Top 10 Things I Love About Europe
From the people to architecture, a list of my favorites
Jul 21, 2006
After spending the past couple of weeks on "vacation" in my home state of Idaho, dozens of people have asked me what I like best about living and traveling throughout Western Europe. From these conversations, I've realized that there are just so many aspects I love about my adventures in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, etc. that I've come up with a top 10 list.
1. Meeting people. In Idaho, one generally meets other Idahoans and then the occasional Californian who is sick of all the people in the Golden State. In Europe, however, you'll meet people from literally all over the world.
2. History. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love history. Yes, I'm a nerd, but I love learning about the people who have come before us. What would Versailles be without Marie Antoinette?
3. Architecture. The idea of buildings as works of art is pretty much lost on Pacific Northwesterners. In Europe, however, it's a major component to the cities.
4. Art. OK, again, maybe it's just that I grew up and lived in Idaho for my entire life, but traveling through Europe almost seemed like taking a semester of art history. My friends and I visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, the Matisse museum in Nice and various art museums in between.
5. Movie sets. So, this may seem like an odd one but there's just something about watching a movie and realizing, "hey, I've been there." My traveling buddy, Jules, and I were watching "From Hell" one night and realized that despite the movie being set entirely in England, one of the scenes was actually shot in a museum in Prague. And we'd been there. Too cool.
6. Different sports. I'm a sports fan. I admit it. I love American football ... and now I love what most of the rest of the world regards as football as well.
7. Culture. While it would be a stretch to say that Western Europeans cultures are drastically different from Americans, there are subtle differences and I love discovering them.
8. Public transportation. It may seem like an odd thing to love, but it's true. I love the fact that I can easily get around a town, country and even the continent via public transportation.
9. Other travelers. In addition to the locals you meet, other travelers offer insight, information and ideas beyond what you can get in a guidebook.
10. It's the little things. One of them is the refrigerator. But all joking aside, there are hundreds of tiny little details that are different and it's great fun discovering them one by one.
In the next couple of weeks, I'll go into each reason for loving Western Europe in more depth.
