by Carolyn Creighton
Can a person find happiness by back-packing through Europe for eight weeks and then enrolling in a course at TCC and completing it in only three weeks?
You bet! And Scott Becker did just that! He and a buddy named Pete returned home for Thanksgiving after eight weeks and thirteen countries of Europe.
Scott says he and Pete only scratched the surface of things to see and do, but thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
What did he have trouble adjusting to most? People in Amsterdam, Holland, who were continually trying to sell him drugs. And being propositioned by prostitutes at every corner.
They mainly stayed in youth hostels at night which cost $2 or $3 and sometimes this included breakfast. The hostels usually had cold showers too. Sometimes, however, they slept “out” and then went to train stations for showers. Their travel was mostly on foot, but they did ride trains with an “Euro-rail-a-pass,” and once they rode a bus during their tour.
What was his favorite new food? A “burned” sausage on a fresh roll in Germany. “Delicious!” he says. And the worst? A McDonald’s in Paris. Their absolute worst meal came when they discovered all other places were closed and they shared a can of condensed cream of chicken soup! They also enjoyed eating at a pub called “Sherlock Holmes.”
Scott estimates his trip cost $850. “People go with a lot more, and there are some who go with much less,” he stated. He and Pete drove to New York City in 26 hours and then flew to Luxemborg where they began their travels. Pete speaks a little Swiss-German mixture and they got along pretty well.
They visited a glacier cave and the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland. They saw a salt mine in Austria. They toured St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. (“I’ve never seen anything else to compare to it!”) In England, they saw the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace, but missed the changing of the guard.
In Germany they visited Hitler’s tea house at the top of a mountain, a Nazi concentration camp and the Munich Olympic Village. They saw Anne Frank’s house, the Eiffel Tower, both L’Arch de Triumphs, the Notre Dame de Paris and a whole lot more.
Scott thought Rome was the dirtiest city. They had more communication difficulties in Italy, and Paris was the worst place as far as transportation was concerned. He and Pete didn’t visit Spain and Portugal because of their present political problems.
What other countries did they see? Switzerland, Austria, Italy, England, France, Germany, Luxemborg, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Belgium.
Denmark, Sweden and Norway contained the most expensive items explained Scott. “A regular pair of Levis were $35!” He seemed disappointed in Iceland. He says although the people were very nice, the land wasn’t much. “It was pretty flat!”
Can he finish this pre-flight course at TCC in only three weeks?
You bet!