Being part of something beautiful

I simply had to share this story. I managed to get a last-minute host in Krakow before my Christmas Festive Trek started, after having a negative CouchSurfing experience.

My hosts were a couple, the girl Polish, the guy Mexican. They met through CouchSurfing, he was her surfer, she was his host; both avid travellers, and willing to bail me out of a sticky situation because they’ve been there, and had those.

I met ‘Rick’ outside the Krakow train station, standing in the freezing cold while I waited for him. I discovered I wasn’t wearing warm enough clothes, even for this mild Polish winter. He strode up and greeted me with a warm handshake and a smile.

“Ian from CouchSurfing?”

“Yeah mate… I’ve been waiting for you. Thanks for helping me out last minute. Fnck know’s what’s going on with the other girl. Maybe I can use your internet later to figure it all out?”

“Yeah, no problem” he said “but you mind if we stop off on the way to our place first? I’ve got to buy an engagement ring“

..and of course, I took that bait. Everyone loves a good story.

‘Rick’ met ‘Betty’ when he surfed her couch several months ago in Poland. Next thing you know, there’s flirting, a whirlwind romance, and they moved in together. Push a few months forward again, and it brings us to today. The two of us wandering around the jewelry stores on the outskirts of Krakow looking for rings.

Most people might be cynical of the relationship, being such a new one. But I’ve been there, and experienced the thrills of travel relationships; when you click, you just click. I am definitely rooting for them to succeed.

After we picked the ring, ‘Rick’ asked me to keep it quiet, and not tell ‘Betty’.

“Of course mate, I know how these things work. The last thing you need is this strange traveller ruining your big surprise”.

He had it all planned out, and accepted me as a CouchSurfer to use me as an excuse for getting out of the house. There was a bit of planning involved in picking up the ring, and in sorting out the proposal setup, so he used the excuse of picking me up, showing me around, and sending me off the next day (I only stayed with them one night). I was happy to be a part of something beautiful.

Even though they were in a crazy new honeymoon period of their relationship, and ‘Rick’ had so much planning to do for the big question, they still took me out ice-skating in Krakow for the evening, testing out some new skates they had just ordered from GroupOn.

After the iceskating, where we were all relatively beginner, we enjoyed Polish sausage from a street vendor on the side of the road.

The next morning, I made sure to get out of their hair so everything could go to plan.

I bet you want to know how it all turned out right? Well, you will be pleased to know that ‘Betty’ said yes, and ‘Rick’ even got the permission from her parents to go ahead with the wedding. What an old school gentleman! They are looking at a March 2012 wedding, and even invited me. Gotta love that kindness of travellers.