A Year in The World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller

A College Professor turned writer.  This book is about a woman and her husband both tenured college professors who decide to leave their positions and travel for a year using Tuscany as her home base.  It just so happens that aside from this book, the author has written others so I guess my thought of leaving my position to wander around Europe and write a book and oh yea have it published is a bit of a stretch having never written nor had a book published. 

So the book is really not a travel book in the true sense of the word.  She definitely is no Rick Steves or Foder or Frommer.  These are travel books that fall into the category of how to travel book.  Hers is more a journal where she shares her experiences as she visits the various cities and countries.  She is definitely writing from a teacher’s prospective because she describes the actual location or points of interest but she writes about the history of the places and things she visits.

Many of my friends have heard me talk about taking a year and living in Europe.  I like experiencing more than travelling.  What I mean is while I like to explore new places, I would really rather immerse myself in the place not try to see a million things in 10 days. Let me see if I can clarify my statement.

Shortly before our marriage my soon to be husband received transfer orders to Germany to work at the 97^th General Hospital in Germany. We were jumping for joy, at least I was because this is something I had dreamed about.  So we moved to Frankfurt.  Unlike many of the other military folks we met, we were not afraid to venture out even in the first days of us being there.  I remember going on the U-bahn to the Zeil (the downtown shopping area) and just being overwhelmed (in a very good way) by the sights and sounds of the pedestrian traffic.  We discovered that street vendors sold hot dogs in a little tiny bun with a hole so that the hot dog sat in the hole like a popsicle.  No mustard mind you, ketchup.  I was in love since ketchup is a food group in my book.  We than found Kaufhof, the department store which had so many neat things and a wonderful gourmet food market that carried so many new and wonderful treats.  Oh and then there was Tshibos and Educhios, coffee shops where you went to the counter ordered a coffee in a ceramic cup and drank it there.  Starbucks was not realty yet. Did I mention the Christmas markets, they were glorious! They are best at night when it is dark and the lights on the booths start to twinkle and you can smell the Gluhwein ( a sweet red wine served hot) which for my wine buddies is a must.

I can remember being in Luxembourg, in a restaurant and sitting next to this Elegant looking couple who in the span of five minutes went from talking in French to German and then switched to English when they heard us talking and started asking us a few questions. And then there was this Bed and Breakfast we found in Piding, Germany that was roughly 20 km north of Salzburg. We seemed to end up here when we felt like decompressing.  Our host, after we returned the second time gave us the most beuatiful room with an ederdown that literally enveloped you when you lay in bed.  Its warmth and softness ensured that we had the most restful night of sleep ever.  And who needed an alarm clock when there was a cow outside your window.  These visits are where I fell in love with Salzburg.  I felt such an affinity to the city.  Perhaps is is becuase my mother's family is from Austria.  We wandered through the streets to discover amazing wonders and one of the things I still have in my house is a carving of an old man's face made by this man we discovered off the beaten path.

I can go on and on but I think you see where I am coming from.  While the Louvre is a must see in Paris, there are so many things to do and experience that are not in your guide books but which you can only really experience if you have the time to experience the culture.  You really don't get this opportunity unless you live there for awhile.

The book is an interesting perspective on travelling although this couple is actually “living” in Europe but spending their days seeing all of the amazing sites in a foreign country without the rush of having to catch a flight back to the states way to soon.  Dare I dream that I can do this as well? I do hope so!