Why Europe is the ultimate holiday destination I'll always go back to

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This was published 7 years ago

Why Europe is the ultimate holiday destination I'll always go back to

By Ben Groundwater
Updated
People chill out on deck-chairs at Berlin Strand Bar, a river-side bar on the banks of the Spree.

People chill out on deck-chairs at Berlin Strand Bar, a river-side bar on the banks of the Spree.Credit: iStock

It's not just the instantly recognisable sights, although they're definitely a buzz. The first time you see the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum, or gaze at the mountains of Switzerland or the beaches of Spain, it's like you've known them your entire life. Those images are so deeply ingrained; and yet to see them in the flesh for the first time is something else.

But that's not the only thing that's great about travelling in Europe. It's so much more.

It's the exoticism of a million micro-cultures, of accents and languages and architecture and people that change between two villages only a couple of kilometres apart. It's the thrill of history that's lived in, and that continues to thrive. It's the simple pleasure of coffee in a town square, and the huge buzz of visiting a place you've always dreamed about.

It's the feeling that this, surely, is the centre of the world. When you wander around a European city and watch and listen to the people around you, and realise that they're from all over the world, travellers and sight-seers, lovers and friends, artists and musicians, students and retirees, grifters and fugitives, runaways and the eternally restless – that's when you get what Europe is really all about.

It's modern and historic. It's innovative and traditional. It's the meeting place for so many different philosophies and ideas.

I've just returned, obviously, from a trip to Europe, and I was struck there once again by just how amazing a place it really is. The history, the people, the culture, the sights, the food, the atmosphere – it's all amazing.

It's dangerous to start bandying around terms like "the best continent in the world", because I tend to think that about everywhere once I've just been. South America has an edgy joy and an indigenous culture that can't be matched anywhere else; North America has national parks and pop culture; Asia has amazing food and a chaotic buzz; Africa has wildlife and wide open spaces; Australia is home.

But Europe has something special that I think I'll always long to return to. It's liberal, it's vibrant, it's historic, it's romantic, it's lived in, and it's friendly. It's life lived the way it should be. It's people I want to spend time with. It's the world I want to be a part of.

If life is a search for your "tribe", for like-minded people who reflect your values and passions and desires, then Europe, for me, is that place. In the town I grew up, there was no one from my tribe. In the place I live now it sometimes feels the same way. Europe, however, is home to my tribe. Berlin, Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome, Edinburgh, Budapest, San Sebastian – all of these places feel like my natural home.

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There is, admittedly, a rose-coloured-glasses effect to merely being a visitor to these places, rather than a resident. When you arrive as a tourist you get to ignore the high unemployment in Spain, or the financial crisis in Greece, or the brushes with terror in places like France, Belgium and Turkey. You get to just live the highlights.

But this is the travel section, not the harsh reality of living section. You can indulge the fantasy here, the same as you can as a tourist when you're merely passing through. You can just enjoy the good bits.

And Europe has so many good bits. It feels like it really does have the freedom that America is always banging on about. The drinking laws are relaxed, and yet respected. People of all ages mix in cafes and bars. You can stay out past your bedtime. You can ride a bike without a helmet. You can strip all of your clothes off in a park.

The Europe I love is not necessarily going to be the same place that others will enjoy. This is such a varied continent that you really can't compare the experience of visiting southern Italy to spending time in Norway, or exploring Bulgaria, or checking out Ireland. Europe is far from homogenous.

The places I love and fantasise about living in are usually on the Mediterranean: Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey. But that's fine – you get to choose over there. Your Europe can be whichever part of it you desire.

The common threads across the entire continent are the history, the culture, and the buzz. In every country so much is recognisable and yet so different from back home. It's easy to slip into something resembling local life, and yet still have the feeling that you'll never completely understand what's going on.

Is this continent the ultimate travel destination? That's a big call. But it's certainly a place I will always want to return to.

Email: b.groundwater@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Instagram: instagram.com/bengroundwater

​See also: Why you should always go back

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