We arrived in Bled exhausted and hungry. Scrimping on meals, I walked to the grocery store next door to our hostel and assured my partner, “Don’t worry, I’ll cook.” Buying whatever was cheapest (potatoes and beans), and whatever they actually had stock of (carrots and tomatoes), I headed back to the hostel kitchen fully equipped with dented pots, melted plastic ladles, and a tiny strainer. Although the supplies left much to be desired, there had gathered in the kitchen a small group of young travelers who generated a minor hum as an accompaniment to the sound of the sink. The warmth of strangers’ presence spread across the room. I quietly began chopping the potatoes, working through the entire bag as I watched my partner lend his voice to the group. The produce was cheap but came in large bundles, making the pot of soup enormous. A card game unfolded on the kitchen table while I dished up bowls for everyone in the room. I warmed my hands around my own bowl against the chilled air coming from the window. 

After everyone had eaten, some downing two servings of the simple dish, we all walked down to the lake. It had begun lightly snowing, despite the date on the calendar, and you couldn’t even see across the water, much less to the large island standing in the middle of it. 

Fog hung in the sky, making the snow seem to come from nowhere, and the streets were quiet and empty besides our group. Once we had marveled at our own private snow flurry, we stopped by a small pub on our way back. The warmth of the room filled me immediately, and I unwound my scarf and piled my hat and gloves on top of it. We consumed a few beers topped with foam, followed by hot coffee and black tea. And as we were beginning to unbox our second card game, we were met by a familiar sight—two women walked into the pub, one wearing a logo from the college near our house back home. My partner jumped out of his seat and shouted in genial greeting across the small but full establishment—as if they had finally made it and we had been waiting all along. I introduced myself, explained my partner’s outburst, and we embarked on a life-story exchange as we ordered more drinks and shuffled cards around the small table.