Vienna

Everything in life is happening in cycles or seasons.  It started to become clear to Dave & Kate in Prague that there was a pattern to what was going on.  This period was feeling very much like a previous period they'd went through back in Paris.

Back then they'd come to the end of the money they had, they were staying in hotels and there was a lot of confusion and misunderstanding around.  Towards the end of Dresden it began to feel like this all over again.

This was more than simply a feeling.  After the storm in Paris, an apartment showed up for them which had a PC.  Perfect for emailing, of which they had a lot to do.  Now this apartment in Vienna also had a PC at a time when they really needed one.  The Truffaut apartment in Paris was in the 17th district.  This apartment was in the 17th district of Vienna.  The owner of the Truffaut was called Elizabeth, the owner of this apartment was called Elisabeth.

As they entered the apartment they were both struck by how it reminded them of the Truffaut one.  Yellow and orange colour scheme, about the same size overall, the bedroom was arranged almost identically, there was a glass coffee table in each apartment with a guest book on it... these features weren't in every apartment they had stayed in.  The 3 butterflies of Paris had also returned, this time on a mug which Kate would drink from...

Maybe more bizarre was the message graffiti'd on the light in the lift...

On the last day in this apartment they would walk a different way down the street it was on and pass this sign...

Without Brian & Agnes, Dave & Kate wouldn't even have been there.

Just like with Kaisers in Berlin, they were super close to a supermarket.  In fact, this was the closest they'd been, a Spar literally 2 mins round the corner.  They would understand why later. 

As they walked the short distance in this area they already could feel a different energy in Vienna.  It was very serene.  They were just off a busy main street with shops but there was an unusual quietness to the place and they found this everywhere they went in Vienna.  It immediately felt good to be here.

The first night in the apartment they went to bed around 3am.  As Dave was drifting off to sleep he thought he could faintly hear some music he recognised.  It sounded like a ukulele strumming.  Then he heard a familiar voice.  Was this real or a dream?  The upstairs neighbour was playing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" at 4am!

11/01/11

On Tuesday 11th January 2011, the signs were abundant.

The song 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' came on the radio 3 times in the space of 2 or 3 hours, on two different radio stations.  Dave & Kate had been listening to the radio on and off in the space of that time and it seemed each time they turned it on or changed stations, the song would be there.

Later on, another old friend in the form of song made an appearance - 'I Need A Dollar' - followed by 'Lean On Me'.

Shortly after that, Kate found a small orange butterfly sticker in the bottom of her toiletry bag (with no idea where it came from).  When she came through to the living room to show Dave, he had a huge grin on his face as Bob Marley's 'Is This Love' was playing on the radio.

They had just enough money left after this apartment to secure one more apartment in Berlin for a week or two.  They were sure after this there time in Berlin had come to its natural end for now.  With little effort, the right apartment appeared on the following day, 12th January, with just under a week to go and again, it was slightly further east.  The title of it had the word 'Kunst' in it - German for art.  They got it for 7 nights.

3 Hotels In 3 Nights

It felt like Jah had delivered a real treat for them that night.  They were so grateful. 

Although it looked increasingly certain they'd have no choice but to book a flight back to Edinburgh the following day, it didn't matter, for now they were fine.

That night as Dave brushed his teeth he saw he was staring at a rainbow in the sink.  The light was reflecting off the running water in such a way it had created a rainbow.  He began to laugh.  They had also noticed that there were three random tiles in the bathroom each with a butterfly on them.

Yet again they checked out in the morning with nowhere to stay that night.  They managed to book a Best Western hotel on Rue de Moscou after another internet trip.  The internet rates in Paris were really swallowing up their finances.

That afternoon Dave sent an email to the folks back in Edinburgh to let them know they'd almost certainly be on a flight there in a day or two.  Dave & Kate felt they weren't to ask for money from anyone, no matter how strongly they felt about remaining in Europe.  They had to put all their trust in Jah.