Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Europeans are forever thankful for America's role in freeing them from Nazi tyranny.
I have European friends six or eight years older than me, born in the late 1940s, named
Frankie and Johnny because their parents were so inspired by the greatness of the Amer-
icans they met who came to liberate them from the Nazis.
Europeans are inclined to like Americans. But if there is a negative aspect to their im-
age of us, it's that we are loud, wasteful, ethnocentric, too informal (which can seem dis-
respectful), and a bit naive. Think about the rationale behind seemingly strange European
ways. For instance, many Italian hoteliers turn off the heat in spring and don't turn on the
air-conditioning until summer. The point is to conserve energy, and it's mandated by the
Italian government. You could complain about being cold or hot…or bring a sweater in
winter, and in summer, be prepared to sweat a little like everyone else. While Europeans
look bemusedly at some of our Yankee excesses—and worriedly at others—they nearly
always afford us individual travelers all the warmth we deserve.
