"heaven is where the police are British, the chefs are Italian, the mechanics
are German, the lovers are French and it is all organized the Swiss.
hell is where the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics
are French, the lovers are Swiss and it is all organized by the Italians"
amusingly true!
I don't have a photo of a Teutonic garden but the summer house below, though Czech, is an example: neat and well cared for | approaching many European cities by train there are often gardens along the right-of-way of the railroad tracks; in some countries they are called "allotments" and are rented by city folks who have no earth to till. I have noted more than once on the train from Switzerland to Italy or from Austria to Italy that the Austrian and Swiss garden plots are neat and orderly with small, painted tool sheds, in good repair, often with window boxes overflowing with lovely flowers as if occupied by the gardener himself, the crops marching in orderly rows - all is neat and trim. then the train crosses the Italian border and the gardens are almost entirely given to tomatoes planted in seemingly no semblance of order, the tool sheds look like sheds, rarely a flowering plant ... but somehow, the Italian gardens seem happy, carefree and happy! the garden plots are, to me, one epitome of these countries, the Germanic and the Italian. simplistic, but there is no denying that the Teutonic and Italian people are practically worlds apart in their customs. in America we have given up the agricultural way and drive to the grocery store, but I'm sure if we had a gardening mentality we would find some technical/mechanical method of growing our veggies. |
as a hold-over from the communist days, many Prague-rs have "summer houses", or cottages, a few miles out of the city. because they were not allowed to travel, they took holidays close to home at these cottages. some of them are as simple as a cabin and some could be full time homes. as part of their "vacation" they continue to farm and garden, a lot of work for a vacation! but remember this all started under that time period when "work is good for you, comrade"! the photo right is Mary Kerchner's son's in law's summer house which is very nice. (a whole lot of possessives!) |
this street in Pacentro may be where my grandfather lived, the addresses have changed since he left in 1900 ... | the beautiful photo of the night street to the left was taken by my sister, Lynn Johnson ... hope she doesn't mind me borrowing it | every time I've passed this outdoor room in Sorrento, old men have been playing cards, seemingly unaware of the beautiful frescoes. |
the people of Prague are quiet ... ride a metro or tram and there isn't loud chatter. if people are talking, it's almost a whisper. can't you just tell this grandfather is whispering? many people are reading; there are a lot of book stores, which I like to see since in the US bookstores seem to be going the way of the buggy whip. while some people use electronic books most are reading the real paper kind. curiously, I haven't seen a Borders or any American book store, though there are plenty of McDonalds! one day I was at a metro stop and a group of people caught my attention because they were so boisterous, talking and laughing ... you guessed it: Italians! |
Germans, like Americans and Italians, are loud and the quality of their language makes me think that usually they are arguing. they often break out into song in beer gardens, cafes that serve traditional food and beer, usually outside. this photo is just a bar/restaurant and no one was singing but it is in Germany! |
subtle differences because as tourists we don't know, for instance, that in Italy it's almost a criminal offense to touch the fruit at a market, maybe because the fruit is arranged so perfectly as if for a photo. I heard a man telling his wife "and that little lady hollered at me 'don't touch the fruit'"! another is after your dinner is served in a restaurant, the waiter will not ask "are you still working on that"? (I hate that expression!) nor will he bring your check until you ask him to do so. personal relations in Europe are more personal than in the US; while you will hear Italians shouting into their cell phones, their home life is fairly private. so many subtle differences in each country; we must be aware so as not to offend ... and so understand the fruit vendor thinks it's perfectly natural you should not touch the fruit! |
it is not unusual to learn the 28 year old you're having a conversation with at the cafe is working toward or has a PhD; though a PhD in Europe generally does not require as many years as it does in the US, still many people have advanced degrees. Europeans seem more knowledgeable and more interested in issues and politics in the US than Americans are about the rest of the world. of course, US policies affect the world more than, say, policies in the Czech Republic but it seems we are generally more apathetic toward other countries' issues.
everyone knows I love Italy, but I can't deny that Italy requires a special kind of patience and loving understanding. for example: the public restrooms in Germany were almost invariably, even in the roadside gas stations, clean, had paper towels, soap and toilet tissue. in Italy, we think it a stroke of luck bordering on a miracle if a public restroom has a toilet seat, forget the paper and soap! rules in Italy are definitely there to be broken. I can personally attest that while a passenger on an intercity bus the driver did not stop at a red light, not yellow turning red but red ... to his credit he did slow and look both ways! walking in the street or jaywalking are a right that must surely be written into the Italian traffic code! the woman walking in the street has probably been doing that her entire life, without giving it a second thought. when I was visiting my son who lives in Germany we had stopped for a red light but there wasn't a car in sight so I suggested we cross; he responded that the Germans would wait for the green light forever if that's what it took but would not cross against it! I think maybe Americans hesitate to walk against red to be certain some maniac driver is not going to run them down. just from observation, the Czechs seem to be somewhere in the middle; a little Teutonic but beginning to veer to the West. perhaps they are too soon out from the strictness of the USSR to break these public rules. |
"In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace - and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
Orson Welles, American actor, director and writer