Here's To The Night

I had been waiting for Zach to get to Graz for 154 days. I had a countdown on my computer and I made a countdown on a calendar. We talked about it all the time and had been planning our trip since I got back from Spain. Needless to say I was excited.

But when you have the experience I had, made the friends I did, went on a journey of self discovery only to realize you do know yourself, you just lost who you were for a while, it’s not easy to leave a place that holds so much meaning for you. 

So I woke up the morning of June 30^th, the day Zach would arrive and my last day in Graz feeling very conflicted. But when I left for the airport, excitement took over and I waited anxiously until he walked through the customs doors. It has got to be one of the best feelings to see someone you love after missing them for 5 months. It’s also one of the strangest because you have been waiting for this day and then it’s finally here and it doesn’t feel real. We got over that pretty quickly. I took Zach around to see Graz, to see my school, my flat, my favorite coffee shop, the park. I also took him up the long hike to the Schlossburg. We were both hot and sweaty after that hike so we came back to my flat and showered. I got to play my first card game in MONTHS and of course, won! I had to get ready to go take my last final, a German oral exam. Zach was looking forward to some rest and relaxation. 

In the park

The Mur River

The hike up the Schlossberg

At the top!

 My test was so fast and so easy! I saw Nikita studying outside the room and asked him what we were doing. It was supposed to be an individual test but our teacher told us to take it together. It was the easiest final I had to do and we were done within ten minutes. Nikita and I decided we would get Zach and hang out so poor Zach didn’t get to sleep for hours, just about 45 minutes. We hung out until dinner time and then headed to one of my favorite restaurants, The Golden Kugeln, for some schnitzel and my last family dinner. Well tonight I didn’t just invite a few people, we had almost 50 people come to dinner! 

Half of the table

The other half of the table...plus there was one downstairs!

This restaurant is small, not tiny but not big enough to hold so many people. It didn’t matter. We crammed chairs and as many people as we could on benches. The amount of people grew bigger every 15 minutes or so. The waiter was very nice, or as nice as you could be in that kind of stressful situation, and made sure we all got our food and drinks. It had to be one of the best dinners we have ever had. We continued the party at Propeller, a nice place to grab a drink and about 5 minutes from my flat. I had tried to put my goodbyes off as long as I could but eventually Zach and I were both tired and we had to wake up early the next morning to get everything ready. I was happy Zach was there because I would have cried more than I did if I had to go home by myself. 

Ashley, me and Zach

Eating dinner

My man and my boys

The entire group!

The boys

Ashley, Nev and I

Ashley, Antonio and I

Ashley, Trond and I

Ashley, Zach and I

 ***For some reason once Ashley and I took a picture with Nev and then Marco and then Antonio...we had to take a picture with all our guy friends! That's why there is so many of Ashley and I with one of the guys. 

It’s a strange feeling to know you may never see these wonderful people again. People who have touched your life and feel like they are your family, not just friends. To depend on people for comfort, friendship, support and be each other’s everything for five months. It was so sad and hard to say goodbye to them. For Ashley, Marco, Laura, Valtteri, Paula, Ryan, Cody, Juan and Nikita…you all touched my life and I will never forget you. I hope that our lives will cross paths again in the future. 

Ashley and I

Marco and I

Laura and I

The Three Amigos

Ashley, Nikita and I (Zach in the background)

Ashley, Cody and I

Paula and I

Zach and I woke up the next morning and got ready to go. My roommate had moved out of our double room and into a single room the day before which was AMAZING! I had one night knowing that she wouldn’t be coming home and waking me up or turning on the lights at 7:30 in the morning. I still had to wake up early though. I had pretty much cleaned everything up but had kept milk for cereal for breakfast. When I went to the fridge to get it, it was gone. All I can say is, I am glad I was leaving that day! I think the rest of the dorm wasn’t too sad to say goodbye to me either. I checked out of my room and Zach and I were off to the train station, on our way to take over Vienna for the weekend!

Love, 

Sara