Monday, June 25, 2012 | Vienna, Austria

I definitely love being a traveler today. Maybe it's because I love cities, or maybe I'm just starved for some international personality. But today I discovered how well I enjoy the "backpacker," who usually seems to

• be generous (e.g. the random American in Prague's main train station who gave me all his leftover Czech crows for a baguette)
• be easygoing. Everybody has a plan, but plans aren't stressful. Plans are exciting. Also, places do not define the backpacker--especially the solo travelers. Each has his/her own life and means of self-definition. And everyone is naturally curious about everyone else.
• be excited in the short-term. It's hard not to be!

Vienna is a place of power. Its architecture is like a hidden secret from everyone in America. I don't know what turns people off--the German language, the nonwestern-European location--but all the preconceptions of "there's nothing to do here!" are wrong. I am fairly certain I will wake up tomorrow and continue to look at our city in amazement.

We met two Irish travelers on the train from Prague. They are blond 19-year-olds, a boy and a girl and they are dating. They seem to be spending almost as much time in transit as they are visiting cities. It's actually been wonderful to understand traveling and Europe through their perspective, since they are more excited to be spending time with each other than anything else, and these cities are almost silly/fun/thrilling backdrops for their time together. Their names are Kathy and Graham. They never heard of falafel until today.