The ‘American Dream’ from Europe, part 1

For The Madera Tribune

Budapest, Hungary from a dinner cruise on the Danube River.

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I recently learned that the American Dream guides many Europeans who are newly experiencing democracy. That view was shared with me while my wife, Cathy and I recently explored Europe for a month. But first, a few travelogue details.

We toured the older portions of Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Berlin. and Amsterdam. We arrived in Germany’s beer capitol, Düsseldorf, on the first day of its three-month carnival. The costumed Germans know how to party! We walked through the Rhine River communities of Rudesheim, Freiberg, and Heidelberg and reveled in the beauty of Strasbourg and Alsace, France. We flew home from Zurich.

My bride and I walked on Middle Ages cobble stone streets, cruised on canal and river boats, rode on buses, trams, and trains, taxied and Ubered, and flew on aero planes. The cool-to-cold weather alternated between sunny blue skies and windy torrential rains. And we walked in all of it. We packed layered clothing for two weeks and took advantage of our hotel laundry services.