I’ve Seen Europe. Why Do I Still Feel Like I’m Travelling the Wrong Way?

The movement of Europe

Waiting for a departure at almost any major European airport, it becomes strikingly clear how constantly Europe is on the move. Planes disgorge and absorb streams of travellers with rolling suitcases, almost like an industrial production line, until a quiet thought sometimes appears:

Why are we actually all doing this?

Travelling in the hope of seeing the world

Sometimes we travel for a specific reason – for business, a conference, or a family visit. But more often, we set off simply in the hope of seeing the world.

City breaks in winter. Beaches in summer. Magnificent landmarks, the buzz of big cities, a chance to rest. That all sounds perfectly reasonable.

And yet, now and then, a faint doubt passes through our minds. So many people had exactly the same idea as I did. As if we were all part of the same organised tour.

When travel becomes easy

In Schengen Europe, travelling has become remarkably easy – especially with the help of low-cost airlines and platforms like Booking.com. Seeing famous paintings in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, Madrid's Prado, or the Colosseum in Rome no longer requires much money or experience.

It's almost effortless. And that is genuinely wonderful.

And yet, while travelling, we sometimes feel as if something essential is slipping through our fingers.

Efficiency everywhere – including travel

In our lives today, we tend to strive for maximum efficiency. Travel is no exception.

Maximising returns. Minimising costs. In financial terms, that makes perfect sense.

But when it comes to experiences, it's not entirely clear whether they can be optimised in the same way.

A holiday close to home

Last year, I spent my holiday in Bavaria. I live in the Czech Republic, so Bavaria is a very close neighbour. They enjoy beer and dumplings there, much like we do, and we share more than we might think.

Most Czechs have been to Bavaria many times – as I had. Usually for a day trip, though, not for a holiday. It simply isn't customary to go on holiday to Bavaria.

It's too close. There's no sea. Compared to Austria, the Alps are only marginal.

It turned out to be a truly wonderful holiday.

A familiar childhood story

Almost every Czech, from early childhood onward, knows the story by Josef Čapek How the Dog and the Cat Baked a Cake. The dog and the cat decided to bake the very best cake in the world. And it was meant to be the best precisely because they put all the best things they liked into it.

A quiet thought

Perhaps the problem isn't that we travel badly today. Perhaps it's that we tend to want all the good things at once – to see, to experience, to taste, to tick off.

And perhaps that is why we sometimes return home with the feeling that something essential was lost somewhere in between.