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“It’s a small world and Frankfurt is a village”, many people here say. When a street fair or some other bigger event takes place in Frankfurt, then I can be sure to meet someone, who I know. Although I really do not know hundreds of people. It does not only happen to me. At a comedian’s performance in the full Frankfurt stadium, only two rows in front of us, my friend discovered one of his buddies who he had not seen in months. On the way home, a friend met an old classmate, who had gotten married in the meantime. A few days ago, as I was on the way to a brunch with friends, I experienced a very special form of this coincidental reunion.

With me, an older woman, around 70 years old, stepped into the almost empty bus. I sat down in one of those spots in a four-seated area, where another older woman sat across from me. After the first older lady had bought her ticket, she sat herself next to the second older woman. The first older woman placed her bag on her lap, in order to put her ticket into her wallet. After a short glance over to the left of her towards the other older woman, she saw that both had the exact same bag made out of material with horses embroided on it. “A lovely bag you have there”, she said chuckled to the other.

A conversation developed naturally: where they bought the bag, where their way was heading, where they lived in Frankfurt. Only three stops further on, they discovered their joint past: they went to the same school. And if that was not enough of coincidence – they even had math class together. More than 50 years later they were not sitting in the same class room, but in the same bus. With a loud, heartfelt laughter about this coincidence, both of the ladies got off the next stop and walked to the next bakery to grab some coffee together.

I went on for two more stops, until I left the bus. With a smile and thoughts about what the two ladies would be talking about now. Several jobs, passed romances, developed families and almost forgotton memories. It’s a small world…full of wonderful encounters.