Europe was a great experience. We went to a new city almost everyday, traveling through Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. There were many castles and old style villages. I could probably post 10 different entries about different parts of the trip, but I'm not sure where to start.
Here are some quick observations:
What I liked
1) History
Castles, medieval villages and art museums galore. This is why you go and this is why people keep going back. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is in itself worth a trip to the Netherlands. One castle is enough reason to see Heidelberg and Brugge was worth the side trip just to imagine what life must have been like circa 1300.
2) The Train system
The trains almost always arrive on time and when they are late they make it up before you reach your destination. The ride is much smoother than air travel and there is more leg room. Three hours on a train is much easier than three hours on a plane. Sit back, read a book and you arrive in no time.
3) Bike Riding
Most streets have bike paths or you are allowed to ride on the sidewalk. So many people ride bikes, especially in Holland. It's a great way to get around and good exercise.
4) Beer
The Pilsner has more of that bitter hops taste. I drank the same Heineken, Amstel, Grolsh and Becks available here. But I also tried the Belgian beer, Juliper, and German beers called Bitberger, & Konnigsbecher. Instead of Light beer, they have White Beer. I didn't really care for it because it tasted a little to sweet, especially compared to the lager that had that nice crisp bitterness. It was also nice that you could walk anywhere while drinking one.
5) Fewer subsidies for farmers
These governments must not be artificially boosting the prices of milk, because cheese is so inexpensive they eat it at every meal. Breakfast usually consisted of bread, cheese, lunch meat and cereal. You can buy 16 ounces of Brie for 75 cents. You could buy a big whole grain roll for 33 cents.
What I didn't like
1) German Food
It wasn’t bad tasting, but it got a bit tiring. Everything seems heavy. After beefsteak so many days in a row, I ordered Quiche and salad and the quiche came hot with heaviness not unlike chicken potpie. On the upside, the Belgian and Dutch food was good and authentic Italian could be had anywhere we went.
2) TV
Every hotel had CNN International, but that will practically put you to sleep. In fact, it doesn't even cover American news unless something big happens. I did learn about Strom Thurmond and Katharine Hepburn from CNN, and even a little about Liberia, but practically nothing else happening in America was covered. I was able to get a hold of USA Today twice and read some box scores, but it was impossible to follow baseball there. USA Today would print Sunday's Box Scores on Tuesday afternoon.
3) No Air conditioning in the room
Not one hotel had it. Opening the window meant that the partying Europeans would keep you awake for hours with their racket, even on a Tuesday Night. The upside was their late hours meant that they were never competition for the buffet breakfast the next morning.
4) Not speaking 7 different languages like Europeans
For the most part it didn't matter, but it was impossible renting a bike from the German kid who understood us no better than we understood him. It took five minutes and an interpreter to tell us that we needed to sign at the bottom.
5) Grey skies and spitting rain
I expected this in England, but a sunny day even in July was hard to come by. This was especially true in Holland. The Fourth of July there was a 50 Degree affair. I brought one turtle neck that got a lot of action.
6) The Service
You’ll have to chase them down for clean towels the second day in a hotel. And they never come back to your table when you are eating dinner. More water? A second beer? Dessert? The check? You’ll have to get their attention. They won’t follow-up on their own.
Conclusion
I learned a lot, but am happy to be home. I feel at home in London because the people are so nice and we speak a common language. Continental Europeans are not the same. They seem very indifferent about everything, trudging along and sharing very few laughs. No one was ever mean, but only a few seemed to be happy.
Being an American is truly a unique experience in the world. Being away from this country gives one even more love for it.
I'll some specific stories this week.
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