until next time . . .

Are the Four of Us Still Speaking to Each Other After Seven Weeks of Travel? In European Vacation, the cinematic inspiration for our trip, there is a scene where, after several weeks together, the four Griswolds find themselves alone in a train car, having gotten on each other's last nerve. After a brief discussion, they all vote not to speak for the duration of that train trip. What ensues is cinematic gold, certain to resonate with anyone who has been on a long family trip. I am pleased to say that, although we had our moments, at no point did the Ecksteins entertain a vote of silence. That said, Owen and I had a few physical exchanges similar to the slap-fight between Clark and Rusty, although ours usually involved the classic soccer move where a player, who just took out an opponent at the knees, puts his hands above his head to demonstrate that he could not possibly have fouled anyone. In our use of that move, we engage in a series of hip checks and attempted trips, or at least Owen does.

How Damn Fortunate We Are. We are all very lucky. Me, Keri, our kids. Everyone reading this. To be born in the places we were to the families we were. We are, in most ways, the most fortunate human beings ever to live. It is easy to lose sight of that, given our daily struggles, but it is the truth. And I don't ever forget it. I really won the birth lottery, and everything in my life that has followed has resulted from that. Sure, I have worked hard, but a lot of people work hard, and there is no way to justify the differences between my life and theirs, other than pure, damn luck.

I am reminded of this now first, because it is absurd that I just got to spend seven weeks with my family, touring some of the greatest cities in the world. I am lucky to have a job that not only allows me to afford such a trip, but ensures that I have the necessary time off.

Second, we have spent a lot of the past seven weeks immersed in the histories of a set of diverse cities and countries from western and central Europe. Large and small, some peaked as regional powers in the 17th Century. Some are seeing their fortunes rise in the last 50 years. All have one thing in common -- that is, their citizens are living lives today vastly better than the ones being lived there pretty much any time in the past. We all are.

Europe is Getting Warmer. The objective data confirms it. The average daily temperatures have increased in Europe over the last six years. We experienced it first-hand in Prague and Vienna and, only by the grace of the calendar, did we avoid the second heat wave to impact Europe this summer this week. Everywhere we went, people were talking about the heat as the new normal. Whatever long-term measures may end up getting deployed to slow down climate change, it will not be reversed, so this problem will only grow, and Europe needs to come to grips with it and invest in some better a/c. Our experience shows that it can exist there -- Kudos, Vienna flat! -- so it really is a matter of conviction. Is Europe up to the challenge?

What City Did You Like Best? I am steeling myself for the inevitable, unanswerable "what city did you like best?" question. We visited some of the world's greatest cities, each where millions of people choose to live, and millions of others would like to. Everywhere we went had elements of good people, history, food, architecture, and charm. We enjoyed all of them immensely, and would recommend any of them as places to visit -- dependent upon your interests. Having said that, I can report that both Lauren and Owen have named Paris as their favorite place, so that's something. And, to show I am not a complete curmudgeon, I answer below a few "what did you like best" questions.

Best Breakfast. I'll divide this into flat and hotel categories. In the former is the Bakery Boulangerie Secco on Rue de Sevres in the 7th Arrondissement. Outstanding croissants and pain au chocolates that spoiled Lauren and me for all other items calling themselves croissants or pain au chocolates, but well worth it. Owen saved himself the fall-off by eating store bought cereal bars the whole week. On the hotel side, the Hotel Platzl in Munich. A massive and delicious buffet (including gluten-frei items), well organized and presented, with great service.

Best Indian Food (and a note about hamburgers). I felt compelled to include this category, as we ate it in pretty much every city, allowing for a good sample size. The winner, Mint by India Royale, is found on the Vesterborgage, about seven minutes from the central trial station. We all loved our dinners there, so much so that we ate their twice. (I must add here that, as suggested in several prior posts, the one area Europe has made the biggest strides in the last 30 years is in its preparation of the hamburger, having taken that which was once unrecognizable and made it on par with mid-level American burgers. Leaps and bounds, truly.)

