Jan 29 2009
The effect of people
This is an old post that somehow just didn’t make it to the board…
Just returned from a vacation in Germany over the girl’s fall break. We were gone for 9 days, October 17 through the 26th, and let me tell you, what a blast. But I deviate, this isn’t really about the trip, although I’m sure that I’ll write a few memories down as I make my clumsy way through this posting.
First off, this was an Adventures by Disney trip. Meaning that, it was sponsored and run by Disney, yes as in “Walt” or “World”. THE Disney. Kind of odd I know. In all truth I was a little ambivalent before the trip, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. A giant like Disney could either make or break the trip. My experience with Disney has been like most folks, through the wonderful world of Disney TV shows in the 70’s (and beyond I’m sure), their movies and of course their theme parks.
It was the theme park experience that I was letting jade my memory. While the park experience was enjoyable, it was also hugely crowded and just completely 100% man-made. What I mean by that is well, seriously, everything you look at, touch, feel, taste, hear…EVERYTHING is a result of what someone envisioned for you in that respect. It’s created…all of it. And while that’s perfectly understandable, it’s not what I wanted to experience outside of the parks. I wanted something a LOT more original, visceral, you know, real.
Well, we got it. While being guided and coddled through a country isn’t quite like traipsing about on one’s own, in this case it’s exactly what the Dr. ordered. The girls were ecstatic and we’re still hearing things from them that constantly surprise us. We were worried that they’d not really “get” what they were seeing. You know, instead of looking at the architecture, or people, they would be looking at the orange kitty or toy in the window. But lo and behold, that’s not what happened. They actually “saw” Germany!
Granted, that’s from an adult’s perspective. I’m sure they took away much much more than what I’m seeing and hearing. Our youngest, who was 7 at the time, is still constantly talking about how she really wants to go back. I love that. They’re lucky to have been able to travel so extensively at such a young age. And when I say extensively, that’s relative to what I did as a young person. I went home to Canada every summer, which I would NEVER trade for anything in the world, but I didn’t see the ocean until I was 18. There are trade offs.
Anyway, I’m rambling here, if someone were to ask me if Adventures by Disney was worth the dough, I’d say ‘yes’, and emphatically so.