England

Ugly Americans, We Seem To Be Everywhere!

May 10, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Everyone who has ever traveled international and many who have not, have heard the term ugly Americans. It comes from the way some of us act when we travel abroad. We are louder than most people, we are more outgoing, and many things that are not strange here stand out in other cultures.

I have traveled a lot internationally and I can tell you that while I am willing to admit that many of the things for which we are labeled ugly are merely cultural differences there is plenty that we need to change when we travel abroad. On the other hand, many times I have seen people behaving in ways that are not inherently American but are inherently ugly.

My first trip to Europe was in the summer of 1980. I spent eight weeks in Munich, Germany and one week in Oxford, England. In Munich we stayed in an apartment at Number 7 Hertzog-Wilhelm Strasse. It was right off the main entrance at Karl’s Platz, see my blog on Munich for a photograph of the entrance. I lived just a block and a half from there.

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A Day In Athens, Everything You Expect And More

May 6, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Athens, Greece is a beautiful city! It is filled with history and yet, in the midst of all that antiquity, thousands of people are living their everyday lives. The city seems to spread out forever with its white buildings piled almost on top of each other. A view from the Acropolis shows a 360° view of buildings virtually as far as the eye can see. This is a city filled with things to see, but you need a plan if you are going to get in as much as possible.

If you have a few days in Athens I would recommend that you get a seat on the double decker red tour bus. One ticket gives you access to most of the sites in Athens. You can hop on and hop off of the bus at any and every stop. There are buses constantly running, so you do not have to worry about getting stuck at a site.

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Safety, Always a Concern, Never an Issue

May 3, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Many people never travel abroad because of the fear of the unknown. I do not let that happen. I believe that, if we do our homework and take some easy precautions, we can avoid troubles while abroad and still enjoy traveling.

My family and I were living in Strasbourg, France on September 11, 2001. We sat in our apartment and watched the World Trade Center Towers come tumbling down. I knew that this one event would change how we travel for years to come if not forever. Tensions rose in Europe, as did anti-Semitism.

Not long after, we began to see refugees streaming into Europe unchecked, mostly from the most troubled areas of the Middle East. This changed the dynamic of Europe fairly drastically. And yet the world still spins on its axis.

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