Kindness Abroad

Our first story is about Sandra.

After a few days staying in the rough hotel in Colmar we decided to move to the small village of Turckheim, just outside of the city. Daniel found an AirBnB place that was a lot more affordable. Airbnb is the way to go! If you have not heard of it, you should definitely check it out.

While Airbnb homes are usually nice, it's not typical for it to act as a true bed & breakfast. In the case of our lovely host, Sandra, however, we felt that we were the most welcome guests at a mountain retreat.

When we arrived, she showed us to our extremely spacious, clean, cool room. She had water and glasses placed on the table and recommended several things for us to do.

As she talked you could see the pride in providing us with such a nice place and an excitement that she got to share it. She cared about our experience.

The real treat of staying with her was the incredible breakfast that she prepared for us each morning. She asked us some of our preferences... coffee or tea, hot milk or cold, etc... and in the morning she placed a basket of homemade bread and jams, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice by our door.

Each morning she wrote us a note... " Hello Amelie and Daniel, I hope you have sleep very well. I wish you an good appetite. The marmalade are blackberry, strawberry, rhubarb, quite. Have a nice day! -Sandra"

To receive such sweet hospitality was really overwhelming and so refreshing.

Then we met Glenn.

After our first incredible breakfast with Sandra we decided to venture out and bike to the surrounding villages around Turckheim. We estimated that it may take an hour or two to get to the town of Riquwihr, a small village that I had read about before the trip and really wanted to see.

Well. The combination of us being overly confident in our biking skills and us not knowing the winding vineyard roads led us to arrive in the amazingly quaint town of Riquwihr at 9:00pm. Exhausted from the ride, we found an open restaurant and scarfed down some warm French onion soup and a tarte flambé.

As we ate we researched our options for getting back home. If it took us all day in the daylight to get here, how were we going to make it back at night?

We looked at trains. Closed. We looked at buses. Closed. We asked our waitress about taxis. Not possible with bikes. And also- they would have to come from another town and would probably not come all the way to this village so late.

We were stuck. Trying not to panic, we started taking as many screen shots of the vineyard roads as possible and got ready for our night ride.

Overhearing us asking about taxis, another waiter came to our table. Glenn. We explained our situation and he tried to call another taxi for us, but it, too, was a no go.

Without hesitation, after telling us about the taxi, he offered to drive us back home.

After the mental preparation of thinking about biking up and down the hills of Alsace all night, it was beyond a relief that he would be so willing to help.

He wasn't even our waiter. He saw that we needed help and he helped. He didn't just offer a solution and say good luck to you. He offered to become the solution.

He stored our bikes in the restaurant, since they didn't fit in his small European car, and said that he could pick us up the next day, too, to come back for them in the morning.

As we rode, to and from, with him we were able to talk with him and learn more about his life.

He has a three year old son. He loves Byron Bay, Australia. His dream is to get a motorcycle and bike all over the world. He loves the wine of his region. His hobby is working in his large garden. He works in the restaurant, several villages away from his family, six days a week to support them.

Each thing that he was willing to share with us allowed us to get to know him more and invited us to share some of our story too. We ended up having an amazing conversation. We felt like we formed a friendship with someone who literally saved us and who greatly helped, served and encouraged us. All because he was willing.

It's amazing how much a small act of kindness can affect you.

I was so challenged by the kindness of Sandra and Glenn. They may have felt like their actions were small, but to us, they made a great impact. Especially when you are in an unfamiliar place, trying to adapt, process the new things around you, find your way and feel very aware of your inadequacies.

Even if it seems small, choose kindness. You never know how you are affecting someone's life.