So, we are on our way home now. I'm typing this over the Atlantic at approximately 38,000 feet. We are sad to go, but look forward to the things about home that we miss. At the top of the list is precious, precious water. Germany, Italy, and France are not third world nations, but "a tap with clean water" is a tall (sometimes too tall) order there. We look forward to eating out in Eugene and getting ice water automatically, for FREE (not 4.40 euro, with carbonation, per 0.75 liters).We also miss breakfast, real breakfast. I'm told that the 'continent' in 'continental breakfast' comes from Europe being referred to as 'the continent'. Still, I've seen more substantial continental breakfast at the Motel 6. We never did quite come across regular style bacon. The eggs were always a gamble, and we were usually just left to some rather bland cereals (corn flakes), and nearly always warm milk and yogurt.
Air... clean air. Again, I'm told that these are not third world nations, but clean air is certainly a luxury across Europe. Even during our picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, someone did their best to create a disgusting atmosphere by lighting up just a few feet away. I can't count how many times we would find a bench or place to sit somewhere in Venice with some food and then someone next to us would light up and we would either have to move, or be sick.
Supermarkets. I miss the supermarkets of the US. Any market in Europe is tiny and has no selection. They have one, maybe two brands of anything, and you have to go to the pharmacy to get advil or tums (which they don't have).
Air conditioning. Maybe it's the fact that electricity is 50 cents per killowatt hour, but Europeans don't like to buy or run their air conditioning. It's not that their just used to it, we saw many of them sweating bullets and being otherwise uncomfortable. What I never understood was that in the boats in Venice and most of the train and subway cars, you can't open the windows, or not more than a crack. If they'd just make them openable, things would have been much more comfortable.
Lines... I noticed this in past trips, Europeans (I think British excluded) have no respect for lines. They prefer to push and shove their grandmothers to get to the head of the queue.
Ok, enough complaining. We just wanted to make it clear that there are things we miss about the USA, besides our homes, friends, family, etc. We should also mention that there are many things that we prefer about Europe compared to the US. First, public transport is far beyond anything I've seen in the US. The Metro makes Paris extremely accessible (why do people bother with cars at all there?), and Dresden has a great set of tramlines (kind of like light rail). Of course, gas is $7-9 a gallon there.
Trains... European trains rock, they seriously rock. Smooth, quiet, fast, clean, and no stupid security lines or other crap you have to deal with at the airport. You just walk on, and walk off (oh no, but their so insecure! I feel so much safer on a plane after everyone has put their 3oz bottles in a ziplock!)
It's not hard to find good bread, cheese, pizza, chocolate, and crepes in Europe. They put more effort into making food right, rather than making it cheaply/efficiently. The bread has no preservatives and is rock hard in less than a day, but when you get it fresh, it's simply amazing.
More great things about European cities: Fantastic architecture, even just regular buildings. You look at just about any street in Paris and compare it to most streets in the US and you could just cry. It's like the ones in the US were built to be demolished in 20 years. Buildings in the US are just a tad too 'functional.'
Anyway, enough ranting. We had a fantastic trip, and it will be great to be back!
Thanks for reading the blog, Here is the pictures page, for those who missed it. More posts will come later upon further travels.
"There is never any ending to Paris..." A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Tschüs, arrivederci, and au revoir!
