Yes, the International Day of Peace is a real thing! I found that out at Marilyn Night Club. Sure, this event might be relevant for several reasons these days, but for me, it was all about inner peace. As soon as I walked through the door, a strange sense of calm washed over me. The bartender girl smiled at me, poured my usual drink, the music was playing pleasantly in the background, and on stage, there was a rather unique show going on – no white doves, of course, just lightly dressed dancers – but somehow, there was still something peaceful about it.
The usual Marilyn vibe was still there, only now people seemed to drink a little slower, laugh a little longer, and nobody was in a rush. It was like some kind of inner peace had really arrived.
Kati – the event organizer at Marilyn, who’s always coming up with some crazy ideas – said this time it was a kind of “soul wellness in the temple of the body.” I laughed at that, then she brought me a drink I’d never had before, but it fit the evening perfectly.
As I sat at my favourite spot by the bar, I started wondering: when was the last time I had an evening where I truly felt that “everything’s alright”? You know, that feeling when you’re not trying to save the world, not looking for flaws in yourself or others, not stressing about problems – just being. And then a memory flashed back – from around ’92.
Back then, Marilyn didn’t exist yet, but there was a small jazz bar on Margit Boulevard, where a few of us would gather in the evenings. There was a girl there – maybe Betti or Letti – and we’d been circling each other for weeks like cats around hot porridge. Betti wasn’t a classic beauty, but she had something. A kind of calm that made me not want to be anywhere else but beside her. One evening, we finally went down to the Danube riverbank. We brought a bottle of wine, a blanket, sat down, talked for a while, and then just stared at the water. And that was the first time – at 22 – that I felt what I’d now call inner peace.
It didn’t take money, a fancy car, or lots of women – just someone being there with you, without expecting anything in return. Of course, Betti went abroad after that, and I never saw her again, but that evening stayed with me, like an inner music box – one you open and instantly feel calm.
But back to the present – the peace night wasn’t over yet. Around midnight, a new group arrived – three Dutch guys and two girls. They were friendly, a bit loud, but in a good way. One of the dancers – who I swear can sense time-space shifts in guests’ heads – spotted them right away and started a table dance show. And what a show it was! The music was dreamy, her movements so slow, I almost fell into a trance myself. The Dutch were speechless. At the end, one of the girls just said: “This is art.”
And yes – that evening had it all: art, eroticism, peace, and that kind of human connection that seems to be slowly fading from our world.
Another dancer, whom I already knew, pulled me out of my thoughts. She’s a real ball of energy – always on the move, always laughing, always knowing when to lift the mood. She sat next to me and asked, “What’s this whole Zen vibe tonight?” Two minutes later, we were laughing about how we should start a course called “Learn to Flirt Peacefully.”
And maybe we really should. Because most guys carry so much tension that if a woman just smiles at them, they either fall in love instantly or run all the way home. Peace doesn’t mean doing nothing – it means doing things right: calmly, playfully, lightly. Just like the Marilyn girls do – they don’t push, they don’t rush, they’re just present. And that’s what turns an evening into an experience – not just an event.
At 2AM, I was still there – which is rare for me these days, since I usually leave places earlier. But that night, I wasn’t in a hurry. Don’t get me wrong, I like living alone – but this peaceful flow just carried me along. I watched the girls on stage, observed the guests coming and going, ran into a few familiar faces, and simply felt good.
So, kids, next time someone says it’s the International Day of Peace, don’t just post a dove sticker on Facebook. Go somewhere where you can find peace. Like Marilyn. Because here, you don’t just get what your eyes desire – sometimes, your soul gets a little something too.
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