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Published: October 21st 2005
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Volume 1 & 3
I split my book into 3 volumes for the trip, so that I could more easily carry it around (cargo pocket size). At some point, I lost volume 2 when I was most of the way through it. I guess the middle of the story isn't THAT important right? :) (Posted October 21st by Kim)
This page has some highlights of the cultural differences both Joe and I noticed on our trip. Remember, we were in 4 different countries and even different parts of countries have different cultures, so we were faced with a lot of differences in a short amount of time, but that was half the fun!
One of the first things is that we were relying on public transportation the whole time. We were on trains, subways, trams, buses, bicycles, and on foot. The Europeans definitely do a MUCH better job of providing a complete transportation system where you don’t have to have a car to get around. Munich probably has the best and most complete system of transportation with subways, trains, buses, trams, and bicycle paths. In general Italy’s system was less complete, with trains being older and everything much more crowded. Also, in Italy you have to find a café that sells cigarettes to buy a bus ticket since those shops are the only places that sell bus tickets. That can be a problem early in the morning or in the evening when those shops are closed. I personally loved being able to relax
Bye!
Thanks for reading our blog! See you next trip! on train when traveling from place to place, and the seats are much more comfortable and efficient than airplanes- no luggage that has to be checked in or scanned, just hop on a train and find a place to put your bag. Many days our feet were killing us from all the walking and standing by the end of the day, but I think I lost a few pounds on the trip and definitely felt like I was in better shape.
An odd cultural difference is that when you pay for things you don’t hand your money to the cashier- you set it on the counter, usually on a small plate or tray reserved for that, and they put your change there as well. Also, the Euro bills are different sizes depending on the denomination, with larger bills actually being larger than the US money, so European wallets are actually bigger to accommodate them. You also end up carrying around more coins since one euro and two euro are coins rather than bills.
One frustrating part about traveling that we had to get used to is that you don’t get anything for free- not even water. Rome was
One last picture of Lucy
She was happy to have us home and kept me company while writing the travelblog one of the only places that actually had water fountains. I couldn’t believe that the train stations didn’t have water fountains, and you had to pay to use the restroom even at the train station too. Sometimes we had to buy something at a café just to be able to use a restroom. There’s no free water at restaurants, and drinks in general are pricey there, so we often just ordered a liter of natural water or Fanta and split it between the 4 of us. Oh, and in case you don’t know if you order water you’ll likely end up with sparkling mineral water, which I personally don’t like at all, so you have to be careful to specify “naturale” to get the spring water we’re used to. They’re labeling requirements on mineral water require them to actually list the mineral amounts in the water like magnesium, iron, etc and the ph balance. Most of the water we bought didn’t taste right to Wilson and he figured out it was too “basic” and was happy to get more acidic water in the Netherlands. Also, there’s no ice in drinks, and we heard it’s because Europeans think ice gives you bad teeth. That’s why we were so happy to have a coke over ice at Hard Rock Café with free refills while we were in Rome!
Overall the food was very good on the trip and I enjoyed what I ate even though it was different from what I was used to. However, portions overall were much smaller and the amount of meat especially in pasta meals was considerably less than what we’re used to in the states. I always had plenty to eat, though, and really enjoyed it.
We found a couple interesting things at the grocery store. First off, you have to pay for the plastic or paper sacks to put your groceries in! They’re about 50 euro cents each. Also, in Switzerland there was no fresh meat in the grocery store, only prepared meat items like schnitzel and sausange. I guess you’re supposed to go to a butcher for raw meat. You also weigh and print your own labels for fruit and vegetables that they just scan at the register. I think that’s probably a much more efficient way of doing it.
People in general don’t say “excuse me” in Germany, and Tanya said there’s not even words in German for excuse me. It’s just assumed on public transportation that you’ll bump into each other and have to push your way out at times. It took me a couple days to adjust to the fact that people around me didn’t speak my language and get that into my head, and also to stop saying excuse me!
Traveling with everything in a backpack was pretty cool (until it was time to do laundry, that is). It was nice to not be "overpacked" for once. The only bad part about backpacks and our fast pace was that we were constantly unpacking and repacking since everything stuffs into the main part from the top. Suitcases are definitely a little easier to manage since you unzip the whole thing for a nice big view of what's inside. It was a great way to travel on the trains, though.
Overall during the trip the different places didn’t feel that “foreign” to me, though. I was amazed at how quickly we could adapt to most things while traveling. There were definitely a few times Joe and I got homesick but not very often. We owe so much of that to our “travel guides” Tanya and Wilson. We would have felt so much more lost without them translating for us and giving us help on some of the cultural differences and how to act. They also made it possible for us to do all these things because they were able to suggest the cool things to do in each town and show us how to get there instead of spending lots of time trying to figure out where we were and how to get where we wanted inside the towns we visited. They had an amazing amount of patience with us “newbies” in European travel, and we had such a great time with them. Thanks Tanya & Wilson!!
Finally, one great thing about the trip I learned was to trust God. We would come into town without a place to stay for the night and God took care of us every single time. I learned to pray for simple things and not really worry about 2 days in the future because we didn't even have the lodging for that day taken care of and we didn't know for sure where we would be in 2 days. It was a new thing for me to travel and experience God's blessing in that way, and He really took care of us! This was an awesome trip and I'm so thankful Joe and I got to experience this. Thanks for all the prayers and interest in our trip, and I hope the blogs have been fun!
-Kim
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Tanya
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Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your adventures. I enjoyed reading and viewing every bit of it.I am reminded of how much I enjoy traveling and appreciate those that share their traveling experiences with me. Welcome Home! I know Lucy missed you!