Best Frozen Desert That Can Be Eaten with a Spoon. This includes both gelato and sobreto. Keri, the sobreto expert, declines to pick just one, noting outstanding experiences at Une Glace a Paris, Caffe e Gelato (Berlin) and Paradis (Copenhagen). I can't disagree with any of those on the gelato side. As a general matter, the Europeans do ice cream pretty well, not just the finished product, but the ease with which the whole process works is something to be admired, if not copied.

Best Tour Guide. We ran the gamut in our use of tour guides, from the "free" large group guide, to the paid small group guide to the private, pricey all-day guide. As I told the kids, tour guides are a lot like lawyers in this regard. You can do well with an inexpensive guide, but that is largely a matter of luck. If you really want to ensure that you get a great guide, you must put in the work, ask around, research, and be prepared to fork over a substantial retainer. It will be worth it. The two guides for whom we did this, Florence Goldenberg (Paris) and Gabe Fawcett (Berlin), were far and away the best. (We lucked out on our group guide in Munich, Mark.) They were extremely well prepared, knowledgable, and enthusiastic about their respective cities. Walking a new city -- or even one with which you have some experience -- with a great guide is as important as any other part of the travel experience, maybe more so, as they are able to help you see the city in a much more comprehensive way, not to mention point you in the direction of the best places to eat.

Best (and Worst) McDonalds. As noted in some earlier posts, Owen's primary objective of our trip was to eat in a McDonalds in every stop on our tour. The commitment to American values is admirable, and, as I told Owen, reminds me of the time his father, at age 21, spent four days in Paris and ate fast food at nearly every meal. You will be relieved to know that Owen accomplished this task, getting his standard order of chicken nuggets and french fries in nine different cities. Interestingly, the best and worst nuggets came from the same location, the Innsbruck train station (where we changed trains for Seefeld). I had one of Owen's nuggets the first go-around, and can confirm that something had gone wrong, most likely someone forgot to deep fry the processed chicken piece. Good grief, people, this is McDonalds! If we are not deep-frying anything that moves, what is the point of any of this? As to fries, Owen says they were all pretty good, but Amsterdam gets the nod as the best while Berlin, and its lack of salt (again, this is McDonalds!) distinguish themselves on the other end.

Best City, By the Only Real Objective Measurement. A couple days into our time in Paris, Lauren noticed that there were a large number of New York Yankee hats. (For purposes of this exercise, we treated as Yankee hats any baseball cap with the interlocking NY as it appears on the actual Bronx Bombers' hats, regardless of hat or NY color.) Lauren decided she would count how many hats she saw. And so she did, for every city. We talked about including a negative count for every Red Sox hat, but opted against it. Things got a bit sidetracked in Prague and Vienna when the heat sidelined Lauren for a couple days, but it likely would not have mattered, given how far ahead Copenhagen and Stockholm were in the final tally, finishing with 180 and 226, respectively. What to explain the proliferation of JAY-Z's favorite hat? Likely some appreciation for American fashion more than a love of Aaron Judge, I suspect. Either way, people of Stockholm, congratulations for putting in the hard work to become Europe's Best City, Summer 2019!

Final, Final Thoughts. This seven-plus week trip cemented my thinking on two important things. First, we are only really irreplaceable with our family and friends. We might be good at our job and do important work in the community, but we can almost certainly be replaced at either without much disruption. Only those close, personal relationships matter, when it really comes down to it.

And, experiences are better than stuff. If you are fortunate, you often chose between having things and doing things. Clothes, cars, jewelry. They can all be nice, and make you feel good in the moment. But that moment is fleeting, and the experiences you have, in particular those experiences you have with your family and close friends, they last forever. They strengthen your relationships and help you grow as a person. They form the memories and relationships that last long after the stuff has been thrown away. Here endeth the preach.

Thanks for putting up with me and thank you all for reading this blog and sharing this experience!