Bucket List: The Great Plane Ride

Back in the summer of 2012, I had the wonderful chance to join WAM (Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music) on a European tour. We had visited 7 countries in about 16 days. I could brag that I am well-travelled, but I am not. I did not get much of a worldly experience because almost every day was already pre-planned or I was travelling with the WAM group. Needless to say, travelling to Europe was an experience I would never forget and is something I would love to do again.

Along with my then girlfriend, now wife, we were mainly either stuck on a tour bus, going on tours of cathedrals and castles or performing in a band and choir. We did not have much time to explore and I cannot blame the program for organizing it this way because we were with a group of about 100-150 high schoolers/recent graduates. We got to stay in nice hotels and eat some local cuisine, although they tended to change their menu a bit when they saw all the Americans. Even when we crashed a town festival, the band changed the music to the only American music they knew how to play. Can you imagine the song “Great Ball of Fire” played on accordion, saxophone and tuba?

Personally, the most memorable places were Crans-Montana, Switzerland and Rothenberg, Germany.  The whole trip was great, but these two places had captured my heart. Up first is Crans-Montana. We stayed way up on the mountain-side where we could see for miles. It was just beautiful, even when it had rained I could appreciate the view. What really got me was dawn and dusk. The morning fog rolling down the mountain into the ravine-like valleys made it seemed like you were looking at a sun rise from the heavens. The setting sun cast a magnificent orange glow over the mountains, slowly descending and revealing the hidden world above. The stars illuminated the night sky in ways I have not seen in the USA. The feeling of being in Switzerland felt similar to being home in Wisconsin. It was comforting.

Next up was the interesting town of Rothenberg, Germany. My first suggestion is to go to a local shop and get the fruit. I had the most delectable, juicy strawberry I have ever tasted. I would go back just for that. The town itself was odd to me, being an American, because the entry to the town was not very accommodating to vehicles, like it was trying to prevent average to larger sized vehicles from getting in. I do not blame motorists from trying to get in because the inner-roads were like cobble-stone. However, we did see small, three-wheeled, single-person vehicles zooming around. The shops we visited we adorable and didn’t seem to slow down in business. Our favorites were the teddy bear shop and the year-round Christmas shop. Oh and did I mention this quaint town had a samurai shop and a Pain and Torture Museum? The town was odd, but I loved every minute of it.

Learning the customs for many different places was also a fun challenge. Luckily, I learned from everyone else’s mistakes while in Europe. My favorite memory about the varying customs was when an American girl was counting her money on the table in France and all of a sudden the waiter came and took what was on the table. She was flabbergasted because we had not even gotten our food. She was irate, but could not ask for the money back because of the language barrier and she was too embarrassed to ask. Learning the different customs and how life is different from the typical American lifestyle helped open my eyes into the different views of others. From that I learned I cannot assume what I am doing is ok with everyone else. Stepping back and seeing the 100+ student/grads become typical American tourists was definitely funny and also annoying.

All-in-all, I dream of travelling back to Europe and experiencing it all over again with my new family. I would love to add a few places to my itinerary though, such as Ireland, Denmark and Sweden (the home of some of my ancestors). I am hoping to one day contact my lost family in Sweden and visit them. It may be awkward, but would be memorable.

Do you have any travel tips, suggestions or stories? Leave a comment below.

 

 

 

 

 

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