“Hey sorry friends, but that’s my seat.” I pointed at the window seat.
“Right, let us get out and make you some space.”

I swung the backpack from my shoulder and stored it in the overhead compartment. I awkwardly slid through the tiny space between the seats to fall down on 37F. Out of habit I unwound the cable of my headphones and picked the first of a few albums I would listen to for the next two hours and forty minutes all the way to Barcelona.

The guy to my right put a full can of beer into the small net on the seat in front of him.
“I see you are ready for the journey.”
“Definitely, I always come prepared!”, he smiled at me holding up another already open can of beer.
“Did you bring something?”,
“No, no just some food. But they probably have cocktails.”

I pushed the airplane safety instructions to the side and grabbed the menu. He leaned over my seat to look out of the tiny window.

“When is this thing finally going to start?” but the engines hadn’t even started yet.
I checked my watch, “It’s gonna be at least another 20 minutes.”

His friend, who was sitting in the aisle seat started to take off his sweater. “It’s so hot in here, feels like we are already in Spain”.
He reached up to the tiny air vents above us and fiddled around with them, the guy between us started “I heard you are not supposed to use those, the air isn’t any good.”
“Well, it’s either that or I die of a heat stroke.”
He leaned into the aisle almost colliding with another passenger that was trying to get to their seat and yelled out, “When are you gonna bust out that drink cart already? People are thirsty over here!” But except for a few other Germans turning their heads, everyone was too busy to react.

“Here take my other beer, you need it more than me.”
“No, you should drink that during the start to distract yourself.”
“Yeah right”.

I got an elbow in the face, as the guy next to me searched his jeans pocket. He pulled out a pack of gum, “Nicotine?”
I just shook my head.
“So, are you traveling to Barcelona for work or vacation?” he asked.
Without allowing me to answer gave me all possible details for his vacation plan. They were spending two nights in the city, then renting a car to take it all the way to Malaga stopping in a few towns on the way.

“You know, it’s been five years since I was last on an airplane.”, I just nodded.
“Do you fly a lot?”
“From time to time, I can work online.”
“Ah nice, do you go to Barcelona for work?”
“No, I live half there and half in Berlin.”

He tapped his friend on the shoulder, “Are you listening to this? This is what we should be doing.”
“Yeah, yeah. So can I have that other beer?”
“Sure take it.”
“To our vacation!”
“And all the hot women we are going to meet!”

The plane made a push forward and they went quiet. Out of the window, I could see the trees pass by quicker and quicker until we lifted off. The cars looked like ants on the highway, fields turned into small patches and then all I could see was clouds.
The guys were talking to each other.

“You should order”
“Okay”
“Do you know what to say?”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
“Alright, they are almost there I can already see the cart”

When the stewardess stopped and looked at the two guys, they couldn’t speak. Completely frozen they stared at the stewardess. I jumped in, “Dos cervezas por favor,” grateful for my help they opened the cans and cheered to me.
“Thank you! You saved us! What’s your name by the way?”
“Simon.”
“I’m Chris and that’s Thomas.”
“Nice to meet you guys!”
“Do you want a drink?”
“I’m good for now, thanks.”

But when it was time for the second round, I couldn’t say no anymore. We spent the whole flight talking and annoying the people in front of us. Something about the altitude made the alcohol hit faster and stronger than usual. And when it was time to put the seat belts back on, we were properly drunk.

Chris leaned over to me and tried to hug me, “This flight was actually really fun, you know what?”
“What?”
“You should join us for the trip!”
“Haha, are you sure? What about Thomas?”
But Thomas couldn’t be more thrilled about the idea, “Yeah totally we need you to translate for us.”
“You know, why not? I don’t have anything better to do.”
“Haha perfect! Let’s exchange numbers and we will come to pick you up tomorrow morning.”

Then it was already time to leave the plane. In the airport, I could finally put on my headphones and listen to the first few songs of my Barcelona playlist. I glided through the tourists and their big suitcases and headed for the metro. I was so excited about being back in this city that I totally forgot about Chris and Thomas.

When I arrived at the apartment, the door was half open and as I looked inside a wardrobe was blocking the door.
Behind it my friend, “Heyy Simon! We’re in the middle of moving stuff around here, just one second.”
I dropped my backpack off and waited in the hallway. She showed me my room, it reminded me of a monastery. Only a small bed, a table, and a folding chair. But it was mine for the next two weeks and I didn’t have to pay, so it was more than I could ask for.

The view from the dinner table was incredible. You could see across hundreds of roofs all the way to the mountains in the background. Everywhere sheets were hanging from the balconies. Churches pierced through the rooftops like flowers in the grass. The sun was shining into the room shooting a yellow beam on the plants and books. The table was full of toasted bread, fresh avocado, tomatoes, cream cheese, ham, and salad.

They were talking in a mix of Spanish and English. I was trying my best to keep up but was just happy to be a part of that moment. We shared a cup of mate tea and let it circle around the table like a peace pipe. They were all from the same town in Argentina, two of them having just moved to Barcelona a few days ago, all looking for a fresh start. We kept rearranging furniture, plants, paintings, and books. We shared a joint, played some guitar, sang, and danced together. Life was good.

