Sam's Eurotrip

I’ve meant to make note of when people have recognized my NC State patch on my pack but have somehow overlooked it so far. Here are the three most distinct instances as of now:

1. Train from Munich to Fussen: We had been sitting one seat apart from a couple traveling to Fussen with us as we made our way to see the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, not having said anything to them the whole way. When we were getting up to get off the train I had my pack on with my back to them and I heard, “Did you go to NC State?” Sure enough the two of them had graduated in ’08 and ’09 (I think) and were traveling through northern and central Europe for part of the summer. We chatted for a while before they headed to their hostel in the city and we headed to the castles. It was my first such encounter and I thought it was pretty neat!

2. Information office in Menaggio: On our second day in Menaggio on Lake Como we were in the Info. office in the main square when a large tourist bus pulled up and let out a bunch of passengers. One woman came into the office and must have noticed my pack, breaking out in a southern drawl and once again asking us if we’d gone to State. Her name was Leslie and she’d graduated in ’07; she was traveling through Italy, only in Lake Como for one day – how lucky we ran into each other!

3. Checking into the Barcelona hostel: Waiting to check in a tall, African American guy said something to his friends about NC State. I turned and asked him about it and he said he’d lived in Durham for about seven years, though he now lived in California.