Travel as Odyssey

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I did not have the harrowing experiences that Odysseus had on his journey, but I decided to write an account of my recent journey of about two and a half months in Europe and the UK as Odyssey— stuff happening and teaching me things about myself and what is important in life.

I was getting impatient to set off on my next jaunt overseas since multiple medical related matters took me well into the new year in the US, long past the time I usually resume my travels post-holidays. Finally, I just booked a flight and left for Vienna with a few things not completely resolved. I knew I could return to the US quickly if necessary.

The first stop was Vienna.

I booked a month in an 8-room Airbnb that had sixteen pages of instructions in a manual waiting on the desk. Before my booking request would be accepted, I had been instructed to read the online version which included detailed instructions about what to do and how to do it relative to the rooms: the kitchen, the bathroom, the common area, and their contents. Quiet was mandatory from 10pm to 6am daily and all day Sundays.

At first, I balked at the instructions— but eventually concluded that most of the requirements were compatible with the way I do things anyway. I did worry though that the expectations would create a sense of being watched or judged. Thankfully, there were no such feelings. In fact, the delightful host, Wiltrud, stopped by a few times. She was always happy and welcoming, and mostly just enthusiastic about curating the best Airbnb experience possible.

I had to fight the urge to say something to anyone who put one of the sharp knives in the dishwasher (against instructions).

The rooms at the Airbnb were filled with people from all sorts of different places. Christian from Copenhagen had an encyclopedic knowledge of history and a memory that retained everything he had learned and experienced whether he wanted to or not. He was considering the ministry as an option. Our conversations were stimulating. We went to the 1950 classic movie, The Third Man, since it was filmed in Vienna and remains iconic here. I came away from this experience surprised at how much at home I felt, how comfortable with life in Vienna.

The user-friendly public transportation gave me a sense of freedom that’s hard to come by in car-dependent places. I purchased a monthly pass usable on buses, trams, and the U-Bahn (subway). I could meet my friends there, Claudia, Masood, and Oskar easily for activities. They immediately made me feel welcomed. I celebrated my 83rd birthday there, and Claudia gave me a plate that she handpainted, small enough to be able to carry in my backpack.

Wiltrud requested and relished feedback and suggestions to make her Airbnb a peak experience for all guests. I suggested the addition of a moveable island for food preparation since it was possible that many of the guests could be using the kitchen simultaneously and there was too little space for food preparation. I got a message from her a few days ago with a picture of the moveable counter she had added to the kitchen area.

The next trek via plane, train, and auto took me to Helmstedt, Germany, where I stayed in a small hotel near the center of town. I had to run at full speed carrying my backpack and heavy electronics bag to barely make it onto one leg of the notoriously late German trains.

Helmstedt is a very picturesque town of about 25,000 people, located only three kilometers from where the Iron Curtain divided East and West Germany during the Cold War.

I met Lorenz and Trixi Flatt at the thousand voice singalong ten years ago, and have visited them a couple of times before this since then. Lorenz invited me to his sixtieth birthday party along with 150 other people. I ended up staying at their house for a few days after the party. As I am writing, Trixi is riding her bicycle along the former Iron Curtain in the Balkan countries, researching her third book on that part of history and the reunification after the curtain came down forty years after it first divided families and countries and cultures.

Every time I visit them, I come away with a deeper understanding of the European continent and the conflicts that have shaped the people, conflicts that remain alive in their memories as well as in the geography of the land.

From there I took a train and a plane to Porto, Portugal. Chris and Milva (along with canine family members Barrett and Harry) invited me to come and stay with them for a few days. Chris was one of the high students who came to my rescue when my contract wasn’t going to be renewed after three years of teaching in 1972. The school did respond and offer to renew my contract, but by then I had received a call to serve as Associate Pastor at the congregation in Kansas City where I would serve for fifteen years.

Chris (now mostly retired) and Milva (still active) were immigration attorneys serving in the Southwest USA. They have now moved to Porto permanently. It is a charming place with colorful buildings lining the narrow, winding streets, often pedestrian only. With disbelief in her voice, Milva often declares, “We live here!” Their apartment is within walking distance of the most iconic views and historic places in Porto. We checked out some of the endless restaurants without ever being disappointed.

I’d stayed in Porto twice before, but had not experienced it so fully as this time. We visited the library that inspired the one portrayed in the Harry Potter series. There were stunning ocean views as well as those of the Douro River that flows through the city and into the countryside. Chris and Milva were so gracious. We connected in a way that left me feeling safe and free to be completely open. This was a connection with my distant past that is a present reality.

