I was never going to go if I waited for someone to come with me. 如果要等有人跟我一起才出發，那麼我將哪兒也去不了。
It had been so cold and rainy since I arrived in Austria, which didn’t always make travelling and trips outside comfortable. When I stayed with people, I really liked to cook a traditional dumpling dish from my culture and this seemed like suitable food for the gloomy weather. That night in Salzburg, I really wanted to cook something different for my host and so decided to prepare chicken soup for me and my host. This soup recipe had accompanied me throughout my happy and sometimes lonely days living in Spain. The ingredients are packed as bundles to sell in every supermarket in Spain. They usually included celery, carrots, potatoes, leeks and a strange potato-like root that I had just found out was called celeriac (the root of the celery). Since I was on a Eurail journey around Europe, I was glad this bundle could be found in almost every supermarket in Europe, with some minor differences in ingredients from time to time.
從我開始抵達奧地利之後，天氣就相當的濕冷，所以在外旅行變得不是太舒適。當我和別人一起共住的時候，我很喜歡煮傳統的餃子餐，然後這種食物也特別適合這樣陰鬱的天氣。這晚我抵達了薩爾斯堡，我真的想要為我的沙發主人煮些不一樣的東西，所以我決定要準備雞湯。這個湯的食譜陪伴我在西班牙快樂和有時寂寞的日子。食材是被打包一捆一捆在每一個西班牙的超市都可以看到。通常裡面有芹菜、胡蘿蔔、土豆、大蔥，還有一種我現在找出名字來的像土豆一樣的芹菜根，。當我在進行環歐的火車旅行，我很開心看到這個湯包蔬菜捆，在全歐洲的每個超市都可以找得到，有時候會因為地方不同而食材會有些微不同。
After I arrived at Salzburg, I immediately went to the supermarket to pick up some chicken legs and the soup bundle and texted my host Christian that I would make soup for him that night. When he picked me up at the station, he particularly complimented my gesture of making food for him. He said he had been trying to help as many travelers as he could coming to Salzburg with low budgets by offering his place for people to stay in Salzburg, which has been listed the most beautiful city on Lonely Planet and had hotel prices reflecting this status.
當我一抵達薩爾斯堡，我立刻就去超市去購買雞腿還有這個湯包蔬菜捆，然後傳簡訊給我的沙發主Christian說那晚我會做湯給他喝。當他來車站接我的時候，他特地贊美我做菜給他的舉動。他說因近年來，薩爾斯堡被列為寂寞星球旅遊導覽書中最美麗的城市後，旅館的價格也居高不下，所以他提供他的住所來幫助更多的旅客用低的預算來參觀薩爾斯堡。
Christian was very well-traveled and enjoyed helping travelers through couchsurfing, unlike some male hosts that I saw on couchsurfing who only wished to host female travelers. Christian would receive male or female couchsurfers, and sometimes even more than one traveler in his house. He said most of the time they would just eat separately. Some even would empty his food cabinet. So he was very touched that I offered to cook. Truth to be told, I was simply happy to be able to cook and share my comfort food with someone in a strange city. Not to mention that he was also kind enough to offer me a comfy futon in his cozy living room to sleep on.
Christian旅行的經驗很多，也很享受用沙發衝浪來幫助旅客，不像我看到有一些男性的沙發主，只願意接待女性的遊客，Christian會接待男性或女性的遊客，有時在家裡甚至接待超過一人。他說，大部分的時間他們都是分開吃飯，有時後他們甚至會吃空他的食物儲藏櫃。所以對於我說要煮飯給他吃，它相當的感動。老實說，我僅僅是因為可以在這個陌生的城市料理和分享這些安慰我的食物而感到開心。更不要說他還那麼好心地在他溫暖的客廳給我一個舒服的沙發睡。
After dinner, Christian went out to buy a bottle of red wine instead of us going out in the rain even though the weather outside was still quite miserable. We chatted and shared travel stories together over a few glasses. Though it was a cold and rainy night in Salzburg, the stories, food, wine and good company really warmed me. I stayed two nights at Christian’s place and cooked dumplings again on the second night. I think it was so important for me to be able to reciprocate back to the people who hosted me. Even if I didn’t get the chance to offer something back, I would also pass down the goodwill to the next hosts or guests I receive.
晚餐後，因為外面的天氣實在還是很糟糕，所以我們不出門，Christian出門去買一瓶紅酒。我們一起喝幾杯，聊天還有分享許多旅行故事。雖然那天晚上在薩爾斯堡是個又冷又下雨的夜晚，那些故事、食物、酒還有好的同伴真的很溫暖我。我在Christian家裡待了兩晚，然後在第二個晚上我做了餃子。我認為讓我可以回報接待我的人真的很重要，若當時沒有機會給什麼東西出去，我也會將這個好意傳遞到我下一個沙發主，或者是我接待的下一個沙發客。
Stay tuned…there’s much more to come!
In the next episode I’ll be sharing a story of finally meeting up with someone who I only chatted once online in person in Salzburg.