It has been eight years since I was in Europe, and as I prepare for a Spring trip to Spain, I reflect on my dozen other trips to the continent over the last 40 years. I feel fortunate to have made my first trip in my 20’s and have always encouraged young people to get there in any way possible. After a trip to Europe, you will walk into a Target and think you have died and gone to heaven. Not that the shopping in Vienna and Paris wasn’t a wonderful and elegant experience, but I remember blowing my hair dryer out in Monte Carlo and going to what looked like a 1940’s hardware store to get a replacement. I had two to choose from, and both were pretty expensive by American standards.
I’m sure things have changed over the years as they have here but even when in Ireland 8 years ago, consumerism was still a 1960’s experience versus the super Wallmarts, Super Targets and discount houses that have all but choked out the single proprietors. A purchase was a personal transaction without the hurry or the confusion of 683 choices. Clothes generally are not crammed onto racks and shopkeepers are likely to be there the next day or even the next week if you have a problem. I get this feeling in the States whenever I shop at Whole Foods, which is rare because of the price. I get the sense from both the WF customers and the workers there that they are willing to pay a little more to create this type lifestyle. My daughter-in-law calls it “Whole Paycheck.”
During our visit in the early 1990’s, Vienna a major metropolitan city allowed shops and banks to be open one Saturday a month and nothing was open on Sundays. They were contemplating opening 7 days a week, and all I could think was don’t do it. You will lose those leisurely Sundays with everyone in the parks and families getting together like we did in the 1950s. I can remember when our children started working in their teens that was the end of family dinners. Also during our visit in the early 1990s just after the Berlin Wall came down, there were no chains in Eastern Europe, however I have been told that has since changed and the golden arches and Kentucky Fried can be found on every corner.
We had spent a whole month in Europe that trip, two weeks in the east and two weeks in the west and came home contemplating a move to Vienna or Switzerland because of the attractive quality of life. We loved the way the Europeans enjoy their meals as an experience and regularly take up to a month on holiday (vacation), in general it’s a slower pace of life with a sense of community and history. I remember there were no diet or fat-free products available, and even after a month of eating real butter, real milk, ice cream, pastries, bread and soda, I had not gained a pound. We ate slower and because everything was natural, we filled up faster and became satisfied. Also there were no TVs in our lodging choices so there was no snacking all evening and we had to walk everywhere.
Not that everything was perfect, there was no chiropractor available in Vienna during August because of holidays and scare access to ice so I struggled in pain and was happy to pay a little more for an American-type hotel in Innsbruck Switzerland in order to have access to an ice machine. Also no laundromat in Poland meant I washed our things out by hand until I could get to Vienna. We drove hundreds of miles to pick up dental supplies in Berlin only to find out they would not release them on a Saturday without a customs agent who would be in on Monday. It was exasperating. After 1 hour of pleading and persuasion, we left the custom counter with no materials. My husband fumed the rest of the day over it. However less TV and more sidewalk cafes and concerts, more walking, conserving water and eating real food made up for it. Plus the best part was visiting with the people in each country and learning about their traditions and culture. It was fascinating. I remember riding the ferry in Denmark and learning they had 23 political parties at the time. It meant their voter turnout was around 90% because everyone thought their voice would be heard. None of this American gridlock, it was rule by consensus.
Of all the European countries we have visited, Ireland and Poland stand out as the friendliest to Americans. It actually became embarrassing to be talking American in a restaurant and have strangers approach and thank you for being there or wanting to shake your hand for all America does. I know this has changed as our image across the world has taken quite a beating in the last few years. I guess I can put up with a little cold shoulder as long as there are no terrorist attacks. So I am looking forward to our trip to Spain, Malaga on the south east tip of the country banked by mountains and the Mediterranean. In fact, it’s only a ferry ride from Morocco however I’ve been told they ask for your passport when entering the country and hold it until you depart. In this social environment, I’ve decided I’ll pass and catch that country on video.
Guess I’m not as adventuresome today as I was in the 1970s. I can remember being in Madrid in the 1980s where we were stopped on the street and surrounded by guards with machine guns at 11 p.m. I was very glad to have my passport handy. Another time on a Russian train, some young men looking like kids from Westside Story entered our sleeper car with forms demanding we declare our cash available. My eight weeks of Polish instruction got me by with the Czech-speaking staff, however not enough to get out of declaring our cash. I had read before that trip with all the new money flowing into the once Communist countries that you had better be able to account for all your cash going into and out of the country so thought it best to comply. I had also read that you could be thrown in jail at the time for some American magazines like Playboy and even Cosmopolitan so we left those at home. On another trip to Mexico, I didn’t think I would get out of the country because I didn’t have enough money to pay the exit fee which I knew nothing about. Luckily a gentlemen from Minnesota overheard the problem and kindly lent me the $15 so I could leave. My step-son living in San Diego had talked about his buddies who had been put in the Mexican jails while working in Tijuana, I knew it was no place I wanted to experience.
Malaga, Spain should be beautiful. The town is banked by mountains on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. Both Granada and Seville look like short day-trips away and with the wonderful train system throughout Europe I don’t anticipate any problems. Everyone says get a car and drive but we generally enjoy the train because again it’s a great chance to meet the locals and learn about the culture. So, I’m brushing up on my Spanish, cooking Paella, and reading the Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett along with literature about the Picasso Museum there and the Alhambra in Granada nearby. I’ve never regretted taking a trip not even the bad ones. So I’ll pack my bags and enjoy while my wanderlust and health are still intact.