9 Comments

Beautiful essay, and could not agree with you more. Going to have a look at the Viennese Coffeehouse conversations! I was in Cafe Hawelka at the weekend and we got seated sharing a table with some strangers and it was so nice to just talk and connect over our mélanges and strudel. Talking to strangers is so underrated as a key part of human life

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I'm glad you liked the essay, Mikey. And what a wonderful experience at Cafe Hawelka. How much longer will you be in Vienna? (And apfel strudel and a melange are my favorites!)

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Another 3 weeks, though one of those weekends will be in Prague

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I spent a weekend in Prague while I was living in Vienna, and I loved it! Vienna's streets and buildings mostly remind me of the 18th century and the height of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague's streets are something out of the Middle Ages. So wonderful.

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I saved this for my trip to Ireland and Austria!

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Love this! I have done the eye gazing exercise with a stranger and yes, it is quite intense!

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What a beautiful article and yes, connecting with and listening to each other is so important right now. Even in the communities in which we live we can seek out people from different cultures and countries.

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I really agree with you, Janice. We don't necessarily have to travel to a different country. Connecting with people who are different from us in the places where live is really important and can teach us so much.

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.. John Steinbeck ‘wrote the book’ along with Charley - for this Canadian when driving in the USA. On a humorous note - found my Canadian plated Mercury (Ford) stepside 1/2 ton pickup truck drew the curious as well as its roof mounted twin CB antennas. Elsewhere - ie overseas on assignment a Toronto Maple Leaf cap just can’t be topped - add my hyperactive camera & bag & am ‘golden’

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