I am new to this board and I hopped into the %26quot;weak dollar%26quot; post thinking to find some tips since the dollar is down. What a came away with was disappointment. But that is a chance you take when you choose to read.
I would like to share my thoughts, if I may, on why I LOVE to travel and where it leads me.
One of my favorite quotes is from (yes) a Rick Steves newsletter. He says when we visit Europe we should walk the streets %26quot;as a sponge - not a judge%26quot;. This has become a motto for me. I believe this works in all parts of my life.
I LOVE to visit new places and more importantly meet new people. If one person%26#39;s habits or beliefs are not as mine I consider why they believe or act the way they do and respect them for their opinions. I have the ability to walk away from what I find offensive and to cherish what I can learn from those who wish to share with me.
We are choosing to visit countries with different cultural beliefs and attitudes. Calling down one country over another is simply sad. We all have our high moments and our low times. We (as a country) have all made miserable mistakes and accomplished wonderful deeds!
I travel to experience new cultures, visit the past and be a witness to changing times! What a gift we have in travel! I find that if someone is frowning as you pass by, smile and say hello or good day to them. They will either look at you a bit shocked and keep going, smile in return, or even better, stop and ask you how you are and if you need assistance. It is amazing what a smile can do for others.
I LOVE to travel! I am so excited that I am getting the opportunity to experience Germany and other parts of Europe. I hope to bring home some wonderful memories of a lot of wonderful people!
Just my thoughts :o)
I hope everyone has a wonderful day and safe, happy %26amp; exciting travel!!
|||
gaelic7--I totally agree with your post...Thanks for expressing what I thought, too...
The weak dollar post and some others in just the past two days were sabotaged by those who want to convey opinions and rant in a way not appropriate to an open travel forum. i am disgusted by some of the comments by others on those posts.
Those who make blanket statements about the USA , or any other country, should take their opinions elsewhere. From now on, when I see that kind of post, I plan to report it immediately as %26quot;inapproapriate%26quot; and hope others will. Usually, I just browse to another TA site, but no more.
|||
Actually the dollar is not that weak. OK it was a few years ago much stronger, but have a look in this purchasing power list.
www.destatis.de/basis/e/ausl/auslkkr1.htm
United States of America / Washington D. C. 1.01
Germany / Berlin 1.00 (the base of this statistic)
Thus the purchasing power is nearly identical. There are places which much bigger differences.
While Berlin is not the most expensive city in Germany, the others are at least not more expensive than Vienna (which is listed with 0.95).
The purchasing power is calculated using a basket with 200 goods and services. Individual impression may differ, but it%26#39;s a pretty reliable method.
|||
Most of us who travel (and who post on this board) do so for positive experience with other cultures. Gaelic7 is obviously right.
Funlover evidently loves to get his fun by provoking other people. He had three quick negative posts. I am disappointed that some other board members were drawn with their own negative comments. It works much better if we just let negative posts go unanswered. They will fade away in a day or so.
Regards, Gary
|||
My wife and i travel for the fun,adventure,discovering the unknown and the treasure chest full of memories.We like to walk off the beaten path and discover little places.It gives us that little kid on %26quot;Christmas%26quot; feeling.We practice a dawn to dusk -get out and explore.Meeting new people-I%26#39;m always amazed how helpful and nice they are. We just got back from Munich and Fussen,Germany .It was a trip to remember-castles,Marianplatz,racing on the autobahn with my tiny VW Golf.Since 1998 we%26#39;ve gone back to Europe 5 times-regardless of the dollar value.One makes adjustments and can find a way.Give Trip Advisor a chance-I love It.I get so much good advice,suggestions and ideas from it.The hotel reviews from real people are priceless.I also like Rick Steves and Samantha Brown on the travel channel.As the Irish say %26quot;every day above ground is a good one.%26quot; Enjoy life and happy travels.
|||
Nice post Gaelic7. I like to travel because of my natural curiosity about things, and for foreign travel there is a lot to be curious about. I think that people who have bad experiences traveling, or even at home, need to look in a mirror. Bad things may occasionally happen, but if people improved their interpersonal skills there would be very few problems. Smiles, compliments and small courtesies are usually well rewarded anywhere in the world.
|||
Gaelic7
Nice post, perfectly true. It%26#39;s the reason for travel and if you go with open mind you will be richly rewarded.
Weak Dollar thread?:
For those offended, I think you need to read those posts again. One individual decided it was an anti-american thread - I really don%26#39;t think so. The thread has moved on somewhat and I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s offensive, one or two got carried away that%26#39;s all but it calmed down.
There were some important points discussed. Important points about perceptions when travelling and perceptions of other nationalities. If you read the whole thread you will find most people have the same opinion. That opinion is that we are all friends together.
If you cannot challenge negatives they will breed and fester. So
I really can%26#39;t agree that you shut down any comment you disagree with.
