Thoughts on travelling

This week we are spending our time in the lovely medieval town of Colmar in Alsace near the German border. The buildings are colourful, half-timbered dwellings and there is a sense of light and space in this town that seemed to be missing in Dinan. Today we decided to travel on the local bus as far as we could for €1.15 - to the nearby village of Turckheim - what an amazing place! It took us completely by surprise and I've placed some photos of it here for your enjoyment.


Over the last few days I have been thinking about travelling and how it teaches us so much about ourselves ... how we cope in new situations, how well we can adapt, how readily we accept different ways, and how easily we can get along with others.


Above all, travelling tends to bring to the fore what is important in one's life. It sorts out our priorities.


Something interesting happened yesterday that also made me realize that even when a you are a tourist, there is a certain familiarity in an unexplored city. Let me explain ...


John and I decided to spend the day in Strasbourg so we bought our return tickets at the station and were on our way. We had little cash with us, so upon our arrival I went to an ATM but my withdrawal was denied (Grant and Karen may smile at this ... they had to lend us some kuna as the first three ATMs I tried in Zagreb also refused access to our funds). We knew no-one in Strasbourg.


Not long afterwards a young woman with a sleeping child approached me begging for money, so I emptied my purse, giving her all our remaining euros. My thinking was that firstly, she probably needed the money more than us; and secondly since we didn't have much that is basically the same as having nothing, so why worry?


Now it was soon after that I found my thought processes were not quite correct as all the 'familiarity' of our time in a foreign city was removed. We couldn't go to a cafe for a coffee or hot chocolate, we couldn't visit a gallery or museum, we couldn't even pay the entry fee to go to the toilet, nor could we buy a baguette for lunch. It became clear to me that as a tourist you do have a certain routine, almost a role to play in foreign cities and without that, without the funds to do that, it is a little unsettling. Unlike a local without money, as a tourist you have no-one to call on.


We headed for the cathedral – we always like to sit in a church in the towns we visit – it was closed for two hours, as was the second church we found.


We walked along the banks of the canal, then the river ... no seats to sit on – something else we like to do. All aspects of our familiar routine of exploring a new city were gone. Last of all we found we had wandered too far and we were 'off' the map we were using.


I found it a very interesting experience and it gave me a little more insight into our journey. Just like our routine at home, we had developed a way of discovering what we could about a new place and without the comfort of those 'patterns', I developed a new perspective.


I wasn't concerned as we had our return tickets, some fruit and water bottles; we found a park – with a seat – and ate our lunch; we asked a helpful passer-by for directions; the cathedral opened in the afternoon and we were able to spend time wandering, contemplating and praying; and we tried a different ATM later on - with success.


Often John and I have gone out of our way to avoid the 'touristy things' and consequently have unearthed some amazing experiences, but it seems we are still creatures of habit and routine, even in foreign climes.