It was strange when I was in Italy, that often the German word would come into my head before the Italian and perhaps that led me to recall my trip to Austria eight years earlier. I had planned to be in Austria for three nights and looked on the Internet for any interesting men that I might be able to meet.
I discovered Heinrich who lived in Baden just to the south of Vienna where I had planned to stay. On his profile he indicated that he enjoyed showing visitors the special beauty of his town. This was precisely the kind of connection that spoke to me so I sent him an introductory email. The next day I had a very pleasant response from Heinrich who declared that he would be pleased to meet me and that I could stay with him for a couple of days if I liked.
Through the next couple of emails, I learned that Heinrich was a man in his early 60's who was now retired from his life as an engineer. He still did some writing but missed the social life of his work, so he enjoyed creating a new social life with visitors.
He declared that Baden was a wonderfully relaxed town and he would ensure that I had a good time during my visit. He seemed quite affable and had a good command of English. I made a plan to stay just one night in Vienna and then Heinrich would meet me at the train station in Baden the next day.
The trip to Austria was my first time in a German speaking country. I had studied German intensely in college and obtained a good speaking level, but thirty five years later much had been forgotten. How much would return to my aged brain?
I was struck by the beauty and elegance of Vienna but was most astonished by the Schonbrunn palace with its 1441 rooms. Fortunately, the tour only takes you through forty of the rooms or I might have had to ask for a room to spend the night! The palace and the gardens rivaled Versailles and were intended to be a competition. I also thoroughly enjoyed the best coffee I ever had anywhere in the world along with a fine piece of apple strudel at an elegant café.
The next day I took the short train ride through the Austrian countryside where the trees were just starting to show some of their Fall color. The landscape was flatter than I had anticipated and farmland took over soon after leaving the outskirts of Vienna. I knew that Baden was famous in Roman times for its sulphur spas but didn't know anything of the modern city. I was confident that Heinrich already had a plan in mind. Austrians, like Germans, were very organized.
I was happy to see Heinrich waiting for me as I disembarked from the train with my luggage. He had a huge welcoming smile and held out his arms to welcome me with a bear hug. He was indeed a bear of a man at almost two meters and one hundred ten kilos.
He had a big head with lots of light brown wavy hair that seemed to take on highlights from the sun. I knew that he was a hairy man, but his face was smoothly shaven. He would be a very entertaining man to be with for a couple of nights.
He lived only a short distance from the station in a two bedroom flat in town. We walked the short distance and he carried my suitcase while I kept the backpack. It felt like I was in a small town where everything would be in a reasonable walking distance. I loved to explore towns by just walking. Ten minutes later we were climbing the stone steps to the second level of the building where Heinrich lived alone.
I was happy to see as we entered his space that the ceilings were high to accommodate his height. The luggage was placed into the bedroom and Heinrich was eager to feed me a late lunch. I was happy to accept especially when I saw that it would include a crusty bread, cold cuts and beer. There were multiple types of mustards and pickles to augment our meal.
We sat at a wooden table and chairs which had a red checked table cloth, not unlike being in a restaurant. The Steigl beer was a pale ale with a refreshing aftertaste and the meats had the typical great flavor that one expects from European cured meats.
I learned that Heinrich had been married, but divorced five years earlier. He was on friendly terms with his ex-wife who lived in Baden as well. He had a daughter who was married and lived in town. She had a boy and a girl who were eight and six.
No one knew that he enjoyed sex with men and he had told them that a friend he had met on a cruise the year before was joining him for a couple of days. In a town this size, we might run into them and he wanted a story prepared. I accepted my role.
When we finished our meal, he cleared the dishes and suggested we take a stroll around the town. He especially wanted me to see the gardens which were one of the main attractions of the town. He had another location in mind as well, but didn't provide any advance warning.
The gardens were very sculpted and made for a pleasant relaxing walk. Not far from one of the gardens was the famous Romerterme spa which dated back to the ancient Romans. We would not be joining the upper crust who visited there regularly.
Heinrich had decided that a good way to spend the later part of the afternoon was at a Wine Hut. This was also along our walking path but down a narrow stone street. At the end of the street was a two story stone and wood building with a hanging wooding sign which declared it to be the Wine Hut.
The hours were listed on the door and we were there at the correct time, but the door was locked. Heinrich was not concerned. We turned around and walked back about fifty meters where he used his booming voice to call out for Margarite. A second story window opened up and the curtain billowed out into the open. Margarite, an attractive forty something brunette, came into view and said, "I'll be right with you Heinrich."
A few minutes later she popped out the wooden front door and displayed a most jolly smile to both of us. She escorted us back to the Wine Hut, unlocked the heavy wooden door and led us to the lower level wine cellar with its smells of oak and cherry. We browsed the displays of wine and Heinrich chose two that he wanted us to sample.