The next place on this Odyssey was a place of great joy! When I walked the Camino thirteen years ago, I bonded with Tanja and Dragan Stanojevic. I have visited them often and feel almost like extended family to Tanja, Dragan and his wife Slavica. I know their parents and siblings, Slavica’s nephew and niece, and Tanja’s husband Sebastian. I was completely surprised when over a year and a half ago, Tanja told me that she was pregnant with twins. They were eleven months old when I took a plane and train to Welschneudorf to meet them. They are impossibly cute and full of personality. Tanja is the consummate mother, and Bastian a doting father. It warmed my heart to be there and spend time with them if only a little more than a day. It happened to be St. George’s Day, Tanja’s family saint. There was a special meal with guests and a traditional Serbian Orthodox household liturgy. I got to entertain the twins while Tanja prepared the celebration. It provided a window into the rich Orthodox tradition. Dragan is now a priest, serving a parish in Freiburg, Germany. To have been a part of these people’s lives has enriched my life.

From Germany I flew to Edinburgh, Scotland to officiate at the destination wedding of a couple from Kansas City, whom I met when I lived in the River Market area for four years before I shed all my belongings and started traveling full time.

The Airbnb was located two minutes from the spacious Holyrood Park, where Arthur’s seat is located at the top of a tall hill and there are many hundreds of acres of green with rocky hills rising from them. I walked the thirty minute trek through another long, narrow park to the Old Town of Edinburgh. Every direction there are very old and elegant buildings with a rich history.

I came upon the Dirty Dick pub with an absolutely classic interior. On another day I looked online and found a brewery/pub that had a simple menu located within an easy walk. When I went in the door, I was immediately immersed in trivia night. The restaurant was packed and I stuck out like a sore thumb as I looked for a seat while still unaware what was going on. I was rescued by a participant and ushered to his table, where I met a lovely small group, a team in the quiz competing against the others. Oddly, the entire menu including a dozen or so beers they had brewed were all gluten free. I left with a new Facebook friend, Tim.

The wedding included a cocktail party the first night, a scotch-tasting tour, the next day, and the outdoor wedding followed by the reception located a short walk away from Princess Street Garden with a huge and very ornate fountain. Cocktail party dress was suggested for that event and for the wedding/reception, formal dress. I wore a black Patagonia Rain shell over a gray Patagonia fleece layer, an LL Bean tech long sleeve shirt, a black Patagonia base layer, and black Kuhl cargo hiking pants, finishing with ankle high Merrill hiking boots. (It was a chilly Scotland day and the Bride said it would be okay.) Other than needing to speak over the sound of trains going by just behind the trees where we were standing, the ceremony went well, the bride was beautiful and the groom handsome.

The reception restaurant Timberyard has a Michelin Star, serves game and all local fare, sustainably grown. Everyone of the very many courses was beyond expectations and expectations were very high. More importantly, the forty-some people who came to Edinburgh from various places, were some of the nicest, thoughtful people I have come to know over the years. It is a testimony to the couple, who had been helpful in bringing me into a warm and caring community in the River Market area of Kansas City. A couple of the bride’s very good friends came over and sat in front of me at the reception and engaged me in conversation. I don’t know when I have felt so respected and valued as I did in that conversation. It impacted how I feel about myself at this time in life when it is easy to be dismissed as having little to offer anymore.

From there I took another train ride, this time to Glasgow, Scotland, my last stop on this journey. I settled into a hotel with a perfect view of one of the main streets of that bustling city. It is a hotel I find especially comfortable, in the center city within walking distance of many wide pedestrian only streets lined with restaurants. For reasons I don’t fully understand, I relax completely when I am there, and I loved just sitting at the window (6th floor) watching the activity. The room had a desk situated in front of the window providing a great space for writing.

Nine years ago I took a Rabbie tour to Stirling Castle where the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) was fought within sight of the castle’s walls. It is where Robert the Bruce led the Scots to a decisive victory against King Edward II’s English army. Our driver/guide was especially knowledgeable and winning in how she told the stories.

This is how I met Lauren. We I exchanged contact information and over the years there were occasional interactions. She is now single-parenting two boys, and among other things, working as a photographer. She often posts reels of photoshoots she has done, or just out in nature walking with the boys. Often those posts showed places that were strikingly beautiful. I decided that while I was in Scotland I would see if she could do a photo-shoot in one of those places. She agreed to do so. I took a train out to her town a half hour outside of Glasgow and spent a day in Glenarn Garden— so beautiful it seemed magical. Everything was in full bloom, trees, bushes, flower gardens. There were streams running through it, trees and flowers from other places in the world. Our conversation focused on the breathtaking beauty and its power to heal. For the last pictures we drove to a peninsula in Gare Loch where we stood on a beautiful beach in the sun that had come out by then.

That day the garden did its healing. Lauren is very spiritual and sensitive to our connection to the earth and its ability to nurture us. Just as I had hoped, I felt refreshed by the scents, the colors, the textures, the breeze, the calming light rain when we were in the garden, and the time sitting on the bench in the area designated as the silent space. Thank you, Lauren!

It was the perfect way to conclude this journey, an Odyssey without terrors and battles and life threatening encounters, just a simple journey through beautiful places, visiting old friends, meeting new friends, and continuing even at the ripe old age of 83 to discover who I am and what is important in life.

The Destination is Now,

Peter

My first book 🎒The Destination is Now is available everywhere books are sold!

Get the book!

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