Good People Everywhere
Last year I went on a solo backpacking trip in Europe, with the plan of traveling around until I ran out of money. Needless to say I could not have been more excited to venture out into the unknown, however my Nonna was 100% sure I was NOT going to make it back alive. I believe the conversation went something like me telling her this is more common now a days and I would be fine, with her responding “NO! You are going to be abducted or murdered by terrorists!” *sigh*. Despite her and many others telling me about all the terrible, horrible, no good people, I would meet on my trip, the majority of people I interacted with, were genuinely good and kind.
One of my favourite stories from that trip happened in a tiny vineyard town in Southern Germany called Bacharach. I was set to arrive in the town at midnight. After a bus and two trains I arrived to my final station, where English was rare, and I needed to make a connection in 5 minutes. Yes 5 minutes. I arrive and run to the board where departure times are listed, however, the train I was meant to take was no where in sight. Thankfully there was an employee standing next to me who spoke a little english, he explained that that specific train had been canceled and I needed to take another one where a bus would be waiting for me to take me all the way in. With no time to spare, I made it to the train and was on my way, now set to arrive at 12:15am.
As I arrived to the station, in the dark cold winter air, in the middle of nowhere, with one small hut lit up by a single street light, I was practically alone with the exception of one man standing at the edge of the street. I wandered around for a minute looking for any sign of a bus schedule but there was nothing. So cautiously I walked back to the man standing on the side of the street, he had on a thick jacket, lined with a bright orange construction vest, a black beanie and a scruffy face.
He did not speak english, but with the help of google maps and some patience, he realized I was stranded a fair distance away from where I needed to be. This is when he said, “My sisters husband drive to me, he bring you”. He was offering me a ride. Was I really about to get into a car with two German men whom I met on the side of the road, or was I going to spend the night in -15 degree weather sleeping under that single street light on a bench. Ride it was.
As I got in to the car, a small, older, silver Volkswagen Golf, I quickly took a picture of the licence plate and sent to a friend I had met in the town I had left earlier in the day. The brother-in-law spoke a fair amount more English than the man in the orange vest, he offered to take my backpack and put it in the trunk, I thanked him but said it was okay to sit next to me, you know, in case a quick break was needed.
As I sat there anxiously the brother-in-law began talking to me, asking me about how I ended up there, about his 5 year old daughter and the birthday present he had gotten her that day. He told me how he met his wife (the man in the orange vest’s sister), and just like that I didn’t feel so nervous. They ended up being nice, normal, caring people who just wanted to help a tourist down on her luck. When we arrived at the hostel they got out to make sure it was the correct place and that I was safe and sound. I thanked them and we parted ways. I can’t even remember their names, but the generosity of the man in the orange vest and the brother-in-law will stick with me forever.
Good people are everywhere. This is something I can confidently tell you after having spent a total of 5 months meeting new people, in all different situations, from all around the world. Not to say there are no bad people out there and you don’t need to be aware of your surroundings, because there are and you do, however, people tend to want to help more than they want to hurt. And I think that’s pretty amazing.
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My name is Hannah and I love to see new places and try new things. Try everything at least once, that’s how I live my life!
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