Tag: Discoveries

Why do Americans smile so much?

The warm weather in Germany has the roses out in full force.

I was going to ask, why don’t Germans smile more, but that’s assuming that the American level of smiling is normal, or correct, and that everyone else is smile deficient. Americans smile a lot. Really, we do. And Californians smile even more.

Smiling for the camera when leaving Regensburg.

Friends from other countries have told us that yes, everyone is aware of the American smile habit. You can see us coming, teeth showing, faces crinkling in delight.

I know why I’m smiling here. A nice hotel, a good beer garden and a delicious glass of wine.
And who could resist smiling during a picnic on the banks of Neuburg an der Donau.
We smile while enjoying our German pastries.
And when Rich’s new bike had a loose bottom bracket issue we smiled when greeting the very nice bike shop owner who thankfully had opening hours on Saturday morning.

I had always assumed that the American smile habit was simply that we’re mostly a friendly country. And those Americans who travel are really friendly and happy to be out and about.

There were fewer smiles on a train hop day, when we ate lunch on the station platform hiding from the sun.
Both the departure station and arrival station only had stairs, which meant unloading all panniers and carrying everything down and up: very few smiles.
The train system in Germany is very good, but a lot of small local stations have only stairs.

But a conversation with a friend who has lived in France, the UK, the USA, and is now back in Germany, really hit home what we were feeling in Germany with fewer smiles per human – just because they don’t smile doesn’t mean they hate you. Ah ha!

Pretty typical bike touring picnic. Falafel, cheese, cucumber, red pepper, and brötchen (bread rolls) from the bakery. Oh, and a tube of mustard and a tube of harissa for Rich.
Very typical beer garden order, beer for him, wine for me. And smiles for the staff.

We love bike touring in Germany. There are so many things to enjoy and so many miles of fantastic bike paths and routes. Sure there are challenges, just like in any country. We’d happily import the Japanese convenience store culture to Germany. Germany is grocery store challenged, to our minds. All grocery stores are closed on Sunday. And there is no convenience store culture outside of Berlin. That means we have a mad rush on Saturday to stock up for Sunday cycling. Restaurants are open Sunday but we prefer to picnic for lunch.

How can you not love a country that leaves lovely treats on your pillow in hotel rooms? I stash them in my handlebar bag for emergency sugar energy.
A museum dedicated to Bread and Art? These are my people. This museum in Ulm was fascinating.

And don’t forget, this country has 260 cycling routes crisscrossing the landscape. And the other cyclists are perhaps not the smiling type, not all of them, but when push comes to shove they are there for you. Railway crossing gate stuck and cyclists starting to slip under the gates? They will help you with your loaded touring bikes and keep a close watch for trains. Tight connection at a train station and having a tough time getting both bikes and 8 panniers down the train steps? The cyclist who greeted your smile with a stare and turned away is there to help you lift your bike down the stairs. Good people. Just not smiley.

Following the Donau river path.
The Donau River outside our hotel in Ingolstadt.
Fun fact, Ingolstadt is where Mary Shelly’s character Victor Frankenstein attended Medical School.
A brewery in town, making a great pale ale, not a typical German beer.
“Straight outta Altstadt”. This really made us smile.
Easy to remember the beer when the brewery name is right there on the glass.
A delicious plate of gnocchi and a smile.

So what is it with this American habit? Are we all just simple and happy? Well, according to a fun article I read, it has to do with how many immigrant groups or source cultures a country has. And America is just that – immigrants. 60 source cultures. When you arrived in the USA and your neighboring farmers were Polish on one side and Swedish on the other- you smiled since it was the first and most welcoming communication you had. A non verbal way to say hello, let’s get along. Before you all learned a common language smiles were your signal of cooperation and neighborliness. And that habit stuck and permeated the culture. Canada is similar, but I don’t know if they have the same reputation for loads of smiles.

Loaded up and ready to roll out of Ingolstadt.
Sometimes we’re on asphalt.
Sometimes it’s dirt.
The smell of roses in the warm air will be an evocative memory of this trip in Germany.
Enjoying a long warm evening in Regensburg, one of our favorite stops and the second time we’ve been here on bikes.
We both absolutely love a city that has so much gathering space for locals. Grab a beer and dangle your legs over the river.

If you think that Americans are not welcomed, or viewed with annoyance or contempt in Germany, you are very wrong. We’ve learned to say we’re American as soon as feasible in conversation. It not only explains our smiles and enthusiasm, but very often elicits an enthusiastic response, with an offering of which relative lives where in America- a son in Chicago, a daughter in Arizona, or, as the case with our young waiter from Moldova, a wistful statement that America is his favorite country, but no, he’s never been.

