To Avoid At All Costs…………… Photo by Arthur Serating

For the last month, as Lights were dimmed on this Blog, they were shining brightly elsewhere. These past thirty days, I’ve had the opportunity to visit seven European countries. Two, France and Germany, are old and familiar friends.  The others, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria ( post-Communist Central Europe ), are, for me, new kids on my block.

Foreign travel is not for Sissies, as I reminded myself every day.  Flying Solo, as I did, adds yet another layer to an international adventure. And, to my mind, a worthwhile one. Whether this was a “vacation”, “educational experience”, “trip-of-a-lifetime”  or  “challenging slog” – take your pick – it was not a trip to the beach or a walk in the park.

In my travels, I:

1. flew on seven airplanes;
2. drove my rental car over 1,000 Kilometers (621 miles);
3. negotiated repair of same rental car (dead battery) in French;
   

   Rental Car Broken, Mechanic Speaks no English, I Practice my French

4. survived one bus/truck crash (I was a passenger in the bus);
5. stayed in ten different locations;
6. needed five different currencies;
7. climbed hundreds of stairs;
8. spent $250 American dollars on laundry service at the Warsaw Bristol Hotel (filed under “Lessons Learned”);
9. enjoyed the hospitality and generosity of old friends and made many new ones;
10. saw, as I journeyed through these countries and their histories, Mankind at its best, and, at its most vile.

Old Friends, Jean, Kent and Ardyth, plotting the route in France

New Friends, Cruising on the Danube in Budapest Photo by Arthue Serating

During my next seven Posts, I will be writing about my personal experience with each of these seven countries. Don’t expect a Travelogue. There will be no Slideshow.  No List of Top Ten Sites to Visit.  Just some reflections of these places as viewed through American eyes.

Acknowledging Breast Cancer Month Worldwide, Vienna Photo by Arthur Serating

Teens are Jeans are Teens, Worldwide Photo by Arthue Serating

Usually, when flying, I try not to engage in conversation with my seat mate. Since I’ve been in a plane crash, I’m a bit afraid, actually, a lot afraid. I don’t want to chat. I just tighten my seatbelt, clamp my Bose Noise-Canceling Earphones on my head, and pray to God for “calm air, no bumps.” However, on my first leg, a five-hour flight to Chicago, my headgear lost out to Mr. 5A , a professional motivational speaker. Unfortunately, I was 5B.  He motivated me for the entire trip and, obviously feeling I had potential, gifted me, at the end of the journey, with his autographed book.

Here’s the thing, he earned the Best-Tip-of-the-Trip Award.

“Do you worry?” he asked me, about two hours and a few bumps into the trip.

“Look at me,” I responded. “Look at these wrinkles. Do I LOOK like I worry?”

“I knew it,” he replied happily. “I can help you with that. It’s simple.”

He went on to explain that most people worry about things that really never come to fruition.  He suggested that 95% of the things we worry about actually never happen. (Personally, I question that number.  Many of the things I worry about I should be worrying about.)

“So, let’s just pick a time for you to worry,” he continued. “I’d say a good time for you is Thursday from 4pm to 7pm. Every time you start to worry about something, just park it in that Thursday slot and forget it until then. By the time Thursday rolls around, you’ll have forgotten most of them anyway.”

Brilliant. I’ve been re-born as a new un-Worrying Woman. Occupied, Thursday, 4pm-7pm.