nospam

Hi there!
The question for this week is:

What was the nicest thing that ever happened to you on your travels?

I was in Brussels with a friend of mine, and we wanted to see an Opera. Not having tickets, we showed up at the Opera Theatre to see if there were any available. We didn't know that the evening's performance was the last of the Wagner Ring trilogy, and was the season finale for that particular year. Clearly, there were no tickets left. As we turned to leave, a lady tapped me on the back and in broken English, said "Please take my tickets. I cannot go tonight." I asked her how much she would like for them, but she refused all money and disappeared into the crowd. So, that night, my friend and I saw a great opera and were seated in the middle of the first row of the first balcony at the Theatre! AMAZING!

Yours?

missypie

We were wandering around a beautiful church in Leipzig. They had a small gift shop and I was admiring a poster of the interior of the church. The guy behind the counter gave me one. I have it framed in my house and it makes me good to think of his kindness.

lincasanova

this REALLY happened to us. I still marvel at the miracle fo it all.

nice way to remember Brugges!

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...nova&fid=2

gailw

When I click on the link in lincasanova's message, I get a long list of posts to which she contributed. How do you find (quickly) the one she's referring to?

Pumbavu

There's a cajun word... i think "lagniappe"... an unexpected surprise. Love that as a concept.

lincasanova

i must not be copying correctly. please remind me how to do that someone!?

lincasanova

here is the report copied.

Author: lincasanova
Date: 12/24/2004, 08:49 pm
I must share a magical encounter i can only accredit to this website.

i had asked for restaurant suggestions in brugges.. so on our short day trip last sunday, we decided to try to get a table at dan dyver.

luckily they had space, and asked us where we would like to sit. we chose a table not far from the entrance.
as i was taking off my coat, the table near us near the windows had four diners.

i THOUGHT i recognized one of the women.
reconfirmed by looking at her husband, and then just said their names with surprise.. i was totally in awe as i realized we had found friends with whom we had lost contact after they moved to china. we hadn't seen them for 15 years!!!
the bearhugs and tears of joy of reuniting will stay with me forever.

the chances of this happening.. well.. the whole incident is mindboggling. i still can hardly believe the coincidence.
we live in spain.. knew them here .. they moved a couple times.. then to china.. now they are back in belgium..and they decided to meet some other friends in brugges for lunch!(neither of them live in brugges either!!) and then we walk in....!!!

i just had to come back here and express my gratitude for such a helpful website, that in this case gave me the best xmas present of 2004.

merry xmas/happy holidays....

swalter518

My story is also a Brussels story...we were there on our honeymoon in 1999 and stopped in Brussels halfway through to stay with relatives for a few nights. We were dropping off our rental car on a Sat. night in Brussels. The rental place was closed but had a key drop. We has just dropped the keys in the box when I realized that I had left the camera in the car (with the film from Rotenburg and Munich Germany in it). As you can imagine, I was beside myself (and royally ticked at myself!) My uncle called the rental place on Monday for us and they overnighted the camera to our hotel in Paris (our next stop) at no charge. I was floored and forever grateful, not so much for the camera, but for the photos in it.

beanweb24

lincasanova -- Den Dyver is my favorite restaurant in the world. Thanks for sharing your story!!!

tower

Don't know about it being the "nicest, unexpected thing", but it was pure circumstance...While visiting Hradcany Castle in Prague in '93, on a very cold, snowy day in March with no one around, we saw some lights in one wing and decided to go in and warm up a bit before heading back down the hill. We literally stumbled into a Press Conference to be given by President Vaclav Havel. A woman standing near the guard and metal detector asked us if we were press folks and I automatically said "yes" (not wanting to be asked to leave and go out into the cold day. She told the guard that we were "approved" and he asked for our ID...we handed hi our passports and she asked what American newspaper or magazine we represented...I said, with a stern look, "The L.A. Times...the guard handed us two "Press Foto" badges and we were escorted into an arena-type room where about 50 press-foto journalists had already been seated. The only seats left were two in the front row! I nudged my DW and she took out her little notepad and when Havel began to speak, she feigned taking notes...for nearly an hour he spoke and questions were asked and answered (all in Czech)...and wife scribbled on. Then all the attendees got up to take photos of Havel, and there I was with my little Minolta snapping away..he posed just a few feet away . Turned out, this was a warm-up session for the big conference the next day where the Prime Minister from Slovakia was to be the guest for the first time...the country had split just one month before. When we left, it had begun to snow heavily...and my wife turned to me and said "What the hell have we done??!!"

