A dream come true
Recently I was given the opportunity to travel to Europe, a lifetime’s dream finally realized! One of our daughters and her family are in Germany for about 6 months while our son-in-law is deployed, and we decided that it was important to visit now in November, to retrieve our youngest daughter, Emma, as she had gone to help with our grandchildren for a time.
And so I boarded a plane bound for Iceland (seeing it from the air was enough for me-the landscape seemed eerily barren and strange), then another to Frankfurt, where I hopped a train (actually two) to meet my daughter and her family who were eagerly awaiting my arrival.
The necessities of travel
A note here about the famous European rail system, which for years I have heard so much about: the trains go everywhere you might like to travel and there are multiple to most destinations throughout the day. However, I was happy to have downloaded Google Translate onto my phone as there were very few signs in English, and surprisingly few people who spoke anything but German (and I’m not complaining-I was in Germany, where people speak German, and should not be expected to accommodate my American ignorance of the language). Yet the trains don’t necessarily arrive and depart on time, which can be highly problematic when making connections. My first train was ten minutes late arriving, thus I missed my connecting train. And so, after figuring out again what train I needed instead, I waited. For an hour. The second train arrived but seemed to have mechanical or electrical issues, and so we sat. And sat. The lights went out. We moved maybe a tenth of a mile, repeat. Eventually the lights stayed on and we were moving.
I arrived at my destination, family on the way, and quickly was reminded that I would need to utilize some of my Euros coinage in order to have access to the public restroom. And this brings me to my first noteworthy observation…
Anyone who travels throughout the US will understand the game of Russian Roulette one plays each time they stop for a bit of relief along America’s highways and byways.
Gleanings from my Trip to Europe Sometimes, with good planning, determination, fortitude, and perhaps luck, one finds a Bucee’s, a Sheetz, or even a McDonalds where there will be a reliably clean environment for necessary tasks (in my estimation, this is the only useful purpose of the latter example). Otherwise, it’s a total crapshoot. Not so in Europe!
I know this may seem a little “off”, but I could not help noting that everywhere I went, whether a pastry shop or an airport (or even an ancient fortress!), restrooms were spotless, private, and even attractive. This seems a very odd thing to note perhaps, but I do think American establishments could take notice: never once did I feel the “icks” when using a public restroom, and certainly did not mind having to pay for them as we often did (paid entrance to restrooms is very common). A couple were so lovely that I was tempted to take photos! It was continually, ah, a “relief “ not to feel creeped out, nor did I feel the necessity to smother myself in disinfectant. But alas, I digress…
A tidy environment
Beginning with the rails which wound throughout the German countryside, I could see that the landscape, villages and houses, farms and businesses of this beautiful country were very well cared for, groomed even, much to the eyes’ delight!
The woodlands were free of deadwood and brush, the roadsides lacked litter, there was no city sprawl between towns and villages, farms were tucked neatly on the edges of the villages, nearly every building of any kind was well maintained as were yards (tiny though most are, and used to their fullest capacity). And the streets not only were clean, mostly cobblestone save for the main and connecting roads, but there were also no homeless people, no beggars, no tent cities.
With the forests being clean there is little chance of wildfire. Farm land is cover cropped everywhere over winter, rather than leaving dead, bare ground. With none of the typical suburban sprawl we see in the US, there were instead walking paths from farm to farm and village to village. All without litter, homelessness, or any of these other common problems; there is instead great beauty, and human dignity.
Farming is localized, and cleaner than the US
Furthermore, while there are agricultural chemicals used in Europe, it is much less than the US, with some of what is used here being banned. But sadly, there are also many signs of a more conventional approach in process; I hope this progresses no further!
I would have preferred seeing cows out on pasture (most were in open-air barns with feed being brought to them), and excrement being hauled away to composting pits. Pasture-based agriculture is so much more clean, easier, less expensive, far more environmentally friendly, and produces superior foods!
It was, however, wonderful to be able to go directly to a village farm, put our Euros into a vending machine, and get fresh, unprocessed milk, yogurt, baked goods, or eggs. Strangely there is no vilifying of these products for causing illness or disease. How is it that in the US there are supposedly untold illnesses and deaths due to pathogens in raw milk, yet in countries that have free access to this super nutritious, God-Given food, there is none of this?! Hmm, maybe because there are no Dean Foods, etc…?
We did not see a lot of chickens or poultry, generally, on pasture; but we also didn’t see large industrialized chicken “factories” like we have here. Maybe there are some, but we saw none. What I did notice was that in many places, especially England, there were swine farms outdoors, on pasture, with individualized huts and runs, and there were many! So, not the same as actual pastured pigs (a la Polyface), but they weren’t in confined barns either. So, still better than US practices.
Groceries a bit different
Whether stopping at a local store in town, an Aldi, Lidl, or other chain in Germany, there were fewer convenience or packaged foods as compared to the US. And if you wanted to purchase meat, generally you went to the meat counter to get exactly what you wanted; there was much less pre-packaged cuts of meat. It’s nice to see meat be so fresh, and available to choose exactly what you want.
There was not a lot of soda on the shelf, nor fruit juices-a welcome change to what I’m used to seeing; it appeared as if sparkling and still waters were the most popular beverages, which is so much more healthful! I was fascinated that one could find a wide variety of European wine and beers available singularly, and at good prices.
Even the convenience stores had decent (even good) quality foods to choose from, and there were fresh pastry & coffee shops on every street with excellent, often organic, fresh baked goods which actually tasted good-not like sugar or corn syrup.
Wherever we went, there were always great choices to be found, and we ate very well indeed!
Europeans live a far more active lifestyle
Within the first days of arriving in Germany I started taking notice of one key thing: there was almost no obesity or obvious illness to be found-wow! Other than on the (American) military base, people appeared to be very healthy. Rather than driving cars everywhere, we noticed dozens-hundreds even-of bicycles, and pedestrians were everywhere.
Whether in a village or city, we saw people living active lifestyles and in seemingly good health. One morning I looked out the window of the house where we were staying in a quaint German village, and saw an elderly woman with a walker, trudging up the cobblestone street, undaunted by the cold and drizzle.
Driving towards one destination we noticed a large office building sitting on the edge of a village. The exterior walls were glass, and we noted that virtually all of the workspaces contained standing desks. No sitting around all day!
Traveling through the countryside, whether in Germany, Austria, or England, we also saw horseback riders, hikers, more bicycles-people move their bodies daily, with obvious benefits!
One more thing: there were few hospitals around. Ditto urgent cares clinics. Of course there are doctors offices and clinics in towns and cities, but it didn’t appear as if every town and city had its own hospital, nor huge medical complexes. Perhaps they just don’t require as many as we have here…
Take-aways
When comparing all of these observations with what we are accustomed to in the US, I think there is a lot to learn. Namely: fresh, clean foods, regular exercise (movement), and a clean environment go far to promote health and happiness. Americans, take notice! Within my own home we choose good health brought about with nutritious, God-given foods instead of processed, regular movement, and to surround ourselves with our Creator’s gift of nature’s beauty. Yet still, nothing brings about better health and wellness than a close and personal relationship with the One who provides all good gifts!
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt 6:33
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