Whitty moments from Europe that will never be forgotten
Oct 16 '01
The Bottom Line Why is it that the moments we remember are usually the ones we had never planned?
It has always seemed the case that the memories that stick in our heads are the ones we didn't plan, the ones we didn't expect to think would have any significance, yet remained with us long after they passed. They seem to engrain themselves in our head like snapshots, and they hardly ever involve something that came out of your travel guide.
Prague: JFK Jr. dies
I'll never forget being in Prague and finding out that JFK Jr. had been killed in a plane crash. My friend and I came down the steps of a castle in Prague and were both drawn to the International newspaper stand. The English-speaking papers were headlined with the news, and my friend and I stood and read in stunned silence.
I remember the feel of the air blowing on us as we read -- I remember the exact temperature and feel of the day as though it was etched on my brain so I would never forget. I remember the castle before, I remember the stores we shopped in moments after reading the newspapers. But I couldn't tell you for the life of me what we did the day before or the day after.
Lutry, Switzerland: The death of Jackie Kennedy Onassis
Along those same lines, I can see the moment I found out that Jackie O had passed away as if it happened yesterday.
Why is it that we always remember where we were and what we were doing at the most tragic moments in life?
We were shopping (and staying) in a little town situated right on Lake Geneva about 45 minutes West of Geneva and 10 minutes west of Lausanne. I was with a friend and his father, and his father was the one who picked up a British newspaper that told about the passing away of Jackie O. The three of us huddled around the paper reading the article. I remember the exact look of the corner we were on. I remember the feel of the building I leaned against as I read, and I even remember the faces of the people who walked by at that moment.
Paris: A jet-lagged nap in front of the Notre Dame
A little over a year ago, my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I took a trip to Paris. It was our first day there, and since we had taken the red-eye over, we hadn't slept yet that night. We had arrived in Paris around 9 am, and were told that our room wouldn't be ready for several hours. We were staying close to the Notre Dame, so we decided to take a walk over there to kill a few hours.
Now, my husband handles exhaustion much better than I do. He was jumping up and down like a little kid -- excited to be in a new place and wanting to explore every nook and cranny. And I was excited but exhausted. We took a few walks around the Notre Dame (and inside) and then decided to sit down on a bench right in front of the church for awhile, while we killed some time before we could check in. We were sitting on a cold marble bench, and I remember putting my head down on his nap to relax a little more.
And of course I fell asleep.
The next thing I remember was waking up in his lap, and first seeing a sketch of the Notre Dame in front of me. My husband had been sketching it -- and I remember the confusion I felt in those first few seconds that I awoke. Did I fall asleep? How did he draw that so quickly? Why was the marble so cold? I remember him brushing my hair back off my face and telling me that he loved me -- and I remember a feeling of contentment.
Pizza at a B&B in York, England
After a full weekend in York a several years back, I can barely remember what I saw. What I can remember is coming back from the pubs one of the nights we were there, and ordering take-out pizza with one of the friends I was traveling with from my study abroad program, my junior year in college. I remember sitting on one of our twin beds in the room we were sharing, watching some bad British television show, and eating pizza. We were talking about life, and love, and where we wanted our future to take us.
She wasn't that good of a friend, and after we returned to our respective colleges, it wasn't long before we fell out of touch. But I will always think of that late night after many beers, eating pizza and talking about our dreams and hopes. All in York, England.
Rome: Hating my Latin teacher
My first ever trip outside of the country was when I was a sophomore in high school. I was 15 years old, and I went with my Latin class to Italy and Greece. Our first stop was in Rome. Most of the people on the trip were seniors, the only sophomores being myself and my best friend at the time. We felt younger and out of place, so we stuck close by to one another the entire time we were there.
On the day we visited the Colusseum, we were given an hour to "wander" around. My friend and I went off, and we assumed we were to meet back at the bus that had brought us there. As it turned out, we were supposed to have met elsewhere. We waited and waited in the bus well past the meeting time, and finally realized we weren't in the right place. We began to walk back towards the Colusseum. We met our Latin teacher halfway back. She proceeded to scream uncontrollably at us. (She had been frightened that something had happened to us, which is understandable.) She told us that we were "childish" and didn't listen well. I remember that night telling my friend that I hated Rome and everything about it.
These are some of my completely random European memories. I didn't plan them, they happened at the most unexpected times, and they are forever etched in my mind. What are yours?
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