Epilogue

I'm back. After 20 countries and 40 cities, I'm back in America. Whew.

Many people have asked me many questions about my trip: where were your favourite places, what cities did you like the best, what kind of food did you eat, etc. And while I think I can point to answers for these types of questions, I don't know if there will ever be a way I feel that can accurately describe everything I saw and did, in any way that would do it justice. I mean, I went to forty cities in twenty countries. That's alot. But since they are legitimate questions, here are some answers.

CITIES
Favourite cities? My top five, in no particular order: Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, and Copenhagen. Although Paris was my favourite, I'd have to say. It's so gorgeous, and so full of rich history, and so BIG. There are so many things to do there, and even just sitting in a cafe sipping a caffe seems like a day's worth of experiences right there.

FOOD
I ate some pretty great food- and also some not so great food. In London I had Marmite, which is a salty beef spread applied to buttered toast. Ugh. "Salty Beef Spread". I think that says it all. I smelled, but never tried, it's Australia vegetarian cousin, Vegemite. Yuck. In Scotland I had Haggis, which despite it being made from basically sheep's lungs, liver, and whatever is left of the animal after all the good stuff is cut off, wasn't that bad. In Paris I had escargot (snails), and they were de-licous. Mmm. Spain was nothing but tasty tapas- small, appetizer-sized sandwiches, or just various varieties of ham and cheese. I had some amazing fresh sardines in Portugal too. Any fish in a seaside country is gonna be great.

Let's see, what else: the sausages and potatoes in Munich were hearty and tasty. Italy had great pasta, but even greater gelato. I must have had gelato at least once a day for two weeks. So good. I'm sure there were many more delicacies in many countries, but seeing as I was on a backpacker's budget, I probably frequented more grocery stores than restaurants. In fact, I know I did. Baguettes were my best friend. Chocolates- the best cities for these were Bruges and Brussels (both in Belgium). Although pretty much all over Europe, every legitimate grocery store had a wide selection of great chocolates.

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Like I said, I think it will be almost impossible to reflect on the whole trip at once: I think it will come back to me in spurts and at random times. Already I am remembering random things from certain cities that I had kind of forgotten about.

Many people have asked if I would do it again, either this exact trip, or a backpack like this again somewhere. The answer is yes and no. I would definitely backpack again- it's pretty great. Just the freedom of picking up and going wherever you like. But I don't think I would do 4 months again. It was a bit much. I really enjoyed the cities I traveled to in the last three weeks though- (Stockholm, Paris, London), but after three months of lugging around the backpack, and wearing the same clothes for that long, I was ready to come home.

During the trip, I actually was thinking of future trips I could take, to other parts of the world. Mainly because I met so many travelers from different countries (Australians). I also think I would return to Europe someday, on a shorter trip, and stay longer in certain cities, instead of backpack through so many at once.

Being back home now for a week or so has been...well...a mixture of things. It was immediately great to not have to have to carry a backpack, buy small amounts of food just for that day, and most of all, not to have to wait on public transportation. Public transportation is pretty great, but as an American whose used to the freedom of getting in my car and driving wherever I want to, it was so amazing to just get into my car and drive down the street. Simple pleasures.

Although I was glad to return to a place where everyone spoke English, didn't have to carry a backpack, and (finally) was able to see some familiar faces, entering back into American culture after four months in Europe was a little peculiar. It's reverse culture shock. Shopping at Costco after four months of buying bread and cheese at small corner grocery marts. Talking on my cell phone again. Eating larger portions of food. Not having to ask for internet access or search websites for lodging at an internet cafe. American life is all stuff I remember, but not what I'd been used to for four months. So it's still taking a bit of getting used to.

But even though I'm glad to be back, I'm so grateful that I was able to take this trip. God really provided in so many ways, ways I never could have imagined. From logistical ways, in terms of providing lodging and transportation, to the personal times when I was just walking around by myself, thinking and praying about life. And I really do feel like I understand a bit more about the world now, and how different cultures really are. However, I did discover that no matter how different certain cultures may seem, people are generally the same wherever you go. People usually want and pursue the same things in life - and even though the language, food, and customs were different, I discovered that we're all more alike than we are different.

And, as an added bonus, it's even more exciting than usual this year to watch the Olympics- I know where most of those countries are now!

Thanks to all my friends and family who followed along. It was so great to sign on to write this blog in every city, and see that people were reading and enjoying my trip. I know that everyone's lives are so busy, so I really appreciated people keeping up on my solo trip throughout Europe. It really was the trip of a lifetime, and I will continue to remember and reflect on it for many moments to come.

Until the next big trip- Ciao!

Brian