I’m just back from 10 days in Europe… Germany and the Netherlands to be specific. It was a great vacation filled with some iconic photos, good food, great friends, and incredible memories.

I also walked away with a lot of interesting (I think) observations about the two countries and travel in general.

The joy of flying is officially over. All of my flights this summer, including this trip, were marred by bad flights that were either delayed or cancelled. This cost me almost one complete day of my trip to Germany. And the reasons aren’t always reasonable. For instance, a 5 minute thunderstorm (and that might be an exaggeration of the length of the storm) literally shut down the Delta terminal of Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. That 5 minute storm left hundreds of passengers stranded with tempers flaring. The pilot of our eventual flight said that “Delta doesn’t reboot its system very quickly, even after short storms.” On our flight back from JFK to Reagan National, we sat on the runway for almost 2 hours. The reason wasn’t weather or a mechanical issue. No, it was rush hour at JFK. Yes, that’s the excuse the captain gave us. Isn’t that something the airlines or the airport could control? All of that leads up to major headaches for travelers. Sigh.

Train travel on the other hand is going way up in my estimation. I took the train all over Germany and the Netherlands and found it to be easy, efficient, and comfortable. I’m a fan.

Berlin is unlike most other European cities I’ve visited. It lacks the European feel of cities like Prague. It lacks the hustle and bustle of London. It lacks the grandeur Vienna. It lacks the charm of Amsterdam. It lacks the iconic buildings of Paris. In fact, aside from a few attractions like the Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island, it is a city of newer construction. It’s almost modern… with a lot of concrete and a rather cold feel. Don’t get me wrong, Berlin is worth the visit. Just don’t go expecting to see a typically European city. It’s not.

Having said all that, I have to admit that Berlin’s planners definitely have had an eye to the future with wider streets, energy efficient buildings, and a massive public transit system. It all seemed very smart.

Amsterdam, on the other hand, reeks of old Europe. Every block and almost every building feels like it’s been there for centuries. Its streets, canals, landmarks… everything feels like Europe. It’s a GREAT city.

As much as I loved Amsterdam, I never did get used to its streets. There appear to be NO traffic laws and NO indication of who has the right of way. I didn’t see ONE stop sign, traffic light, or lane marker. Every street is simply a wide, bricked sidewalk covered with people, cars, trams, bikes, and motorcycles coming from all directions. And amazing in all of that chaos, I did not see one accident. Can you imagine that happening for even one hour?

Beer is cheaper than water. No lie. At many restaurants a small bottle of water was 2.70 Euro while a beer was 2 Euro or less.

Quick quiz: what’s the major river running through Berlin? I’ll bet most of you had no idea. I know I didn’t. It’s called the Spree. Yes… the River Spree. It’s far from the Danube, Thames, Elbe, Rhine, or the Seine. But, that’s Berlin’s river.

Just a few of my observations… or at least the first few that came to mind. I’ll have a few pictures of my vacation on my Facebook page in the coming days. If you haven’t already, friend me at WSLS Jay Warren.