I come from about the smallest towns in small town America as you can find. Last known population-189..And that was before I left. When I left in late 1969, the last place I saw myself in were the capitals of Europe or standing on the shores of both the Mediterranean or the Aegean sea. 6 years living in Europe thanks to Uncle Sam. But, thanks to my career field, I, for the lack of a better word, had it made. So much so that I couldn't wait until I could request re-assignment back to Europe, first to Germany and then to Italy.
Unlike the United States, you didn't have to travel more than an hour to see dozens of towns that had a rich history, in some cases dating back to the Romans and even before. People living in houses that date back to the 14th and 15th century, ultra-modern inside, but still having the half-timber exterior we first learned of in childhood fairy tales. All countries in Europe held on the their past with a passion, They weren't a throw away society. The charm and beauty, not to mention cleanliness surpasses us in so many ways. Look through the pictures and you will not see one piece of litter. I didn't see the homeless sleeping in the street. Rarely did I hear a police car, siren blaring, heading to a homicide. Sadly, that may be changing. Germany especially, still has the stigma of the Holocaust and because of that, they became a haven for radical Muslims, because Germany didn't want to be seen as intolerant of any ethnic group, and Muslims are having far more children than Germans so the next generation or two could see a Muslim majority population. The same with France and, to some degree, Italy.
But I digress. Most of the memories have been stored in a shoebox as there was no need to rehash the past, but one day, about a year ago, I started scanning them into my computer and each one brought back an interesting moment, at least for me, of a time so very long ago. I began printing them out and sending them to a very dear friend back home. Her husband and my father had both been in Europe in her darkest hour, he a medic and my father a tank commander who was lucky to have survived both the first wave of D-Day and the Bulge. Their memories of Europe were far different than mine. I realized that it would take the kings ransom to print everything so I sent them out on DVD, backed by music..and some basic production techniques. It was my attempt to honor them and the 15 million others who destroyed a country, then let it rebuild itself into it's own image. And my pride was in seeing the result of that sacrifice.
I had planned to retire in Germany, but our government decided to stop protecting the dollar and it's now worth about 25 percent of what it was when I left so that plan went out the window. There are still a lot of tourists heading across the pond and paying far more for just the basics than I did "back in the day". That's sad because now the vacation di jour is a big piece of tin sailing the Caribbean and going to a beach that looks more or less like any other beach and eating 10 meals a day. The best vacation is getting a Eurail pass
and just go from town to town, each one unique unto itself. I guarantee it will be the vacation of a lifetime.
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