In the days before the internet and cell phones, most of us traveled with a guide book.  Fodder, Frommer’s and Lonely Planet were the three most popular.  They listed hotels, restaurants, and sites in many cities in the world.  They were big and heavy, and unless you got the latest version, many of the listings were outdated.  The only way to book a hotel or restaurant was to call, and given the language barriers, that was not always easy. 

On a trip to Prague in the early 90’s with our guidebook in hand, we took the advice of the author who suggested, “Get on any tram and take it to the last stop and just explore.” In other words, GET LOST!  We did just that.  For several days before this, Steve was longing for some Chinese food and hoping that this suggestion might just bring him his wish. I, on the other hand, was very skeptical about what we might find when we got off the tram- let alone a Chinese restaurant! We took Tram #1 until we came to the last stop. We got off the tram and realized we were in a completely off the beaten path neighborhood.  No more popular tourist sights, but more like a working-class area where the people who waited on tables and worked in hotels, lived.  We looked around and decided to go left.  It was left or right and left looked a bit more promising.  We walked along the main street filled with the typical hardware store, barber shop, a drug store and convenience stores.  All the things necessary for a working-class community to survive.  Then, there it was, a Chinese restaurant. I couldn’t believe it and I was immediately skeptical that the food would measure up to even our willingness to lower our standards when it comes to Chinese food.  We ventured in, and the interior was dark and dreary.  Yikes, what have we done?  But we had come this far and the guidebook told us to get off the beaten path.  This certainly qualified as very far off.  A lovely young woman greeted us and we asked for a table for two.  There were hardly any tables taken and we continued to follow her as she passed all the empty tables.  All the while I was imagining that we would be having a lunch of white rice. Suddenly we were headed outside and we found ourselves in one of the nicest gardens I have ever seen.  There were tables filled with patrons and it almost felt like we had entered a secret little world. It was alive with people laughing and chatting away. We sat down and ordered lots of items from the menu.  Each dish was better than the one before it.  How was this possible? The guidebook said, take ANY tram, not the number 1 tram, and it didn’t mention any Chinese restaurant.  But there we were, having an adventure all because we were willing to get lost. 

Now that we have the internet and cell phones with Google maps it’s easier to find our way anywhere, anytime and harder to get lost.  Since that time in Prague we try to put the technology away and just get lost. For the last week, my phone stopped working  as soon as I left the security of the internet in my apartment, so I have been getting lost.  Not intentionally, but I have discovered lots of things.  For one thing, I discovered that the #74 bus here in Budapest, which goes right by our apartment, somehow ends up taking me almost anywhere I want to go.  When I can use Google maps, and put in the desired destination, the #74 bus comes up as an option. I took the #74 bus to the end of the line the other day, again, not intentionally, but because I was really lost. But was I?  I just crossed the street and got back on the #74 going in the opposite direction and ended up back in front of my apartment. 

I am learning  over and over that life is full of surprises and if I allow myself to get lost and not worry about needing to know where I am and where I’m going, I never know what I might find.

Stay in touch and I will too.

With love and gratitude,

Marsha