At a time when most Germans would go to sleep, we decided to head out to some bars. We walked through the narrow streets down the hill. As we entered the Tapas bar, the waiter recognized one of my friends and they talked for a while. We sat in the middle of the restaurant at a round wooden table. Drinking Vermouth, and eating fish, croquettes, and cheese.

It was hot in my tiny room and I opened the window, but it only went out to the stairs and elevator. Whenever someone came home, a horrible mechanical rattling sound came from the probably centuries-old elevator. It creaked and cracked, its motor aching under the weight. I fell into a light, often interrupted sleep, the mix of new experiences and drugs let me dream of foreign lands and magical landscapes.

My phone rang. On the display, it said ‘Chris Airplane Barcelona’, I hesitated for a moment, then I picked up.
Chris was yelling, “Hey man, where are you at? We’re waiting downstairs. This city is awesome, let’s go!”
I didn’t even have time to think, just told him to, “Hold on a sec”, and put my clothes from last night on. I hadn’t even opened my backpack yet, it was still standing on the desk so I grabbed that, put my shoes on took my new keys, and headed for the door. While I was sliding down the stairs I could already hear Chris honking.

They were both wearing sunglasses and Hawaiian shirts, sitting in the front two seats of a red Cabrio. Behind them were a bunch of cars and mopeds yelling.
Thomas waved me over, “Let’s go man these people are crazy!”
I looked for a door handle to get into the back seat, but couldn’t find any, I guessed you would need to flip the front seat up to get into the back.

“No time for that just hop in,” Thomas yelled again.

So I threw my backpack on one seat, swung my leg over the side, and fell onto the other. While I was still trying to get up and sit down properly, Chris already hit the gas and off we went.

The wind was in my face and my head was pounding with adrenaline. I leaned forward and asked Thomas for some water, but he just handed me a can of Jacki-Cola seeing that this was my only option for liquid I cracked it open and took a sip.

Chris turned the Radio up and with Reageton playing we were driving through the city and past the airport until we finally saw the beach. At least a dozen container ships, the size of two shopping malls were sitting in the water. Sleeping giants at the end of their journey.

We took a break in a small town by the beach and sat down in hard plastic chairs outside the restaurant. Chris and Thomas drank beer and I ordered Paella for the three of us. They told stories about old friends from school. I couldn’t care less and just stared into the waves.

They discussed which one of them should keep driving. I told them that I didn’t have a license and they decided that it was Thomas’ turn. I was starting to get an uneasy feeling about the whole thing.

But only when we arrived in Valencia did I consider the problem of not having any place to sleep. I didn’t want to burden my new friends with staying in their already small hotel room. I knew one or two people here, but no one I wanted to call this late into the evening and ask for help.

Chris had the great idea of just going to a bar to ‘chat up a few cuties’ and maybe I could just spend the night at a girl’s place.
That plan had a few too many unknown factors for me, but I didn’t want to worry too much about finding a place to stay now. I knew a cheap hostel and if I needed a roof over my head I could just go there, or I could sleep in the car, I was sure something would work out. There is a certain traveler’s luck that one starts to trust in these kinds of situations and it hadn’t let me down in the past.

So we headed to Russafa, a quarter of Valencia where I knew a few bars and nightclubs. Up to that point I had already seen Chris and Thomas drink a lot. But the sheer volume of liquid consumed in the bar surpassed everything I had seen so far. To speed up the process they each ordered two beers at a time. We were their favorite customers that night.
Their voices got louder and the sentences lost their meaning.

I was in the middle of two stories. When Chris took a sip from his beer and was quiet for just a second, Thomas jumped in continuing his story, only to be interrupted again by Chris when he took a break to drink. It was a wild back and forth, with me completely lost in the middle. The way they were slurring their speech and repeating “You know, You know?” I had no idea what either story was about, I just kept nodding along.
The waitress brought another four beers and both stopped for a moment to stare at her. It all happened so fast, first I heard her scream, and then I noticed Chris’ hand between her legs. She spilled the drinks, a glass shattered on the floor and I jumped up. As fast as it had started it was already over. Someone had mopped up the glass, the waitress disappeared behind a door and the guys told me to get another round of drinks since the waitress was ‘useless’ and I just complied.
Putting one foot in front of the other, I made my way through the crowd.

Leaning on the bar I waited for the bartender, looking at the bottles on the shelf. Next to me was an old gentleman sitting at the bar. He raised his beer bottle, smiled at me, and went back to staring into nothing, deep in thought. I observed him from the corner of my eye.
I ordered four beers and a Cava. I was about to turn around when I got interrupted.

“What are you even doing with those guys?”, the old man said to me in perfect German.
I was shocked and couldn’t reply.
“Can I give you some advice?”
I just nodded.
“Just leave the drinks and get out of here. Nothing good will happen here tonight.”
“Just like that? Not say goodbye?” “Yeah”, he nodded slowly, “just like that.”

I stood there for a few more breaths, the drinks cold in my hands. Then I put them back down and walked to the door, grabbing my backpack on the way out. I headed straight for the train station, not a single thought crossing my mind.

I bought a ticket for the last train back to Barcelona, sat down on a bench on the platform, and stared at the sunset.

Barcelona, 22th of May 2025