Oct 29th, Back Home

Bank home!
            We feel a little disorganized and disoriented, but happy to be back. We’ll take our time getting everything put away, picking up our routines, and settling in.
            We can take a moment to think about some of the experiences that were unexpected in small ways, things that make you feel the differences in being home in the USA, or away. For instance, it was impossible to find zip-lock plastic bags! We had a supply with us, for carrying liquids or small toiletries, but when we wanted some, we looked high and low in grocery stores, five-and-dime stores, hardware stores, everywhere and anywhere, with no luck.
            The types of medications that are available are confusing. Acetaminophen, or Tylenol, isn’t sold in most of Europe as far as we could tell. A person needs a prescription for simple hydrocortisone cream. As we packed, I felt a little OCD for bringing a whole sack of our usual vitamins, with extra calcium and vitamin D, but I could have used even more. When we ran out, we found out that simple multivitamins cost about $1 each, or more than thirty dollars for a month’s supply. The pharmacies are much more like holistic medicine centers, with all kinds of homeopathic remedies and herbal supplements. They also sell lots of high-end skin care products. But typically, if you need any kind of medicine, even just cough syrup or aspirin, you have to ask the pharmacist. These things are not available on the shelves for self-service.
            It was fun to see dogs showing up in unusual (for us) places. Chihuahuas in shoulder bags, hounds on the bus, a terrier sleeping under a café table. Usually dogs were welcome pretty much everywhere, with muzzles and leashes required in most cases. The dogs were all well-behaved, too, something we couldn’t say for many of the dogs we encounter on our hikes in the States. Not that we blame the dogs.
            The apartments we stayed in, mostly in Italy, were secured like bank vaults with steel doors, quadruple-lock bolts, steel braces and locked gates. It certainly felt secure, but also made us think about what was the need behind the hyper security.
            Almost all of the restaurant menus would include a vegetarian option, although that was occasionally ham and cheese.
            When we started planning our trip, we felt that we’d be in an environment different from what we’ve experienced before not so much because we’d be in new countries, but because we’ve never spent as much time travelling through major cities. We’re in the national capitals, not the backcountry. So much of the travel advise one encounters emphasizes the big-city dangers of scam artists, pick-pockets, kidnappers, untrustworthy cab drivers, dangerous side streets, bogus offers for rooms or tours, gangs of gypsy thieves, children begging while they steal your wallet, political unrest erupting into riots, anger towards Americans in general. We experienced exactly none of it.
            The people we met were, in every case, delighted to learn that we were Americans, and so pleased that we were taking a trip through their country. We saw Roma people many times, usually with several children with them. Sometimes they were selling small items, or begging, or working, but they were never harassing or threatening to anyone. We walked all over the cities we stayed in, many times off the main streets, sometimes into the less affluent or less populated parts of the city (although we were never lost because Bob has his maps, of course.) If anyone approached us, it was to inquire if we needed directions. On a crowded metro train, a stranger tapped Bob on the shoulder and advised him to keep his bag in front of him where he could keep it secure.
            Often, people at home would express concern about us going into Eastern Europe, especially Bosnia and Serbia, since the war seems so current. We didn’t have much more information about those countries beyond the news of their awful wars. We found the cities to be modern, safe, and full of interesting and cosmopolitan people. The history of the region is complex and palpable, from the Middle Ages to the present. There are unresolved issues there, well beyond the scope of our experience, but, again, we were welcomed warmly and treated with great hospitality in every encounter.