Alex's encounter with the woman in Bratislava

Alex's flirtation with the woman he met in a bar in Bratislava is a symbol of his tendency to channel his feelings of sadness into women. When he meets this particular woman, he is depressed about his visit not providing him with the closure he imagined he would feel or the knowledge of what to do next with his life. Disappointed and under the influence of alcohol, he approaches a random woman in a bar and kisses her, then asks her to return with him to his hotel. She declines. It is this same tendency that causes Alex to sleep with Lydia in the aftermath of Zachary's death.