In September 2018 Steve took a solo trip to Europe. I drove Mazda 3 to Chicago O’Hare airport, and then took a Norwegian 787 to London Gatwick. The flight was pleasant but I couldn’t find my credit and debit cards which were packed in my suitcase. I was relieved upon finding them after landing.
I stayed in Brighton on the south English coast. I went to a pub and enjoyed more hospitality than I ever remember. One local had made fresh fried chicken and brought it into the pub to share with everyone. Another guy insisted that he buy me a shot of Tuaca, an Italian liqueur that all newcomers to Brighton must try. A couple invited me to go on a pub crawl with them, which I was too tired to join.
My only transportation on the trip besides flights was walking and taking trains or subways. It was much easier than driving. Touring a few sites daily I usually walked about 7 miles.
The real estate in Brighton was super high with a nice home running 1 million pounds. I then took the EuroStar train from London to Brussels. It is odd to board the train. You enter a high-volume TSA like operation. You exit the UK and enter France with your passport in the London St. Pancras station. I boarded the wrong coach and had to scramble to get to my proper seat 5 coaches away. The chunnel transit was very quick and the French countryside is beautiful with farms and villages. The train would go up to 185 mph. Entering Brussels wasn’t too impressive, as it looked run down. I then boarded a Thalys train that had apologies for poor cleanliness posted in 4 languages. I changed trains in Amsterdam to a local train to get me to Haarlem.
I should have gotten Euros before arriving. A grocery store would only take Dutch credit cards, and the ATM didn’t work. Luckily I found another ATM that did. Fortunately, the Dutch people all spoke English, except for some older gents in a bar I visited.
In Amsterdam I visited the Rijksmuseum that contains paintings from the Dutch masters. I walked next to the canals, and went to the Dutch Resistance museum. The Germans killed 100,000 of 107,000 Dutch Jews. The Germans stole their church bells to meltdown for metal, a time-honored European tradition. The Dutch tried to be neutral, but Germans invaded in 1941 and were nice at first. Then they confiscated all the Dutch vehicles and things got oppressive very quickly.
I found the pay WC (toilets) in the train stations to be inconvenient. You need exact change and there are turnstiles. I took a train to Zandvoort racing circuit to get a ride in a race car. It was a Renault Clio 225hp 1.6 turbo which pulled about 1.5 G’s in the corners. It was exciting as other cars were practicing on the track.
I saw some palm trees on the Nord Zee (Amsterdam Beach) just like in England. Later I took a train from Haarlem to Amsterdam Sloterdijk and went to “old Holland” at Zaanse Schans. I saw windmills and beautiful ceramic tiles in a museum. I helped some dock workers from China to get on the right train. They had been on the boat and working for 20 days straight and were ready to party.
The Dutch tend to be tall and blonde and a good number of women are very pretty. The college students were young and full of energy. The Dutch smile a lot when they greet each other. It was very refreshing to see such happy people. They ride bicycles everywhere without helmets and they pop babies in little baskets or seats. Bicycles work so well because it is flat and there are no hills. Some old gents wearing suits ride bikes and smoke cigs while riding.
I went to the Bulldog Energy Cafe and bought 4 J’s for 16 euros. I smoked about half of one and worked my way back to Amsterdam Centraal station for a train trip back to Haarlem. I accidentally walked into the red light district where there were nude hookers showing off to onlookers.
I was then bound for Munich and should have arrived at 6:30pm well in advance of the 9:30pm cutoff. But I transferred to the wrong train in Cologne. I was on the right platform, but didn’t notice the wrong train number, and ended up headed for Aachen instead of Munich. I spent about 4 hours talking to a nice Deutsche Bahnhof conductor named Martin with the help of Google Translate. He makes high energy rock videos and told me about the destructive marder animals that chew up car wiring. I showed up to the manged apartment 30 minutes late and the girl rolled her eyes at me and barely let me in. It was also hard to find in the dark and I was pretty stressed out by the long day of train travel. Total time in trains was 11 hours and I had some dizziness that stayed for a week.
You can buy good beer in a grocery store for 37 euro cents a pint. They put a warning on the can that you must be age 16 or older. Munich had a cool transportation museum that had all kinds of old German cars, buses, trains, and motorcycles. They had an Auto Union grand prix car, a Wartburg, Trabant, and a classic Citroen Traction Avant.
I visited BMW Welt and the BMW Museum which has a great collection. I saw the 1972 Olympic stadium with cloudy acrylic panels.
There was a gypsy girl who sat by the front door to the apartment begging. There was an Islamic rights march at the Marienplatz that looked totally out of place. I walked through the Turkish part of Munich where everybody has hookah pipes outside. It felt very safe.
Schwarzfahren is “black travel”, or riding a train without a ticket. Get caught and the fine is 60 euros. But otherwise, you are on the honor system which I can’t see working in the US. There are no turnstiles or ticket checks. I saw the Schloss Nymphenberg palace and walked through gorgeous residential areas.
I went to the English Garden and there were a few sunbathers but nobody was completely nude. I sat by the Chinese Tower beer garden and had a 1/2 liter Hofbrau weissbier.
I took an EasyJet from Munich back to London Gatwick. It was much faster and cheaper than trains. I stayed at the Victorian Hotel Brook. The proprietor told me to take a double-decker bus to Piccadilly Circus and I was able to get a seat on the top level right in front so I had a great view. The hotel had a private garden in back and served a good English breakfast. I went to the British Museum and took a Thames commuter boat to Greenwich to see the Martitime Museum. Passed right under London Bridge.
It felt good to be back in an English speaking country. I got by OK in Germany but had some awkward moments. Sometimes you get inspired and motivated by travel. But in returning I just wanted to take it easy and play a little tennis. Returning to work at the State the days were super long and boring. After two weeks I headed for St. Louis for my 40th high school reunion.