Wandering the world - experiencing more with every step

Travel is one of the best ways to learn more about cultures and the diverse groups of people who make up our population. When you’re on holiday learning can come in lots of different forms. It does not have to be dull either, for example, learning could be visiting monuments which have historical significance or simply just completing a walking or boat tour which teaches you more about the location you are touring.

I have recently returned from a month-long family holiday in the UK during which my family and I travelled for 10-12 days across Europe. Over the course of the holiday, I learnt a lot about the culture and history of several locations across Europe.

We began in Amsterdam which is a beautiful city with lots of things to see and do. We visited museums like the Rijksmuseum which taught us a lot about the history of Dutch art culture. I was a little bit worried that the museum may bore me. However, I was pleasantly surprised as it was amazing to see the original works of impressionist painters like Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin and Old masters like Vermeer. The main thing I felt was that art is often merely perspective and personal taste. Someone explained that art should speak to you. My personal favourite artwork was a painting by Van Gogh entitled View of Amsterdam

from the Centraal station. The painting shows the city of Amsterdam from Van Gogh’s perspective and features the Rijksmuseum in the background. We also saw the Anne Frank house which was quite a melancholy experience due to the history associated with it. The city is full of canals so boat tours are a great way to explore the city. We did an evening cruise which explained the history of the city with a beautiful visual as well.

After Amsterdam, we visited Dortmund very briefly to watch a Euro football match which was incredibly fun and one of the highlights of the trip, France versus Poland. We travelled on the train which was full of supporters from both France and Poland - it was fun to hear their chants and watch them wave their flags with vigour! Football is a phenomenal sport that unites so many people and has a universal appeal. Everywhere in Europe there was football fever! 

The city of Berlin is full of rich history which can be studied and explored for days on end. The city still has scars from the horrors which it has seen during the Second World War and some of the tragedies from the days after the war when Berlin was segregated into Eastern and Western Berlin. We took a walking tour and discovered some of the history behind the city. This walking tour began at the Brandenburg gate, and it was shocking to think about the amount of war and battle that had taken place on the very ground we were standing on. After that we saw the Reichstag building which so famously caught fire on 27th February 1933 just four weeks before Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. The more places we saw, the more astounded I became, as I realised just how much storied history the city of Berlin had seen. However, the structure that stood out most to me was the Holocaust memorial. The tribute to the innocent who had been persecuted mercilessly during World War II. The walk finished at Checkpoint Charlie which stands as a reminder of the famous crossing point from East Germany into West Germany during the Cold War from 1947-1991. 

For anyone who is looking to visit Berlin, I would recommend taking a tour of some sort. There is a lot to learn, and generally tour guides are well versed on the history of Berlin. Also, by taking a tour you get to see the monuments and understand the historical  significance behind them. While in Berlin you can also find several incredibly tasty spots to eat the German speciality currywurst or any other cuisine as Berlin is full of diverse cultures. Museum Island is also a location worth visiting, I went into the Berlin Cathedral and learnt about the Reformed and Lutheran catholic groups. It made me wonder about the concept of a higher power and how different beliefs alter the way people choose to live.

Finally, we visited the city of Budapest. Personally, I found Budapest to be the most interesting of the cities we visited. The city has much to offer in terms of history. The city is split up into three parts: Buda, Obuda and Pest. On one side of the Danube river is the more hilly region of Buda where the Castle district is located. In the castle you can find the national art gallery as well as important structures like the palace of Buda and St. Matthias’s church. Hungary was one of the countries the Germans conquered in World War II and there is evidence of the massacre of the Jewish in Budapest as well. Near the parliament building on the Pest side of the river, you can find the bronze shoes which pay a tribute to the Jews who were forced to jump into the Danube river by the Nazis. Seeing this firsthand was an experience which was quite similar to seeing the Anne Frank house. It brought up a lot of overwhelming emotions inside of me to see the place where thousands of innocent people were forced to their death. However, on a lighter and more pleasant note, the impressive parliament building which was built in the Neo-Gothic style features a grand total of 691 rooms on the inside. This was one of the most impressive structures I have seen with a beautiful dome to rival that of the Berlin Cathedral. After this we went to a water park called Aquaworld which was a great way to finish the trip on a high as it was super fun and a great place to visit with your family.

As a whole, a “tour of Europe” is a great way to learn more about the places you see along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, especially getting to watch a Euro football game in the stadium and going to the water park. However, seeing the different buildings and monuments was fun in its own way. Travelling is the best way to learn more about the world around us.