From my month of travelling, I've learnt how to survive in social situations on my own; I've learnt how to navigate foreign public transport systems, some of them far more complicated than they need to be and I've also learnt how to adapt to whatever situation is put in front of me. The occasion I'm referring to relates to my time in Innsbruck. On arrival I was told there was a fully working kitchen and when I'd passed through the kitchen, I saw there was some electric hobs. On seeing the hobs, I just guessed there would be a main oven as well...a guess that would prove to be incorrect but by the time I found this out, I had already bought a 'cook at home' pizza. I know the meal wasn't very Austrian but I had had Weiner Snitzel on three occasions and I wanted some cheap and easy food. So I buy my pizza, take it back to the hostel, go into the kitchen and see no main oven; I went to reception and asked if there was anywhere else in the hostel that would have a main oven. Their response was predictable but disappointing, basically they said all they had were the hobs so I now have a pizza I can't cook and no way of buying more food as the nearest supermarket was at least a half hour walk away. I weigh up my options and think I could head out for food but again this would be a half hour walk or I could try and make do with what I have, so that's exactly what I did. I had an uncooked pizza, an electric hob and a combination of saucepans and frying pans. I decide my best option is to try frying the pizza because I think it will be easier to use than a saucepan because of the low sides. The result was surprisingly successful. I wasn't expecting much, to say the least, and what I had as a result was a tasty and nicely cooked, to a point, pizza. The way I did it was to cut the pizza into quarters and put two of the pieces into the pan base down. I felt there was no need for oil or anything like that because the bread shouldn't stick...and it didn't. I left it cooking base down on the highest temperature until the cheese started to melt on top...actually it was as the base started to smoke that I thought it would be done, a quick tap of the base confirmed it was crispy. I quickly flip the pizza over for literally 5-10 seconds then onto the plate. The flip gave the toppings a quick blast although the downside was using a spoon to collect the toppings from the frying pan again but if you do it quick enough they come away easily enough. I do the same with the other quarter in the pan, eat those two pieces then cook and eat the other half of the pizza and pleased with my efforts I go to wash up the pan and utensils I'd used. While I'm washing I hear a strange ticking sound somewhere above the hobs, I look to where the ticking is coming from and I find a mini microwave oven that has settings for standard, non microwave cooking. I stood looking in shock for a couple of seconds and can only laugh that I'd gone through the hassle of frying my pizza when a closer inspection of the kitchen would have shown me an easy and productive way of cooking my dinner. Although had I done the easy way, I wouldn't have found out how easy it is to fry a pizza. I'm not saying I will adopt the method for all of my pizzas but it is always good to know.
The other thing I've found out while travelling is how easy it is to have a conversation or even spend the best part of two days with a person without knowing their name. When meeting someone travelling, the first question isn't 'Hi, what's your name?' It is usually 'Hi, how long have you been *insert place name*, how long have you been travelling? Where are you going next? etc.' It is easy to forget such trivialities as names when you're heading out of the room to find some food with a person when you're hungry after travelling. The name part usually comes as part of a slightly embarrassed conversation from either side or if you're able to overhear it. Other than that you're left with generalisations such as mate or just accepting the fact that you may never know this person's name...that is unless you become facebook friends, in which case you hand over your phone, tell them to write their name in and voila, one name and one new friend request waiting on your account. Everyone wins! Although chances are you may never speak to that person again and eventually you'll end up deleting them but for the short term: Everybody wins!
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