Travel thoughts

There are always lots of impressions after traveling, particularly when it's somewhere I haven't been before.

Germany - I love it. The people are friendly and always willing to help. Even when it's a foreigner with a dismal grasp of the language. Most of my time has been spent in the vicinities of Berlin, Essen and Frankfurt, so my impressions are limited to these areas and possibly to more urban people.

As always, the great outdoors seems green and lush with small little cars humming about the highways and byways. A smile, a chat, a helping hand and a pretty good grasp of English (mostly larger cities and people younger than 40).

Paris - the only major French city I've been in - this was a blast. The city is more of a treat of the senses. The first thing was the scents. It's an odd mix of different cultures and their foods and spices and as you move along the scent of flowers and trees waft across your path, followed by the smell of impending rain in the cool, crisp air.

The English-skills were very limited except for the touristy spots. I didn't spend too much time in tourist spots, so I was glad to enlist my quad-lingual cousin for the French duties at a restaurant.

Most of the places I went were very clean and had lots of foot traffic among the old buildings. Small streets, almost alleys, were sure ways to die, with either cars, scooters or even bicyclists coming through at extreme speeds. Yet, the flow of traffic seemed to be almost sentient in and of itself, and spending some time there would hopefully reveal the secret rhythm that is embedded in all French blood which allows them to navigate their cities with an ease that seems almost meditative to the scared witless foreigner.

I am very certain I will go back to both places for the experience. The food, the atmosphere, the people.  This is how memories are made.

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