My trip is over — or rather, this one is and there's about four weeks until the next one — and I find I can sum up my thoughts better in listicle form. What I love about traveling is it's so intellectually stimulating, with each city and country like a puzzle you have to figure out; and the faster you can sort of solve it, the sooner you can enjoy the results of your efforts.
Poland: A really highly underrated country. As bad as the Canadian dollar is, it's like diamond-laced gold in comparison to the Polish zloty and for less than a toonie (5 zloty, $1.70), you can buy a SIM card. Doner shops are incredibly popular in Łódź and if you do your research, there's an awesome, if hard-to-find, Polish restaurant in Krakow's Old Town called "U Babci Maliny". Krakow also has a wicked music scene: the one night I was there, I went to an underground music club where the listeners are so stern-faced, they don't clap after a song, and an upscale piano jazz bar with lots of red velvet. Plus, Polish people are incredibly nice and helpful and love to use their English, and if make the effort of learning a handful of Polish words, their faces absolutely light up.
Sweden: Stockholm is like the ultimate hipster city. There's dedicated room for cyclists on sidewalks, art on highways and the sides of highways, art that's been so well integrated into the city it's just part of the everyday fabric, and a fascinating mix of old architecture and modern innovation. Swedes can speak flawless English while still retaining neat, musical accents, and they dress stylishly yet comfortably for the weather.
Norway: I have never seen so many people carrying skis around in Oslo as I have anywhere else. Seriously, it's like coffee drinkers in New York except with skis and boots. Norwegians look sturdy and hardy, with men sporting full, long beards and the women having frames that could stand upright in gale-force winds. They can also speak perfect English, but their accents, instead of being light and musical like Swedes, have a toughness to them that speaks of winter nights under the moonlight in rural cabins. Funnily enough, if you go 1,800km north, Norwegians brighten up considerably. Perhaps it's a defence against the sun-less winters?
England: No matter which way the tide goes, Englanders know enough to just dip their heads down and get ready for a slog. They've seen enough that they know whatever's happening now will eventually be over in favour of something else, and that getting through anything is a matter of patience and forethought. But it also seems like Englanders, in comparison to other parts of the world, need to just sometimes keep their heads up and forge through instead of riding the tide.
Netherlands: I haven't seen other cities in Amsterdam other than Eindhoven (briefly) and Amsterdam, so I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that Amsterdam is the epitome of fun. There's a certain recklessness to it that makes wandering its streets intoxicating, even if you know the clock will eventually strike midnight. But until that happens, you may as well explore another alley, canal and cafe.
Italy: Ooh, I haven't met quite a country that's so simultaneously vexed and charmed me. I learned the hard way that if you want the average Italian to tell you anything, you have to be incredibly specific about the information you want. I also learned (but this went more with my high-speed nature) that you don't wait for a space to appear, you forge ahead and tell others you've just made your own space and that they should respect it. Also, if you drink your coffee with milk or sugar, this is the country to stop that in. Hardly anyone does it and you'll stick out, and Italian coffee is good enough on its own. Oh, and the only words you truly need to get by are "pizza, caffè e crostatine, per favore. Questo è tutto". As long as you recognize there's a definite "Italian way" of doing things and you don't try and swim against the tide, you'll be fine.
Switzerland: I've heard that the Swiss are remarkably good at speaking English, but I think I just hit the wrong spots. I was batting less than .500 and knew that something was off when I asked two different people to take my picture, and they had really funny looks on their faces. But other than that, Switzerland's a naturally beautiful and rugged country with lots of funky art hidden around, so keep an eye out.
France: Most French people are nice in initial interactions, but you'll occasionally encounter a handful who cling to the old-world idea that being snotty is the way to go. Counter it with your own dose of snottiness, and you'll remarkably earn a bit of respect. If you mutter "merde" or "putain" on the metro, they'll think you're a lifelong Parisian. There's also rich Paris and not-rich Paris and while the former is more aesthetically beautiful, the latter is far more vibrant and exciting.
Northern Ireland: There's been a lot of tension there for the last several hundred years and it was only in the last few that things started to become calmer, a lot calmer. One of the ways this has taken hold is with art and murals and sculptures around the cities, but it still can't hide its gritty, bleak past. It's a fascinating study into the bright and dark juxtaposition that a city — pick Derry or Belfast, whichever you'd like — can possess and how, with its past, it's still quite hesitant to shrug it off and leap into the future. The Northern Irish are incredibly nice and welcoming, but talk to them about where they live, and hesitation and caution appear in their eyes.
Next: airport rankings. There's one that ranks so far at the bottom, I'm not sure what can lift it up.
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