Travels with a Humble Narcissist

They gather outside in small groups as smoking is no longer allowed inside restaurants in France. Puffing on their thin cigarettes, both customers and cafe workers gather amongst themselves to chat and pass a lighter. The bitter acidic smell is terrible if you have to walk through it or sit too close. In the U.S.,…

Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juno These are the code names of the 5 landing beaches of the D-Day invasion. My whole life, I have seen the maps showing arrows of which Division hit which beach. The same maps show the slow progress of the Normandy campaign. It’s all very static. That is until you…

Louis XIV of France called himself the Sun King. Center of the Universe thing. Seriously. During his long reign, he built Versailles, put one of his grandsons on the Spanish throne, and had more illegitimate children than legitimate ones. The Palace of Versailles is everything you have read or heard about, plus much more. Opulent,…

The register constantly beeps. Is it a cafe? Is it a convenience store? Is it a betting parlor? What is it? Paris seems so elegant and sophisticated. Genteel and refined. Of course, they would have a store I don’t understand. Cigarettes. Beep. Lottery tickets. Beep. Coffee. Beep. One older retired guy comes into buy scratch-off…

I have never once ordered a bottle of sparkling water at a restaurant in the United States. I am not sure what they would do if I did. Why would I? In America, humongous glasses of ice-filled tap water are presented to you when you sit down. Free of charge. Unlimited refills. No questions. Not…

Honestly, you can’t swing a dead cat anywhere in Europe and not hit a magnificent cathedral. And it’s not just the big cities but even small towns and villages that often host beautiful churches as well as a cathedral. Stretching to the sky, they dwarf the surrounding buildings. They occupy the center of the most…

The humidity is low. The shade is cool. An outdoor table beckons. There is an accordion playing somewhere in the distance. “Wine?” I ask. “Oui, bien sûr, Monsieur,” he answers. Technically, I am simply helping local businesses by buying (well. . . drinking) locally-made products. Whatever I need to do to justify it to myself…

“Is this it?” she asks. “I’m not sure,” I respond. Our train to Offenburg leaves at 9:41. Our connecting train was delayed coming into the station, so we literally had a couple of minutes to grab our packs, disembark, and find our next train. The trains (usually) leave on time in Germany, so there is…

It’s not as big as I thought. I’m not sure how big I thought it would be, but definitely . . . I don’t know. . . bigger. The Brandenburg Gate drips with important symbolism. In many ways, it is Berlin. The gate was built by the Prussians, expropriated by the Nazis, sealed off by…

When I travel overseas, I like going to the laundromat. Beyond the obviousness of it being a place to do your wash much cheaper than any hotel laundry service (1 pair of socks – 5€ – wtf?), you also meet the most interesting people. Today, for example, I met a couple from Australia there. They…