On 4 march 2005 Gal and Chihchun had just missed the bus from Oberwart to Schlaining. As she was used to do in Israel, Gal stoke her thumb up into the air, and made the universally know sign for hitchhiking. But is was not her home country of Israel, this was Austria. And even though the sign for hitchhiking is universal, people's behaviour is not. Chihchun tried to stop her, saying to hitchhiking is a trade dominated by mass rapists and serial killers. But Gal didn't listen. Within minutes, a car stopped, a man came out and said he could drive the ladies back to Schlaining. Gal immediately accepted the invitation and got in. Chihchun did not want to leave her girlfriend alone and hesitated whether or not to enter the car. She didn't know at that time that this was the last time for her to be able to do so. During the short ride from Oberwart to Schlaining, the man invited them over for some drinks at his place. But Gal and Chihchun needed to drop their groceries off at Haus International first. After a lot of convincing and pushing from his side, it was agreed that he would pick them up again at 18:30 that evening. Any of their international student friends would be welcome to come along too… Gal invited a lot of people but most were highly suspicious. So this random guy that you met while hitchhiking invited you over for dinner and drinks? Carolyn refuse to come alone and said: Do you not know that hitchhiking is a trade dominated by mass rapists and serial killers?
At 18:30, I was alone with the ladies in the car of the stranger. We drove through windy roads and narrow lanes. It was a long way outside Schlaining and there were no lampposts anymore in this area. Nobody knew where we were.
The driver finally to told me his name. He is Alexander Berger Borotimy de Almassy. And if we knew who he was, he would serve us the most special dinner we ever had. This entire evening started to look more and more like the scary tale of Rumpelstilskin. I switched on my mobile phone, just in case. We continued to climb up a dark hill, and I suddenly remembered where I had heard the name Almassy before. The realization came with a shock. And as our host parked the car in the horse stables, I said: You are the English Patient! He smiled when he said: that is correct,
Laszlo Berger Borotimy de Almassy was my grandfather and as we left the stables, we stared in awe at the beautiful castle of Schloss Bernstein.
We entered the courtyard and Alexander explained when different sections of the castle were built, he showed us the blinds that were erected during the First World War, the defence's structures that were attacked by the Ottomans, and the different wings that were added later. We entered the beautiful Rittersaal, and had champagne at the fireplace. Warm and comfortable, we proceeded to the library, with was truly magnificent and housed over 30.000 volumes. Very creative world maps from the 1500's that tell you more about the imagination of the mapmaker then of the area it supposedly covers, biological and zoological scientifically treaties from the 1600's on how to catch a unicorn or combat the strange monsters that live in the deep sea. Still in amazement from the library, we were informed that dinner was being served. We returned into the dining room, and were served home made bread and a wonderful spinach cream soup. Our second course was as colourful as it was tasty. Fish, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, and onions with spoons that must have weighed a quarter of a pound. After that we got a salad, lush, green, crispy and cheerful. To top everything off we were served two kinds of deserts. First, two different kinds of kuchen mit slagobers. And after that, the king of all chocolate mousses, the essence of chocolate, or as we say in Holland, heavenly mud. It was rich, full in flavour and mixed with bit and pieces of chocolate and large chunks too. It was so good that we ate it all, even though we had already too much to eat. After the last bit, followed the last bite, after the last bite, followed the scraping, and after the scraping, Carolyn started to munch on the bowl. Our host intervened just in time and suggested we retire to the sitting room and hearth, for after dinner cigars and brandy. Lastly, and unfortunately, the time came to sign the guestbook, which was incidentally, more then a century old. Many famous people had signed it before. Franz Jozef von Hapsburg, the emperor of Austria, Regina von Hapsburg, the aunt of Alexander's wife, Otto von Hapsburg, up to the EU parliament, and many pm's and politicians. And now also Gal Harmat, Carolyn Merry, Chihchun Yuan, Nicolette Rupp and Martijn Dalhuijsen. For parting gifts we received a cd of Mozart, a guide to castles in Austria, another kuchen we could not finish and the very best wishes from the countess. As the English Patient drove us back home, we held a hands on our bellies and our hearts on our host, toasting to a wonderful friendship which started as a lift. Hitchhiking is a trade dominated by kind people and good friends.