In a rush to scarf a quick meal before going out on Tuesday, I found an Italian restaurant willing to rush a pizza order (take-away only). I ordered this along with an Aperol spritz, took my drink, found an unserviced oversized table occupied by one young boy, and sat on the edge of the bench.

The boy soon perked up and started throwing German words at me. Separately, a patron ~my age in the ordering line started throwing other German words. The waiter engaged with the patron. Pretty soon, alles was klar for everyone but me. I told the ~my age guy that I don’t understand Germany and he quickly softened, “ah, I just did not want you to think I was upset with you. I was merely inquiring into the current law!” The ~my age patron was this boy’s father. Apparently since this is not Bavaria, yes it is legally fine for me to sit with another family (#coronatimes). Yet still they continued to discuss the ok-ness of my occupying the bench while waiting for my pizza. 

At this point, a ~my age Austrian (let’s call him Walter) sitting alone at an otherwise empty table interjected: “or you could just sit here.” He was cute. I said yes. 

Walter seemed reserved and went back to reading. I was going to leave him alone. But midway through pulling out my iPad to work on my blog, I instead utilized a specialized ice-breaker technique developed by famous dating consultant Matt Hussey: I asked Walter what he was reading. 

My pizza to-go soon arrived, but I remained there and we chatted. Walter is from the countryside of Austria and has lived in Berlin for 13 years. He’s a director of eclectic musical and theatrical productions, and was reading a book about a region of Austria where he would be setting a new project. This I found very intriguing. I would have loved to learn more, but unfortunately the more I pried, I never unearthed enough chemistry to encourage meeting him again. He was timid and didn’t have great eye contact, and I didn’t feel a connection. I had to be somewhere soon (true excuse) so I had to make a quick judgment. After 15 minutes of conversation, I thanked him and politely parted. 

My friends often say I am very brave. But I am choosy about what acts of bravery I take; I scrutinize risks for safety or predictability. This for me was scary, because my intentions were exposed, and I had no idea what tangible outcome would result. So I’m very glad I did it, even if there wasn’t a spark. (Hence it counts for a 1/2-date!)