OSCAR GOES TO AUSTRIA (2)

The further adventures of Osca and Sandra

It was a lovely hotel seeing as it had only been selected as an overnight stop. Clean and with a friendly staff, after just the single night it almost felt like home.

Before they returned to their room, though, for the night Sandra shyly took Oscar to one side.

“You do realise we’re sharing a room, I hope,” she said quietly, “it’s what my brother and I do, and you’re taking his place. That means there’s no huge single-room supplement to pay. We’ve shared our lives for a long time, since he was a baby and I was toddling. It’s perfectly okay, though. We always book twin rooms so there’s no sharing of the sheets!”

Oscar almost understood her, and said it was perfectly alright, which, of course it was.

“It’s another early start tomorrow, not so bad as today but still before I’m used to getting up, and we’ll need all our wits if we’re to enjoy the holiday proper,” Sandra told him, “so it’s straight to sleep if you cn manage it in a strange bed.”

It might have been a strange bed, but Oscar fell to sleep almost before his head touched the pillow.

Next morning he was woken by the alarm set on Sandra’s phone, and they dressed, nor yet properly refreshed, and made their way to breakfast where the rest of the party was already enjoying what looked like a substantial breakfast.

After a decent breakfast next morning Oscar and his group of travellers, who were almost becoming friends, continued on their way to Austria.

“Before we continue on our merry way,” announced the driver, who had a way with words, “we’re in Germany now and will spend a great deal of today zooming through that country before we reach our destination country, Austria. You might enjoy the scenes as we rush along. And if you need a number one, the toilet’s on the bus, if you need a number two, please hold it until we reach a services where there’s usually a small charge for the loos.”

Then they set off and although Oscar wasn’t sure what Germany would be like, he was surprised. In his head and probably forged by a memory of twentieth century European history he expected a kind of Mordor with huge industries sprawled across the country, and found it was anything but. It seemed that the country was made up of mile after mile of dense woodland, green and beautiful in its own way.

“What do you make of it, Oscar?” asked Sandra.

“Of what?” he asked.

“Coaching holidays. You seem to be quietly enjoying it,” she replied.

“It’s better than I expected,” he replied, ”and isn’t Germany beautiful? I love trees, the forests, the way they replenish the air we need to breathe.”

“You’re becoming quite the poet!” she giggled.

He smiled in acknowledgement of the compliment.

As they zoomed along they passed a couple of huge solar farms with acres of solar panels adjusted to catch the best of any sunlight, and as it was a bright and sunny day he guessed they must be generating quite a lot of electricity.

“It’s an eye-opener to me,” he told her quietly, “it seems so wrong that we can get the wrong idea about a place because of a blip in history.”.

Eventually, late afternoon and having passed into Austria almost without noticing, they arrived in the picturesque village of Igles (the I pronounced like the E as in we), and their destination hotel. It was only a few kilometres from Innsbruck, which in his relative ignorance he’d actually heard of.

Once he and Sandra had settled in their room, another twin bedroom but this time with a view out over a bright blue swimming pool.

“It’s lovely,” sighed Sandra, “stand back: I always do this!” And she took out her phone and took a photograph of the room. “It helps the memory cells,” she told him with a grin.

After a day for exploring the village they were in, and it was pleasant enough for Oscar in the company of a woman he’d only previously known as the barmaid at the Magpie’s Rest. They wandered the few streets, bought a bottle of fizzy wine at the SPAR shop and admired the driftwood horse outside a gardening and souvenir shop and generally took in the atmosphere. Then, next day, they were taken into Innsbruck and enjoyed coffee and apple strudel in a cafe that faced an ancient golden roof that had historical significance and reflected the bright sunlight dazzlingly.

Everywhere the atmosphere was serene, and as they sat there two wedding parties made their way along the broad boulevard on which they were sitting. There was joy in the air, happiness and promises

“I’m beginning to like this,” murmured Oscar to Sandra, “and then, rather nervously, “and the company.”

“Have you always been on your own?” she asked him, “because I’ve never seen you with anyone else when you come to the bar at the Magpies back home.”

“I was married,” he assured her, “so no, not always. But the window cleaner came along and he was a good looking chap…”

“And she went off with him?”

He nodded. “I dared say I can’t blame her, though I did at the time,” he said ruefully, “but Denise and I got married in haste. We thought she might be pregnant because we’d sort of done it once, and we didn’t know better…”

“And you were wrong?”

He shook his head. “No, we were right, but she miscarried and wedding plans were well advanced, so we got hitched anyway. I guess that after the petals of the roses fell off we found that we simply weren’t suited.”

“And the widow cleaner?” she asked with a smile.

“A man I’ll be eternally grateful to,” he sighed, “we simply weren’t suited. Denise was a lovely girl, but so annoying!”

“And there’s been no-one since? That’s sad, if it’s true.”

“You’re being nosey! But only the odd flirtation, one night stand, whatever you want to call it. I’ve had my work, and that’s kept me occupied.”

“You could always ask about me?” she whispered.

“So?”

“Widowed young and in need of a man right now,” she sighed.

“Oh dear.”

“Would it matter if…” she started, then paused.

“If?” he asked after a few seconds.

She shook her head and smiled.

“Nothing,” she replied, “come on, it’s time to get back to the coach.”

The rest of the holiday, only a few days but with a tour of a castle that had a history going back to the thirteenth century and ghighly educational whether they wanted to be educated or not, was a treat to both of them, but when it was time for their holiday to come to an end Oscar couldn’t help wondering if the lady who tidied the rooms at the hotel every day wondered why one of the twin beds didn’t seem to be slept in.

He knew why. And so did Sandra.

© Peter Rogerson 07.07.22

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