Who says you can’t come home again? Certainly not our dogs. They were ecstatic to have us home, it was bittersweet for the humans in the equation. Moreso for my wife, who got to spend the better part of two weeks with one of her best friends from college.
We got a glimpse into their daily lives, met their friends and family and enjoyed their hospitality for a very long time. I understand the havoc that two adults living under your roof for two weeks. Even when they try to be unobtrusive. So that graciousness was and will not be lost on me. Marina tired of me thanking her for it, but she didn’t know that I was basically fulfilling one of my life dreams.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway was his first novel, drawn from his real life experience as an ex-pat and is still considered one of his landmark achievements. A story that also inspired a dream in me. To be an ex-pat, talking philosophy and politics with other like minded souls, day drunk and going to a bullfight. Okay, take out the bullfight and even the running of the bulls. But the rest, well, I got to live out a bit of that fantasy.
How little or how much isn’t really mine to say, some stories aren’t mine to tell which is a marked difference from Hemingway. It is easy to see why he was such a difficult person to be in any kind of relationship with. Still, I went trick or treating with a group of ex-pats on our first real night there. I talked politics with locals, got day drunk, sampled local delicacies and experienced a wide swath of Western European culture.
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit for me was how pervasive American culture is. Lots of jokes abound about the absence of American culture and yet I saw Spider-Man with regularity. Comic book shops sold Marvel, DC and Shonen Jump, very little in the way of European works. The ambient music was overwhelmingly American everywhere we went. I heard “Bad to the Bone” outside of a kid’s movie for the first time in decades. Punks in Belgium go to Fest too, just once in a lifetime.
I intend to write a lot this week, I’m going to strive for at least once a day, to make up for the past two weeks. But also to debrief myself and those that care to follow me as I unwind my brain. If only vacation were as simple as show up, have a good time, come home and show off our pretty trinkets. I would care less for that. A return home giving me space for introspection is the greatest reward travel provides me. A broad overview on my time over the last two weeks with gaps to be filled in (including videos and pictures!) soon. I also leave for San Francisco on Sunday for a week. It is almost like I’m working again.
I never knew how much I would appreciate the prevalence of public toilets until I was a middle aged man in a foreign country that charges two euros to use one. Consumer goods in America are rock bottom pricing, despite necessities being paywalled. I’d take that trade in a heartbeat, give me universal healthcare if I have to pay an extra five euros for a board game. The increase in pay will cover that anyway.
Pricing in restaurants was more affordable once you add taxes and tips on top of the price. Fast Food Restaurants were actually cheaper than what you’ll pay in the US for a comparable meal, at least they were at the one Burger King we stopped into. They also had better options for vegetarians and the staff was compensated reasonably well. The idea that we can’t in America gets blown out in other countries. We got a burger combo and another burger for the price of a single meal in the US.
Other oft bemoaned failures of the US were on full display. Walkability of cities and the ease of public transportation meant I walked 76 miles over 14 days, including two days of mostly sitting in airplanes/airports. I averaged over 5 miles a day just existing. The one time we had to take a car meant we were stuck in traffic and had to deal with stress that was non-existent when walking or taking the tram. Retailer seems to be an actual job there and people weren’t plagued by the need to add on unnecessary profit drivers at the expense of customer satisfaction. What a novel idea!
Full disclosure, I had intended to do a breakdown every couple of days in Europe. I never had time, for better and worse. I did bring home a rather unpleasant souvenir, a case of food poisoning that plagued me the entire trip home. I feel human again. I did miss my dogs and my bed. I also miss Europe, though. Adrianne and I have discussed at length a five year plan to move there.
I’ll be breaking out my favorite photos and videos here, with corresponding details that I did not provide on TikTok, Facebook or Instagram here. If you’re more of a draw your own conclusions person, you can see videos and some pictures on Instagram and photo collages on TikTok.
It should go a little something like this -
Tomorrow: Brussels
Thursday: Mechelen, Antwerp and Ghent
Friday: Amsterdam and the Return
For now, I’m going to enjoy my creature comforts.