Riding out of Germany.
Eurovelo 13, The Iron Curtain Trail, taking us to Czechia.

As always, we are reminded that for all our faults, the US lives on as the land of opportunity for many. So we ride along, smiling at everyone. Probably viewed as a bit silly or simple by some, but for others a reminder what a country built by immigrants looks like, and acts like. And when after a little hesitation one of our broad smiles is returned by a German, we consider it a win. And if we can get a Hallo, a Guten Morgen, or a Groß Gott, that’s even better. Farewell for now Germany, we’ll see you on the return trip, and now let’s see how our American smiles are greeted in Czechia. Our first time back in 16 years and the first time with bikes.

The Happy Cyclists enjoying a Regensburg sunset.

Six months of travel. Already.

Pre flight testing at San Francisco airport the day before our flight in August, 2021.

Six months of travel so far. I should add the word only to remind myself it’s ONLY been six months. It feels much longer. To have so many new experiences after 18 months of home body living skews your sense of time. We talk about something we did three months ago and it feels as if it were a year or more in the past. I want to tell you what we’ve learned, and what have been our successes, but first – what do I miss?

Baking. Like many, I leaned into cooking and baking during the height of the pandemic. I miss my sour cream coffee cake.

Friends and family are of course on top of the list of what I miss. And I miss baking. But, for everything I miss (except friends and family), there is a consolation activity or option.

Danish bakery in London. Bakeries are a lovely consolation for not being able to bake.

I miss knowing our way around a place. Living for so many years in SF meant I could bike, walk, or take transit almost anywhere without consulting a map. Now, maps are our constant friends.

Rich working the smartphone and paper map on a foggy hike near Grange-Over-Sands.

The upside of not knowing your way around is the constant discovery of new things. Every place, every turn of a corner, every walk to a museum, restaurant, or train station might have an unexpected gem just waiting for us to notice it.

Arrived by bus to Axminster train station in need of a snack. A sign pointed us 50 yards away to a milk vending machine.
Chocolate milk? Yes please.

Every fun discovery gives us a chance to chat with locals, like the gent who was coming to refill his milk bottles at the milk vending machine and walked us through the process. And then a man returning to his work truck from a hardware store nearby stopped to congratulate us on finally figuring out the vending machine, and we chatted for 20 minutes, hearing about his trips to Scotland and France and sharing our own travel stories. It’s not the same as seeing old friends while walking or biking in SF, and we’ll never see those two men again, but I will claim them as momentary friends.

Typical room while bike touring. Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Comfortable furniture. That we miss! If a hotel room has two chairs we consider ourselves lucky. If even one of them is actually comfortable we’re thrilled.

Two chairs. And fairly comfortable. Heated floors, good for drying laundry. Disentis, Switzerland.

The uncomfortable furniture is a small price to pay for the privilege of travel like this. Our time in the UK helped us appreciate slow travel. And I’ve learned to fluff, flip, and rearrange the couch seat cushions in our rental apartments to try and eke out a bit more comfort .

Dinner ready to be cooked in an apartment in Colmar, France.

So what have we learned to make ourselves happy and healthy while traveling long term? Cook for ourselves as much as possible which means apartments with kitchens. We amass a roving pantry when we’re staying in places with kitchens. And we check for a local farmers market first thing.

Farmers Market haul from Keswick, in the Lake District.
Yoga mat folded up for travel. It’s thin and natural rubber so quite sticky.

Exercise is key. Easy when bike touring and when getting a lot of walking in, but we both have specific stretches and strength building exercises we need to do. Enter travel yoga mat. It’s nice to have and even more, it’s a good reminder to actually do the stretches and work outs. After trying to buy it in person I caved and ordered from Amazon to be delivered to an Amazon locker in London. I also ended up ordering laundry detergent sheets from Amazon to be delivered to a locker in Liverpool. Again after failing to find them at local shops. As much as I don’t love Amazon, the ability to get deliveries while traveling is very helpful. Laundry sheets are a fantastic travel item. Light to carry and useful for sink laundry as well as for confusing all in one washer/dryer combo machines.

Defunct train viaduct near Lyme Regis. Rich added for scale. Walking keeps us happy.
The happy, clean, well exercised travelers in France.

We are currently in France, swapping out some gear for our next adventures. Where to next? Italy.