Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
who's window-shopped a magazine kiosk, gone to a beach or park on a sunny day, or
channel-surfed broadcast TV late at night.
Thinking through my recent travels, I recall many examples of Europe's different at-
titudes about sex: My Dutch friends had, on their coffee table, a graphic government-pro-
duced magazine promoting safe sex. I was sitting on the toilet at an airport in Poland and
the cleaning lady asked me to lift my legs so she could sweep. I learned that I can meas-
ure the romantic appeal of scenic pull-outs along Italy's Amalfi Coast drive by how many
used condoms litter the asphalt. Soap ads on huge billboards overlooking major city inter-
sections in Belgium show lathered-up breasts. The logo of a German travel publisher is a
traveler on a tropical-paradise islet leaning up against its only palm tree, hands behind his
head, reading a topic that's supported by his erect penis. Preschoolers play naked in foun-
tains in Norway. A busty porn star is elected to parliament in Italy. Copper-toned grand-
mothers in the south of France have no tan lines. The student tourist center in Copenhagen