Gaelic7, keep posting and send us a review of your favourite places in Germany %26amp; Europe:-)
If you get the chance, try to pop over to Slovenia. Many people miss it
Stoofer
|||
Stoofer wrote:
%26quot;If you cannot challenge negatives they will breed and fester. So
I really can%26#39;t agree that you shut down any comment you disagree with.%26quot;
And yet Stoofer you identified (I think correctly) that rakPatel was a likely %26quot;troll%26quot; and suggested not responding to him. I believe Funlover is the same type, maybe the same person. rakPatel%26#39;s comments have a familiar ring to %26quot;Tomfod%26quot; on Foder%26#39;s board. When someone enters a board and makes primarily negative comments, I think that is a pointer to the person being in your words a %26quot;troll%26quot;.
I agree with Gaelic%26#39;s positive outlook. I just hope that Gaelic will not take away that %26quot;Weak Dollar%26quot; is the norm for this board.
Regards Gary
|||
What a great post Gaelic 7, I have found great info on this
site for our up %26amp; coming trip to Munich, then on to Garmisch.
We have never had the priviledge of going to Germany and we
are so looking forward to it.
Trip Advisor is the greatest for much needed info.
|||
Hi everyone,
I do think most are here for the advice and friendships. This form has been wonderful for me. I have learned so much already. You can find good deals if you keep pecking away. I have faithfully gone through posts from as far back as last year and found very good advice!
I love Otel.com. Since we are jumping around quite a bit I have been able to book hotels (at a better rate with Otel than others) plus recieve dollars off of hotels I am getting ready to book. This is working for me so far :o)
TalleySouthCarolina...we are neighbors...I am in East TN. We are looking forward to visiting Germany as well. I was there about 9 years ago, but was rushed so much I didn%26#39;t get to really enjoy it. What I do remember the most is how friendly the people were. We went to Italy, Poland, Czech Replublic and France. I loved each city we visited, but Germany stole my heart! I am bringing my mother and daughter back with me. My mother said %26quot;The way you keep fawning over the place....I guess I need to get over there and see it%26quot;. That was all the encouragement I needed.
Slovenia.....another place to venture! I will see what we can do about that :o)
I can%26#39;t wait!!
Happy days all!
|||
What a great travel attitude you have gaelic7. My wife and I travel with the same attitude but I could not have said it better than you. Thanks. We just returned from a 3 week trip where we flew into Stuttgart and picked up a rental car and drove to Italy where we spent 2 weeks and the last week working our way back through Austria and Germany. We loved Italy and the people were nice and we had a very structured itinerary until the last week when we left Venice. Rome and Venice back to back was great but the pace was pretty intense. The last week we winged it through the Dolomites of Italy on to the Grossglockner pass in Austria and finally through Mittenwald and Triberg in Germany before going back to Stuttgart the final night for our flight out. No rooms reserved and not sure which towns we would stop for the night. That last week was fantastic and it was the most relaxing part of our trip and our biggest regret was not having one more week to spend in Austria and Germany. We love Germany and especially the Alpine villages there as well as those in Austria. The people there treated us with warmth and kindness. The lady in Stuttgart who helped us at the train station with our tickets from the airport to the town center. The young lady in Stuttgart who walked up to us while we were lost and studying our street map offering to help us find our way to the park. Not only did she tell us, she walked us there which was many blocks from where we were. We talked with her as if we had known her for years and she was an absolute delight. In Triberg we went to a restaurant and asked a gentleman if they had any Black Forest cake which we had never eaten. After eating our meal I spotted the man again and made it a point to tell him how much we enjoyed the meal and the wonderful cake. Turns out he was the owner of the restaurant and he asked if we wanted to see his restaurant (we had eaten outside on the terrace). We said we would love to and he took us through his restaurant and gave us a tour, all the while during the busiest time for dinner. We asked if he would be serving breakfast the next morning and he asked us what time we would be there. We said around 9. We got there that moring and he had one table set and had the waitress take our order which included our first scrambled eggs during our trip among a variety of other delicious items. After our meal (yes we did pay) the owner sat down with us and we had a nice chat and gave us a recommendation on a hotel right close to the airport for our final nights stay. The wonderful couple in Heilingenblut, Austria where we stayed at their pension. Meeting people like these mentioned here make for great memories. I have nothing but good things to say about the people of Germany and never tire of visiting their beautiful country. People who consistently have problems with others during their travels reminds me of a story I read that goes someting like this:
A couple just moved into a new town and went to the town hall and asked the Mayor how the people were in his town. The Mayor said, %26quot;Let me ask you a question, How were the people in the town from where you just moved?%26#39; The couple said the people were wonderful in every way, friendly, helpful always smiling. The Mayor told the couple they would find the people in his town the same way.
The next week another couple moved to town, went to the Mayor and asked the same question the first couple had asked. The Mayor replied with the same question asking how the people were in the town from which they had just moved. The couple said the people were not friendly, not helpful and hard to get along with. The Mayor replied that they would find the people in his town the same way.
As someone said here, it starts by looking in the mirror and with our own attitude. You have it figured out. Good luck.
No comments:
Post a Comment