodbyes. It was so sad but I was also very happy being able to meet this bad boy before I flew back home. After that it was time for us to go to the airport. And yeah... It was really time. I gave Lena and Alysha big hugs and showered them with kisses. These sweet, sweet girls... I’m so looking forward to see them next year, hopefully in Jakarta. I didn’t expect it but yeah... Saying goodbye to Ernsti and his girls after 10 days was hard. As SiTante and I went inside the gate, Ernst and his girls made funny gestures, shouted goodbyes and blew kisses in the air. People were looking at us. It was like a scene from a movie #LOL Tears were running down my cheeks... I couldn’t control it. Lucky me a nice lady next to me gave me a tissue. I was still shedding tears when the plane was already between the clouds.  

And so that’s how my adventure in Vienna ended. The closure was sad, sweet, beautiful and certainly worth to remember forever. Last but not least, I would like to thank Ernsti for being such a sweet, sweet friend and a great host. And of course thank you to my lovely SiTante, for taking care of me and being with me, all the way from Jakarta to Vienna, in sickness and in health. 


Ich liebe Dich.