deja vu

you know those moments when you can picture something really clearly in your mind? like, out of nowhere, suddenly you can see it. where it's so close and so real, it's almost like you were JUST there. not just like a photograph, but like a 3 dimensional memory in your head.

right now i'm in vienna. and not just anywhere in vienna, but on the walk from the schoenbrunn underground stop to the palace gates. up the elevator and on the sidewalk crossing the street where the sketch artist set up her work. and walking along the tall, thick palace walls in 100+ degree weather toward the gates. maybe for the palace tour. maybe the tiergarden (zoo). or a trip to the schwimmbadd (pool).

i visited there several times in 2003 (including during the transportation strike/repairs when karen and i got lost and walked the entire length of the palace and then some to get home). and i made a day and a half stop in vienna in 2005, and visited schoenbrunn briefly for a walk around the grounds. but i'm sitting at work and i swear, out of nowhere, i was there again. i can see it in 3D. the artist. the trees. the walls. the cars. the street. the elevator. why now? and why this image? of so many amazing things i saw in vienna, i picture this little portion of a walk i made maybe 5 or 6 times in my whole life.

memory is weird. but it's these little images of places like vienna and prague that remind me i built temporary homes away from home. far far away. and those were some of the best months of my life. and i hope there are more european summers in my future. i miss it. if i close my eyes, i'm still there...