Stu T.

teacherlady

Left backpack on bus from San Gimignano to Poggibonsi on way to Siena. Had absolutely everything in it. Some incredibly nice person looked in it, found itinerary, called our hotel in Siena, and left backpack at police station in San G. Whoever you are, if you are out there, bless you bless you bless you.

klondike

Many years ago in Itally at lunchtime when everything is closed and with a car literally "on fumes" we received a police escort to an open gas station. Grazie!

mikemo

We were upgraded from coach to first class on BA flying from DFW to LGW (and to business on the return) for my son's wedding in the UK in 2004.
M

DejaVu

My very first trip to Europe, I had a solo coach ticket on Northwest/KLM on a student fare (purchased from the erstwhile Council Travel). At check-in, the very nice young man at the desk asked me if I'd like to be put on the list for possible upgrade to business class. I said sure without thinking I'd actually get the upgrade. I did! And my first trip to Europe got off to a wonderful start.

More than once, traveling solo in various places, I've met lovely people and had nice experiences, and every single one of those occasions counts too.

AGM_Cape_Cod

We took the bus to the airport to go to London to celebrate my father's 80th birthday. At the bus stop was a woman who told me where to buy the tickets. When I came back we started chatting about where we were going, that is when I noticed she was a flight attendant and she said would be on our flight. She told me about her father's 80th birthday which was a source of amusement for her children because he was a leap year baby so actually celebrating his 20th birthday. Anyway we separated on the bus but when we got to the airport she asked our name. When we got to the gate we found that she had upgraded us to first class and she was the attendant. She made it so much fun!! See it is worth taking the bus!

mr_go

The first time I went to the Louvre, it was closed that day. Only press were allowed in for some sort of exhibit opening.

A Dutch woman, seeing the obvious look of disappointment on my face, handed me her press pass and said, "I'm done for the day, go for it!"

I didn't pay a cent, and had the run of the place. I never had a chance to thank her properly.

Underhill

My husband persuaded a very nice elderly lady to take him into the King Tut exhibit in Chicago with her, as she was a member.

At the time of the Munich Olympics massacre of the Israeli teams we were driving in Scotland and knew nothing about what had happened. When we arrived at our B&B the lovely woman of the house sat us down, told us the sad news, and then plied us with cocoa and hot toast.

radiofanatic

I was in Toulon, France for six months as a foreign exchange student. Our teacher was good friends with someone on the Board for the Cannes International Film Festival. She got us tix to two of the movies. We went and met John Travolta and Mandy Pantinkin. I then bought a poster for to always remind me of the trip. As if that wasn't enough, I then lost the poster on the trip home to the US. Devestated, I wrote my teacher to see if she could buy me another one. She sent me one, free of charge. 13 years later, I still have it on my wall - I love it.

limpitlaw

YEARS ago when I was on my junior year abroad I visited Salzburg during the festival. The Berlin Philharmonic was playing and of course I didn't have a ticket (or the money for one). A nice group of Germans gave me a ticket for a rehearsal and when I told them that I had sung Brahms Requium (which was being played at that night's performance) they told me to come back that evening. I met them there and they had a ticket for me! I didn't speak a word of German and they didn't speak English, but somehow we communicated. It was a wonderful evening for me and I was never able to thank them for what they did. It just goes to show you that there are good people out there. I hope that if I was ever in their position, I would do the same for some student.

Pausanias

Returning to London from Rome by train, some 35 years ago . . .

After the ferry landed in Dover, a beautiful young woman entered the compartment. She was heading beyond London and feared there would be no train connection. I selflessly suggested an inexpensive hotel, where I happened to be staying. With late adolescent spirit we discussed our respective travels, symbolist poetry, plans for the future. I cringe to think what I sounded like, but at the time thought it must be pretty worldly. Inwardly, of course, a somewhat less detached me was busy hatching more immediate plans of dubious honor.

Anyway, some busybody old aunt started paying attention, and ended up offering her a ride. Naturally, I was delighted by this generosity and my friend's good fortune.

At the train station I turned to say good bye, extending a hand. To my surprise I received a warm embrace, a lingering kiss, and a last glance into a pair of soulful eyes.

Makes me feel good, even today . . .