Before Sunrise or Finding French Sara in Berlin (A guest post by Vinnie)

Editors note: We challenge the twin powers of serendipity and social media to help Vinnie find his phone and Sara, the girl he met on a bus between Amsterdam and Berlin. Don’t make them wait another 10 years…

Before Sunrise (Reboot) The scene opens on a young American man, 21-years old, sitting in the Amsterdam bus terminal reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royal as the sun sets behind him. It’s 11p.m. The young man, we’ll call him Vinnie, walks to a bus destined for Berlin. He hands the bus driver his ticket and backpack and receives a seat number. As Vinnie’s about to get on the bus he sees a young French woman, 19-years old, struggling to roll her suitcase down the cobblestones to the same bus.

He runs over to help her carry the bag to the bus. She thanks him and, as she goes to the bus driver to receive her seat number, he enters the bus. Vinnie sits down at a window seat on the packed bus and continues to read Casino Royale.

He looks up from the book and sees the French woman entering the bus. She looks at her ticket and says “It looks like you’re stuck with me for the next nine hours”. He smiles and introduces himself; her name is Sara. She takes out her iPod and listens to music as the bus starts rolling. Vinnie continues to read Casino Royale.

Twenty minutes into the ride Sara notices the French words in the book and asks Vinnie if he can speak it. Vinnie says no and jokes that it’s a dying language. Sara teases about American ignorance and they launch into an hour-long talk about language.

Everyone on the bus is sleeping (or trying to sleep) but Vinnie and Sara talk to each other through the night. At 5 a.m. Sara asks Vinnie if she can rest her head on Vinnie. They both fall asleep for an hour. When Vinnie wakes up, his head is resting on Sara’s, who is still asleep in his arms. They’re holding hands.

He rustles her awake because the bus has stopped for a breakfast break. They get off the bus and share a croissant and promise to grab dinner or a drink at some point in Berlin. Sara’s phone is packed in her bag under the bus, so Vinnie types her phone number into his phone.

After they arrive at the bus terminal in Berlin, they part ways.

She goes off with two Portuguese friends waiting for her at the terminal; he goes to the packed subway to catch a train to his hostel. On the train, his phone is pick pocketed but he doesn’t realized this until he arrives at the hostel. Here’s the clincher…VINNIE CAN’T REMEMBER HER LAST NAME AND HE NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO FIND HER ON FACEBOOK!

Roll credits.

Editor’s note: Vinnie has moved on to Prague and Sara is now back in Paris. But we can help them reconnect! (And, maybe, we can find Vinnie’s phone too!) Here’s what we know, according to Vinnie, Sara enjoys singing and playing guitar on the squares in Paris. She is short and had thick brown hair with “like a gold ribbon or something in it”. She has an older brother. She speaks English, French and a little German. She likes classic rock music like Jimi Hendrix…

That is all we know. Still, we have faith. Ready, set, share!