First Impressions of the Continent: Three Things They Never Tell You in Guide Books
After a tumultuous journey on a part-filled ferry, the weary but excited traveler finally launches himself upon the Continent, devouring every sight he can possibly manage. And the trusty (and excessively massive) travel guidebook has certainly not failed me when I am deciding on what route and sights to take in at every destination. But as I mentioned so many times before, traveling is a human experience, and the feelings and attitudes behind the sights to be visited tops the list of definitive memories. And after three days and four countries, the traveler would like to share a few impressions not found in the travel guides...
(1) Red Light Districts are highly over-rated, really. The establishment has been a matter of imagination for people everywhere, especially in certain parts of Asia where the practice is, eh, a bit more "discreet." Watching scantily clad girls moving about behind a window under a red light in some narrow alleys, really, is amusing only for about ten minutes, especially considering how the girls featured must "cater to every taste" out there. In other words, some of the girls moving about, seriously, can get some people pretty nauseous just by looking at them.
And because the Red Light Districts have advertised themselves so well, the "forbidden," "off-limits" exotic atmosphere of the Districts are simply gone. The famed De Wallen in Amsterdam is right in between major shopping streets, so that entire families with kids somehow get through the red light-filled alleys. The Repperbahn in Hambug, the biggest in Europe, seem to become more and more catered to casual tourist traffic with benign night-markets along with out-of-place Chinese restaurants. The openness of the Districts to practically everyone means the excitement of tourists trying to visually fulfill their sexual stimulation, well, just have to take a backseat for the sake of the locals trying to make money in every way possible.
(2) Hmmm, should do I feel guilty speaking English? While the travel guide always recommend learning local phrases and refrain from the thought that "every local should know English," unfortunately (or fortunately), "everyone knowing English" seems to be the case in the Low Countries and Scandinavia (so far). Sure, locals will speak to anyone in local language first, but if the response is in English, they, no matter age, gender, or ethic background, will switch into perfectly fluent English. They can even curse in the most native-sounding way, as I found out from the girls in De Wallen when I attempted to take pictures.
While it is evident that English is the global language and that English education in this part of the world is simply flawless, it is still a bit discomforting for the foreign traveler to just pretend there is no language barrier. Sure, communication is no problem, but the mechanical use of English,rather than genuinely trying to speak a broken version of the local languages, perhaps, takes away so much possibility of intimacy and heart-to-heart communication with locals. Every local loves a foreigner attempting to culturally immerse himself...maybe the foreigners should try a bit harder...
(3) Europe is a playground for conspicuous high-rollers, or maybe people are just used to high prices. The travel guide never mentioned anything about how public toilets on the Continent cost money. And unbelievably enough, with so few publicly marked toilets, and very very few toilets available inside mostly hole-in-the-wall cafes, coffee shops, bars, and neighborhood restaurants, even guys line up to cough up 50 cents to pee. The scariest and most mind-boggling part of all this is that every local I talked seemed to be completely matter-of-fact about paying such a hefty fee for what I would consider a "entitled human right."
Thankfully, Europe is civilized enough that no one goes around peeing in the streets (Done that way too much in China, the US, and even the UK). Europe is even more "civilized" that in certain parts, people get charged for unavoidable food containers (30 cents for plastic bottles in Germany, for instance) and they can only choose from very good cars if not taking the convenient public transport (I am still amazed by the fact that EVERY SINGLE taxi running through the street in Copenhagen is a Mercedes-Benz by default).
Of course, the observations is only that of four incredibly wealthy, Germanic-speaking, well-connected Western European countries. As the trip continues to the East, such certain stereotypes will most likely go out the window in no time. But for now, what is certain is that the unparalleled architectural and scenic beauties of the region, and Europe as a whole, will not the most impressive, the "wow"-inducing memories. Instead, it is the truly distinctive thoughts and lessons learned from the intended and unintended interactions between the travelers and the locals that will be forever ingrained in the psyche.
(1) Red Light Districts are highly over-rated, really. The establishment has been a matter of imagination for people everywhere, especially in certain parts of Asia where the practice is, eh, a bit more "discreet." Watching scantily clad girls moving about behind a window under a red light in some narrow alleys, really, is amusing only for about ten minutes, especially considering how the girls featured must "cater to every taste" out there. In other words, some of the girls moving about, seriously, can get some people pretty nauseous just by looking at them.
And because the Red Light Districts have advertised themselves so well, the "forbidden," "off-limits" exotic atmosphere of the Districts are simply gone. The famed De Wallen in Amsterdam is right in between major shopping streets, so that entire families with kids somehow get through the red light-filled alleys. The Repperbahn in Hambug, the biggest in Europe, seem to become more and more catered to casual tourist traffic with benign night-markets along with out-of-place Chinese restaurants. The openness of the Districts to practically everyone means the excitement of tourists trying to visually fulfill their sexual stimulation, well, just have to take a backseat for the sake of the locals trying to make money in every way possible.
(2) Hmmm, should do I feel guilty speaking English? While the travel guide always recommend learning local phrases and refrain from the thought that "every local should know English," unfortunately (or fortunately), "everyone knowing English" seems to be the case in the Low Countries and Scandinavia (so far). Sure, locals will speak to anyone in local language first, but if the response is in English, they, no matter age, gender, or ethic background, will switch into perfectly fluent English. They can even curse in the most native-sounding way, as I found out from the girls in De Wallen when I attempted to take pictures.
While it is evident that English is the global language and that English education in this part of the world is simply flawless, it is still a bit discomforting for the foreign traveler to just pretend there is no language barrier. Sure, communication is no problem, but the mechanical use of English,rather than genuinely trying to speak a broken version of the local languages, perhaps, takes away so much possibility of intimacy and heart-to-heart communication with locals. Every local loves a foreigner attempting to culturally immerse himself...maybe the foreigners should try a bit harder...
(3) Europe is a playground for conspicuous high-rollers, or maybe people are just used to high prices. The travel guide never mentioned anything about how public toilets on the Continent cost money. And unbelievably enough, with so few publicly marked toilets, and very very few toilets available inside mostly hole-in-the-wall cafes, coffee shops, bars, and neighborhood restaurants, even guys line up to cough up 50 cents to pee. The scariest and most mind-boggling part of all this is that every local I talked seemed to be completely matter-of-fact about paying such a hefty fee for what I would consider a "entitled human right."
Thankfully, Europe is civilized enough that no one goes around peeing in the streets (Done that way too much in China, the US, and even the UK). Europe is even more "civilized" that in certain parts, people get charged for unavoidable food containers (30 cents for plastic bottles in Germany, for instance) and they can only choose from very good cars if not taking the convenient public transport (I am still amazed by the fact that EVERY SINGLE taxi running through the street in Copenhagen is a Mercedes-Benz by default).
Of course, the observations is only that of four incredibly wealthy, Germanic-speaking, well-connected Western European countries. As the trip continues to the East, such certain stereotypes will most likely go out the window in no time. But for now, what is certain is that the unparalleled architectural and scenic beauties of the region, and Europe as a whole, will not the most impressive, the "wow"-inducing memories. Instead, it is the truly distinctive thoughts and lessons learned from the intended and unintended interactions between the travelers and the locals that will be forever ingrained in the psyche.
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