Some Questions

Breaking news, we have most of our photos from the trip here. 

People we meet ask similar questions about the trip so we will try to answer some of the most asked questions here.

Were you ever scared or afraid?

Outside of some difficult trails -- wet and slippery, extremely steep descents, loose rock and scree -- we were never afraid.  There are really no dangerous animals in Europe and the people are much less violent than in the US. 

One thing we did notice that was unexpected was the number of stores selling guns and the evidence of lots of hunting.  The main evidence of hunting is the hunting stands located everywhere north of the Alps.  This one is in Belgium, near the Luxembourg border.

We saw many  chamois in the Jura and Vosges Ranges in France and deer in Belgium.  We did not actually see any hunters while hiking.

 Were you harassed or mistreated by Europeans, because you are Americans?

The short answer is no.  We found the Europeans, friendly, helpful, and more than happy to help us with our pidgin French - German - Italian - Dutch - Flemish - Slovenian - Luxembourguese.  Some, like our friend Tomas Simonin, whose family took us into their farmhouse for the night, are concerned about how they are viewed  by Americans.  He Asked.  “Do you think we are arrogant?”   Our answer was a resounding no.

We found the Europeans very curious about Americans.  They simply do not know what to make of our political debates.  And they are confused by our rejection of what they see as the best parts of being European: universal health care, long vacations, and a social safety net that keeps the streets free of homeless people.  We could only tell them that we are also confused about these things.