Everything will pass, even the pain!

Despite the back pain, I was able to use the time to write about the last few days. I feel much better today, which is why we decide to continue. We take things slowly and fortify ourselves with a delicious and very reasonably priced lunch in the guesthouse’s fantastic restaurant before setting off. In general, we can say that the people here in Slovakia are usually very friendly. We begin to feel at home in this country even after our short stay. At last our money is worth something again and we don’t have to constantly watch our hard-pressed budget. A delicious lunch menu with soup and a main course such as dumplings and the finest beef costs around 2 euros. You can still get a beer here for 50 cents in a good restaurant.

Although we are doing well under the circumstances and my back is working again, we are in a dangerous, inexplicable low mood. Under cloudy skies, we hit our bucks with a full stomach. Once again we have to cross the town and the bridge to reach the Danube cycle path. “Oh dear, look at that!” I shout. “What?” pants Tanja behind me, just arriving at the highest point of the bridge. “The cycle path down there is completely overgrown. With the rain of the last few days, there’s probably no point in continuing down there. We’ll sink into the mud,” I realize. We quickly follow the main road which also leads to the town of Iza. Due to the detour, we do not pass the Roman military camp Kelemantia from the 2nd century, which is marked on the map and once consisted of 20 towers and 4 gates. We are still in the former sphere of influence of the Romans, who shaped the entire Danube region with their culture.

The road is relatively little frequented. Truck drivers are considerate of us and steer their heavy machines past us at a generous distance. We cycle through the countryside in silence. Taking the first possible turn-off, we leave the road and use the embankment. The wheels bump over the concrete slabs. Dense vegetation sticks its green, rain-soaked branches into the path and grazes our arms. We have been the only cyclists for a long time. It looks like most vacationers end their trip in Vienna. Only a few still take the route to Budapest. Although there are still places to stay here, it is clearly not as easy as in Austria. Nevertheless, we are still on a wonderfully developed route here. “Brake!” I shout loudly to warn Tanja, who is driving close behind me. The path suddenly ends at a narrow arm of the Danube. “We have to push our bikes over there,” I decide, discovering a kind of concrete slab that stretches over the inlet. As soon as we jump out of the saddle, the mosquitoes attack us again. “How are we supposed to get over there?” asks Tanja, flailing around to drive away the nasty bugs. “It’s quite simple. You steer, I push,” I reply, leaning my bike against a tree. With a lot of momentum, we manage to overcome the obstacle and continue on our silent way.

Why do things happen whether we want them to or not?

It is already 5:30 p.m. when we reach the border town of Sturovo after almost 55 kilometers. Today we have no view of the fantastically beautiful basilica whose face shines over to us from an elevation in the neighboring town of Esztergom. We are too tired and in a bad mood to look for the campsite. “Should we check into the spa hotel there?” I ask, trying to lift our spirits. “You decide,” Tanja replies curtly. “I don’t know how to decide,” I say and cycle on, stopping in front of a guesthouse. After a lot of toing and froing, we move into the guesthouse, which costs 30 euros. We are asked to pay in advance at reception. Only then do we get the remote control for the TV. After carrying our luggage to the second floor, we drag our sad minds to an almost empty pub. We eat and talk the whole evening until our mood lifts and we realize again why we are on this trip. I sit there and think. Think about everything. Why things happen whether we want them to or not. Why our spirits lead us to a high only to let us fall again. “Why is that?” I ask myself. “Highs and lows are no different to the flow of energy,” I suddenly hear the voice of Mother Earth again. “Like energy?” “You know what we mean by that, don’t you?” “Yes, I think I do. Is it right if I see the highs as pluses and the lows as minuses and that our life energy consists precisely of this? That energy flows like water or is even comparable to it? That water also needs a gradient to flow?

“Yes, exactly. Very well explained. Your life needs its ups and downs. Imagine how boring it would be if you were only doing well? It would kill you. It would be so normal that at some point you wouldn’t know what’s good anymore. Maybe you wouldn’t do anything anymore. For what reason? Doing nothing means standing still and that leads to death. Only through a change of heart, i.e. a change in your everyday life, will you appreciate an emotional high. Will you be able to laugh and rejoice. You will feel happiness and jump for joy. It is important for you humans to cry and mourn in order to be able to be happy again on the other side. The spice in your life consists of the two polarities. This means life and life is energy. But it also means learning and learning will bring you understanding and knowledge.” “Hm, I think I understand. But I don’t want to have any more big emotional lows in order to learn. It’s just too painful.” “Through experience and knowledge, you will eventually be able to control how much pain you feel. You can learn and experience highs without having to go through deep emotional valleys.” “But doesn’t this statement contradict the previous one about the flow of energy?” “No. No one is saying that your emotions have to go down a waterfall to wake up laughing the next day. Find a way of understanding. It’s important to live consciously. To experience, inhale and appreciate the moment.” “I try to do that all the time. But it’s not easy and suddenly something happens that I hadn’t planned for and the fun is over.” “Nothing ever goes as planned. Accepting this is a big step that contributes to relief. But you have experienced this many times before, you have experienced it many times before and you will experience it many times before you understand it. If you understand, you will wake up with a smile every day and go to bed with a smile.

No state of mind, no situation, whether good or bad, is eternal. Everything will pass, even the pain. If you understand the moment of an unpleasant situation, you will be able to tell and explain to yourself that this moment will pass. Then you can take this moment more easily. It is also important to add all moments, all emotions to your treasures of experience. To see them as a collection of very valuable keys.” “Why keys?” I ask in astonishment. “Every new emotion, experience, every experience is the key to a door, a door to another world that is unknown to you. Through your travels, you will enter new worlds for you, and you will open the door to these worlds with the keys to the emotions, experiences and adventures you have collected.” “That sounds fantastic,” I say, delighted with the explanation. “It is indeed fantastic. So enjoy your life. About the ups and downs. Learn from it and don’t let it get you down. If you set yourself the goal of not taking the downs of life so hard, you’ll make it. Don’t give up and avoid falling off the waterfall by understanding.” “I will do that. I will do my best to understand,” I reply confidently and close my eyes with a smile on my lips.

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